PSYCH Topic 6: Chunk 1

Social Psychology

Scientific study of how we think about, influence and relate to one another

Attribution Theory

 we explain someone’s behavior by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition

Fundamental Attribution Error

tendency to underestimate the impact of the situation and overestimate the impact of personal disposition

Self Serving Bias

we tend to attribute our good actions as part of our disposition but attribute negative actions to our situation

Actor Observer Bias

actor (person doing the action) attributes the action to the situation; observer (person watching the action) attributes the action to the person

Social Comparison

Evaluate ourselves based on how we match up to other members of society and our social circles

Relative Deprivation

 perception that we are worse off relative to those with whom we compare ourselves

Belief Persistence

Persistence of one’s initial conceptions even after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

We hold onto what we believe even when there is clear evidence refuting it (or no evidence supporting it)

Confirmation Bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

Attitude

feelings that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events

Elaboration Likelihood model

• Peripheral route (ex: halo effect)

• Central route (ex: foot-in-the-door or door-in-the-face)

Peripheral route Persuasion

occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues

Central Route Persuasion

occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts

Foot-in-the-door

first agreeing to a small request increases the likelihood of agreeing to larger one later

Door-In-The-Face

start with BIG, unreasonable request— gets denied; more likely to agree to smaller request

Role

 set of expectations (norms) about a social position; defines how someone in that position should behave

Cognitive Dissonance

mental tension/discomfort

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Theory that we act to reduce the discomfort we feel when two of our thoughts are inconsistent

When our actions don’t match our thoughts; we change

Personal Control

our sense of controlling our environment rather than feeling helpless

External Locus of Control

perception that our fate is determined by forces outside of our control

Internal Locus of Control

• perception that we control our own fate; “free will”

Norms

understood rules for accepted & expected behavior; “proper” behavior

Social Contagion

humans are natural mimics

Conformity

Adjusting our social behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard