ap pysch 4.1-4.3

Person Perception

• The process of forming impressions of others based on appearance, behavior, and other cues. Example: Judging a new student as friendly because they smile and wave.

Attribution / Attribution Theory (Fritz Heider) -

The process of explaining others' behavior by crediting either their disposition (traits) or the situation (environment). Example: Thinking someone is late because they are careless (dispositional) vs. traffic (situational).

Dispositional Attribution

Assigning behavior to internal characteristics like personality, beliefs, or attitudes. your basically blaming who they are, not the circumstance

ex: theyre late because theyre lazy or irresponsible.

Situational Attribution

Assigning behavior to external circumstances or environmental factors. basically blaming something outside of someones control.

example: theyre late because there was a big traffic jam this morning

Explanatory Style -

A person's habitual way of explaining events, often as optimistic or pessimistic.

optimistic ex: i failed the test because i didnt study enough this time. i can do better next time

pessimistic ex:I failed math because im terrible at math and always will be

Actor-Observer Bias -

Tendency to attribute our own actions to situations but others' actions to their dispositions.

Example: you fail a test you think, ¨the test was really hard¨ but when someone else fails you think ¨they didnt study enough¨

Fundamental Attribution Error -

Overestimating internal causes and underestimating external causes when judging others' behavior. so we basically blame people personalities for their actions, ratjer than considering the situation they were in.

example: someone trips and falls in the hallway, you think that theyre clumsy but reality might be the floor was slippery.

Self-Serving Bias

Tendency to attribute successes to internal factors and failures to external factors.

example: if you succeed on a test you may think that its because you studied hard, but if you failed the test ite because the questions were unfair

Internal Locus of Control -

Belief that outcomes are primarily the result of one's own actions.

example: i got a good grade because i studied hard

External Locus of Control -

Belief that outcomes are determined by external forces like luck or fate.

example: i got a bad because the teacher made the test hard

Mere Exposure Effect -

Increased liking of a stimulus due to repeated exposure

.Example: Liking a song after hearing it multiple times.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy -

Expectations about someone lead that person to behave in ways that confirm the expectation. Experiment / Example: Jane Elliott's Blue Eye/Brown Eye experiment; students treated as "better" or "worse" acted according to the labels.

Mirror-Image Perceptions -

Conflicting groups often view themselves as good and the other group as evil. bascially each side sees the other as the problem

example: two groups are at war, so one may think ¨we are defending oursleves¨ and think ¨they are really agressive

Social Comparison

Evaluating ourselves by comparing with others.

Example: Feeling talented when your friend performs poorly in class.

Relative Deprivation -

Feeling worse off compared to others, often leading to dissatisfaction.

example: you have a smartphone, but your friends all have the latest model. you feel left out or less lucky even though you actually have a good phone

Attitude -

A learned tendency to evaluate people, objects, or ideas

Stereotype -

Overgeneralized belief about a group of people.

examples:¨all teenagers are rebllious

Social Identity -

Part of self-concept derived from group membership

Cognitive Load -

Total mental effort used in working memory, affecting perception and decision-making.

example:studying a new math topic while also trying to remember your homework assignments can overload your brain making it harder to focus

Prejudice -

Unjustified negative attitude toward a group.

example: thinking someone is untrustworthy just because of their religion race or gender

Discrimination -

Negative behavior toward a group, often based on prejudice.

example: refusing to let someone join a club because of their gender

Implicit Attitudes / Implicit Bias

• Unconscious attitudes that influence behavior.

example: feeling uneasy around a certain group of people without realizing it even if you consciously believe everyone should be treated equally

Explicit Bias -

Attitudes within conscious awareness.

Just-World Phenomenon

• Belief that people get what they deserve.

Out-Group -

Group that one does not identify with.

Out-Group Homogeneity Bias

• Perception that members of other groups are more similar to each other than they really are.

In-Group -

Group one identifies with.

example: your group of close friends at school

In-Group Bias -

Favoring members of one's own group.

Ethnocentrism -

Belief that one's culture is superior to others.

example: thinking your countrys food, customs or tradition are better than those of other countries

Scapegoat Theory -

Prejudice provides an outlet for anger by blaming a group.

Other-Race Effect -

Greater difficulty recognizing faces of other races.

Belief Perseverance -

Holding on to beliefs even after they've been discredited.

Confirmation Bias -

Seeking or interpreting evidence to confirm existing beliefs.

example: you believe a certain celebrity is rude so you only notice news stories that show them being mean and ignore stories showing them being kind

Cognitive Dissonance (Leon Festinger)

• the uncomfortable tension that comes from holding two conflicting beliefs, attitudes or behaviors at the same time

example: you know smoking is bad but you do it anyway, but to reduce conform you might tell yourself that it helps you relax so its not bad

Role

• Expected behaviors for someone in a social position.

Experiment: Zimbardo Prison Experiment — guards and prisoners acted according to roles.

outgroup homogeneity bias

the tendecny to see members of other groups as more similar to each other than they really are, while seeing your own group as more diverse

ex: thinking all members of that school club are serious while recognizing your own friends have different personalities.

Social Influence Theory -

People's attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors are shaped by real or imagined pressures from others.

example: following trends because everyone else is doing them

Normative Social Influence

• Influence from desire to gain approval or avoid rejection.

example: having a few close friends rather than many acquaintances

Informational Social Influence -

conforming because you believes others know more or are correct in abiguous situation

ex: looking at what others do in a confusing exam wuestion and copying their answer

Persuasion -

Process of changing attitudes through communication.

Central Route Persuasion

Persuasion using evidence, logic, and thoughtful analysis.

example: choosing a college because of strong academic programs

Peripheral Route Persuasion -

Persuasion using emotional appeal or superficial cues.

example: buying a products because the ad has a celebrity not because of its features

Halo Effect -

Overall impression of a person affects judgments of specific traits.

Example: Thinking a kind-looking person is smart.

Foot-in-the-Door Technique -

Start with a small request to increase chances of agreement with a larger request later.

Door-in-the-Face Technique -

Start with a large request likely to be refused, then ask a smaller, reasonable request.

Conformity (Solomon Asch) -

Adjusting behavior or beliefs to match a group. Experiment: Asch's line judgment experiment. Ex:agreeing with friends that a movie was good, even if you didnt like it, just so you fit in

Social Norms -

Expected behaviors in a group or society.

example: saying thank you when someone holds the door for you

Obedience (Stanley Milgram) -

Following direct orders from authority.

Stanly milgram: shocking test Experiment, they follow orders of shocking the person even if they disagree

Culture -

Shared beliefs, values, behaviors, and traditions.

Tight Culture -

Strong norms, low tolerance for deviance.

Loose Culture -

Weak norms, higher tolerance for deviance.

Individualism

• Prioritizing personal goals over group goals.

example: choosinf a career based on personal passion rather than family expectation

Collectivism -

Prioritizing group goals over personal goals.

examples: team members working tg and putting group sucess above personal recognition

Multiculturalism

• a perceptive that encourages recognizing respecting and celebrating cultural differences within a society

• example: cultural holidays and traditions being taught at school

Group Polarization -

Group decisions become more extreme than individual members' initial views.

example: a discussion amount environmentally consious students leads them to advocate for stricter recycling laws than any one of them initially suggested

Groupthink -.

Desire for harmony in a group leads to poor decision-making

example: a team ignores potential problems to agree with the leader

Diffusion of Responsibility -

People feel less personal responsibility in a group.

example: not calling 911 during an emergency because someone else will do it

Social Loafing -

Less effort in a group than when working alone.

example: group project members do less work because they think others will pick up the slack

Deindividuation -

Loss of self-awareness in a group, often leading to impulsive behavior.

example: rioters in a large crowd acting aggressively

Social Facilitation -

Performance improves on simple tasks and declines on difficult tasks in the presence of others.

example: having a few close friends rather than many aquaintances

Social Trap -

Pursuing self-interest harms everyone in the long run.

example: overfishing a lake because it benifits individuals now but harms everyone later

Superordinate Goals -

Shared goals requiring cooperation, reducing conflict.

Experiment: Robbers Cave Experiment — two groups of boys cooperated on common goals to reduce hostility.

Prosocial Behavior -

Actions intended to benefit others.

example: donating to a charity or helping a neighbor

Altruism -

Unselfish concern for the welfare of others with no expectaion of reward

example: donating anonymously to charity

Social Responsibility Norm -

Expectation to help those in need.

example:helping a child who drops their grociers or an elderly person across the street

Bystander Effect -

People are less likely to help in an emergency if others are present.

example: soneone collapses on the street and everyone assumes someone else will call 911

Social Exchange Theory -

Behavior guided by weighing costs and benefits.

Reciprocity Norm -

Expectation to return help or favors.

Physical Attractiveness

• People are more likely to form relationships with those they find attractive; attractive features are often associated with health, status, or positive personality traits.

Similarity -

Attraction is stronger among individuals who share attitudes, beliefs, or interests, such as bonding over shared music tastes.

Instrumental Aggression -

Aggression used as a tool to achieve a goal rather than driven by anger, like a child pushing another to take a toy.

Hostile Aggression -

Aggression driven by anger or emotional arousal, such as road rage after being cut off in traffic.

Genetic Influences

• Hereditary factors can predispose people to aggression; twin studies show identical twins are more similar in aggressive tendencies than fraternal twins, and male aggression may be linked to the Y chromosome.

Neural Influences -

Brain areas, especially the amygdala and frontal lobes, regulate aggression. Stimulation of the amygdala in animals increases aggressive behavior.

Biochemical Influences -

Hormones and chemicals affect aggression. Testosterone increases aggression, and castration in animals reduces aggression; prenatal exposure can also influence aggressive tendencies.

Proximity -

Physical closeness increases the likelihood of friendship or attraction, like sitting next to someone in class leading to friendship

Compliance -

When someone does what another person wants, following a request or suggestion without it being a direct order, such as agreeing to help a friend move because they asked nicely.

Mood Linkage -

Tendency to unconsciously adopt the emotional tone of the people around you, like feeling happier after joining friends who are laughing and having fun.

Chameleon Effect -

Automatic mimicry of the behaviors, gestures, or expressions of people we are interacting with, such as unconsciously crossing your arms when a conversation partner does.

social comparision

the act of comparing yourself to others to evaluate your obilities, opintions or situation.

example: comparing your tests scoresto your classmates scores to see how you did

Downward social comparison

comparing yourself to someone worse off to feel better about your situation

example: i might have failed this quiz but at least i did better than john

upward social comparison

comparing yourself to someone better off or more skilled to motivate yourself or feel inspired

social depth

the closeness or strength of social relationships

example: having a few close friends rather than many acquaintances

false consensus effect

the tendency to overstimate how much others share your beliefs or behaviors

example: thinking everyone likes the same music you do