ap psych mod 9 - social psychology

primary focus of social psychologists

the situation at hand, and the social influences which explain why the same person acts differently in different situations

attribution theory

the theory that we can credit (attribute) the behaviour to the person’s stable, enduring traits (dispositional attribution), or we can attribute it to the situation (situational attribution)

fundamental attribution error

the overestimation of the influence of personality and the underestimation of the influence of situations

peripheral route persuasion

the employment of attention-getting cues to trigger emotion-based snap judgements (ethos/pathos)

central route persuasion

the offering of evidence and arguments which trigger careful thinking (logos)

foot-in-the-door phenomenon

the tendency for people who’ve first agreed to a small request to later comply with one of larger measure

stanford prison experiment

an experiment studying social roles by dr. philip zimbardo, finding that beliefs follow behaviours - a random assignment of people were given roles of prisoners or guards, given their respective materials/clothing for the role, and instructed to enforce/obey rules as if it were real - after 1-2 days, the conscious roleplaying became real as the guards developed disparaging attitudes or cruelty and the prisoners began rebelling, breaking down, or becoming passively resigned

festinger’s cognitive dissonance theory

the theory that to relieve the tension that occurs when we recognise or realise that our attitudes and actions aren’t aligned, we often bring our attitudes in line with our actions

affective component of attitude

the emotional response towards an object, person, or situation

behavioural component of attitude

the manner in which one acts towards an object, person, or situation

cognitive component of attitude

the way one thinks about an object, person, or situation

persuasion

the attempt of others to change our attitudes, beliefs, or opinions through explanation, pleading, or arguing

source or communicator

the individual or group who delivers the persuasive message - most influential when they have credibility, trustworthiness, power, expertise, and in many cases, attractiveness and similarity

audience or target

the person who is receiving the persuasive message - age and gender often play a role

message

the information transmitted by the source to the audience - should be clear and well-organised

channel

the medium through which the persuasive message is being sent

elaboration likelihood model

the description of two forms of persuasion - peripheral route (ethos/pathos) and central route (logos)

door-in-the-face phenomenon

a larger request being made first and usually refused, followed by smaller requests which then by comparison seem more reasonable until an agreement is made

just-world phenomenon

the tendency for people to want to believe that the world is “just” or fair so strongly that when they witness an otherwise inexplicable injustice, they will rationalise it by searching for things that the victim may’ve done to deserve what happened to them

halo effect

the effect that one’s first impression makes, impacting the people they’ve met’s understanding of their behaviour and intentions moving forward

social norms

rules for expected and acceptable behaviour in society

chameleon effect

the effect of social contagion in groups, such as yawning when a member of your group does, or looking in the same direction upon noticing their gaze

solomon asch’s experiment on conformity

an experiment in which college students first answered questions alone, being asked to tell which line was the same length as the original picture - however, later when answering, they were instead with a group of others, who purposefully answered incorrectly, and more than 1/3 of the time, the students would go along with the group’s answer regardless of the fact that they believed it to be wrong

optimal group number for maximum conformity

3-4

factors that influence the likelihood of conformity

when we are made to feel incompetent or insecure, we are in a group with at least 3 people, we are in a group in which everyone else agrees (if only one other disagrees, the likelihood of our disagreement greatly increases), we admire the group’s status and attractiveness, we’ve not made a prior commitment to any response, we know that others in the group will observe our behaviour, and we are from a culture that strongly encourages respect for social standards

normative social influence

influence resulting from one’s desire to gain social approval or to avoid disapproval

informational social influence

influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept other’s opinions about reality and the world

stanley milgram’s experiment on obedience and social influence and the effect of punishment on learning

an experiment where a participant administers shocks of gradually increasing intensity when the “student” gets an answer wrong, and after a point, the learner expresses that the shocks are painful - even if the participants want to stop, however, the experimenters insist that they must continue - when the experiment was conducted with men age 20-50, over 60% complied fully and when new tests were ran with a learner who complained of a “slight heart condition”, similar results were found, 65% of the teachers obeying and women in later studies obeying in similar rates to men

what conditions create the highest levels of obedience?

when the person giving the orders is close at hand and perceived to be a legitimate authority figure, when the authority figure is supported by a powerful or prestigious institution, when the victim is depersonalised or at a distance, and when there are no role models for defiance

groupthink

the occurrence in which the desire for harmony in a group overrides a realistic appraisal and approach of alternatives

compliance

the change in one’s behaviours due to a direct request

obedience

the changing of one’s behaviour due to command of an authority figure, which occurs when the person requesting the change is perceived to have authority that would necessitate action

social loafing

the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts towards attaining a common goal, rather than when individually accountable

deindividuation

the process of losing self-awareness and self-restraint in group situations which foster both arousal and anonymity

group polarization

the process of enhancing a group’s prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group

social facilitation

the tendency for individuals to have a stronger performance in the presence of others

social inhibition

the tendency for individuals to fear disapproval of others and perform worse or avoid a situation altogether

diffusion of responsibility

the failure of an individual to act because of the presence of others to share in the responsibility to assist

bystander effect

the tendency for an individual to be less likely to assist if other people are present

negative emotions in prejudice

hostility or fear

stereotypes

generalised beliefs about a group of people, which are often overgeneralised or exaggerated

predisposition to discriminate

to act in negative and unjustifiable ways towards members of the group - sometimes blatantly and outright, sometimes microaggressions

ethnocentrism

a negative attitude - the assumption of the superiority of one’s ethnic group

discrimination

a negative behaviour resulting from prejudice

ingroup

the “us” of us vs. them - people with whom we share a common identity

outgroup

the “them” of us vs. them - those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup

ingroup bias

the tendency to favour our own group

scapegoat theory

the theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to put the blame on when something happens

other-race effect

the tendency to recall faces of one’s own race more accurately than faces of other races - also referred to as the cross-race effect or the own-race bias

victim blaming

the tendency for people to justify their prejudices by blaming the victims

impression formation

the formation of initial evaluations and judgements concerning another person

primacy effect

relying on first impressions and allowing them to persist over time, even if contradictory information about that person is later revealed

stereotypes

broad overgeneralisations and widely held beliefs about the way a group of people act and think

outgroup homogeneity bias

the belief that members of other groups are more similar to each other than members of one’s own group

realistic conflict theory

the theory which explains how prejudice and discrimination increase when resources are limited

aggression

any physical or verbal behaviour intended to harm someone, whether done out of hostility or as a calculated means to an end

genetic component of aggression

the Y chromosome is considered a genetic marker in those who commit violent acts, as is the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene, which helps break down neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin - people with low MAOA gene expression tend to behave aggressively when provoked

neural influences on aggression

stimulation of the amygdala has been found to trigger aggressive response, as has diminished activity in the frontal lobe

biochemical component of aggression

high testosterone levels are correlated with higher aggression levels, and alcohol also unleashes aggressive responses to frustration

frustration-aggression principle

the principle that frustration, the blocking of an attempt to achieve a goal, creates anger, which can generate aggression

environmental triggers which can lead to an increase of aggressive behaviour

hot weather/climate conditions which endure

principles related to the behavioural perspective and their influence on aggressive behaviour

in situations where it is learned that aggression will get us what we want, aggressive behaviour is likely to occur again

correlation between media violence and aggressive behaviour

media violence tends to make us less sensitive to cruelty and violence in real life, and primes us to respond aggressively when provoked, teaching us social scripts and mental files for how to act in certain situations

altruism

an unselfish concern for the welfare of others

what event inspired the research of darley and latane?

the murder of kitty genovese, noticed by many but reported by none until it was too late

the decision-making process for helping in crisis identified by darley and latane

we will only help if the situation enables us to first notice the incident, interpret it as emergency, and to assume responsibility for helping - the presence of others in each step can turn us away from the path of helping

when are people most likely to help others in need?

when the person appears to need and deserve help, they are in some way similar to us, they are a woman, we’ve just observed someone else being helpful, we aren’t in a hurry, we’re in a small town or rural area, we’re feeling guilty, we’re focused on others and not preoccupied, and/or we’re in a good mood

social exchange theory

the theory that our social behaviour is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimise costs

reciprocity norm

the expectation that we should return help, not harm, to those who’ve helped us

social-responsibility norm

the expectation that people will help those needing their help

social traps

situations in which the conflicting parties, by each pursuing their self-interest over the good of the group, become caught in mutually destructive behaviour

self-fulfilling prophecy

a belief which confirms itself by influencing other factors in a manner which leads to its own fulfillment

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

superordinate goals

shared goals which can only be achieved through cooperation

proximity component of attraction

linked to the mere exposure effect

mere exposure effect

repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases one’s liking for another

physical attractiveness component of attraction

it often predicts how often people date, how popular they feel, and initial impressions of their personalities - more attractive people aren’t assumed to be more compassionate, but to be healthier, happier, more sensitive, more successful, and more socially skilled

similarity component of attraction

compared with randomly paired people, friends and couples are far more likely to share common beliefs, attitudes, interests, age, religion, race, education, intelligence, smoking/drug behaviours, and economic status - the more alike people are, the more their connection endures

passionate love

an aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present in the beginning stages of a romantic relationship - colloquially known as a “honeymoon phase”

reciprocity of liking

the idea that by showing someone that you like them, they in turn feel good about themselves, returning the encouraging response

sternberg’s triangular theory of love

the theory which states love has three components - intimacy, passion, and commitment