FINAL EXAM SOCIAL PSYCH

Social psych

study of the ways in which people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of others

Correspondence bias

the general tendency to explain others behavior in terms of dispositions rather than situations

Actor observer asymmetry in attribution for negative actions

own behaviors are seen as situational, others actions are seen as more dispositional

Actor observer asymmetry in attribution for positive actions

owen behaviors are seen as more dispositional, others actions are seen as more situational

Self

serving bias: the tendency to perceive oneself in an overly favorable manner

Basic social motives

we want to feel good abut ourselves, we want to be accurate about the social world

Naive realism

the tendency to believe that we see the world objectively

Corollary

people who disagree with us must be uninformed irrational or biased

False consensus effect

the tendency to overestimate the number of people who share our beliefs

Construal

the way in which people perceive, comprehend, and intercept our social world

Hindsight bias

the tendency to exaggerate foresight of an outcome after knowing it happened

Frequency claims

how often or how much something happens

Association claims

whether two variables move together

Casual claims

whether a variable causes change in another variable

Validity: the appropriateness of a claim

CESI

construct, external, statistical, and internal

Construct validity

how well the variables are measured or manipulated

Operationalization

how a concept is converted into a variable for a study

External

degree to which the results generalize to other populations, time, or situations

Statistical validity

degree to which the statistical conclusions support the claim

Internal validity

degree to which the evidence supports a casual claim

File drawer problem

the tendency for significant results to be published at a disproportionate rate

Social influence

many ways that people influence one another, including changes in attitudes, beliefs, feelings or behaviors resulting from the real or imagined presence of other people

Conformity

change in beliefs behaviors to align with the beliefs/behavior of the group

Compliance

following the direct request of another person, regardless of that person's status

Obedience

following the direct requests of someone who is higher in social power

Norms

unwritten social rules for what people believe or do

Descriptive norms

perceptions of what people teen to believe or do

Prescriptive norms

perceptions of what beliefs/behaviors are approved or disapproved of by others

Informational social influence

conformity resulting from a motivation to obtain accurate info about reality

The autokinettic illusion

in a dark room, a stationary point of light will appear to move around

Normative social influence

conformity resulting from a motivation to fit in socially

Internalization of norms

norms that are internalized change beliefs/behaviors for longer periods than norms that are privately rejected

Solo status

more conformity when one has no allies in a group. It’s difficult to be the lone dissenter

Experts

exert more informational social influence

High status people

exert more normative social influence

Group size

conformity rates increase as group size increases, but there are diminishing returns

Difficulty or ambiguity of task

in hard or ambiguous tasks, people look to others for info about what to do

Anonymity

people are less susceptible to normative social influence when decisions are made anonymously

Culture

compared to people from independent cultures, people from interdependent cultures….are more concerned about fitting in and conform more in everyday life

Compliance

following the direct request of another person, regardless of that person's status

Foot in the door technique

Make a small request that is accepted, followed by a large request

The Low Ball Technique

After making a choice, people are more likely to stick with that choice even when the conditions change

Labeling Technique

Giving a person a label makes them more likely to comply with requests that are consistent with that label

Norm of reciprocity

Feeling of obligation to repay someone who has given to us. Even when given something small, we may feel obligated by a later request

Door in the face technique

Make a large request that is refused, followed by smaller request

Social Proof:

Changes in attitudes or behavior from learning about others’ revealed opinions

The rule of scarcity

People tend to perceive things as more attractive when availability is limited

Attribution

The process of explaining the causes of behavior or events

Correspondence Bias

The general tendency to explain others’ behavior in terms of dispositions rather than situations

Naïve Realism

The tendency to believe that we see the world objectively

Corollary

People who disagree with us must be uninformed, irrational, or biased

Bias Blind Spot

Failures to see the impact of biases on one’s own judgment

Accuracy Motives

Motivations to arrive at an accurate conclusion

Directional Motives

Motivations to arrive at a particular directional conclusion

Schemas

Mental structures that organize our knowledge about the world

Self fulfilling Prophecy

When an expectation for a person leads to its own fulfillment

Unconscious

We are not aware

Unintentional

We don't mean to do it

Uncontrolled

We can't control it if we wanted to

Effortless

Takes little or no resources

Intentional but unconscious

Typing, driving, playing piano, speaking (sometimes)

Unintentional but controllable

Nicotine cravings that go away when you smoke a cigarette

Implicit Measure

Measure for assessing thoughts outside of conscious awareness, control, intention, or are efficient

Aggression

behavior intended to do harm to another person

Aggression is not

Assertiveness (e.g., refusing to pay for items on a bill that you did not order), Complaining (e.g., talking to a manager about slow service), Unintentional harm (e.g., a drunk driver running you down

Hostile aggression

Aggression stemming from feelings of anger and aimed at inflicting pain

Instrumental aggression

Aggression as a means to complete a goal

Aggression vs. Violence

All violent acts are aggressive, But not all aggressive acts are violent (e.g., insults, starting bad rumors)

Social Learning Theory

People learn social behavior by observing others and imitating them

Catharsis Hypothesis: Performing an aggressive act relieves built

up aggressive energies and reduces the likelihood of aggression in the future

Individual level

attitudes can influence behavior, perception, thinking, and other (peoples’) attitudes

Interpersonal level

attitudes can influence liking and social cohesion

Societal level

attitudes are at the core of intergroup cooperation and conflict

Affect

Feelings & emotions about an object

Behavior

How I act toward an object

Cognition

Evaluative beliefs about an object

Implicit Attitudes

Attitudes that are relatively unconscious, unintentional, uncontrolled, or effortless

Selective Exposure

Tendency to selectively seek information that reinforces one’s attitudes, while selectively avoiding information that contradicts one’s attitudes

Selective Exposure

Tendency to selectively seek information that reinforces one’s attitudes, while selectively avoiding information that contradicts one’s attitudes

Selective Exposure

Tendency to selectively seek information that reinforces one’s attitudes, while selectively avoiding information that contradicts one’s attitudes

Function of Schemas

Organize knowledge about the social world

Function of Attitudes

Organize knowledge about what’s good or bad and Mental shortcuts for deciding what to pursue or avoid

Self

Perception Theory

Persuasion

Efforts to change attitudes or attitude

Automaticity

Attitudes are influenced by sources outside of conscious awareness or control.

Sociality

Persuasion fundamentally depends on relationships with other people

Resonance

Persuasion is more effective when…It matches our motivation and ability and It is relevant.

Resistance

Persuasion can be resisted

Automaticity

Attitudes are influenced by sources outside of conscious awareness or control.

Mere Exposure Effect

Perceiving a stimulus repeatedly renders it more positive

Sociality

Persuasion fundamentally depends on relationships with other people

Attribution in Persuasion

A message recipient infers reasons why a communicator presents a certain position

Resonance

Persuasion is more effective when…It matches our motivation and ability

Central route

Route to persuasion where people think carefully & deliberately

about the content of a persuasive message.

Peripheral route

Route to persuasion where people attend to easy

Ability is influenced by Distraction, Fatigue, Attention, Intelligence

Motivation is influenced by

Personal relevance, Need for cognition: the extent to which one enjoys thinking

Message Matching

Whether the message matches the structure of the attitude.