Social Psychology Exam 2

Attribution

the process by which we seek to identify the causes of behavior

covariation model, Kelly

humans are scientists who distribute causality between the person and environment

consensus

what most people would do in a given situation

distinctiveness

what an individual does in different situations

consistency

what an individual does in a given situation on different occasions

situational (external) attribution

consistency, consensus, and distinctiveness are all high

dispositional (internal) attribution

consistency is high but consensus and distinctiveness are low

correspondent inference theory

attributions based on a single factor

situational constraints

behavior= dispositions + situational factors

counter-normative behavior

correspondence between behavior and ones internal dispositions

discounting

the more plausible reasons there are for someone’s actions, the more we discount any one reason

augmenting

if some factor seems to make the behavior particularly unlikely to occur, then we strengthen our belief about the behavior

Castro study

choosing to write vs. forced

ps read an essay: pro-castro or anti-castro

measures dispositional attitude

fundamental attribution error (FAE)

the tendency to attribute people’s behavior to elements of their character or personality, even when powerful situational forces are acting to produce that behavior

Jeopordy study

overlooking situational constraints

ps were both questioners and contestants.

rated the intelligence of each catrgory

questioners think they are average

observers think questioners smart

contestants think ?’s smart

elaboration likelihood mode (ELM)

a model of persuasi9on maintaining that there are 2 different routes for persuasion; the central route and the peripheral route

central route

when people think carefully and deliberately about the content of a persuasive message-- attending to its logic, the strength of the arguments as well as related evidence and principles

peripheral route

when people attend to peripheral aspects of a message- relatively superficial, easy-to-process features of a communication-- length, expertise, and attractiveness of the source.

source characteristics

characteristics of a person who delivers a persuasive message- attractiveness, credibility, and certainty

sleeper effect

occurs when a persuasive message from an unreliable source initially exerts little influence and the explicitness of its conclusions

message characteristics

aspects, or content, of a persuasive message including the quality of the evidence and the explicitness of its conclusion

identifiable victim effect

the tendency to be more moved by the vivid plight of a single individual than by a more abstract number of people

audience characteristics

characteristics of those who receive a persuasive message, including need for cognition, mood, and age

metacognition

secondary thoughts that are reflections on primary thoughts (cognitions)

self-validation hypothesis

the idea that feeling confident about our thoughts validates those thoughts making it more likely that we’ll be swayed in their direction

agenda control

efforts of the media to select certain events and topics to emphasize, thereby shaping which issues and events people think are important

thought polarization hypothesis

more extended thought about a particular issue tends to produce a more extreme, entrenched attitude

attitude innollication

small attacks on peoples beliefs that engage their preexisting attitudes, prior commitments, and background enabling them to counteract a subsequent larger attack and then resist persuasion

attitude

an evaluation of an object in a positive or negative fashion that includes 3 components; affect, cognition, and behavior

response latency

the amount of time it takes to respond to a stimulus such as an attitude question

implicit attitude measures

an indirect measure of attitudes that doesn’t involve a self-report

cognitive dissonance theory (CDT)

inconsistency between a persons thoughts, sentiments, and actions creates an aversive emotional state that leads to efforts to restore consistency

3 options for dissonance reduction

change attitude

change behavior

justify/minimize conflict

basic assumptions of CDT

humans dislike cognitive inconsistency

inconsistent cognitions cause unpleasant arousal

we are motivated to reduce dissonance

reduce

change one or the other cognition

when cognitions are discrepant with behavior, change behavior

when cognitions are discrepant with behavior, change cognitions

3 faces of dissonance

insufficient justification for attitude- discrepant behavior (boring turn peg study)

consequences of making decisions: post decisions regret (rank 8 household items)

effort justification (initiation rites, more effort= more like)

effort justification

the tendency to reduce dissonance by justifying the time, effort, or money devoted to something that turned out unpleasant or disappointing

induced (forced) compliance

subtly compelling people to behave in a manner that is inconsistent with their beliefs, attitudes, or values in order to elicit dissonance and therefore a change in their original attitudes and values

Self-perception theory

people come to know their own attitudes by looking at their behavior and the context in which it occurred and inferring what their attitudes must be

system justification theory

people are motivated to see the existing sociopolitical systems as desirable, fair, and legitimate

terror management theory (TMT)

people deal with the potentially crippling anxiety associated with the knowledge of the inevitability of death by striving for symbolic immortality through preserving cultural worldviews and believing they have lived up to the cultural standards

Greenberg, Pyzczynski, and Solomon (1990)

social influence

the ways people affect one another, including changes in attitudes, beliefs, feelings, and behavior resulting from the comments, actions, or even the mere presence of others

balance theory

people want to be ??? in their relationships

conformity

responding favorably to an explicit request by another person

obedience

in an unequal power relationship, submitting to the demands of the person in authority

norm of reciprocity

a norm dictating that people should provide benefits to those who benefit them

ideomotor action

the phenomenon whereby merely thinking about a behavior makes performing it more likely

informational social influence

the influence of other people that results from taking their comments or actions as a source of information about what is correct, proper, or effective

normative social influence

the influence of other people that comes from the desire to avoid their disapproval and other social sanctions

internalization

privatizing acceptance of a proposition, orientation, or ideology

reciprocal concessions techniques

asking someone for a very large favor that will certainly be refused and then following that request with a smaller one

foot-in-the-door technique

making an initial small request with which nearly everyone complies followed by a larger request involving the real behavior of interest

negative state relief hypothesis

people engage in certain actions, such as agreeing to a request, to relieve their negative feelings and feel better about themselves

descriptive norms

the behavior exhibited by most people in a given context- descriptions of what is typically done

perspective norms aka injunctive norms

the way a person is supposed to behave in a given context

reactance theory

people assert their prerogatives in response to the unpleasant state of arousal they experience when they believe their freedoms are threatened

communal relationship

individuals feel a special responsibility for one another and give and receive according to the principle of need

often long term

exchange relationship

individuals feel little responsibility toward one another; giving and receiving are governed by concerns about equality and reciprocity

often short term

social exchange theory

how people feel about a relationship depends on their assessments of its costs and rewards

comparison level

expectations people have about what they think thy deserve of expect to get out of a relationship

comparison level for alternatives

expectations people have about what they can get out of available, alternative relationships

equity theory

people are motivated to pursue fairness in their relationships. a relationship is considered equitable when the benefits are proportionate to the effort both people put into it

attachment theory

early attachments with parents and other caregivers can shape relationships for a persons whole life

anxiety dimension of attachment

captures the degree to which a person is worried about rejection and abandonment by relationship partners

avoidance dimension of attachment

captures the degree to which a person is comfortable with intimacy and dependence on relationship partners

road trip study

La Piere (1934)

accompanied chinese people on a road trip

prejudice towards chinese

places said they wouldn’t serve chinese but they actually did

affective component

consists of emotional reactions toward, or feelings about, the attitude object

behavior component

consists of thoughts and beliefs about the attitude object

functional distance

the influence of an architectural layout to encourage or inhibit certain activities, including contact between two people

mere exposure effect

repeated exposure to a stimulus, such as an object or person, leads to greater liking of the stimulus

complementarity

the tendency for people to seek out others with characteristics that are different from, and compliment, their own

halo effect

attractive individuals possess a host of positive qualities beyond their physical appearance

reproductive fitness

the capacity to pass ones genes in to subsequent generations

investment model of commitment

a model of interpersonal relationships maintaining that three determinants make partners more committed to each other

relationship satisfaction, few alternative partners, and investments in a relationship

ego-defensive function

enable us to maintain cherished beliefs about ourselves and the world around us by protecting us from awareness of negative attributes from facts that contradict our cherished beliefs

war on terror study Landall et al 2004

survey- gave opinions about John Kerry and George W. Bush

Received a morality salience prompt or not

asked who won a debate

knowledge function

help organize the world

guide how we attend to, store, and retrieve information

may lead us to have biased attitudes

wilker (1969)

reviewed research on the attitude

r=.15

fishbeln and azjen (1975)

theory of planned behavior

behavioral intentions

persuasion

efforts to change others attitudes through messages

yale communication paradigm carl hov land

how do soldiers retain what they need to know

fear appeals

when fear is mild and paired with information, more likely to persuade

anti-smoking study

graphic film

pamphlet

graphic film and pamphlet (winner)

Asch (1951)

1 participant with a group of confederates

Asked to rate whether a line was the same or not as another line

the participant conformed even when the answer was obviously wrong

tight cultures

strong norms regarding how people should behave

don’t tolerate departure from norms

loose cultures

norms are not as strong

members tolerate more deviance