chapter 16

Attribution

How we explain our own and others' actions

if the action stems from:internal disposition or external situation

Two ways we determine attribution

fundamental attribution error (actor-observer bias)

the tendency for observers, when analyzing others' behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition

saliency bias

A type of attributional bias in which people tend to focus on the most noticeable (salient) factors when explaining the causes of behavior.

just-world phenomenon

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

self-serving bias

the tendency for people to take personal credit for success but blame failure on external factors

attitude

feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events

cognitive dissonance

unpleasant mental experience of tension resulting from two conflicting thoughts or beliefs

smoking even though you know it's bad for you

cognitive dissonance example

eating meat even though you know where it comes from (harming animals)

cognitive dissonance example

prejudice

an unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members. ____- generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action.

Discrimination

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members

prejudice is a negative attitude, discrimination is a negative behavior

prejudice vs discrimination

learning, personal experience, limited resources, displaced aggression, mental shortcuts

sources of prejudice and discrimination

mental shortcuts

having a stereotype makes thinking about people simpler, leads to automatic or implicit bias... this is what?

ingroup favoritism

perspective in which we see members of our ingroup as better than other people, and people not in our group as all the same

outgroup

"them" - those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup... people that are against us and helps justify discrimination

implicit bias

a hidden, automatic attitude that may guide behaviors independent of a person's awareness or control

superordinate goals

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation

Dr. Muzafer Shenf

who coined the term "superordinate goal"?

physical attractiveness

the more attractive someone is, the more positively they're viewed in personality... consequently they receive more benefits. people who don't meet society's standards are usually viewed unfavorably.

matching hypothesis

proposes that males and females of approximately equal physical attractiveness are likely to select each other as partners

Proximity

the distance of one person to another person... the closer people are in proximity, the more likely they are to befriend each other

mere exposure effect

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

similarity

common backgrounds, attitudes, and interests. these commonalities make it easier to share activities, communicate, and bolsters confidence and self esteem. this describes what?

complementary

attraction that often develops between opposite types of people because of the ability to supply what the other lacks. this describes what?

complementary

what factor helps with initial attraction but makes long term relationships difficult?

Stenberg's Triangular Theory of Love

passion, intimacy, commitment are the three components of what?

utility value

the ability of a person to help another achieve his or her goals

Romantic Love (Sternberg)

intimacy and passion without commitment (ex: summer fling). this describes what?

Infatuation (Sternberg)

passion alone (ex: love at first sight, obsessive). this describes what?

Fatuous Love (Sternberg)

passion and commitment, no intimacy, shallow relationship without time for intimacy to develop. this describes what?

Empty Love (Sternberg)

commitment only, decision to love each other without intimacy or passion. this describes what?

Companionate Love (Sternberg)

intimacy and commitment, long term committed friendship in which the passion has faded (ex: marriage). this describes what?

Liking (Sternberg)

intimacy only, friendships without passion or long term commitment, this describes what?

Consummate Love (Sternberg)

intimacy, passion, commitment, ideal love, difficult to attain. this describes what?

Solomon Asch

conformity; showed that social pressure can make a person say something that is obviously incorrect ; in a famous study in which participants were shown cards with lines of different lengths and were asked to say which line matched the line on the first card in length

Conformity

Adjusting one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.

normative social influence

conformity to a group norm to fit in, feel good, and be accepted by the group

informational social influence

the influence of other people that results from taking their comments or actions as a source of information about what is correct, proper, or effective

reference group

any group or person that we conform to because we like and admire them and want to be like them

Stanley Milgram

obedience to authority; had participants administer what they believed were dangerous electrical shocks to other participants; wanted to see if Germans were an aberration or if all people were capable of committing evil actions

Obedience

changing one's behavior, usually at the command of an authority figure

Legitimacy and closeness of the authority figure, remoteness of the victim, assignment of responsibility, modeling or imitating others

what are the four factors that contribute to our obedience?

Stanford Prison Experiment

Philip Zimbardo's study of the effect of roles on behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to play either prisoners or guards in a mock prison. The study was ended early because of the "guards'" role-induced cruelty.

Deindividuation

the reduction in personal identity and erosion of the sense of personal responsibility when one is part of a group, usually when members feel anonymous

group polarization

tendency of group members to move to an extreme position after discussing an issue as a group, depends on members' initial dominant tendency

Groupthink

the tendency of group members to conform, resulting in a narrow view of some issue

the group doesn't consider all alternatives and are discouraged from expressing concerns

why is groupthink a faulty decision making method

illusions of vulnerability

excessive optimism encourages taking extreme risks

self-censorship (groupthink)

Withholding of opposing ideas in a group to keep everyone happy

rationalizing (groupthink)

prevents members from reconsidering their beliefs and causes them to ignore warning signs

Mindguards (Groupthink)

People appointed to protect against opposing views

psychosocial factors of aggression

aversive stimuli, culture and learning, violent media/culture-video games

aggression hormones

testosterone... also linked to serotonin and GABA

altruism (helping behavior)

selfless concern for the well-being of others

egoistic model of helping

A proposed explanation for helping that suggests we help because of anticipated gain—later reciprocation, increased self-esteem, or avoidance of distress and guilt.

empathy-altruism model

people who put themselves in the shoes of a victim and imagining how the victim feel will experience empathic concern that evokes an altruistic motivation for helping.

central route to persuasion

occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts (ex: watching a commercial and deciding to buy based on the product details). this describes what?

peripheral route persuasion

occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues (ex: watching the commercial and buying the product based on how attractive the actor was)

foot in the door

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

door in the face

people are more likely to agree to a small request after they have refused a large request

door in the face

an refused to buy a $20 package of wrapping paper from the student fund-raiser, but then agreed to buy a $5 bar of chocolate. this is an example of...

norms of reciprocity

People tend to think that when someone does something nice for them, they ought to do something nice in return.

social facilitation

improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others

social impairment

the tendency for the presence of other people to have a negative impact on the performance of a difficult task

social loafing

the tendency for people to put less effort into a simple task when working with others on that task

bystander effect

the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present

diffusion of responsibility

the tendency for individuals to feel diminished responsibility for their actions when they are surrounded by others who are acting the same way

evolutionary model

we help because it's instinctual behavior that's evolved because it favors survival