Unit 14 Social Psychology

Social Psychology

The scientific study of how the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of people are influenced by the presence of others.

Attribution Theory

Explaining (attributing) someone's behavior by either the situation the person is in OR the person's disposition (characteristic/personality) by FRITZ HEIDER

Fundamental Attribution Error

A tendency when explaining (attributing) someone's behavior, we make the mistake by underestimating the impact of the situation and overestimate the impact of the person's disposition (characteristic/personality)

Attitude

A feeling of liking/disliking something/someone that can influence our behavior.

Peripheral Route Persuasion

Changing someone's attitude through means NOT related to LOGIC; instead appealing to fears, desires, and associations. This occurs when individuals lack the motivation or the capability to understand the speaker's message.

Central Route Persuasion

Changing someone's attitude through means focused on facts and the content of the message. It's analytical and uses evidence.

Foot-in-the-Door

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

Role

Set of expectations about the ways in which people are supposed to behave in different situations.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

We act to reduce the discomfort we feel when two of our thoughts are inconsistent (doesn't match) by LEON FESTINGER.

Conformity

adjusting one's behavior/thinking to match with a group.

Normative Social Influence

Conforming because of a desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval.

Social Facilitation

Improved performance of tasks in the presence of others; occurs with simple or well-learned tasks but not with tasks that are difficult or not yet mastered.

Social Loafing

a phenomenon whereby individuals become LESS productive (put in less effort) when in groups

Deindividuation

the LOSS of SELF-AWARENESS and SELF-RESTRAINT occurring in group situations that foster arousal and ANONYMITY.

Group Polarization

the tendency for a group to make decisions that are MORE EXTREME than the initial inclination of its members.

Groupthink

the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group OVERRIDES a realistic evaluation of other options.

Culture

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

Norm

an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior. They prescribe "proper" behavior.

Prejudice

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

Stereotype

a generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people.

Discrimination

Unjustifiable negative BEHAVIOR toward a group and its members.

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.

Ingroup

"Us"—people with whom we share a common identity.

Outgroup

"Them"—those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup.

Ingroup Bias

the tendency to favor our own group.

Scapegoat Theory

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

Other-Race Effect

the tendency to recall faces of one's own race more accurately than faces of other races. Also called the cross-race effect and the own-race bias

Aggression

physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone.

Social Script

Culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations.

Frustration-Aggression Principle

the principle that frustration (how you get when your attempt to achieve a goal is blocked) creates anger, which can generate aggression.

Mere Exposure Effect

the phenomenon that repeated exposure to new stimuli increases liking of them.

Passionate Love

an aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a love relationship.

Companionate Love

long-lasting relationship experience involving affection, trust, and concern for a partner's well-being

Equity

fairness

Self-Disclosure

revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others.

Altruism

unselfish concern for the welfare of others

Bystander Effect

the tendency for any given bystander to be LESS LIKELY to give aid if other bystanders are present.

Social Exchange Theory

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

Reciprocity Norm

an expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them. Help them because they helped you.

Social-Responsibility Norm

an expectation that people will help those who need help the most

Conflict

a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas.

Social Trap

a situation in which a group of people act to obtain short-term individual gains, which in the long run leads to a loss for the group as a whole

Mirror-Image Perceptions

mutual views often held by conflicting people, like when each side sees itself as good and peaceful and views the other side as evil and aggressive.

Self Fulfilling Prophecy

a belief that leads to its own fulfillment

Superordinate Goals

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation.

Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension Reduction (GRIT)

A strategy designed to decrease international tensions.

Solomon Asch

Studied conformity with his "Line Experiment."

Leon Festinger

American social psychologist known for his work in cognitive dissonance.

Stanley Milgram

Conducted a controversial "shock" experiment on obedience. He was interested in the obedience of Nazi soldiers during WWII and if their behaviors could be repeated with American citizens.

Philip Zimbardo

Famous for his Stanford Prison Experiment, which studied the psychological effects of being a prisoner or prison guard (role-playing, obedience, conformity, groupthink, etc).

self-serving bias

the tendency to perceive oneself favorably.

low-ball technique

2-step strategy in which the influencer secures agreement with a request by understating the true cost.

door-in-the-face

persuasive technique involving making an unreasonably large request before making the small request we're hoping to have granted

Fritz Heider

Proposed the attribution theory.

informational social influence

Conforming because we take group's comments or actions as a source of information about what is correct, proper, or effective.

What % of subjects in Asch's Line Experiment conformed to the group's "wrong" answer?

37% (About 1 out of 3 people)

When are people MORE likely to conform?

They like the group's status or find them attractive. They're incompetent or insecure.

Would a person coming from an individualistic culture or a collectivistic culture be MORE LIKELY to conform?

Collectivistic

In Milgram's Shock Experiment, what % of subjects went ALL the way to 450-volts to shock their "students"?

65% (about 2 out of 3 people)

When is obedience HIGHEST?

1. the person giving the orders was close at hand and was perceived to be a legitimate authority figure.
2. the authority figure was supported by a prestigious institution.
3. the victim was depersonalized or at a distance, even in another room
4. there were no role models for defiance