PSY 101: Social Psychology

social psychology

the study of how social context as well as broader cultural environments influence people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions

transference

the tendency to treat one person as if they possess the traits or characteristics of another more familiar person

false consensus

the tendency to overestimate the extent to which other people’s beliefs and attitudes are similar to our own

impression management

a series of strategies that people use to influence the impressions that others form of them

self promotion

goal is to be seen as competent

ingratiation

goal is to be seen as likeable

exemplification

goal is to be seen as dedicated

intimidation

goal is to be seen as dedicated

supplication

goal is to be seen as needy

attribution

assignment of a casual explanation for an event, action, or outcome

dispositional/internal attributions

based on something about the indivual

situation/external

based on something outside of the person

fundamental attribution error

the tendency to assume that people’s actions are more the result of their internal dispositions than situational context

self-serving attributions

the attributions people make for their own behaviors or outcomes: We tend to make dispositional attributions for positive events but situational attributions for negative events

affective forecasting errors

people’s inability to accurately predict the emotional reactions they will have to events

attitude

an orientation toward some target stimulus that has three components (affective feelings, cognitive belief, and behavioral motivation)

implicit attitudes

an automatically activated evaluation of a stimulus ranging from positive to negative, generally harder to change

explicit attitudes

the consciously reported evaluation a person has in response to a target stimulus

elaboration likelihood model

theory of persuasion contending that attitudes can change by two different routes: a central route that focuses on the strength of the argument and a peripheral route that is sensitive to more superficial cues

central route persuasion

relies on careful evaluation of message content, focuses on the quality and strength of the information

peripheral route persuasion

depends on superficial cues like attractiveness or emotional appeal

door-in-the-face

eliciting a bit of guilt after people decline an unreasonably large request so that they feel more open to a smaller one

foot-in-the-door

asking for a small amount first and a little more later to achieve the initial goal

scarcity principle

tendency for people to place a higher emphasis on things that are in short supply

cognitive dissonance

a sense of conflict between people’s attitudes and actions that motivates efforts to restore cognitive consistency

post-decision dissonance

when we have to forgo an option that we have a positive attitude toward

effort justification

cognitive dissonance phenomenon in which people perceive an outcome as more valuable when they have invested significant effort, discomfort, or sacrifice to obtain it, even if the objective reward is low

social norms

patterns of behavior, traditions, beliefs, and preferences that are accepted and reinforced by others and influence our behavior

conformity

the process by which people implicitly mimic, adopt, or internalize the behaviors and preferences of those around them

informational social influence

pressure to conform to others’ actions or beliefs based on a desire to behave correctly or gain an accurate understanding of the world

normative social influence

pressure to conform to others’ actions or beliefs in order to gain approval form others or avoid social sanctions

social facilitation

an enhancement of the dominant behavioral response when performing a task in the mere presence of others; easy or well-learned tasks are performed better, but difficult or novel tasks are performed worse

dominant response

most likely behavioral reaction

social loafing

the tendency for individuals to expend less effort on a task when they are doing it with others rather than alone

group polarization

a tendency for people’s attitudes on an issue to become more extreme after discussing it with like-minded others

groupthink

a form of biased group decision making whereby pressure to achieve consensus leads members of the group to avoid voicing unpopular suggestions

general aggression model

an integrative framework of the various factors and psychological processes that contribute to an act of aggression

weapons effect

simple exposure to a g*n or weapon can increase aggressive responses by brining violent thoughts to mind

kin selection

an evolved or adaptive strategy of assisting those who share one’s genes, even at personal cost, as a means of increasing the odds of genetic survival

norm of reciprocity

people agree to help others who have helped them in the past or might help them in the future

empathy gap

the inability to accurately simulate the mental suffering of a another person

bystander effect

occurs when people are less likely to come to the aid of a victim when others are present than when they are alone

stereotypes

mental representations or schemas we have about groups

prejudice

a negative attitude toward a group or members of a group

discrimination

a tendency to individuals to receive different treatment or outcomes as a result of their membership in a given social group.

realistic group conflict theory

negative intergroup attitudes can develop whenever groups compete against one another for access to the same scarce resources

social identity theory

why people develop a more positive attitude toward their own ingroup than toward outgroups

symbolic racism

tendency to redirect one’s prejudice toward a racial or ethnic group to the policies that might benefit that group

implicit racial bias

differential treatment resulting from the automatic activation of, and failure to control negative attitudes or stereotypes of a racial group

averisve racism

a tendency, even among egalitarian-minded people, to have unconscios negative reactions to people of raical or ethnic groups

contact hypothesis

the proposal that prejudice can be reduced through sanctioned, friendly, and cooperative interactions between members of different groups working together as equals toward a common goal

sharing

unconsciously mirroring and mimicking what tohers are doing

theorizing

allows us to read mental states using our broader knowledge and inference