psych 13

social psychology

how our environment influences us

mimicry

copying behaviours of other people

social norms

unwritten guidelines that dictate how we behave in certain situations

social loafing

when working in groups, people tend to put in less effort

social facilitation

the tendency for people to perform differently when in the presence of others compared to when alone, often leading to enhanced performance on simple tasks

yerkes-dodson law

a principle that suggests there is an optimal level of arousal for performance, indicating that too little or too much arousal can hinder performance

groupthink

when working in a group, people tend to come to problematic conclusions easily due to the desire for harmony or conformity within the group, often leading to poor decision-making

group polarization

the danger of intertwining identity with politics which can lead to more extreme positions and opinions as group members reinforce each other's views

conformity

changing one’s behaviour to fit in with others

normative influence

maintaining a private belief which goes against a group’s, but publicly conforming to fit in or avoid disapproval.

informational influence

becoming convinced that the group is correct and adjusting personal beliefs

ostracism

the exclusion from a group or society, often leading to feelings of isolation and distress

bystander effect

being surrounded by a group of people makes you less likely to help

diffusion of responsibility

the phenomenon where individuals in a group feel less personal responsibility to act, assuming others will take action

pluralistic ignorance

when feeling uncertain in a situation, people to conform to how other people react to the situation and follow it

social roles

roles (ie. jobs) that we find ourselves in which influence our behaviour and expectations

deindividuation

a psychological state characterized by a loss of self-awareness and individual accountability in certain situations, often leading to impulsive or deviant behavior

milgram’s obedience study

participants instructed by someone of authority to give increasing electric shocks to another participant

person perception

use of dual process model

dual process model

implicit and explicit processes

implicit processes

unconscious, quick/automatic, emotional thinking

explicit processes

conscious, slower and more deliberate, rational thinking.

self fulfilling prophecies

occurs when a belief or expectation about a person or event leads to behavior that causes the belief to come true.

false consensus effect

tendency to assume that the way we think is the same for others

naive realism

tendency to assume that our perception is right and if someone has a different view is wrong

better than average effect

the assumption that you are better at a certain skill than other people

dunning kruger effect

tendency for people who lack knowledge to overestimate their abilities

internal attribution

explaining a person’s behaviour as being caused by their personal characteristics or traits

external attribution

explaining a person’s behaviour as being caused by their environment

locus of control

the extent to which individuals believe they have control over events in their life

fundamental attribution error

the tendency to resort to internal attributions (behaviour/personality) when judging others

ingroup

group of people that we feel like we belong with

outgroup

people we feel that differ from us

ingroup bias

more likely to favour members of our ingroup over outgroup members.

stereotype

common beliefs that exist within society

prejudice

adopting stereotypes and creating your personal attitude toward a person

discrimination

changing your behaviour based on prejudice

mary whiton calkins

were denied of her PhD due to discrimination despite many teachers advocating for her

implicit association test

a psychological test that measures the strength of automatic associations between concepts (skin colour and a peace or negative term), often used to assess implicit biases.

reducing implicit bias

programming through practice, explicit training to unlearn adopted stereotypes

the contact hypothesis

in order to reduce bias, we must have regular contact with diverse sets of people who share common goals and equal power/status

implicit bias

the unconscious attitudes or stereotypes that affect understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner, often leading to discriminatory behavior.

explicit bias

the attitudes or beliefs that one is aware of and can consciously control, often leading to overt discrimination.

elaboration likelihood model

a dual-process model (both implicit and explicit processes) of how and when we can become persuaded or persuade somehow through central or peripheral routes, depending on motivation and ability.

central route

explicit processes, engaging with a person’s logic, leading to a permanent change in attitude

peripheral route

implicit processes, more effective when a person lacks motivation or takes longer to process an argument

construal level theory

central route, which explains how psychological/personal distance affects how connected to feel to something

the identifiable victim effect

the tendency to be more moved for action when hearing a personal story of suffering

the experiential system

operates implicitly, using emotional and intuitive processes to guide decision-making and behavior.

the analytic system

operates explicitly, acts slower and methodically, uses logical proesses

attitude inoculation

a strategy for strengthening an individual's existing attitudes by exposing them to weak counterarguments to become more resistant to persuasion.

damaging the central route

can be caused by messages being too complexed and overwhelming, leading to negative emotions and lack of ability to understand the argument being made

enhancing the peripheral route

use of authority presences, how much we like a person, social validation

halo effect

when we have a positive impression, easier to attribute positive attributes to them

reciprocity

enhancing the peripheral route, feeling the sense of obligation to others who have done us a favour in the past

door in face technique

a persuasion strategy where an initial large request is made knowing it will be refused, followed by a smaller, more reasonable request.

foot in the door technique

a persuasion strategy that involves making a small request first, which is likely to be accepted, followed by a larger request.

cognitive dissonance theory

the psychological discomfort experienced when there is strong inner tension and the want to resolve it

justification of effort

unconsciously trying to find internal justifications for actions and beliefs