Psychology Unit 11: Social Psychology

Social Psychology

The study of human cognition, emotion, and behavior in relation to others

Social Cognition

The way people think about others, attend to social information, and use this information in their lives, both consciously and unconsciously

Attributions

Beliefs one develops to explain human behaviors and characteristics, as well as situations

Types of Attributions

Controllable-Uncontrollable

Stable-Unstable

Internal-External

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overestimate the degree to which the characteristics of an individual are the cause of an event, and to underestimate the involvement of situational factors

Dispositional Attribution

A type of internal Attribution where behaviors are assumed to result from traits or personality characteristics

Situational Attribution

A type of external attribution where behaviors are assumed to result from situational factors

Just-World Hypothesis

The tendency to believe the world is a fair place and individuals generally get what they deserve

False Consensus Effect

The tendency to overestimate the degree to which others think or act like we do

Self-Serving Bias

The tendency to attribute our successes to personal characteristics and our failures to environmental factors

Attitudes

The relatively stable thoughts, feelings, and responses one has toward people, situations, ideas, and things

Cognitive Dissonance

A state of tension that results when behaviors are inconsistent with attitudes

Festinger and Carlsmith

Conducted the experiment testing cognitive dissonance

Social Influence

How a person is affected by others as evidenced in behaviors, emotions, and cognition

Rosenthal and Jacobson

Conducted an experiment on the relationship between a leader's expectations and the performance of those they test

Persuasion

Intentionally trying to make people change their attitudes and beliefs, which may lead to changes in their behaviors

Carl Hovland

Came up with the idea that persuasive power is determined by the source, the message, and the audience

Compliance

Changes in behavior at the request of direction of another person or group, who in general does not have any true authority

Foot-in-the-Door Technique

A compliance technique that involves making a small request first, followed by a larger request

Door-in-the-Face Technique

A compliance technique that involves making a large request first, followed by a smaller request

Conformity

The tendency to modify behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, and opinions to match those of others

Norms

Standards of the social environment

Solomon Asch

Conducted the Solomon Asch experiment, also known as the Asch conformity experiment, which would study how individuals would conform to a group's opinion even when the group's answer was clearly incorrect

Obedience

Changing behavior because we have been ordered to do so by an authority figure

Stanley Milgram

Investigated the extent to which obedience can lead to behaviors that most people would consider unethical

Social Facilitation

The tendency for the presence of others to improve personal performance when the activity is fairly uncomplicated and a person is adequately prepared

Social Loafing

The tendency for group members to put forth less than their best effort when individual contributions are too complicated to measure

Diffusion of responsibility

The sharing of duties and responsibilities among all group members that can lead to feelings of decreased accountability and motivation

Deindividuation

The diminished sense of personal responsibility, inhibition, or adherence to social norms that occurs when group members are not treated as individuals

Ed Diener

Conducted a trick or treating experiment that demonstrates deindividuation in children behavior

Group Polarization

The tendency for group member to take a more extreme stance than originally held after deliberations and discussion

Groupthink

The tendency for group members to maintain cohesiveness and agreement in their decision making, failing to consider possible alternatives and related viewpoints

Bystander Effect

The tendency for people to avoid getting involved in an emergency they witness because they assume someone else will help

Aggression

Intimidating or threatening behavior or attitudes intended to hurt someone

Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis

Suggests that aggression may occur in response to frustration

Stereotypes

Conclusions or inferences we make about people who are different from us based on their group membership, such as race, religion, age, or gender

In-Group

The group to which we belong

Out-Group

People outside the group to which we belong

Scapegoat

A target of negative emotions, beliefs, and behaviors; typically, a member of the out-group who receives blame for an upsetting social situation

Social Identity

How we view ourselves within our social group

Ethnocentrism

Seeing the world only from the perspective of ones own group

Discrimination

Showing favoritism or hostility to others because of their affiliation with a group

Prejudice

Holding hostile or negative attitudes towards an individual or group

Implicit Bias

A type of unconscious bias that reveals itself through our behavior towards members of particular social groups

Stereotype Threat

A “situational threat” in which individuals are aware of others’ negative expectations, which leads to a fear of being judged or treated as inferior

Haney and Zimbardo

Conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment where 24 male students were selected to be prisoners or guards and live through those social roles for 2 weeks

Social Roles

The positions we hold in social groups, and the responsibilities and expectations associated with those roles

Altruism

Helping others with no expectation of something in return

Interpersonal Attraction

The factors that lead us to form friendships or romantic relationships with others

Proximity

Nearness; plays an important role in the formation of relationships

Mere-Exposure Effect

The more we are exposed to someone or something, the more positive our reaction to it becomes

Romantic Love

Love that is a combination of connection, concern, care, and intimacy

Companionate Love

Love that consists of profound fondness, camaraderie, understanding, and emotional closeness

Consummate Love

Love that combines intimacy, commitment, and passion