Social Psychology megathread

Social Psychology

The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.

Attribution Theory

The theory that we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation (external) or the person's disposition (internal).

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency for observers, when analyzing another's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition.

Attitude

Feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events. (ABC)

Central Route Persuasion

Attitude change path in which interested people focus on the arguments, facts and respond with favorable thoughts.

Peripheral Route Persuasion

Attitude change path in which people are influenced by incidental cues, emotional responses such as a speaker's attractiveness.

Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon

The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request.

Role

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

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

The theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognition) are inconsistent. For example, when our awareness of our attitudes and of our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting discomfort by changing our attitudes.

Conformity

Adjusting one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.

Normative Social Influence

Influence (conforming) resulting from a person's desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval.

Informational Social Influence

Influence (conforming) resulting from one's willingness to accept others' opinions about reality.

Social Facilitation

Stronger responses on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others.

Social Loafing

The tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable.

Deindividuation

The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity. (Mob Mentality)

Group Polarization

The enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group. (Extremes)

Groupthink

The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives.

Culture

The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.

Norm

An understood rule for accepted and expected behavior. They prescribe "proper" behavior.

Personal Space

The buffer zone we like to maintain around our bodies.

Prejudice

An unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members. It generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action.

Stereotype

A generalized (sometimes accurate, but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people.

Discrimination

(Social) unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members.

Ingroup

"Us"—people with whom we share a common identity.

Outgroup

"Them"—those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup.

Ingroup Bias

The tendency to favor our own group.

Scapegoat Theory

The theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame.

Other-Race Effect

The tendency to recall faces of one's own race more accurately than faces of other races. Also called the cross-race effect and the own-race bias

Just-World Phenomenon

The tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get. (Blame the Victim)

Aggression

Physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone.

Frustration-Aggression Principle

The principle that frustration—the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal—creates anger, which can generate aggression.

Mere Exposure Effect

The phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them.

Passionate Love

An aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a love relationship.

Companionate Love

The deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined.

Equity

A condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it.

Self-Disclosure

Revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others.

Altruism

Unselfish regard for the welfare of others.

Bystander Effect

The tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present.

Social Exchange Theory

The theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs.

Reciprocity Norm

An expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them.

Social-Responsibility Norm

An expectation that people will help those dependent upon them.

Conflict

A perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas.

Social Trap

A situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing their self-interest, become caught in mutually destructive behavior.

Mirror-Image Perceptions

Mutual views often held by conflicting people, as when each side sees itself as ethical and peaceful and views the other side as evil and aggressive.

Self Fulfilling Prophecy

A belief that leads to its own fulfillment.

Superordinate Goals

Shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation.

Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension Reduction (GRIT)

Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-Reduction—a strategy designed to decrease international tensions.

Diffusion of Responsibility

Reduction in feelings of personal burden in the presence of others.

Ethnocentricism

Evaluation of other cultures according to the standards and customs of one's own culture.

Compliance

Conforming to a request or demand.

Pygmalion in the Classroom

Experiment by Rosenthal and Jacobsen that measured the impact(s) of expectation on student performances; supporting the theory of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Temporal Comparison

when we compare our performance to our own past performance(s).

Social Comparison

when we compare our performance to the performance(s) of others.

Reference Groups

Groups we are similar to with who we compare ourselves to.

Relative Deprivation

The tendency when we compare ourselves to others to feel worse off then them.

False Consensus Effect

overestimating the number of people who share our belief or action.

Leon Festinger

Measured cognitive dissonance by paying participants to $1 or $20 to lie about the enjoyment of a dull task. Participants paid $1 more likely to change their beliefs about the task.

Dispositional (Internal) Attribution Theory

Explaining behaviors based on a person's characteristics; traits, maturity, etc.

Situational (External) Attribution Theory

Explaining behaviors based on outside factors influencing and individual.

Phillip Zimbardo

Examined the impact of social roles and authority on behavior with his famous Stanford Prison experiment.

Solomon Asch

Examined the impact of conformity with his famous Line Perception experiment.

Obedience

A change in behavior following a demand from an authority figure.

Stanley Milgram

Examined the impact of obedience to authority with his controversial Shock experiment.

Prisoner's Dilemma

Social trap where 2 prisoners are separated and have to consider the impacts of cooperating with their partner or competing to get the first confession.

Commons Dilemma

Social trap where people must consider how much they take or use of a scarce resource.

Public Goods Dilemma

Social trap where people must consider how much to give/contribute to a shared resource.

Consummate Love

Sternberg believes this is the ultimate form of love that has all 3: Passion, Intimacy & Commitment (Companionate).

Robert Sternberg

Theorized the Triangle Theory of Love when describing social relationships. PIC: Passion, Intimacy & Commitment (Companionate).

Matching Hypothesis

Idea that individuals pair up into relationships with people who are similar to their level of physical attraction.

Albert Bandura

Developed Social Learning Theory, where children learn through watching AND imitating actions.

Theories of Self and Identity

- Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979)

- Brewer and Gardener's 3 Types of Self (1966)

- Private Self vs Public Self (Carver & Sheier, 1981)

Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979)

Theory of Self-Schema Development related to self vs groups and Identity

- Differing identities based on context

- Individual Self- personal identity

- Collective Self- group characteristics

- We tend to favour those in our group rather than those not in our group

Brewer and Gardener's 3 Types of Self (1966)

Theory of Self and Identity

- Individual self- personal distinguishing traits

- Collective self- group membership

- Relational self- dyadic relationships that assimilate you to others

Self-Awareness

The psychological state in which there is a realisation that you are an individual

Characteristics of Self-Awareness

- Not innate

- Not permanent

- Ability varies

Method to Examine Prescence of Self-Awareness

Mirror Test (Gallup, 1970)

Mirror Test Conclusion

- Self-awareness develops at 1.5-2 yo in humans

- Self-awareness is present in chimps, elephants, and dolphins

- Self-awareness not present in most non-human animals

Private Self vs Public Self (Carver & Sheier, 1981)

Theory of Self and Identity

- When private self, we have internalised standards so act in according to thoughts, feelings, and attitudes

- When public self, we adhere to social standards, are concerned with the evaluation of others, and evaluate ourself

Chronic Self-Awareness

Self-consciousness

Very self-aware so seek avoidance behaviour (drinking, taking drugs) which reduces self-awareness resulting in deindividuation (identifying with crowd rather than self) and no monitoring of behaviour (risk-taking, impulsivity)

Deindividuation

Identification with the crowd rather than one's self so lower self-awareness

Mindfulness (Kabat-Zinn, 1991)

- Paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, on the present, non-judgementally

- Aware of self, accept self, and aren't reactive

Heightened Private Self Consciousness

Internal chronic self-awareness

- More intense emotions, more accurately perceive self, more likely to adhere to personal beliefs, less stress, can lead to neuroticism and depression

Heightened Public Self Consciousness

Chronic self-awareness from others

- Nervousness, loss of self-esteem, adhere to social norms, focus on physical appearance of self and others

Self Knowledge

What we know about ourself and how we store this knowledge

Self-Schemas

How we store information about self and others, stereotypes, top-down predictors of what will happen, how we act, and make decisions

Blobby Line Diagrams

The idea that in some contexts different associations of the self are activated, and this activation influences how we behave

Self-Schematic Information

Components of self concept that are important to us

Aschematic Information

Components of self concept that are not very important to us

Theories of Self-Schema Development

- Control Theory of Self Regulation (Carver and Scheier, 1981)

- Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgns, 1987)

- Social Comparison Theory (Festinger, 1954)

- Self Evaluation Maintenance (Tesser, 1988)

- Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979)

- Self-Categorization Theory (Tuner et al., 1987)

Grouping of Theories of Self-Schema Development

- Self vs Should be

- Self vs Others

- Self vs Groups

Theories of Self-Schema Development related to self vs how we should be

- Control Theory of Self Regulation (Carver and Scheier, 1981)

- Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987)

Theories of Self-Schema Development related to self vs others

- Social Comparison Theory (Festinger, 1954)

- Self Evaluation Maintenance (Tesser, 1988)

Theories of Self-Schema Development related to self vs other groups

- Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979)

- Self-Categorization Theory (Tuner et al., 1987)

Control Theory of Self Regulation (Carver & Sheier, 1981)

Theory of Self-Schema Development related to self vs how we should be

- Self-awareness if assessing to see whether goals have been met

- We test this, change, test iteratively until we self-regulate in line with our standards

- Standards can differ in public vs private

Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987)

Theory of Self-Schema Development related to self vs how we should be

- 3 types of self-schema- actual (present), ideal (like to be), ought (should be)

- Discrepancy between selves results in emotion, process of self-regulation

- If actual-ideal discrepancy, dejection, disappointment

- If actual-ought discrepancy, agitation, anxiety

Similarity between Control Theory of Regulation (Carver & Sheier, 1981) and Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987)

- Control Theory of Regulation (Carver & Sheier, 1981) and Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987) are both theories of Self-Schema Development related to self vs how we should be

Difference between Control Theory of Regulation (Carver & Sheier, 1981) and Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987)

- Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987) lays out the process for self-regulation through stating emotions when there is a discrepancy between our selves

- Control Theory of Regulation (Carver & Sheier, 1981) doesn't lay out the process for self-regulation

Social Comparison Theory (Festinger, 1954)

Theory of Self-Schema Development related to self vs others

- We seek approval to understand what is correct

- We seek similar people to validate our feelings

- We make downward comparisons to seek people who aren't as good boosting our self-esteem

Medvec et al. (1955) Findings- Medallists and Comparison of Self-Schema to others

-> Bronze medallist more satisfied than silver medallist

Silver medallists are doing upward comparison with gold

Bronze medallists are doing downward comparison with none medal winners

Research support Social Comparison Theory (Festinger, 1954) and Self Evaluation Maintenance (Tesser, 1988)

Self Evaluation Maintenance (Tesser, 1988)

Theory of Self-Schema Development related to self vs others

- We make upward social comparison when have to and then adjust to feel better by; exaggerating the target's abilities, changing the target, distancing self from target, and devaluate the dimensional comparison