PSY130 – Social Psychology (Chapter 11)

48 Q&A flashcards covering definitions, theories, studies, and key principles from Chapter 11 on social psychology.

What does social psychology study?

How we feel, think, and behave toward other people and how those people influence us.

What is social cognition?

The mental processes used to understand and predict our own and others’ behavior.

How are attitudes defined in social psychology?

Relatively enduring evaluations of people or things.

What are social norms?

Accepted beliefs about what we do or should do in specific social situations.

What is stereotyping?

Attributing personality traits to someone based on appearance or group membership.

Define prejudice.

A tendency to dislike people because of their group memberships.

What is discrimination in social psychology?

Negative behaviors toward others based on prejudice.

What is a self-fulfilling prophecy?

Expectations about someone lead us to act in ways that make those expectations come true.

What is social identity?

Positive emotions derived from our group memberships.

Name three key factors in interpersonal attraction.

Similarity, self-disclosure, and proximity.

What is the mere exposure effect?

Preference for stimuli (including people) we encounter frequently.

What does the Inclusion-of-Other-in-the-Self scale measure?

Perceived closeness of a relationship; predicts satisfaction and longevity.

Define attribution.

The process of inferring the causes of people’s behavior.

Distinguish personal versus situational attributions.

Personal (dispositional) relate behavior to traits; situational relate behavior to external circumstances.

What is the fundamental attribution error?

Overestimating personal factors and underestimating situational factors when judging others.

What are self-serving attributions?

Attributing successes to ourselves and failures to external factors.

How can behavior affect attitudes?

Acting in certain ways can lead us to adjust attitudes to fit the behavior.

What is self-monitoring?

Regulating behavior to meet the demands of social situations.

Explain self-perception theory.

We infer our own thoughts and feelings by observing our behaviors.

Describe the foot-in-the-door technique.

Securing agreement to a small request increases likelihood of agreeing to a larger request later.

What is cognitive dissonance?

Discomfort from inconsistency between behavior and thoughts or beliefs.

Define the sunk cost fallacy.

Continuing a course of action because prior resources have been invested.

What is prosocial behavior?

Any behavior intended to benefit others.

List two factors that increase prosocial behavior.

Positive mood and similarity (others include guilt, empathy, benefits, self-preservation).

How is altruism different from general prosocial behavior?

Altruism benefits others without obvious direct reward to the helper.

Explain the reciprocity norm.

Expectation that helping others leads them to help us in the future (reciprocal altruism).

What is the social responsibility norm?

We should help those who need assistance even without expected payback.

Define diffusion of responsibility.

Assuming others will act, so we don’t, especially in groups.

Give one strategy to overcome the bystander effect.

Identify a specific person and assign a task (e.g., “You in the yellow jacket, call 911!”).

What is aggression in psychology?

Behavior intended to harm another person physically or psychologically.

Differentiate reactive and proactive aggression.

Reactive is in response to threat; proactive is planned and goal-directed.

Name two biological factors linked to aggression.

Alcohol use and elevated testosterone levels.

What is the catharsis hypothesis and why is it mistaken?

Belief that minor aggressive acts reduce later aggression; research shows it doesn’t work.

Define desensitization in the aggression context.

Reduced emotional response to violent stimuli after repeated exposure.

What is a culture of honor?

A norm encouraging aggressive responses to insults to protect reputation.

What is conformity?

Changing beliefs or behavior due to real or imagined group pressure.

List two variables that increase conformity.

Unanimity of majority and higher status/authority of others (also larger majority size).

Summarize Asch’s line-length study results.

76% conformed at least once; overall 37% of responses were conforming.

Define obedience.

Compliance with the demands of a perceived authority figure.

What percentage of Milgram’s participants delivered the maximum 450 V shock?

65%.

What is minority influence?

A small subgroup can sway the larger group’s opinions or behaviors.

Explain psychological reactance.

Emotional reaction that motivates resisting conformity when freedom feels threatened.

What is social facilitation?

Improved performance on easy or well-practiced tasks in the presence of others.

Describe social inhibition.

Impaired performance on difficult or unpracticed tasks when others are present.

Define social loafing.

Tendency to exert less effort when working in a group than when alone.

What is groupthink?

Desire for harmony leads group members to suppress dissent, resulting in poor decisions.

State one condition that makes groupthink more likely.

Presence of a strong, directive leader (others: strong group identity, urgent decision).

Explain the illusion of group productivity.

Overestimating how much work a group actually accomplishes.

Give one recommendation for effective group work.

Keep individual contributions identifiable (others: equitable rewards, clear goals, ample time, positive norms, improved info sharing).