social psychology

who published the first study on social psych?

Norman Triplett (1898)

what was the first study on social psych about and what did it find?

the effect of competition on performance and it found that people do better on familiar tasks in the presence of others

who published the first textbooks on social psych (independently)?

william mcdougall and e.h. ross (1908)

who was the first to suggest that social approval infulences behavior?

Verplank

who created the reinforcement theory (1950’s)?

verplank, pavlov, thornedike, hull, and skinner

what does reinforcement theory say?

behavior is motivated by the anticipated rewards

what is albert banduras most well known theory?

social learning theory

what does social learning theory say?

behavior is learned through immitation

who created role theory (1970’s)?

bindle

what does role theory say?

people know the roles they are suppose to fill and behavior can be attributed to adopting these roles

what other theories influence social psych the most?

cognitive theory

what does cognitive theory say that influences social psych?

perception, judgement, memories, and decision making influence behavior and arousal

what are attitudes?

cognitions, beliefs, feelings, and behavioral predispositions

typically opinion statements (likes/dislikes of people/things/ideas)

what does consistency theory say?

people prefer consistency and will/wont change based upon this preference

who created balance theory?

fritz heider

what does balance theory say?

the way 3 elements relate results in balance (all 3 fit together 1 or 3 positive) or stress (no balance, 0 or 2 positives)

what are the 3 elements of balance theory?

P = person we are talking about

O = other person

X = thing/idea/other person

balance theory figures

who created cognitive dissonance theory and social omparison theory?

leon festinger

what does cognitive dissonance theory say?

conflict you feel when your attitudes aren’t in synch with your behavior

the greater the dissonance, the greater the pressure to reduce it

when behavior can be justified by means of external inducements ($), there is no need to change cognitions

minimal justification effect

two types of cognitive dissonance

two main principles

what are the two types of cognitive dissonance?

free choice - making a choice between desirable options and post-decision dissonance and spreading of alternatives

forced compliance - forced to behave inconsistently with beliefs

what are the two principles of cognitive dissonance?

1) if there is pressure to do/say something, there is a tendency to chin beliefs

2) the greater the pressure, the less likely to change

what is the minimal justification effect?

when external justification is minimal, dissonance is reduced by changing cognitions

who created the self-perception theory?

Daryl Bem

what does self-perception theory say?

when an attitude is weak/ambiguous, you observe your own behavior and attribute an attitude to yourself

you infer your attitude based on your behavior

does not hypothesize dissonance - initial attitude is irrelevant and no discomfort is produced by the behavior

over justification effect

carl hovelands model

deals with attitude change as part of communicating a message with intent to persuade someone

3 components: communicator, communication, and situation

arguing against your self interest can cause significant change in attitude

credible sources are most efficient

sleeper effect and two sided messages

what is the sleeper effect?

credible sources loose impact and uncredible sources gain impact over time

two sided messages

messages that include arguments for and against a position

what is the elaboration model of persuasion?

two routes of persuasion:


1. central route - issue is very important to us, we follow argument closely and evaluate the argument. strong arguments > weak arguments
2. peripheral route - issue is not that important to us, we don’t really pay attention, and strength of argument does not matter

who created the elaboration model of persuasion?

Petty and Cacioppo

what is the theory of resistance to persuasion?

analogy of inoculation (william mcguire)

analogy of inoculation

people can be inoculated to persuasion: 1. expose a weakened argument 2. refute argument

cultural truism - unquestioned beliefs

belief perseverance - hold beliefs even after they are proven false

reactance - freedom is pressured so person acts in a way to reassert a sense of freedom

what does social comparison theory say?

we are drawn to affiliate because of a tendency to evaluate ourselves in relationships to other people

3 principle:


1. people prefer to evaluate themselves by objective, nonsocial means and compare to others when this isn’t possible
2. the fewer similarities and tendencies, the lower tendency to make the comparison
3. if discrepancies exist with opinions and abilities, we tend to change position to move towards the group

what did stanley schachter say about the social comparison theory?

the greater the anxiety, the greater the desire to affiliate

anxious people prefer the company of other anxious people (anxiety and need to compare self may play a role here)

what is the reciprocity hypothesis?

we tend to like people who like us and tend to dislike those who dislike us

we take into account another persons evaluation of us

gain loss principle

who created the gain loss principle?

aronson and linder

what does the gain loss principle say?

an evaluation that changes will have more of an impact than an evaluation that remains constant

we will like someone more if their evaluation of us increases and does not stay the same

what does the social exchange theory say?

a person weighs the rewards and cost of interaction

when rewards outweigh costs the greater the interaction (max. rewards, min. cost)

equity theory

what does equity theory say?

we consider our own rewards and the other persons rewards and prefer them to be equal, there will be instability if inequal

affiliation and attraction with individual characteristics

correlation between affiliation and similarity of intelligence, attitude, education, age, religion, SES, etc.

need complementary - people choose relationships so they mutually satisfy each others needs

potency of physical attractiveness - attractiveness stereotype says we attribute positive qualities and desirable characteristics to attractive people

spatial proximity - tend to develop a greater liking to someone who lives closer because they are more accessible and there is an increased intensity of initial reaction

mere exposure hypothesis (Zojanc) - based on familiarity, repeated exposure leads to increased liking

what is the potency of physical attractiveness?

attractiveness stereotype says we attribute positive qualities and desirable characteristics to attractive people

what is spatial proximity?

tend to develop a greater liking to someone who lives closer because they are more accessible and there is an increased intensity of initial reaction

mere exposure hypothesis (Zojanc) - based on familiarity, repeated exposure leads to increased liking

what did john darley and bibb latane study? what did they fine?

bystander intervention

two factors in deciding whether or not to help: social influence and diffusion of responsibility

what was the experiments john darley and bibb latane did regarding bystander intervention?

smoke experiment (social influence): participants did not respond if they didn’t think the fire was real

seizure experiment (diffusion of responsibility): 100% reported when they thought they were alone, 85% when 2 others, and 62% when 4 others

social influence with bystanders

if others arent acting in emergency then they wont either

pluralistic ignorance - leading others to define event as nonemergency

diffusion of responsibility with bystanders

the more people that are present, the less likely the individual is to offer help

if alone, 100% of responsibility is on individual

who created the empathy-altruism model?

Batson

what is the empathy-altruism model?

when in a situation where others may need help, people may feel distress or empathy which determines the helping behavior

empathy

ability to vicariously experience the emotions of others

what experiment did batson do? what did he find?

people watched others getting shocked and there were 2 conditions: easy escape (chance to leave after 2 shocks) or difficult escape (had to stay for 10 shocks)

after 2 shocks the participants filled out how distressed they were

easy escape participants reported more distress and left

difficult escape participants reported more empathy and helped

what is the frustration-aggression hypothesis?

when people are frustrated they act aggressively

the strength of aggression correlates with strength of frustration

what did banduras social learning theory say about aggression?

aggression is learned through modeling and reinforcement

believes aggression is selectively reinforces - people act aggressively because they expect a reward

bobo doll experiment

what is the most influential theory on aggression?

bandura’s social learning theory

who did the major conformity and obedience studies?

mazafer sherif, soloman asch, and stanley milgram

what did sherif’s conformity study find?

the autokinetic effect on subjects estimated change so that group agreed on amount of movement

individuals conform to the group and judgement converges on the same group norm

what did asch’s conformity study find?

length of line study found alone subject got the line length wrong

conformity

yielding to group pressure without explicit demand

what did milgram’s obedience study find?

the effects of punishment on learning and obedience to authority

found the drive to obey was greater than the drive not to hurt others

when confederates defied, so did participants

had confederates deliver shock and participants did entire experiment

what is the foot in door effect?

compliance with a small request increases the likelihood of compliance with a larger request

what is the door in the face effect?

refusing a large initial request increases the likelihood to agree to a second, smaller effect

compliance

changes in behavior as result of pressure

what influences self perception?

other peoples views, social roles, and group memberships

what was the clark and clark doll preference study? what did they find?

ethnic self-concept of black and white kids

majority preferred white doll

showcased negative effects of racism

what has research since the clark and clark doll preference study shown?

black kids hold positive view of ethnicity

dimensions of personal identity

several factors determine which identity is enacted in particular situation

hierarchy of salience

the more salient, the more conformity

what is albert banduras self-efficacy?

individuals belief in their ability to execute behavior

those with strong efficacy exert more effort on harder tasks

judgement based on previous performance, vicarious experiences, social persuasion, and psychological and emotional states

social perception

the way we form impressions about characteristics of a certain group/individual

primary effect

occasions when the first impressions are more important than subsequent impressions

recency effect

the most recent info we have about someone is most important

what is attribution theory? who created it?

fritz heider

tendency to infer the cause of other people’s behavior

we attempt to discover cause and effect in events

two causes - situational (external and related to surroundings; threats, peers, money) or dispositional (related to features of person whose behavior is being considered; attitude, personality)

bias towards dispositional causes

what is the fundamental attribution bias?

tendency to look for personality flaws in situations rather than looking for situational influences

what is the halo effect?

tendency to allow a general impression of someone influence other, more specific evaluations of the person

this is why people are often inaccurate in evaluations of people they believe are generally good/bad

what is the belief in a just world?

belief that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people

a strong belief in a just world increases victim blaming because it doesn’t allow for innocent victims

the presence of others can…

improve or worsen performance

what did theodore newcombs study find?

over time, students increasingly accept norms of community

66% of parents voted republican, 62% of freshman, 43% of sophomores, and 15% of juniors and seniors

what did edward hall study?

proxemics

how culture governs how far away from one another we stand

proxemics

study of how individuals space themselves in relation to others

what is zojoncs theory?

increased arousal in presence of others which consequently enhances emission of a dominant response (mistakes or correct acts)

what is social loafing?

tendency for people to put forth less effort when part of a group

what did philip zimbardo find when he studied anonymity?

people are more likely to commit antisocial acts when they feel anonymous within the social environment because there is a diminished restraint of unacceptable behavior

what is deindividualization?

loss of self-awareness and personal identity

what is often a factor in group decision making?

group think

what is group think?

the group decision making strives for consensus and does not consider discordant info

what is the risky shift?

group decisions are often riskier than individual decisions

what is the value hypothesis of the risky shift?

risky shifts occur in situations where riskiness is valued culturally

what did james stoner study?

group decisions

gave couples a dilemma (about pregnancy) and found that decisions shifted towards caution and away from risk

found that this shift may be determined by the nature of the risk

what is group polarization?

the tendency for a group discussion to enhance the initial tendencies towards riskiness or caution

what do leaders possess and do that followers do not?

special qualities and they engage in more commuication

what can increase some ones perceived leadership?

increased amount the person speaks (even artificially)

what did kurt lewis study?

the effects of leadership styles

laisse-faire: less efficient, organized, and satisfying

autocratic: more hostile, aggressive, dependent, work

democratic: more satisfying, cohesive, and work ethic and motivation

Aronson & Linder

Asch

Bandura

Bem

Clark & Clark

gain & loss principle

conformity

social learning theory

self-perception theory

doll preferences

Darley & Latane

Eagly

Festinger

Hall

Heider

Hovland

non-helping factors (social influence and diffusion of responsibility)

gender differences and conformity (gender roles)

cognitive dissonance theory and social comparison theory

interpersonal distance

balance theory & attribution theory

attitude change

Janis

Lerner

Lewin

McGuire

Milgram

Newcomb

group think and group decisions (why they go wrong)

belief in a just world

leadership styles

psychological inoculation

obedience (shock) & stimulus overload theory

political norms

Petty &Cacioppo

Schachter

Sherif

Zajonc

Zimbardo

elaboration likelihood model of persuasion (route of persuasion)

relationship between anxiety and affiliation

autokinetic effect (robbers cave)

mere exposure effect & social facilitation effect

prison simulation

cooperation

people act together for mutual benefit

competition

person acts for their benefit so they can obtain a goal that has limited availability

what is the prisoners dilemma?

experiment that investigated people choice to cooperate or compete

prisoners dilemma figure

who did the robbers cave experiment?

Muzafer Sherif