PSYCH EXAM 3

What is social influence?

A change in thoughts, feelings, attitudes, or behaviors that results from interacting with others.

What is compliance?

Responding favorably to an explicit request.

What is conformity?

Changing your attitude or behavior to match a perceived social norm.

What is obedience?

Following an order from someone in a position of authority.

What is informational social influence?

Going along with a group because you believe others know something you don't; wanting to be right.

What is normative social influence?

Going along with a group because you care what others think of you; wanting to be liked.

What are descriptive norms?

The perception of what most people do in a given situation.

What did Sherif's autokinetic study demonstrate?

Groups developed a shared estimate of how much a stationary light appeared to move, and the group norm remained even when participants were alone.

What did Asch's line study demonstrate?

People may conform to an incorrect group answer even when they know the answer is wrong.

What percentage of participants in Asch's study conformed to the wrong answer at least once?

Approximately 75%.

What increases conformity in Asch's study?

Public answers and a unanimous group.

What decreases conformity in Asch's study?

Having even one ally who disagrees with the group.

What did Milgram's obedience study demonstrate?

People may obey an authority figure even when they believe they are hurting another person.

What percentage of participants in Milgram's study went all the way to 450 volts?

65%.

What decreases obedience in Milgram's study?

The victim being close by, others refusing to participate, or the authority figure lacking status.

What is the difference between informational and normative influence?

Informational influence is wanting to be right, while normative influence is wanting to be liked.

What is persuasion?

The process by which a message induces change in beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors.

What is the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)?

A model explaining how the amount of thought given to a message determines which route persuades us.

What is the central route to persuasion?

Using direct, relevant, logical arguments that lead to long-lasting attitude change.

What is the peripheral route to persuasion?

Using superficial cues, such as celebrities, attractiveness, and music, that have little to do with logic.

What is the difference between central and peripheral persuasion?

Central persuasion uses logic and careful thinking, while peripheral persuasion relies on superficial cues.

What is the Yale attitude change approach?

The idea that persuasion depends on the source, message, and audience.

What are the three components of the Yale attitude change approach?

Source, message, and audience.

What is reciprocity?

Feeling obligated to return a favor.

What is social proof?

Believing something is right because everyone else is doing it.

What is commitment and consistency (Foot in the Door)?

Making a small request first, followed by a larger request.

What is the Door in the Face technique?

Making a large request that gets rejected, followed by a smaller request.

What is the That's Not All technique?

Adding a bonus or lowering the price before someone makes a decision.

What is the sunk cost trap?

Continuing to invest in something because you have already invested time, money, or effort into it.

What is scarcity?

Wanting something more because it is limited or restricted.

What is reactance?

Wanting something more when your freedom to have it is restricted.

What is the difference between Foot in the Door and Door in the Face?

Foot in the Door starts with a small request and moves to a bigger one; Door in the Face starts with a large request and moves to a smaller one.

How can people defend themselves against persuasion?

Through knowledge, awareness, inoculation, and stinging.

What is inoculation?

Exposure to weak versions of persuasive messages to build resistance.

What is stinging?

Showing people how they have already been fooled by persuasion.

What is social categorization?

The natural process of sorting people into social groups.

What is outgroup homogeneity?

Seeing members of other groups as more alike than members of your own group.

What is a stereotype?

A belief about a person based only on their group membership.

What is prejudice?

Bias against people based on their group membership.

What is discrimination?

Biased behavior toward a person or group.

What is the difference between stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination?

Stereotypes are thoughts, prejudice is feelings, and discrimination is behavior or actions.

What did the Robbers Cave study demonstrate?

Competition between two groups created hostility, while working toward shared goals reduced hostility.

What is stereotype threat?

The fear of confirming a negative stereotype about your group, which can hurt performance.

What is social dominance orientation (SDO)?

The belief that group hierarchies are natural and good.

What is right-wing authoritarianism (RWA)?

Valuing obedience to authority and group unity over individual rights.

What is the Implicit Association Test (IAT)?

A computerized sorting test that measures automatic preferences people may not be aware of.

What is the stereotype content model?

A model explaining how people judge groups based on perceived warmth and competence.

What are the two characteristics used in the stereotype content model?

Warmth and competence.

What does warmth measure?

How friendly, trustworthy, or well-intentioned a group is perceived to be.

What does competence measure?

How capable, skilled, or intelligent a group is perceived to be.

What is aggression?

Any behavior intended to harm another person who does not want to be harmed.

What is violence?

Aggression that has extreme physical harm, such as injury or death, as its goal.

What is the difference between aggression and violence?

All violence is aggression, but not all aggression is violence.

What two requirements must be present for behavior to count as aggression?

It must be intentional behavior meant to harm someone, and the person must not want to be harmed.

What are the three forms of aggression?

Physical, verbal, and relational.

What is physical aggression?

Aggression involving intentional physical harm.

What is verbal aggression?

Aggression involving harmful words, insults, or threats.

What is relational aggression?

Intentionally harming someone's relationships or sense of belonging in a group.

What is the availability heuristic?

Overestimating how common violence is because examples come to mind easily.

At what age do people tend to be the most aggressive?

Toddlers.

What is prosocial behavior?

Actions that benefit another person.

What is altruism?

Helping without expecting a reward, even when it costs the helper something.

What is the bystander effect?

People are less likely to help when others are present.

What is diffusion of responsibility?

Assuming someone else will help, making you feel less personally responsible.

What is pluralistic ignorance?

Looking to others in an unclear situation and wrongly concluding that no help is needed.

What is the difference between diffusion of responsibility and pluralistic ignorance?

Diffusion of responsibility means assuming someone else will help; pluralistic ignorance means assuming help isn't needed because nobody else seems concerned.

What is cost-benefit analysis?

Weighing the costs of helping against the rewards of helping.

When is helping most likely to occur according to cost-benefit analysis?

When the costs are low and the rewards are high.

Are men or women more helpful overall?

they are about equally helpful.

Why might someone be less likely to help in a crowded area?

Because of the bystander effect and diffusion of responsibility; they may assume someone else will help.

What is cooperation?

Coordinating multiple partners toward a common goal that benefits everyone involved.

What is rational self-interest?

Making logical decisions that maximize your own gains.

What is egoism?

Being motivated by your own self-interest.

What is the difference between cooperation and altruism?

Cooperation benefits everyone involved, while altruism benefits someone else at a cost to you.

What is the difference between egoism and altruism?

Egoism is motivated by your own self-interest, while altruism involves helping without expecting a reward, even at a personal cost.

According to the diffusion of responsibility phenomenon, why would someone be less likely to offer help when in a crowd than if they were alone with a person in need?

they feel less personal responsibility in a crowd

______ occurs when people incorrectly decide that help is not necessary based on others’ reactions to the situation.

Pluralistic ignorance

______ refers to helping others who have helped us in the past.

Reciprocal altruism

Amy loves all animals so when she sees an injured squirrel she moves it to safety even though she is worried that the squirrel may bite her. What theory of prosocial behavior explains Amy’s behavior?

cost-benefit analysis

What is one of the key beliefs of people who are high in the characteristic of helpfulness?

they feel helping is something they're good at

Why are people with cooperative SVOs more likely to use public transportation?

because they want to preserve a common-pool resource - clean air

Why are verbal commitments so effective in increasing cooperation?

they increase trust between partners

People who have a/an ______ social value orientation seek to undermine others to get ahead.

competitive

______biases are those that are unintended, immediate, and irresistible.

automatic

According to the Stereotype Content Model, there are ______different types of stereotypes, each differing on the dimensions of warmth and competence.

4

______is a term for an emotional bias that involves an evaluation of people based merely on their membership in a given group.

prejudice

______biases, which are those that are automatic, ambivalent, and ambiguous, can have very real consequences for their targets.

subtle

______theory develops social identity theory’s point that people place themselves, along with others, into groups. They then tend to favor their own group.

self-categorization

According to research, at what age are people most aggressive?

during very young childhood

Daniel gets really mad at Ed and thinks to himself, “I hate him so much and wish I could punch him in the face.” Is this an example of aggression?

No, it is not aggression because aggression must involve a harmful action.

What would someone with the hostile attribution bias think if someone stepped on his foot?

“That person was trying to hurt me!”

Actions that involve ______ would be considered both aggressive and violent.

the intent to cause extreme physical harm

When people are ______, gender differences in aggression shrink

strongly provoked

What have partial and modified replications of Milgram’s obedience study, such as those conducted by Burger in 2009, found?

People today responded much like they did a half century ago

From an evolutionary perspective, which of the following may contribute to a person’s tendency to conform to the behaviors and attitudes of others?

a natural tendency to mimic other’s actions that increases connections between people

What was the motivation behind Stanley Milgram’s famous obedience experiment?

He wanted to know why German citizens went along with the brutality of Nazi leaders during the Holocaust.

In the basic version of Stanley Milgram’s research examining obedience, what percentage of participants administered the maximum voltage of shock, going right to the very end of the session.

65

When the participants who took part in Stanley Milgram’s “shock box” obedience study were surveyed after the study was completed, what was discovered?

The vast majority of them were pleased that they had been part of the experiment.

Which of the following represents the correct features in the triad of trust?

authority, likeability, honesty

In what have been the most famous studies on the impact of authority, two-thirds of a sample of psychologically-normal men were willing to follow the instructions of an authoritative experimenter who directed them to ______

administer potentially-lethal electrical shocks to other human beings.