AP Psych Unit 9

Social Psychology

the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

social group

two or more people sharing common goals and interests interact and influence the behavior of the others

Attribution

the process of explaining one's own behavior and the behavior of others

Attribution Theory

the theory that we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition
1. Distinctiveness (behavior in different situations)
2. Consensus (your behavior compared to others)
3. Consistency (behavior over time)

Situational Attribution

attributing behavior to the environment

situationism

the theory that behavior is determined more by situations than by personality traits

Fundamental Attribution Error

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

Dispositional Attribution

attributing behavior to the person's disposition and traits

Dispositionism

Tendency to attribute behavior to internal factors such as genes, personality traits, and character qualities

Self-Serving Bias

the tendency for people to take personal credit for success but blame failure on external factors

Actor-Observer Bias

the tendency to blame our actions on the situation and blame the actions of others on their personalities; 2 perspectives

Just World Hypothesis

the belief that people get what they deserve in life and deserve what they get (good things happen to good people, bad things happen to bad people)

False Consensus Effect

the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors

Halo Effect

the tendency to draw a general impression about an individual on the basis of a single characteristic (positive first impression means your view of them is more positive)

Attitude

feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events
1. Cognitive (beliefs)
2. Affective (feelings)
3. Behavioral (actions based on beliefs and feelings)

Forming Attitudes

1. Direct Experience
2. Conditioning
3. Interactions w/ Family and Friends
4. Media

Role-Playing

assume a new role and conform to the expectations of that role

Mere Exposure Effect

the tendency for liking to increase with the frequency of exposure

Lucifer Effect

if you put good apples into a bad situation, you'll get bad apples

Self-Monitoring

being attuned to the way one presents oneself in social situations and adjusting one's performance to create the desired impression

Elaboration Likelihood Model

a theory of how persuasive messages lead to attitude changes

Peripheral Route Persuasion

occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker's attractiveness

Central Route Persuasion

occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts

Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon

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

Door-in-the-Face Phenomenon

people are more likely to agree to a small request after they have refused a large, unreasonable request

Lowballing

a two-step compliance technique in which the influencer secures agreement with a request but then increases the size of that request by revealing hidden costs

Role

a set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave

Ascribed Role

assigned to a person or not under personal control

Achieved Role

attained voluntarily or by special effort

Role Conflict

the tension caused by competing demands between two or more roles pertaining to different statuses

Social Script

a culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations

Code Switching

when you are navigating these different roles in different situations; happens automatically

Social Norms

a group's expectations regarding what is appropriate and acceptable for its members' attitudes and behaviors

Folkway

a norm governing everyday behavior whose violation raises comparatively little concern

More

a norm that carries great moral significance, is closely related to the core values of a cultural group, and often involves severe repercussions for violators

Law

a norm that is formally defined and enforced by officials

Taboo

a norm ingrained so deeply that even thinking about violating it evokes strong feelings of disgust, horror, or revulsion

Stanford Prison Experiment

-social roles
- Philip Zimbardo's study of the effect of roles on behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to play either prisoners or guards in a mock prison. The study was ended early because of the "guards'" role-induced cruelty.

Cognitive Dissonance

Inner tension that a consumer experiences after recognizing an inconsistency between behavior and values or opinions

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort we feel when two of our thoughts are inconsistent (according to Leon Festinger)

Social cognition

the way people gather, use, and interpret information about their social world

Social Contagion (chameleon effect)

imitative behavior involving the spread of behavior, emotions, and ideas

Mood Linkage

sharing of moods; stemming from mimicry and empathy

Conformity

adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard

compliance

engaging in a particular behavior at another persons request

Soloman Asch's Conformity Study

College students were asked to pick which line matched the standard line; when 5 people gave the wrong answer, 1/3 of the college students conformed to the group

Normative Social Influence

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

Informational Social Influence

influence resulting from one's willingness to accept others' opinions about reality

Milgram's Study

- Obedience to authority
- teacher applied electric shocks when learner does not answer questions correctly
- found that 66 percent of participants delivered shocks even when the learner was constantly screaming and begging to stop

Asch's study

- conformity, normative and social influence
- select the line in a triad that matches the stimulus line
- subjects conformed 1/3rd of the time when the confederates voted unanimously

Social Power

ability to control, influence, or alter someone else's behavior

5 Bases of Power

reward, coercive, legitimate (based on social role), expert, referent (power by association)

Reducing Obedience

Proximity: physical closeness to learner
Distance: physical distance from experimenter
Status: university/education of experimenter
Dissenter: anyone else disagreeing?

Social Facilitation

improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others, worsened performance of harder tasks

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

the enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group, results in more extreme positions for every individual

Groupthink

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

Culture

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

Social Reality

your interpretation of people around you and your relationship with them (determined by other people's behavior and how we interpret it)

Affiliation

the desire to join with others and to be a part of something larger than oneself

Social Comparison

the comparison of oneself to others in ways that raise one's self-esteem

Factors of Friendships

Proximity: distance b/w you and your friends
Stimulation Value: ability of someone to interest you
Utility Value: ability of someone else to help you achieve your goals
Ego-Support Value: ability of someone else to make you feel good about yourself
Complementarity: your friends have what you lack

Risky Shift

the tendency for groups to make riskier decisions than individuals would; caused by deindividuation

Social Inhibition

intentional or unintentional avoidance of certain social situations

Social Trap

a situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing their self-interest, become caught in mutually destructive behavior

Approach-Approach Conflict

a choice must be made between two attractive goals

Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict

a choice must be made between two unattractive goals

Approach-Avoidance Conflict

conflict occurring when a person must choose or not choose a goal that has both positive and negative aspects

Prejudice

an unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members; generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action

Stereotype

a generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people

Discrimination

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members

Ethnocentrism

assuming the superiority of one's ethnic group (example of prejudice)

Ingroup

"us"—people with whom we share a common identity.

Outgroup

"them" - those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup

Ingroup Bias

the tendency to favor our own group

Scapegoat Theory

the theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame

Other-Race Effect

the tendency to recall faces of one's own race more accurately than faces of other races (aka cross-race effect or own-race bias)

Outgroup Homogeneity

the tendency to view members of outgroups as more similar to each other than we see members of ingroups

Contact theory

if members of two opposing groups are brought together in an emergency situation, group cooperation will reduce prejudicial thinking

Ultimate Attribution Error

the tendency to make dispositional attributions about an entire group of people
*self-serving bias on a group level

Recategorization

reduces prejudice by shifting the categories of "us" and "them" so that the two groups are no longer distinct entities; make the outgroup part of the ingroup.

Controlled Processing

a detailed consideration of evidence and information relying on facts, figures, and logic; don't use stereotypes but make your own judgments

Superordinate Goals

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation

Equal Status Contact

To reduce prejudice, interracial contact should ideally be between persons equal in status.

Aggression

any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone physically or emotionally

Frustration-Aggression Principle

the principle that frustration - the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal - creates anger which can generate aggression

Instrumental Aggression

aggression as a means to some goal other than causing pain

Hostile Aggression

aggression that springs from anger; its goal is to injure

Relational Aggression

aimed at harming the social connection between the victim and other people

Defensive Aggression

involves harm done to others as a form of self-defense

Passionate Love

an aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a love relationship

Companionate Love

the deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined

Equity

a condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it

Self-Disclosure

the act of revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others

Reward Theory of Attraction

a social-learning view that says we like best those who give us maximum rewards at minimum cost

Matching Hypothesis

the tendency to develop relationships with people who are approximately as attractive as we are

Expectancy-Value Theory

the amount of motivation needed to reach a goal is the result of both the individual's expectation of success in reaching the goal and the degree to which he or she values succeeding at the goal

Altruism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others

Kitty Genovese/ Latane and Darley

- Diffusion of responsibility and bystander intervention
- Murdered outside apartment - prompted to investigate bystander effect due to diffusion of responsibility
- people help when they think they are alone, but the larger the group present, the less likely anyone is to act