PSY 2500 Soscial Psychology Exam 1

self concept

a knowledge representation

self schema

a variety of different cognitive aspects of the self

self complexity

the extent to which individuals have many different and relatively independent ways of thinking about themselves

self awareness

the extent which we are currently fixing our attention on our own self-concept

self consciousness

when our self-concept becomes highly accessible because of our concerns about being observed and potentially judged by others

self esteem

positive (high) or negative (low) feelings that we have about ourselves

self presentation

tendency to present a positive self-image to others, with the goal of increasing our social status

narcissism

personality trait characterized by overly high self-esteem, self-admiration, and self-centeredness

state self esteem

fluctuates according to immediate circumstances or situation ex) I failed this exam; therefore I am a failure.

trait self esteem

enduring, relatively stable over time ex) I am satisfied with myself

sociometer theory

self-esteem is an acceptance signaling system. it functions as a gauge, monitoring how likely we are to be accepted or rejected

terror management theory

human must find ways to manage their overwhelming fear of death. our reality motivates us to gain recognition from our work and values. to feel our lives are not in vain, we must continually pursue self-esteem by meeting the standards of societies

looking glass self

part of how we see ourselves comes from our perception of how others see us

social comparison

when we learn about our abilities and skills, about the appropriateness and validity of our opinions, and about our relative social status by comparing our own attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors with those of others

social identity theory

draw part of our sense of identity and self-esteem from the social groups that we belong to

spotlight effect

example of self-awareness: the extent to which we are currently fixing our attention on our own self-concept

automatic processing

unconscious, intuitive, fast way of thinking

controlled processing

conscious, deliberate, slower way of thinking

priming

exposure to subtle cues in our environment activate related thoughts or feelings

overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident than correct; to overestimate the accuracy of one’s beliefs

confirmation bias

the tendency to search for information that confirms one’s preconceptions

representativeness heuristic

the tendency to presume that someone or something belongs to a particular group if resembling a typical member. snap judgement of whether someone or something fits a category

availability heuristic

a cognitive rule that judges the likelihood of things in terms of their availability in memory. quick judgement of events

illusory thinking/correlation

perception of a relationship where none exists, or perception of a stronger relationship than actually exists

effects of mood

happy ones make us see the world friendlier, decisions are easier, and good news more readily come to mind. but bad ones prime recollections of negative events and affect our perceptions

person perception

the process of learning about other people (we form impressions of others quickly, without much effort, and are remarkably accurate)

nonverbal behavior

any type of communication that does not involve speaking, including facial expressions, body language, touching, voice patterns, and interpersonal distance

belief perseverance

persistence of one’s initial conceptions, such as when the basis for one’s belief is discredited but an explanation of why the belief might be true survives (ex. firefighter personality exists!, fake news)

attribution theory

the theory of how people explain others’ behavior

dispositional attribution

attributing behavior to the person’s dispositions and traits

situational attribution

attributing to the environment or situation

misattribution

mistakenly attributing a behavior to the wrong source

fundamental attribution error

the tendency for observers to underestimate situational influences and overestimate dispositional influences upon others’ behavior

self fulfilling prophecy

a belief that leads to its own fulfillment

Pygmalion effect

a self-fulfilling prophecy that specifically focuses on how one person’s expectations about another person’s behavior can turn out to be a reality just for having been expected

attitude

a relatively enduring and general evaluation of an object, person, group, issue, or concept on a dimension ranging from negative to positive

direct experience

(where do attitudes come from?) ex. young people who spend time with their grandparents have more positive views of older adults

social roles and norms

(where do attitudes come from?) ex. child learned the social norm of being quiet in a library so now they have a negative view of those who are not quiet in the library.

conditioning

(where do attitudes come from?) ex. operant: a man smoking, but every time he lit a cigarette, those around him would complain and avoid him, so now he has an unfavorable view of smoking (evaluative)

observation

(where do attitudes come from?) ex. children spending time observing the attitude of their parents and usually begin to demonstrate similar outlooks

knowledge, ego-defensive, value-expressive, utilitarian, social-adjustive

what are the functions of attitudes?

saying is believing effect

people come to believe their own messages, especially after conveying them to others

cognitive dissonance theory

tension that arises when one is simultaneously aware of two inconsistent cognitions

insufficient justification

internally justifying (ex. attitude change) one’s behavior when external justification is insufficient

self perception

when we are unsure of our attitudes, we infer them much as would someone observing us, by looking at our behavior and circumstances under which it occurs

facial feedback effect

the tendency of facial expressions to trigger corresponding feelings such as fear, anger, or happiness

overjustification effect

the result of bribing people to do what they already like doing; they may then see their actions as externally controlled rather than internally appealing

persuasion

the process by which a message induces change in beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors

central and peripheral

two routes to persuasion

central route

occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts. we are motivated and able to think. we deliberately think about the message carefully and elaborate. we are influenced by the strength and quality of the argument. leads to more enduring and powerful attitude change.

peripheral route

occurs when interested people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker’s attractiveness. people cannot think and are not motivated. we attend to easy to process features of a message, often using rules of thumb (trust experts). we are not influenced by the content. can lead to immediate persuasion but is not long lasting.

who, what, how, to whom

what are the four elements of persuasion?

motivation and ability

what are the two factors that influence if we elaborate on a message?

foot in the door phenomenon

tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request

lowball technique

people who agree to an initial request will often still comply when the requester ups the ante

door in the face technique

after someone first turns down a large request, the same requester counteroffers with a more reasonable request

inoculation and psychological reactance

what are the two methods for resisting persuasion?

inoculation

building up defenses against persuasion by mildly attacking the attitude position

psychological reactance

the strong emotional response that we experience when we feel that our freedom of choice is being taken away when we expect that we should have a choice (the, “don’t tell me what to do” effect)

minimal social influence, averaging, specific to behavior

when do attitudes predict behavior?

attitude toward the behavior, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control

According to the Theory of Planned Behavior, what predicts our intentions and actual behavior?

role

a set of norms that defines how people in a given social position ought to behave

role playing, saying becomes believing, evil and moral acts

when does behavior predict attitudes?

self presentation, cognitive dissonance, self perception

why does behavior affect attitudes?

change, add, decrease

three ways we get rid of the tension (CDT)

insufficient justification and dissonance after decisions

cognitive dissonance theory examples

facial feedback and overjustification effect

self perception examples