Social Psych #2

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Zimbardo’s Prison Study

Psych experiement where participants were placed as prisoners and prison guards

Saying becomes believing when

When there is no compelling external explanation for one’s words (F150 groups - one neg and one pos then asking if they would buy again)

Self-Presentation - Impression Management

people adopt attitude reports to be consistent with their actions (match our attitudes that match our actions) (vegan eating meat for the first time- stop being vegan later on)

Evil and moral acts

Escalates from gradually escalating like killing bugs

Self-Justification- Cognitive Dissonance

Tension that arises when one is simultaneously aware of two inconsistent cognitions/thoughts/behaviors (reduce our thinking to reduce thinking and makes it EASIER)

Selective Exposure

we prefer news that affirms us over news that informs us

Insufficient Justification

Reduction of dissonance by internally justifying one’s behavior when external justification is insufficient. (strongest when people feel choice)

Self-Perception Theory

When we are unsure of our attitudes, we infer them by looking at our behavior and the circumstances under which it occurs (facial (body) feedback effect)

Over justification and Intrinsic Motivations

The result of bribing people to do what they already like doing (getting paid to read—> not reading after not being paid)

self presentation ex

I look like a cool smoker

Self justification ex

I know smoking is bad but I’m still healthy or I’ll stop tomorrow

Self-perception

I’m smoking again maybe I like smoking

Natural Selection

Process by which heritable traits that best enable organisms to survive and reproduce in particular

Evolutionary Psychology

Study of the evolution of cognition and behavior using principles of natural selection

Culture

Enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes and traditions shared by large groups of people and transmitted from one generation to the next (tipping culture, July 4th)

Norms

standards for accepted and expected behaviors

Universal Trait Dimensions (BIG FIVE)

stable, outgoing, open, agreeable, and conscientious

Universal Status Norms

Talk and behave differently depending on their status hierarchies (low or high) (women more commonly interrupted)

Gender Roles

Set of behavior expectations (norm) for males and females

Gender

Characteristics, whether bio or social influenced by which people define male and female

Sex

based on biology (XX, XY chromosome)

Women: connectedness and independence

play less aggressively and smaller group, experience more relationship linked emotions, befriend under stress, share more of social media

Men: Independence vs. Connectedness

play larger group and more aggressive, “fight or flight” response to stress, do something together like play videos

Women: vocation

interested in people, gravitate to jobs that reduce inequalities, value good hours (if want child and marriage), personal relations, opportunity to help others

Men: vocation

interested in THINGS, gravitate towards jobs that enhance inequalities, values earnings, promotion, challenges and power

Women; Fam Relation

strong connection to family, main caregiver of child and ageing family

Men: Fam Relation

distance self from family, value independence in family

Men are less likely to smile compared to women

true

Women have more empathy than men

true

Precarious manhood

you must earn and defend it

Aggression

physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone

Examples of indirect aggression

gossip

Men: Sexuality

more desire for sec, think more about sex, masturbate, want more

WOmen: Sexuality

more inspired by emotional passion

Parental Investment Theory

men seek out quantity (9 sec invested- phys characteristics, competing with other men on spreading genes (prefer youth)), women seek quality (9 months- childbearing, protect and nurture, value ability to provide resource and commitment)

Men essential traits for mating

physical dominance (broad shoulders, etc), external resources (achievement socially and financially)

Women essential traits for mating

beauty and youth, ovulation effect (gaydar), motherly disposition

Conformity

change in behavior or belief in result of real or imagined group pressure

Compliance (outward conformity)

acting publicly in accord with an implied or explicit request while privately disagreeing (not getting on phone during class)

Obedience (type of conformity)

acting in according with a direct order or command (clear consequence)

Acceptance (inward conformity)

acting and believing in accord with social pressure (wearing seatbelts)

Autokinetic Phenomenon (Sherif Studies or Norm Formation)

Asking groups to determine how much light has moved, people talk to each other see others’ opinions, after their answers began to match what others said

Suggestibility (social contagion)

contagious yawning, mimicry (chameleon effect), suicide and gun violence

Asche’s Group Pressure Study

Six participants gave an incorrect answer to see if participants would agree even though they knew the answer was wrong (compliance)

Milgram’s Obedience Experiment

Tested what happens when authority gives demands of conscience (inspired by Nazi’s)

What happened in Milgrams Obedience Experiments

Authority figure insists participant to shock learner and takes it up a level each time (65% continued beyond expectations)

Breeding Obedience- Victim Distance or Depersonalized

Obedience when they cannot see the victim

Breeding Obedience- Closeness and legitimacy of authority

authoirty physically present and perceived as legit

Breeding Obedience: Institutional authority

People obey orders from group with high social power and representation (ex Harvard, Yale, etc)

Breeding Obedience- liberating effect of group influence

Others do it so I’ll do it too (firefighters rushing into the world trade center on 9/11)

Diffusion of Responsibility

“I was only following orders”

My Lai

Mass murder of unarmed civilians during Vietnam War

Foot in the Door

small act of evil to foster attitude that leads to larger evil act (always starts small) (“slippery slope”)

Cognitive Dissonance

blame the victim process “they deserve it I didn’t do anything wrong”

Power of Social Norm

hard to predict what we will do under social pressure

Predictions of Conformity

group size, cohesion, unanimity, status, public response, prior commitment

Normative Influence

based on persons desire to fulfill others expectations, often to gain acceptance (desire to be liked)

Informational Influence

occurring when people accept evidence about reality provided by other people (desire to be correct)

Collectivistic cultures are more likly to conform than individualistic

true

People with high agreeableness and high conscientiousness are more likely to

conform

Persuasion

Process by which a message induces change in beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors (politics, parenting, dating)

Central Route

occurs when INTERESTED people focus on compelling arguments and respond with favorable thoughts (data)

Peripheral Route

Occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues that trigger automatic acceptance without much thinking (product placement in TV, attractiveness of speaker)

More durable and more likely to influence long term is which route

central

Which route is superficial and temporary change attitudes (easy and emotion based)

peripheral

Elements of Persuasion

Communicator, Message content, Channel of Communication, and Audience

What makes a communicator more effective

credibility, speaking style, attractiveness

Reason vs. Emotion

Showing statistics of those starving vs. showing pictures of people dying of hunger

Effect of Good Feeling

associating good feeling with message (peripheral cues)

One sided vs Two Sided Appeals

giving only pros vs. giving both pros and cons

Primacy effect

Other things being equal, info presented first has most influence (customer reviews, ad order)

Recency effect

information presented last sometimes has most influence due to forgetting

Repetition and rhyming statements increase what

fluency and believability

life cycle explanation

attitudes change as people grow older

generational explanation

attitudes do not change; older people largely hold onto the attitudes they adopted when young