social psychology final

attitude

a favorable or unfavorable evaluation reaction toward something or someone (often noted in one’s belief and exhibited in one’s feelings and intended behavior)

role

a set of norms that defines how people in a given social position ought to behave

what did zimbardo want to find in his study?

is prison brutality a product of evil prisoners and malicious guards

do the institutional roles of guard and prisoners embitter and harden even compassionate people

do people make the place violent

does the place make people violent

foot-in-the-door phenomenon

people’s tendency to comply more readily with a large request if they have already agreed to a smaller favor

what is the low-ball technique a tactic for?

getting people to agree to something

low-ball technique

a persuasion and selling technique in which an item or service is offered at a lower price than is actually intended to be charged after which the price is raised to increase profits

what does a successful low-ball technique rely on?

the balance of making the initial request attractive enough to gain agreement, while not making the second request so outrageous that the customer refuses

what does self-preservation theory assume?

people, especially those who self-monitor their behavior hoping to create good impressions, will adapt their attitude to appear consistent with their actions

why do we try to make good impressions?

to gain social and material awards, to feel better about ourselves, even to become more secure in our social identities

how do we avoid looking foolishly inconsistent?

we express attitudes that match our actions even if that means displaying a little insincerity or hypocrisy

self justification: cognitive dissonance

tension that arises when one is simultaneously aware of two inconsistent cognitions

insufficient justification

reduction of dissonance by internally justifying one’s behavior when external justification is “insufficient”

what does cognitive dissonance assume

we feel tension, or lack of harmony (dissonance) when two simultaneously accessible thoughts or beliefs (cognitions) are psychologically inconsistent

self-perception theory

the theory that we are unsure of our attitudes, we infer them much as would someone observing us by looking at our behavior and the circumstances under which is occurs

conformity is not

just acting as other people act; it’s also being affected by how they act

what was the most famous conformity experiment and who conducted it?

line judgement experiment by Solomon Asch

normative conformity

yielding to group pressure because a person wants to fit in with the group, based on a person’s desire to fulfill other’s expectations often to gain acceptance

normative conformity is conforming because

the person is afraid of being rejected by the group

usually normative conformity involves

compliance- when a person publicly accepts the views of a group but privately rejects them

informative conformity

usually occurs when a person lacks knowledge and looks to the group for guidance, or when people accept evidence about reality provided by other people

informative conformity usually involves

internalization- when a person accepts the views of the group and adapts them as an individual

normative vs informational conformity

concern for social image produces normative influence, while the desire to be correct produces informational influence

ingratiational conformity

involves a person conforming to impress or gain favor/acceptance from other people

ingratiational conformity is similar to normative influence but is

motivated by the need for social rewards rather than the threat of rejection

compliance involves

publicly changing behavior to fit in with the group while privately disagreeing

internalization involves

publicly changing behavior to fit in with the group and also agreeing with them privately

identification involves

conforming to the expectation of a social role, ex. prison study

mood linkage

refers to the human tendency to absorb and participate in the prevailing mood of the other people around us

Werther effect

coined by American sociologist Dave Philips in 1974 to describe the phenomenon that behaviors, wether the self-preservation or destruction, are copied between humans by ideas manifested in language in addition to genetics

mass delusions

the study of collective delusions, most commonly falls within the domain of sociologists working in the subfield of collective behavior, and psychologists specializing in social psychology, collective delusions are typified as the spontaneous, rapid spread of false or exaggerated beliefs within a population at large, temporarily affecting a particular region, culture, or county

what factors contribute to the formation and spread of collective delusions and hysterical illness?

mass media, rumors, extraordinary anxiety or excitement, cultural beliefs and stereotypes, the social and political context, and reinforcing actions by authorities such as politicians or institutions of social control such as police or military

conformity is highest when

the group has 3 or more people and is unanimous, cohesive, and in high status

cohesion

the more cohesive a group is the more power it gains over its members, our inclination is to go along with the group- to think what is thinks and do what it does

conformity varies not only with

situations but also with persons

reactance

the motive to protect or restore one’s sense of freedom