Psych/Soc Deck 4: Social Psychology

Social Facilitation

Back:

Improved performance on simple or well-practiced tasks when others are present.

Example:
A basketball player shoots free throws better during practice with teammates watching.

Social Impairment (Inhibition)

Worse performance on difficult or unfamiliar tasks when others are watching.

Social Facilitation vs Social Impairment

Easy task
⬆ Performance

Hard task
⬇ Performance

Social Loafing

People put forth less effort in a group than when working alone.

Example:
The group project where one person does all the work.

Deindividuation

Loss of self-awareness in a crowd, leading to impulsive or antisocial behavior.

Example:
Rioters vandalizing property while feeling anonymous.

Diffusion of Responsibility

Individuals feel less responsible for helping because others are present.

Bystander Effect

People are less likely to help someone when many other people are around.

Social Loafing vs Diffusion of Responsibility

Social Loafing→ Less effort while working in a group.

Diffusion of Responsibility→ Less responsibility to act because others are present.

Conformity

Changing behavior or beliefs to match the group.

Normative Social Influence

Conforming to be liked or accepted.

Informational Social Influence

Conforming because you believe the group knows better.

Normative vs Informational Influence

Normative→"I want people to like me."

Informational→ "I think they're right."

Obedience

Following orders from an authority figure.

Milgram Experiment.

Compliance

Changing behavior because of a direct request.

Attitude

A learned tendency to evaluate something positively or negatively.

Cognitive Dissonance

Psychological discomfort caused by holding conflicting beliefs or behaviors.

People often change their attitudes or behaviors to reduce the discomfort.

Self-Perception Theory

People infer their attitudes by observing their own behavior.

Cognitive Dissonance vs Self-Perception Theory

Cognitive Dissonance
"I feel uncomfortable."

Self-Perception
"I guess I like this because I keep doing it."

Attribution

Explaining the causes of behavior.

Dispositional Attribution

Behavior is caused by internal traits.

Situational Attribution

Behavior is caused by external circumstances.

Fundamental Attribution Error

Overestimating personality while underestimating the situation when explaining other people's behavior.

Actor-Observer Bias

We explain:

• Our own behavior → situation

• Other people's behavior → personality

Self-Serving Bias

Success = internal factors.

Failure = external factors.

Just-World Hypothesis

Belief that people get what they deserve.

Fundamental Attribution Error vs Actor-Observer Bias

FAE
Only about OTHER people.

Actor-Observer
Compares yourself to others

Actor-Observer vs Self-Serving Bias

1) Actor-Observer

Self = situation

Others = traits

2) Self-Serving:

Success = me

Failure = not me

Group Polarization

Group discussion strengthens the group's initial opinion.

Groupthink

Desire for harmony suppresses dissent and leads to poor decisions.

Risky Shift

Groups tend to make riskier decisions than individuals.

Stereotype

Belief about a group.

(Cognitive)

Prejudice

Attitude toward a group.

(Affective)

Discrimination

Behavior toward a group.

(Behavioral)

Stereotype vs Prejudice vs Discrimination

Stereotype
Think

Prejudice
Feel

Discrimination
Act

Implicit Bias

Unconscious attitudes that influence behavior.

In-group

Group to which you belong.

Out-group

Group to which you do not belong.

In-group Bias

Favoring members of your own group.

Out-group Homogeneity Bias

Believing members of another group are all alike.

Social Identity Theory

Part of a person's identity comes from their group memberships.

Reference Group

A group used for comparison when evaluating oneself.

Relative Deprivation

Feeling deprived compared to others, even if your situation has not worsened.

A student works harder during a spelling bee because classmates are watching. Which concept explains this?

Social facilitation.

During a difficult piano recital, a performer makes more mistakes because an audience is watching.

Social impairment.

A witness does not call 911 because dozens of others are already standing nearby.

Bystander effect due to diffusion of responsibility.

A freshman begins wearing a certain brand of shoes simply because everyone in their dorm wears them.

Normative social influence.

A patient follows a physician's treatment plan because they believe the physician has expertise.

Informational social influence.

After cheating on an exam, a student convinces themselves that "everyone cheats anyway."

Cognitive dissonance reduction.

A professor sees a student arrive late and assumes they are lazy, ignoring that there was a major traffic accident.

Fundamental attribution error.

After failing an exam, a student blames unfair questions. After earning an A, they credit their intelligence.

Self-serving bias.

A hiring manager assumes all engineers are socially awkward before meeting them.

Stereotype.

A landlord refuses to rent an apartment to someone because of their ethnicity.

Discrimination.