social psych midterm 1 review

types of research

-observational (no manipulation), experimental reserach (manipulation) survey/correlational (find relationships)

convenience sample

convenience sample is NOT representative

correlational research

to find: correlation is not causation (ie. ice cream sales and shark attacks), there is also usually unseen variables -- "third variables"

External validity vs internal validity

- internal: "did the thing the researcher manipulated actually caused what happened?"

- external: does the experiment apply to other contexts

Hindsight Bias

common sense that's evoked after we know the facts

"i knew it all along" phenomenon

ex: akpsi is a waste of time and did not really represent anyone well but we didn't know this during rush so proceeded with it, the knowledge we know now cannot be used to assess our decisions made during rush?

ex. it rains and you say "i knew it was going to rain" even though earlier you were unsure

CONFORMITY (social influence)

- change because of social pressures (usually IMPLICIT quiet and unspoken) TO MATCH A GROUP

ex. how people dress at penn

mimicry (conformity)

mindlessly imitating

informational (conformity)

- TO BE CORRECT (assuming others have OBSERVED INFO, so you just want to do what they're doing in ambiguous situations)

normative (conformity)

- TO BE ACCEPTED (wants to avoid disapproval, i.e. laughing bc other people are laughing)

internalization (conformity)

-a private acceptance of ideas

OBEDIENCE

- a special type of compliance when HIERARCHY is involved, responding to direct orders of HIGHER status

- clearly stated EXPLICIT expectations

ex. parents, MILITARY, your job if you have a boss

COMPLIANCE

- change favorable because of an EXPLICIT request, hierarchy is not a requirement and request can come from anyone

ex. your friend asks you to grab coffee for them (or with them---know there is some nuance with the degree of favorability)

door in the face (compliance)

- start with larger (typically say "no") and get smaller till "yes",

i.e. put huge sign on lawn (say no) --> then ask for quick signature (more likely say yes; 'guilt tripping')

foot in the door (compliance)

- start with smaller (typically say "yes") and get bigger requests

~reciprocal concessions technique (i.e. car sales negotiation)

1)small request ('do you have this in your house' -- changed how people saw themselves)

2)larger request ('can people come inside the house to survey')

--> people will be more likely to agree to second request if they agree to the first, even if a diff person asks for the second request

--> connects to the norm of reciprocity

i.e. small-sign petition --> then ask for donations (agreeing to smaller allows people more easier agree to larger)

pluralistic ignorance

everyone assumes everyone gets it (so no one speaks up) but in reality no one gets it

descriptive vs. prescriptive vs. injunctive norms

descriptive: what people actually do

prescriptive: what people ought to do

injunctive: what people approve/disapprove of

i.e picking up trash example

norm of reciprocity (compliance)

people should give benefits to those who benefit them back

negative state relief (compliance)

people agree to actions and requests in order to feel better about themselves

Groupthink

prioritizes unanimity over actual individual critical thinking

Self Censorship

-normative or informational, but conformity nonetheless

-withholding info/speech/emotions because you feel pressure

Group polarization

- group as a whole will lean one direction and then discussion (introduction of more extreme thoughts) skews group

i.e. mildly annoyed friends, and then they vent together and decide to bash the person (group talk leads to extremity)

Approach inhibition theory

- have power --> act (APPROACH) to reach goals

- lack power --> hold back (INHIBITION) to avoid punishments

altruism / altruistic motivation

increase others' welfare, help others without regard to consequence to oneself

egoism / egotistic motivation

increase one's own welfare, could be helping others or leaving others alone

distress

a motivation for people to help others, in order to reduce one's own distress

- ties into negative state relief model

diffusion of responsibility

assuming others will do something, so no one takes responsibility

- a specific instance of pluralistic ignorance when URGENT ACTION IS NEEDED: when someone needs to actively act to solve an issue but no one chooses to because assuming others will do something

i.e. kitty's murder case

Cialdini's Negative State Relief Model/Hypothesis

-We help others to feel better about ourselves and lower our distress

-Empathy encourages helping because it raises the cost for oneself if they choose not help, and you feel worse if you do not help

can empathy lead to immoral actions?

yes lol

Social facilitation

presence of others arouses us, and you put in more effort, and extremifies your dominant response --> (Zajanc's Theory of Mere Presence)

- if dom. response is easy/well-practiced, presence of others will make you better

- if dom. response is hard/not well practiced, presence of others will make you flop

i.e. piano

Social loafing

exert less effort when working in a group task in which individual contributions cannot be monitored

- anonymity of contribution, and lack of accountability

- not a reflection of laziness

Deindividuation VS Individuation

Deindividuation - identity fades into crowd, self-control and constraints drop (leading to abnormal behavior, in ways you wouldn't act if you were by yourself) -- 'lost sense of self altogether'

i.e. posting an anonymous comment, riots in a crowd when you're masked

VS

Individuation - identity is spotlighted and causes people to act more carefully

i.e. posting an online comment under your own name (you're probably going to be careful what you say)

Self Awareness theory

when people focus their attention on themselves and become concerned when their actions do not align with personal standards/value, OBJECTIVE OBSERVATION/AWARENESS OF SELF when your attitudes are weak/ambiguous (not strong enough to cause discomfort yet)

--> could be precursor for cognitive dissonance

Spotlight effect

people think that others are paying more attn. to their own behaviors than they actually are

--> "self-inflation"

cognitive dissonance

when your behavior does not align with your previously established values/attitude and YOU CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDES BECAUSE OF THE DISCOMFORT (people dislike feeling inconsistence)

**behaviors can strongly predict attititudes**

Milgram's Voltage Experiments - what does it show

Obedience, even when it conflicts with your morals

Sherif experiment (moving dot on the wall) - what does it show

Conformity (informational; quietly changing your own beliefs because you do not want to be wrong within the group) - the task answer was more ambiguous so there is more room for informational social influence

Asch experiment (comparing line lengths) - what does it show

Conformity - normative; the answer was very obvious so people conformed to not stand out from the group

Banality of Evil

Committing evil acts as a result of the pressures of obedience (i.e. milgram's electric experiment)

descriptive vs prescriptive norms

descriptive: describes what is actually done

prescriptive norms: state what ought to be done

should never be pitted against each other

positive moods & compliance

increases compliance

negative moods & compliance

increases compliance WHEN you feel guilt and/or negative state relief hypothesis

Batson's 3 motives for helping

social reward (egotistic) -- gain praise

personal distress (egotistic) -- reduce your own discomfort when witnessing others suffer (NEGATIVE STATE RELIEF)

empathetic concern (altruistic)

Intercom seizure study-- what does it show

more bystanders present = each person feels less responsibility (increased diffusion of responsibility)

rope pulling study--what does it show

lack of accountability and identifiability --> known predictors of social loafing

zimbardo's prison experiment

assigned some students to guards / prisoners; guards and prisoners respectively developed superiority/inferiority complex

---> SHOWS: obedience; approach/inhibition, deindividuation (prisoners lost human identity and molded into their roles, lost sense of 'self')

bay of pigs

groupthink and self censorship

confounding variable

a factor other than the factor being studied that might influence a study's results

(CORRELATION != CAUSATION BECAUSE A CONFOUNDING VARIABLE COULD BE IN PLAY)