Social Psychology Exam #1

social psychology

the study of how social situations influence our thoughts, feelings, and actions

social influence

the effect that the words, actions, or mere presence of other people have on our thoughts, feelings, attitudes, or behavior

what are the five axioms of social psychology?

1. social psychology is an experimentally based science

2. the power of social influence

3. the power of social interpretation

4. construals are the result of basic human motives

5. cognitive conservatism

fundamental attribution error

the tendency to explain our own and other people's behavior entirely in terms of personality traits, thereby underestimating the power of social influence

naive realism

the conviction all of us have that we perceive things "as they really are"

what are the basic human motives?

to be accurate and to feel good about ourselves

The power of the situation

A basic premise of social psychology that assumes people's thoughts, actions, and emotions are influenced substantially by the social setting

cognitive conservatism

Mental capacity is limited and so shortcuts are necessary.

We are guided by expectations and stereotypes.

These shortcuts are adaptive, but can also lead to faulty decision making.

self-fulfilling prophecy

a belief that leads to its own fulfillment

what did the Rosenthal & Jacobson (1968) study find?

a teacher who expects certain students to do well may cause those students to do better. this comes about by teachers that expect certain students to perform well giving them more attention, encouraging them, calling on them more frequently, etc.

hindsight bias

the tendency to exaggerate, after learning an outcome, one's ability to have foreseen how something turned out

"above average" effect

the tendency for people to rate themselves as above the average on most positive social attributes. higher self enhancement than self accuracy

model of humility

higher self-accuracy than self-enhancement

what are the three assumptions made about ourselves?

The Self is consistent

The Self is the originator of behavior

The Self is separate and unique

psychological reactance

the perception of any lessening of the freedom to act is highly unpleasant

when is psychological reactance most likely to occur?

In a situation where there is 1) maximal threat, 2) a sense of high freedom, and 3) freedom is of major importance

self-esteem

the personal judgment we make about our own worth or personal adequacy

what are the four factors influencing self esteem?

socialization experiences, race and sex factors, physical attractiveness, cognitive mechanisms of self-enhancement

what is the looking glass self?

our sense of self is formed by imagining how others perceive and evaluate us.

1) imagining our appearance to others

2) imagining their judgment of that appearance

3) developing feelings about ourselves based on those perceived judgments.

self esteem equation

real self/ideal self

what do people with high self-esteem tend to do?

be accepting of others (even those with different opinions)

enjoy satisfying relationships with other people

expect to do well in their accomplishments

try hard, and be successful in careers

attribute their success to their abilities

make due allowance for circumstances in interpreting failures

do not necessarily make more realistic assessment of their strengths and weaknesses (though they seek challenges with greater diagnostic indicators: e.g., choosing moderately difficult challenges)

FOND acronym for intellectual humility

flexible, open, non-defensive, discerning

confirmation bias

We tend to seek information that is consistent with what we already believe to be true

what are the three models of cognitive processing?

rational model, automatic model, and cognitive miser model

rational model

assumes that all behavior and decision results from logical, conscious thought.

automatic model

Our behavior and our attitudes are shaped completely by unconscious forces that we have no direct control over. consciousness is seen as an interpreter

cognitive miser model

compromise between the automatic and rational models. related to cognitive conservatism. This model presumes that our thought and behavior can be either consciously controlled or automatically influenced depending on what other demands have been placed on us.

schemas

Mental representation of all information relevant to a concept

what are the advantages of using schemas?

- interpret info

- influence what info is attended to

- facilitate retrieval of info

- fill in missing info

- efficiency in making judgments

what are the disadvantages of using schemas?

- thinking of/remembering what didn't happen

- confirmation bias

- self-fulfilling prophecy

what are attitudes?

- lasting, general evaluations of people, objects, or issues

- a complex tendency of the person to respond consistently in a favorable or unfavorable way to objects in the environment

- responses that locate objects of thought on dimensions of judgment

what is the ABC model of attitudes?

affect (feelings), behavior (behavioral intentions), cognition (thoughts)

what are the three factors influencing the affective component of attitudes?

mere exposure effect, associative networks, affectively driven issues

mere exposure effect

The tendency for novel stimuli to be liked more or rated more positively after the rater has been repeatedly exposed to them

reasoned action model

states that a person’s behavior is guided by their intention to act, which is shaped by their attitude toward the behavior (how positively or negatively they feel about doing it) and subjective norms (the social pressure they feel from others).

planned behavior model

explains that behavior is driven by intention, which is shaped by attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control—the belief in one’s ability to successfully perform the behavior.

attitude process model

shows that strong attitudes trigger automatic, unconscious behaviors through associative networks, while weak attitudes involve conscious, deliberate thinking, with both influencing how we interpret a situation and ultimately behave.

what are the two routes to persuasion?

central and peripheral routes

central route

A person is best persuaded by systematic arguments to stimulate favorable thinking

When people think deeply any changed attitude will likely persist, resist attack, and influence behavior

peripheral route

Issues that do not engage people's thinking

A person is persuaded more by evidence without much thinking

conformity

the indirect influence of social norms on behavior

compliance

the direct influence on others to honor a request

obedience

how people with authority directly influence others

conformity is (implicit or explicit) and (internal or external)

implicit and internal

obedience is (implicit or explicit) and (internal or external)

explicit and external

conformity

the act of adjusting one's thoughts, feelings, and behavior to align with the social norms and expectations established by a group

how many people are needed to influence conformity?

a minimum of 3

those with (lower/higher) self esteem are (more/less likely) to conform

lower, more likely

those with (lower/higher) self esteem are (more/less likely) to conform

higher, less likely

informational social influence

private conformity, producing attitude and behavior change

normative social influence

public conformity, producing only behavior change

compliance

A response to direct attempts to influence someone by means of requests that he or she behave in a particular way.

higher levels of testosterone have been shown to

predict stereotypically male career preferences, object rotation, and lower empathy

this hormone changes depending on the situation

testosterone

what are the two models of self-evaluation?

reference group theory and social comparison theory

reference group theory

The individual identifies with the standards and belief of certain groups and then uses these as a standard against which they define and evaluate themself.

social comparison theory

We have a drive to evaluate our opinions and abilities

We first attempt to evaluate ourselves through objective nonsocial measures

We compare only to those that are similar to ourselves

When interactions are constrained we will attempt to increase similarities between ourselves and others