Unit 9: Social Psychology (copy)

False consensus

________ effect: The tendency for people to overestimate the number of people who agree with them.

Harold Kelley

________: put forth a theory that explains the kind of attributions people make based on three kinds of information: consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus.

Norms of reciprocity

________: are at work when you feel compelled to send money to the charity that sent you free return address labels or when you cast your vote in the student election for the candidate that handed out those delicious chocolate chip cookies.

Stereotypes

________: may be either negative or positive and can be applied to virtually any group of people (e.g., racial, ethnic, geographic)

Distinctiveness

________: refers to how similar this situation is to other situations in which we have watched Charley.

Conformity

________: has been an area of much research as well.

Social loafing

________: is the phenomenon when individuals do not put in as much effort when acting as part of a group as they do when acting alone.

Consensus

________: asks us to consider how others in the same situation have responded.

Attribution theory

________: is another area of study within the field of social cognition.

New Yorkers

Stereotyping: can lead to prejudice when negative stereotypes (those rude ________) are applied uncritically to all members of a group (she is from ________, therefore she must be rude) and a negative attitude results.

Leon Festinger

________ and James Carlsmith: conducted the classic experiment about cognitive dissonance in the late 1950s.

Consistency

________: refers to how similarly the individual acts in the same situation over time.

attitude

A(n) ________ is a set of beliefs and feelings.

Persuasive messages

________ can be processed through the central route or the peripheral route.

Prejudice

________: is an undeserved, usually negative, attitude toward a group of people.

Ethnocentrism

________: the belief that ones culture (e.g., ethnic, racial) is superior to others, is a specific kind of prejudice.

Cognitive dissonance theory

________: is based on the idea that people are motivated to have consistent attitudes and behaviors.

mere exposure effect

The ________ states that the more one is exposed to something, the more one will come to like it.

Instrumental aggression

________: is when the aggressive act is intended to secure a particular end.

group bias

In- ________: is thought to stem from peoples belief that they themselves are good people.

prosocial behavior

Helping behavior is termed ________.

Attitudes

________ are evaluative, meaning that our feelings toward such things are necessarily positive or negative.

Attribution theory

________ tries to explain how people determine the cause of what they observe.

Conformity

________ is the tendency of people to go along with the views or actions of others.

Central route

to persuasion involves deeply processing the content of the message; what about this potato chip is so much better than all the others

Peripheral route

on the other hand, involves other aspects of the message including the characteristics of the person imparting the message (the communicator)

Cognitive dissonance theory

is based on the idea that people are motivated to have consistent attitudes and behaviors

Leon Festinger and James Carlsmith

conducted the classic experiment about cognitive dissonance in the late 1950s

Norms of reciprocity

are at work when you feel compelled to send money to the charity that sent you free return address labels or when you cast your vote in the student election for the candidate that handed out those delicious chocolate chip cookies

Attribution theory

is another area of study within the field of social cognition

Consistency

refers to how similarly the individual acts in the same situation over time

Distinctiveness

refers to how similar this situation is to other situations in which we have watched Charley

Consensus

asks us to consider how others in the same situation have responded

False-consensus effect

The tendency for people to overestimate the number of people who agree with them

Self-serving bias

is the tendency to take more credit for good outcomes than for bad ones

Stereotypes

may be either negative or positive and can be applied to virtually any group of people (e.g., racial, ethnic, geographic)

Prejudice

is an undeserved, usually negative, attitude toward a group of people

Stereotyping

can lead to prejudice when negative stereotypes (those rude New Yorkers) are applied uncritically to all members of a group (she is from New York, therefore she must be rude) and a negative attitude results

Ethnocentrism

the belief that ones culture (e.g., ethnic, racial) is superior to others, is a specific kind of prejudice

In-group bias

is thought to stem from peoples belief that they themselves are good people

The contact theory

states that contact between hostile groups will reduce animosity, but only if the groups are made to work toward a goal that benefits all and necessitates the participation of all

Muzafer Sherifs (1966)

camp study (also known as the Robbers Cave study) illustrates both how easily out-group bias can be created and how superordinate goals can be used to unite formerly antagonistic groups

Instrumental aggression

is when the aggressive act is intended to secure a particular end

Hostile aggression

has no such clear purpose

Sociobiologists

suggest that the expression of aggression is adaptive under certain circumstances

Conformity

has been an area of much research as well

Solomon Asch (1951)

conducted one of the most interesting conformity experiments

Social loafing

is the phenomenon when individuals do not put in as much effort when acting as part of a group as they do when acting alone

Group polarization

is the tendency of a group to make more extreme decisions than the group members would make individually

Groupthink

a term coined by Irving Janis, describes the tendency for some groups to make bad decisions