Unit 9: Social Psychology (copy)

Attitudes

are evaluative, meaning that our feelings toward such things are necessarily positive or negative.

mere exposure effect

states that the more one is exposed to something, the more one will come to like it.

Central route

to persuasion involves deeply processing the content of the message; what about this potato chip is so much better than all the others?

Peripheral route

on the other hand, involves other aspects of the message including the characteristics of the person imparting the message (the communicator).

Cognitive dissonance theory

is based on the idea that people are motivated to have consistent attitudes and behaviors.

door-in-the-face strategy

argues that after people refuse a large request, they will look more favorably upon a follow-up request that seems, in comparison, much more reasonable.

Norms of reciprocity

are at work when you feel compelled to send money to the charity that sent you free return address labels or when you cast your vote in the student election for the candidate that handed out those delicious chocolate chip cookies.

False-consensus effect

The tendency for people to overestimate the number of people who agree with them.

Self-serving bias

is the tendency to take more credit for good outcomes than for bad ones.

Stereotypes

may be either negative or positive and can be applied to virtually any group of people (e.g., racial, ethnic, geographic).

Prejudice

is an undeserved, usually negative, attitude toward a group of people.

Ethnocentrism

the belief that one’s culture (e.g., ethnic, racial) is superior to others, is a specific kind of prejudice.

In-group bias

humans are more helpful or positive towards their own group

contact theory

states that contact between hostile groups will reduce animosity, but only if the groups are made to work toward a goal that benefits all and necessitates the participation of all.

Instrumental aggression

is when the aggressive act is intended to secure a particular end.

Hostile aggression

has no such clear purpose.

bystander intervention

the conditions under which people nearby are more and less likely to help someone in trouble.

Solomon Asch (1951)

conducted one of the most interesting conformity experiments (line length)

social impairment

When the task being observed was a difficult one rather than a simple, well-practiced skill, being watched by others actually hurt performance

Social loafing

is the phenomenon when individuals do not put in as much effort when acting as part of a group as they do when acting alone.

Group polarization

is the tendency of a group to make more extreme decisions than the group members would make individually.

Groupthink

a term coined by Irving Janis, describes the tendency for some groups to make bad decisions.

normative influence

conform to social norms for fear of negative social consequences

informational influence

conform to a group in ambiguous situations because you are unsure what to do

public conformity

conform to fit in but do not change beliefs

private acceptance

someone’s belief is different than others they question if their belief is wrong

Milgram’s Shock Experiment

studied conformity, compliance, and obedience (majority gave all levels of shock and did not defy experimenter)

Sternberg

triangular theory of love

consummate love

passion and intimacy and commitment

companionate love

intimacy and commitment

romantic love

passion and intimacy

deindividuation

loss of personal identity when in groups due to received lack of accountability

Social Dilemma/Tragedy of the Commons

an individual profits from selfishness unless everyone chooses the selfish alternative, in which case the whole group loses (the social trap)

prisoner’s dilemma

competition v. cooperation (best option is always to cooperate)

Zimbardo Experiment

Standford Prison Experiment, explores social roles, major ethical concerns, lasted 6 days then got too out of control

internal attributions

behavior is due to personality, intelligence, abilities, feelings, etc.

external attributions

behavior is caused by environment

actor-observer bias

my negative behaviors are due to environment, others negative behaviors are because of themselves

fundamental attribution error

only focusing on others (negative behavior is because of them, positive behavior is because of their circumstances)

scapegoat theory

the presence of others offers an outlet for anger or other negative emotions to offer someone to blame

just-world hypothesis

tendency to blame the victims for their misfortune so that one feels less likely to be victimized in a similar way

foot in the door technique

start off with something small, then build up to something big

yale attitude change approach

people are most likely to change their attitudes in response to persuasive messages

outgroup homogeneity effect

view an outgroup as all the same whereas the ingroup is seen as more varied

relative deprivation

the amount of desired resources they have is less than other people in their reference group so they feel inferior

affective

prejudice

behavioral

discrimination

cognitive

stereotypes