additional stuff

Construal

Definition: How people interpret or make sense of the same situation differently; interpretations shape behavior more than objective reality.

Example: One student thinks “the professor hates me,” another thinks “they’re just strict.”

Study/Result: Core idea in Aronson text → behavior depends on interpretation, not reality itself.

Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE)

Definition: Tendency to overestimate personality causes and underestimate situational causes of others’ behavior.

Example: “He’s rude” instead of “maybe he’s stressed.”

Study: Ross et al. Quiz Show Study

Result: Observers rated questioners as smarter even though they had answers in advance → ignored situation.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Definition: Expectations about a person lead you to act in ways that cause those expectations to become true.

Example: Treating someone like they’re unfriendly → they withdraw → “see, they’re cold.”

Study: Rosenthal & Jacobson “Bloomers”

Result: Randomly labeled “gifted” kids improved more because teachers treated them differently.

Mundane Realism

Definition: How much a study physically resembles real life.

Example: Fake classroom vs real classroom.

Key point: Less important than psychological realism

Replication

Definition: Repeating a study to see if the same results occur again.

Example: Running the same conformity study at another university.

Result: Confirms findings are reliable, not random chance.

Direct Experience Effect (Attitude Formation)

Definition: Attitudes formed through personal experience are stronger and more predictive of behavior.

Example: Volunteering at a shelter → stronger animal rights attitude than just reading about it.

Finding: Direct experience → more accessible → better behavior prediction.

Mere Exposure Effect

Definition: Repeated exposure to something increases liking, even without thinking about it.

Example: A song grows on you after hearing it 10 times.

Study: Zajonc

Result: Participants liked nonsense words/shapes more when seen repeatedly.

Subliminal Persuasion (Research Finding)

Definition: Attitude change from messages presented below conscious awareness.

Example: Flashing “Drink Cola” for milliseconds.

Research Result (important!):

Effects are very weak or basically nonexistent unless you already want the product.

Exam trap: Subliminal ads do NOT strongly control behavior.

Attitude–Behavior Gap

Definition: Attitudes don’t always predict behavior unless they are strong, specific, and accessible.

Example: Saying you care about the environment but still littering.

Finding: Weak/general attitudes → poor behavior prediction.

Yale Attitude Change Approach

Definition: Early persuasion theory focusing on source, message, and audience factors.

Source: credibility, attractiveness

Message: fear, logic, one vs two sided

Audience: motivation/ability

One-Sided Message

Definition: Presents only supporting arguments.

Works best when: Audience already agrees.

Example: Ad only listing benefits.

Two-Sided Message

Definition: Presents both pros and cons, then refutes the cons.

Works best when: Audience is skeptical or educated.

Finding: Seen as more credible → often more persuasive.

Inoculation Theory

Definition: Exposing people to weak counterarguments builds resistance to stronger attacks later.

Example: Teaching kids weak anti-smoking arguments so they resist peer pressure.

Finding: Like a “vaccine” for attitudes.

Response Efficacy

Definition: Belief that the recommended action will work.

Example: “Quitting smoking reduces cancer risk.”

Needed for: Effective fear appeals.

Self-Efficacy

Definition: Belief that YOU are capable of performing the behavior.

Example: “I can actually quit.”

Finding: Fear without efficacy → people avoid message.

Attitude Strength

Definition: How durable and resistant an attitude is over time.

Strong attitudes are:

✔ accessible

✔ based on experience

✔ predict behavior

✔ resist persuasion

Exam style: “Which attitude best predicts behavior?” → strong/highly accessible

Ross, Amabile, & Steinmetz

Observers rated questioners as smarter even though they had answers beforehand → shows Fundamental Attribution Error.

“Bloomers” / Teacher Expectations Study

Rosenthal & Jacobson

→ Randomly labeled “gifted” students improved more → expectations changed teacher behavior → self-fulfilling prophecy.

Cognitive Dissonance ($1 vs $20)

Festinger & Carlsmith

→ $1 group changed attitudes more than $20 group → low reward creates more dissonance → internal attitude change.

Mere Exposure Effect

Robert Zajonc

→ Repeated exposure to words/symbols increased liking → familiarity alone produces preference.

Attitude Accessibility & Behavior Prediction

Fazio & Williams

→ Faster (more accessible) attitudes predicted actual voting behavior better → accessibility strengthens attitude–behavior link.

Fear Appeal Meta-Analysis

Witte & Allen (and similar reviews cited in text)

→ Moderate fear + clear solution (efficacy info) produced the most behavior change → too little or too much fear less effective.

Inoculation Theory Experiments

William McGuire

→ Weak counterarguments made attitudes more resistant to later persuasion → “mental vaccine” effect.

Subliminal Persuasion Experiments

Karremans, Stroebe, & Claus

→ Subliminal drink cues only influenced people who were already thirsty → effects small and very limited.

Psychological Realism Demonstrations

Milgram (obedience research often used as example)

→ Lab setting still produced intense emotional/real reactions → psychological realism matters more than mundane realism.

Field Experiment on Helping

Darley & Batson (Good Samaritan Study)

→ Time pressure reduced helping even among seminarians → situation predicted behavior more than personality.

Fundamental Attribution Extensions

Jones & Harris (Castro Essay Study)

→ Participants assumed essay writers believed what they wrote even when assigned positions → dispositional bias persists.