Social Psychology

Social psychology

The scientific study of how individuals’ thoughts, feelings and behavior are shaped by the actual, implied, or imagined presence of others.

Social Role

a set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position behave.

The Stanford Prison Simulation attributed behavior to social roles

attributional and explanatory style

the way in which you explain your circumstances to yourself

Dispositional attributions

relate to internal causes (characteristics of the person, personality ex. emotional, dramatic, smart, dumb, ambitious, lazy)

Situational attributions

relate to external causes (characteristics of the situation-  ex. traffic, alarm didn’t go off, family circumstances emergency, bad/good sleep.)

explanatory style

predictable pattern of attributions. can be optimistic or pessimistic

Optimistic Explanatory Style

Temporary

Specific causes

External causes

“This is a temporary moment . I will move on.” “I didn’t text you back because I was super busy”

Pessimistic Explanatory Style

Permanent 

Pervasive (global)

Personal (internal) causes

“I will never live this down.”  You didn’t text me back because you are a bad friend”

Fundamental attribution error

a bias toward overattributing the behavior of others to internal causes. This is more likely to happen when we do not know the person well.  How accurate are first impressions?

Actor-Observer Bias

When people are the actors, they are more likely to attribute their actions to the situation, while when they are the observers, they are more likely to attribute the behavior to the actors' personality.  Tends to happen when bad things happen to us.  Why were you late to class?  Why was someone else late to class? 

Self Serving Bias

tendency to attribute positive outcomes and successes to internal factors like our personal traits, skills, or actions.I won the game today because I am a great athlete; yesterday I lost the game because the referee made some bad calls

Mere Exposure Effect

repeated exposure increases our liking. You like a song the more your hear it. 

The Halo Effect

ex. the attractiveness stereotype, which refers to the tendency to assign positive qualities and traits to physically attractive or friendly people. Can also apply to brand or organizations. 

In group bias

the tendency to favor one’s own group, its members, its characteristics, and its products, particularly in reference to other groups

Ethnocentrism

tendency, often unintentional, to base perceptions and understandings of other groups or cultures on one’s own. EX: viewing foreign food as "disgusting,

Social Trap

individuals, groups, organizations, or whole societies initiate a course of action or establish a set of relationships that lead to negative or even lethal outcomes in the long term, but that once initiated are difficult to withdraw from or alter.

superordinate goal

goals that require people to cooperate –- reduce hostility among groups

(in robbers cave experiment)…

1.  Fix a drinking water problem

2. Contributing unequal $ to watch a movie, Treasure Island

Minimal group paradigm

a method for investigating the minimal conditions required for discrimination to occur between groups

Stereotype

generalized concept about a group of people

Prejudice

negative attitude

Discrimination

negative behavior.

Minimal group paradigm

a method for investigating the minimal conditions required for discrimination to occur between groups.

Self-fulfilling prophecy (Behavioral Confirmation)

a belief that leads to its own fulfillment.

People behave in ways that confirm their belief or perceptions of themselves or others. 

Implicit bias

when we have attitudes towards people or associate stereotypes with them without our conscious knowledge.

Out Group Homogeneity Bias

the tendency to assume that the members of other groups are very similar to each other, particularly in contrast to the assumed diversity of the membership of one’s own group

Just World Hypothesis

tendency to believe that good people are rewarded, and bad people are punished.   We want to rationalize that the bad. Can lead to victim blaming because it safer to blame 1 person than question the safety of our world.

Cognitive Dissonance

unpleasant psychological state resulting from inconsistency between two or more elements in a cognitive system.

involve a state of heightened arousal and characteristics similar to physiological drives (e.g., hunger).

creates a motivational drive in an individual to reduce the dissonance.

Compliance

where an individual does what someone else wants them to do, following their request or suggestion. It is similar to obedience, but there is no order – only a request.

Foot-in-the-door phenomenon

People agreeing to a small request will find it easier to agree later to a larger one

• Signing a petition then putting a sign in the yard

Door-in the-face technique

People agreeing to smaller request once they rejected a larger request

• Can I have $50? No? Can I have $25? 

Elaboration Likelihood Model

 theory of attitude change.  Explores how  we process information differently and how the outcomes of these processes result in changing attitudes and, consequently, behavior

Central route persuasion

high level of persuasion, offers evidence and arguments to trigger thoughtful responses [Swayed by logic and merit]  More durable. 

Peripheral route persuasion

high level of persuasion, uses incidental cues such as marketing or endorsements

fast but relatively thoughtless changes in attitudes]. 

Social Norms

define expectations and roles a society may have for its members for individuals and social situations

Normative social influence:

we conform to gain social approval or to avoid rejections [REALLY want to belong to a group]  *team spirit, senior skip day, standing for the national anthem, laughing because others are laughing

Informational social influence:

we conform to people who we believe have accurate information, we accept others’ opinions as reality because they seem informed [we side with ppl. who seem well informed] 

where influence is more likely to occur

highly homogenous groups, ambiguous situations, and when the subject is highly concerned with unwanted attention, the perceptions of others, and when the need to be accepted is high

Group Polarization

• Group discussions with like-minded others strengthen members’ prevailing beliefs and attitudes. (social media, echo chambers)

False consensus effect

• Tendency to think other people share our attitude and opinions more than they actually do

Groupthink

• People are driven by a desire for harmony within a decision-making group, overriding realistic appraisal of alternatives. →harmonious + unrealistic  

Social facilitation

• increased level of effort as a result of the presence of others. Enhances performance on easy tasks but impairs performance on difficult tasks  (going to the library or coffee shop to study, exercising at the gym)

Social loafing

• Tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable (not working as hard in a group project)  

Deindividuation

• Involves loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity. Causes ppl. to be less concerned with their personal values 

Obedience

occurs when people follow direct commands, usually from someone in a position of authority. milgram experiment

criticisms of milgram

procedures which involve loss of dignity, self-esteem and trust in rational authority are probably most harmful in the long run and require the most thoughtfully planned reparations, if engaged in at all