Social Psych TEST

Social Psych TEST for Ehret

social psychology is

studying the way people relate to others

what are social perceptions?

1. first impressions and the primacy effect

2. self-fulfilling prophecies (a false belief that leads to its own fulfillment) — Darley & Fazio

Darley and Fazio: the 3 steps to every self-fulfilling prophecy

1. perceiver develops false expectation

2. perceiver treats target under false expectation

3. target responds accordingly, fulfilling prophecy

how do we explain other’s behavior & our own?

attribution theory

attribution theory

we explain someone’s behavior by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition

the 2 types of attribution theory

internal — characteristics of person

external — characteristics of situation

mistakes in attribution

• fundamental attribution error

• actor-observer effect

• self-serving bias

fundamental attribution error

the tendency for observers to make an internal attribution for someone, even when presented with evidence of the contrary

actor-observer effect

attributing other people’s behavior to their character & one’s own behavior to the situation

self-serving bias

tendency to take more credit for good outcomes than bad ones

attitudes do not…

perfectly predict behaviors!

how does prejudice occur?

• in-group vs out-group bias

• scapegoat theory

• just-world phenomenon

In-group vs Out-group Bias

a group preference for your own group

Scapegoat Theory

when problems occur, people do not like to blame themselves; we search for those we can displace our aggression on (*out-group of whole groups)

Just-world Phenomenon

tendency to believe that the world is just, and when bad things happen to people, they deserved it

Combating prejudice

super-ordinate goals

super-ordinate goals

if hostile groups work towards a common goal, animosity will be reduce

Helping Behavior

Kitty Genovese

bystander apathy

individuals are less likely to help a victim in an emergency when others are present, with inaction increasing as group size grows

diffusion of responsibility

individuals feel less personal accountability to act or intervene in a situation when others are present, assuming someone else will take charge

pluralistic ignorance

individuals privately reject a group norm but incorrectly assume that most others accept it, leading to widespread public conformity to a false norm

norms for helping behavior

• social reciprocity norm

• social responsibility norm

social reciprocity norm

people feel obligated to return favors or kindnesses received from others, essentially “paying back” the act

social responsibility norm

the expectation that individuals should help those in need without expecting anything in return

social loafing

when working by yourself: 100% effort; group: slacking

Perusasion: Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)

a theory that explains how you process what’s happening & decide if you’ll be persuaded

2 routes to persuasion

1. central route

2. peripheral route

central route

a method that uses logic and facts to convince people to change their attitudes or behaviors

peripheral route

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

effects on persuasion (3)

• “sleeper effect”

• inoculation theory

• mere exposure effect

“sleeper effect”

when you hear a message and shoot it down, but over time think it’s a great idea (when someone else presents it—source credibility fades, but the message stays strong_

inoculation theory

an attitude or belief can be protected against persuasion through pre-exposure to weakened versions of a stronger, future threat

mere exposure threat

phenomenon by which people tend to develop a preference for things or people that are more familiar to them than others

methods of persuasion (4)

• foot-in-the-door

• door-in-the-face

• bait and switch (low-ball)

• that’s not all

foot-in-the-door

ask for something small → they agree →ask for the bigger thing you truly wanted (start small and build)

door-in-the-face

ask for something outrageous → they say no → ask for the smaller, reasonable thing you really want

bait and switch (low-ball)

offer something of high value to someone → get them hooked → switch to something of higher value to you

that’s not all

present an initial large request → before they respond, make the request more attractive by making it more modest or adding another benefit

The Power of the Social Situation

1. Obedience to Authority

2. Conformity

obedience to authority

stanley milgram, 1974

point of no return

of the participants who continued past 150 volts, 79% went all the way to 450 (the highest level)

stanford prison experiment

philip zimbardo, 1971

lessons of the stanford prison experiment

• people will readily conform to the social roles they are expected to play

• people, if given too much power, can transform into ruthless oppressors

• situational forces are sometimes more powerful than an individuals morals & values

group polarization

groups tend to make more extreme decisions than the individual

groupthink

group members suppress their reservations about the ideas supported by the group

→they are more concerned with group harmony

best example of groupthink

the challenger→ lifted off on its 10th flight and exploded 73 seconds later, killing all 7 aboard; launched in lower temperatures than ever before because of administrative pressure on engineers to clear the flight

deindividuation

people get swept up in a group and lose sense of self

→feel anonymous and aroused

→explains rioting behaviors

false consensus effect

the tendency to overestimate how much others share one’s beliefs, opinions, etc—we assume our perspective is more wildly held than it is

social facilitation

improved performance of tasks in the presence of others

collectivism

a cultural orientation where individuals prioritize the needs and goals of their group, such as family, community, or nation, over their own personal goals

Conformity

adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard

factors increasing conformity

• the person feels incompetent or insecure

• the group has 3 or more people

• the person is impressed by the status of the group

asch’s study of conformity, 1951

the line test