AP Psych 4.1-4.3 - Social Psychology

Attributions

How people explain behavior and mental processes of themselves and others

Dispositional Attributions

relate to internal qualities of others (such as intelligence or personality)

Situational Attributions

relate to external circumstances that are experienced

Explanatory Style

how people explain good and bad events in their lives and the lives of others

Optimistic

perspective that a situation is temporary, there are aspects they can control, and it's not their fault. This person bounces back more quickly and keeps a happier headspace

Pessimistic

perspective of a situation feeling permanent, completely their fault when it probably isn't, and there is nothing they can do to change their situation

Actor-Observer Bias

tendency to attribute one's own actions to external causes, while attributing other people's behaviors to internal causes

ex. If you trip and fall while walking, you might blame the slippery pavement. However, if you see someone else trip and fall, you might attribute it to an internal factor, like clumsiness.

Fundamental attribution error

tendency for observers, when analyzing others' behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition.

ex. attributing a coworker's lateness to the fact that they are unreliable rather than that they got stuck in traffic

Self-serving bias

habit of a person taking credit for positive events or outcomes, but blaming outside factors for negative events

Internal Locus of control

the perception that we control our own fate

Ex. when given a promotion, someone with an internal locus of control will think that the promotion was entirely deserved strictly for their hard work with the company

External Locus of control

the perception that outside forces beyond our personal control determine our fate

Ex. If you win a game, you'll believe that you won because you got lucky

Mere Exposure effect (familiarity principle)

occurs when people are exposed to a stimulus repeatedly over time, which causes them to like the stimulus more

Self-fulfilling prophecy

People can behave in ways that elicit behaviors from others that confirm their beliefs or perceptions about themselves or others

Ex. a parent who views their child as either "bright" or "lazy" may also treat them accordingly. As a result, the child's behavior may be positively or negatively influenced by their parent's expectations

Social Comparison

a type of person perception that occurs when people evaluate themselves based on comparisons to other members of society or social circles

Upward Comparison

takes place when we compare ourselves with those who we believe are better than or superior to us

•These comparisons often focus on the desire to improve ourselves

Downward Comparision

when we compare ourselves to others who are worse off than us.

- These comparisons often focus on the desire to improve ourselves

ex. We might not be great at something, but at least we are better off than someone else.

Stereotype

generalized concept (or belief) about a group.

Prejudice

An unjustifiable and usually negative attitude toward a group and its members. Prejudice generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action

Discrimination

Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members

Implicit attitudes

attitudes that individuals hold but may be unaware of or may not acknowledge.

Just-world phenomenon

tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get

Out-group homogeneity bias

Tendency to assume that the members of other groups are very similar to each other, particularly in contrast to the assumed diversity of the membership of one's own group

ex. Democrats see themselves as more diverse than they are viewed by Republicans

Ingroup

People with whom one shares a common identity

Outgroup

Those perceived as different from one's ingroup

Ingroup bias

The tendency to favor one's own group

Ethnocentrism

Favoring one's own cultural/ethnic group over other groups

Belief perseverance

occurs when a belief persists even if evidence suggests it is not accurate

Ex. a person who believes that smoking does not cause cancer despite the abundance of evidence that shows that smoking does cause cancer

Confirmation bias

tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

Ex. Teacher A doesn't believe children can be trusted with tools. Teacher A focuses only on instances of children using tools improperly, rather than recognizing all of the instances of proper tool use

Cognitive Dissonance

Refers to the mental discomfort that occurs when actions or attitudes are in conflict

People are motivated to reduce the discomfort by changing either actions or attitudes to be more in line with each other

Social Norms

define expectations and roles a society may have for its members in individual and social situations.

Social Influence theory

proposes that social pressure to behave or think in certain ways can be normative or informational

Normative social influence

resulting from a person's desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval

Informational social influence

resulting from one's willingness to accept other's opinions about reality

Persuasion

refers to the techniques applied to convince the self or others of particular ideas, actions, or beliefs

Central route to persuasion

focus on the arguments, leads to lasting change

Peripheral route to persuasion

influenced by incidental cues (like speaker's attractiveness) leads to temporary change

Halo Effect

phenomenon that causes people to be biased in their judgments by transferring their feelings about one attribute of something to other, unrelated, attributes.

Ex. a sharply dressed coworker might be judged to be more competent than a coworker wearing a t-shirt

Foot in the door phenomenon

people who have agreed to a small request will later comply with a larger request

Ex. After placing a small sign in their yard people were more likely to agree to place a larger sign when asked

Door in the face phenomenon

the persuasion strategy in which a large request is made knowing it will probably be refused so that the person will agree to a much smaller request

Ex. After being asked to donate a large sum of money people are more likely to donate a small sum

Compliance

An individual doing what someone else wants them to do, following their request or suggestion.

NOT an order, a suggestion

Conformity

adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard

Obedience

Obeying the direct orders of an authority or person of higher status

Highest when:

- Person giving order was close by and perceived as a legitimate authority figure

- Authority figure supported by prestigious institution (credible)

Individualism

gives priority to personal goals (as opposed to the goals of a group or society)

Collectivism

refers to a worldview in which social behavior is guided largely by goals that are shared by a collective

Multiculutralism

promotion or celebration of cultural diversity within a society

Social Facilitation

Improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others (or unimproved)

Social Loafing

The tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable

Deindividuation

The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity

Group Polarization

group discussions with like-minded others strengthen member's prevailing beliefs and attitudes

Groupthink

the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives

False Consensus effect

when people often overestimate the levels to which others agree with them

Superordinate goals

goals that require the cooperation of two or more people or groups to achieve, which usually results in rewards to the groups

Industrial-organizational (I/O) psychologists

Study how people perform in the workplace

Altruism (prosocial behavior)

Selfless behavior with regard for the welfare of others, but some researchers suggest that people act in prosocial ways due to incurring social debt

Social Reciprocity norm

an expectation that people will help, not hurt those who have helped them

Social responsibility norm

an expectation that people will help those needing their help

Diffusion of responsibility

psychological phenomenon in which people are less likely to take action when in the presence of a large group of people

Bystander effect

the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present.