PSYC 241 MIDTERM 2

Attribution theory

how people explain the behaviour of other people.

dispositional attribution

attributing behaviour to someones personality. like “they cut me off because they are a rude person/

situational attribution

attributing behaviour to someone's environment or context. “There's a time crunch, and they're running behind.”

misattribution

mistakenly attributing a behaviour to the wrong cause. misreading someone’s situation.

spontaneous trait inference

an unconscious inference of a trait someone possesses after seeing their behaviour. like someone holding the door open and thinking “that person's kind” you don't know anything about that person beyond that one behaviour.

fundamental attribution error

underestimating situational influences and overestimating dispositional influences on someone’s behaviour. because in reality, both internal and external factors contribute.

two ways we underestimate the fundamental attribution error

when we are influencing someone else’s behaviour

How are we much better at recognizing outside impact with ourselves, vs on others

perspective and situational awareness

When we act, the environment commands our attention, and when we watch another person act, the person becomes the center of our attention and the environment becomes less visible, which is why we make attribution errors.

cultural differences

Western cultures tend to place greater emphasis on internal causes, whereas Eastern cultures tend to place relatively greater emphasis on situational or contextual causes, which is why we make attribution errors.

why we study attribution errors

We must recognize that they’re quick judgments that can be helpful, but aren’t always correct

The awareness may allow us to rationally evaluate situations, especially in understanding environmental causes when observing others.

self-fulfilling prophecies

beliefs that lead to someone's own fulfillment. and we change the way we behave because of what we believe.

behavioural confirmation

type of self fulfilling prophecy where peoples social expectations lead them to act in way that make others confirm their expectations.

measuring explicit attitudes

Self-reports: questionnaires, surveys, interviews.

measuring implicit attitudes

inference-based tests: reaction times in associating words with stimuli.

two step flow of communication

The process by which influence often occurs through opinion leaders who, in turn, influence others.

opnion leaders

people who have a significant amount of influence within their netwrok and who can affecy the opinions of connected individuals.

attitude

a favourable or unfavourable evaluative reaction toward something or someone

ABC’s of attitude

affect, behaviour tendency, and cognitions

norms

rules for accepted and expected behavioru that guide proper behvaioir

roles

set of norms that define how people in a given social situatoin ought to behave

Which of the following is true of attitudes and immoral and moral acts?

Humans tend to dehumanize or assign negative traits to those that they hurt or treat poorly.

Which of the following attitudes would be the most predictive of behaviour

Studying for my midterm right after dinner tonight will help me prepare

Which of the following is true of attitudes and their potency

Bringing attitudes from unconscious to conscious tends to make them more available in our minds and more potent

cognitive dissonance

tension that arises when we are simultaneously aware of two inconsistent cognitions

self-presentation theory

wanting to present a desired or favorable impression to an external or internal audience

self-perception theory

when unsure about our attitudes, we infer them by looking at our behaviour and the circumstances under which it occurs

Persuasion

the process by which a message induces changes in beliefs, attitudes, or behaviours

the process of persuasion

Pay attention, comprehend, believe, remember, and behave accordingly.

central route to persuasion

centered on arguments, logic, and rational reasoning

peripheral route to persuasion

Centred on cues, surface features, and quick thinking

communicator

Who is communicating the message, We often consider credibility, attractiveness, and liking

Credibility

Perceiving the communicator as both expert and trustworthy.

primacy effect

states that other things being equal, information presented first usually has the most influence.

recency effect

States that information presented last, sometimes has the most influence.

channel of communication

The way that a message is delivered (e.g., face-to-face, in writing, on film, auditory, virtually, or in some other way).

two-step flow of communication

The process by which influence often occurs through opinion leaders who, in turn, influence others

Need for cognition

The motivation to think and analyze. This refers to individuals who engage in critical analysis versus those who prefer not to do so.

Cults

Groups typically characterized by devotion to a god or a person; isolation from the surrounding “evilˮ culture, and A charismatic leader

Certainty

the level of subjective confidence or validity that people attach to their attitudes

Selective exposure

the extent to which peopleʼs attitudes bias the attitude-relevant information they expose themselves to.

Selective attention

The extent to which peopleʼs attitudes bias the attitude-relevant information they attend to once exposed.

Selective memory

the extent to which peopleʼs attitudes bias recall and recognition of attitude-relevant information

REACTANCE

When we know that someone is trying to persuade us, it may prompt us to react in the opposite direction.

attitude inoculation

exposing people to weak attacks on their attitudes so that when stronger attacks come, they will have refutations available.

foot-in-the-door technique

making a small request before making a bigger one.

door-in-the-face technique

making an unreasonably large request before making the

small request weʼre hoping to have granted.

but-you-are-free technique

we convince someone to perform a favour for us by telling them that they are free not to do it

Conformity

a change in behaviour or belief to accord with others

Compliance

conformity that involves publicly acting in

accord with social pressures while privately disagreeing.

Acceptance

Conformity that involves both acting and believing in accord with social pressure.

Mood linkage

The phenomenon where being around people in a certain mood tends to lead us to conform to that mood (e.g., being around happy people can help us feel happier)

Obedience

It is compliance to an explicit command.

Four key factors influence the level of obedience:

The victim’s distance. Closeness and legitimacy of the authority. Institutional authority. The liberating effects of the group

The victim’s distance

When an individual can see, hear, or must physically interact with the victim, obedience to authority tends to decrease.

Closeness and legitimacy of the authority

Compliance with orders increases as the person giving the orders becomes physically closer

institutional authority

Obedience is stronger when the institution endorsing the order is perceived as more legitimate.

the liberating effects of the group

We feel more comfortable and able to resist authority when others in the group also do so.

cohesion

the extent to which members of a group are bonded together.

informational influence

conformity that results from accepting evidence about reality provided by others

normative influence

conformity based on a person’s desire to fulfill others expectations often to gain acceptance

personality conformity

The tendency to conform as a personality trait is generally stable across situations. However, the social context seems to outweigh personality in influencing conformity

cultural conformity

In cultures where conformity is more expected, conformity tends to be higher. Broadly, conformity is a universal phenomenon but does vary across cultures in intensity

context conformity

We often show conformity to the majority group in the particular context. Code-switching involves changing aspects of one’s speech, appearance, behaviour, or expression across social or cultural contexts

gender conformity

There do not appear to be significant gender differences in

how people conform

social roles conformity

Conformity may be more likely for behaviours that feel required as part of a social role

Reactance

a motive to protect or restore our sense of freedom

Groups

two or more people who interact with and influence one another and perceive each other as “us”

co-actors

a group of people working simultaneously and individually on a non competitive task

social facilitation

the strengthening of dominant responses due to the presence of others.

evaluation apprehension

The concern for how others are evaluating us.

social loafing

The tendency for people to exert less effort when they pool their efforts toward a common goal than when they are individually accountable

free riding

benefiting form the group while giving little, if anything, in return

deindividuation

When people lose self-awareness, sense of individual responsibility, and abandon normal behaviours in group situations that foster anonymity and draw attention away from someone

circumstances that lead to deindividuation

group size, physical anonymity, and asouring and distracting activities

group polarization

group produced enhancement of members pre existing tendencies.

when is social loafing less likely to occur

Each person’s performance can be evaluated individually, when the task is challenging, appealing, or involving, and When the group involves friends and/or people that one will see again.

groupthink

The tendency for groups, in the process of decision-making, to suppress dissenting cognitions in the interest of ensuring harmony within the group.

task leadership

organizing work, setting standards and focusing on goal attainment

social leadership

building, teamwork, mediating conflict, and being supportive

transactional leadership

Both tasks and social elements. Actively concerned with task progress and being sensitive to group needs. Gets to know, listens to and understands the group expectations with high standards

Transformational leadership

Involves motivating the group to identify with and commit to then shared mission. Includes high standards, offering personal attention, and the ability to build a collective vision.

how do individuals influence the group?

when one is consistent in their opinion, especially against the common opinion, this has a large effect on other group members

how can consistency on one odd opinion effect a group?

Other group members are more likely to reconsider their opinions and/or think in new ways.

If one individually, or a minority of the group, consistently disagrees, this becomes the focus of the debate

what can self confidence do in a group

A high degree of it may prompt the group to reconsider their position. This may be shown through behaviours or consistency in opinion.

what happens when dissenting opinions are more common

the group feels more free to express their own doubts or contrary opinions. When individuals defect from the majority, this opinion can be particularly salient