Unit 4: Social Psych

social psychology

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

personality psychology

the scientific study of personality and its development, structure, traits, processes, variations, and disordered forms

explanatory style

how people explain good and bad events in their lives and in the lives of others (optimistic of pessimistic)

attribution theory

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

dispositional attributions

person’s internal characteristics like personality and intelligence

situational attributions

depends on the situation and environmental factors

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 of disposition

self-serving bias

our tendency to attribute our success and achievements to personal factors (dispositional attributes) and our failures to situational factors

actor-observer bias

tendency for a person in a situation (usually negative) to attribute your behavior to external causes, but as observers, to attribute others’ behavior to internal causes

locus of control

the degree which we expect the outcome of our behavior is contingent on our own behavior/characteristics or on luck/fate/outside factors

internal locus of control

the perception that you control your own fate and responsible for your own actions

external locus of control

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate

self-fulfilling prophecy

the tendency to let our preconceived expectations of others influence how we treat them, thus bringing out the very behavior we expect

social comparison

people evaluate themselves based on comparisons to other members of society or social circles

prejudice

unjustified negative attitude toward an individual solely based on the person’s membership group

discrimination

when prejudiced attitudes result in unjustified behavior toward members of that group

stereotype

a generalized belief about a group of people

explicit prejudice

outwardly shown

implicit prejudice

individuals hold prejudice/attitudes but may be unaware/not acknowledge

just-world phenomenon

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

in-groups

groups which we are members of

out-groups

groups which we don’t belong to

in-group bias

people tend to favor their own groups and attribute favorable qualities to “us”

out-group homogeneity

tendency to believe that all members of the other group are the same

other-race effect

the tendency to recall faces of one’s own race more accurately than the faces of other races

scapegoat theory

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

ethnocentrism

the belief that our culture is superior to others

contact theory

if members of two “opposing” groups are brought together in a situation, group cooperation will reduce prejudicial thinking

superordinate goals

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation

attitude

feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that cause us to act in a particular way to objects, people, and eventss

elaboration likelihood model

offers two ways of changing attitudes: central route persuasion and peripheral route persuasion

central route persuasion

attitude change path in which people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts

peripheral route persuasion

attitude change path in which people are influenced by incidental cues, such as speaker’s attractiveness

halo effect

using a popular athlete/model/someone you like to promote a product

foot in the door phenomenon

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

door in the face technique

someone makes a very large request that we refuse, then follows up with a smaller one. More likely to comply to that request because we feel guilty

reciprocity

technique used by groups to solicit contributions (someone gives you something small, you feel inclined to do something later)

low ball technique

when someone initially offers us a low price, then ups the price with additional costs we thought were included

social norms

implicit or explicit rules that apply to all members of the group and govern acceptable behavior and attitudes

conformity

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

social influence theory

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

normative social influence

going along with the decisions of a group in order to gain social approval

informational social influence

accepting others opinions about reality hoping to be right, especially under conditions of uncertainty

obedience

complying with an order or a command, usually from someone that is perceived with authority and power

Zimbardo prison study

controversial and unethical study where Stanford students were assigned roles as either a prison or guard, showing that good people can become bad based on the role and power given

cognitive dissonance

tension that results from holding conflicting beliefs, attitudes, opinions, or values or when our actions do not coincide with these cognitions (wearing shoes you hate because they were expensive)

social facilitation

tendency to perform well-learned tasks better in the presence of others

social impairment

tendency to perform worse on tasks you just learned in the presence of others

social loafing

the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when working toward attaining a common goal than when individually working on their own

deindividuation

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

group polarization

like minded people share ideas resulting in a more extreme position for every individual

group think

individuals self censor beliefs to preserve harmony in the group

bystander effect

tendency for people to be less likely to give aid if other people are present

diffusion of responsibility

people tend to reduce the sense of personal responsibility that person feels to help another person in need when others are present

individualism

western and english speaking cultures focus on this, it means focusing on independent self

collectivism

many Asian, Latin, and African cultures focus on this; “we” and accommodating group needs

multiculturalism

which places value on cultural and ethnic groups’ maintenance of their unique identities, beliefs, and practices

aggression

physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone physically or emotionally

frustration-aggression principle

when one is blocked from achieving some goal, it creates anger, which can generate aggression

bandura’s bobo doll experiment

obvserving aggression contributes to aggression

social scripts

a culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations

proximity

it is more likely you will become friends with or attracted to someone you see everyday

mere exposure effect

the phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli or person increases the likelihood of liking them

similarity

similar interests and social background is a likely determinant of who you become friends with and in love with

contact theory

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

social traps

a situation in which two people or groups, by each pursuing their self-interest rather than the good of everyone, become caught in mutually destructive behavior

superordinate goals

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation

altruism

selfless behavior, do something good for others without askng for anything in return

social exchange theory

the theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which to maximize benefits and minimize costs

social reciprocity norm

an expectation that people will help those who have helped them

social responsibility norm

an expectation that people will help those needing their help

personality

an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting. This is relatively permanent

psychodynamic theory of personality

the view of personality with a focus on the unconscious mind and importance of childhood experiences (based on Freud’s psychoanalysis)

unconscious

according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologist, information processing of which we are unaware

id

unconscious drives for basic desires and needs

superego

morality principle

ego

part of personality that balances the id and superego—the “reality principle”

defense mechanisms

in psychodynamic/psychoanalytic theory, the ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

repression

basic defense mechanism that removes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness

regression

individual faced with anxiety retreats to a more infantile stage

reaction formation

the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites

projection

people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others

rationalization

self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one’s actions

displacement

shifting aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person, as when redirecting anger toward a safer outlet

sublimation

people re-channel their unacceptable impulses into socially approved activities

denial

psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people refuse to believe or even to perceive painful realities

projective test

a personality test, such as the Rorschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics

Rorschach inkblot test

the most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots. Seeks to identify people’s feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots

thematic apperception test (TAT)

more modern projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes

humanistic theory of personality

focus on potential for healthy personal growth. Focuses on unconditional regard and the self-actualization tendency as primary motivating factors

self-actualization

the motivation to fulfill one’s potential, be the best person we can be

unconditional positive regard

a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental ttitude that help us develop self-awareness and self-acceptance

genuineness

being open with own feelings, being transparent and self-disclosing

empathy

understanding the feelings of others

trait theory

Belief that we each have relatively stable personality characteristics or dispositional attributes called traits

traits

relatively permanent characteristic of our personality that can be used to predict our behavior

factor analysis

a statistical procedure that identifies clusters/factors of test items align with basic components of a trait

Big five factors

Most commonly used trait theory which says personality has 5 traits

OCEAN

Openness

Conscientiousness

Extraversion

Agreeableness

Neuroticism

social cognitive theory of personality

views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people’s traits (including their thinking) and their social context

reciprocal determinism

the characteristics of the person, the person’s behavior, and the environment all affect one another in two-way causal relationships