social psych exam 1

social cognition

how we think about ourselves and others in a social context

self concept

thoughts and beliefs about oneself

how do we formulate our self-concept?

from observing our own behavior memories and prior experiences

self perception theory

we learn about ourselves through observing our own behaviors; our behavior provides insight into our thoughts and about ourselves

2 types of social comparison theory

upward and downward

self-schema

how your beliefs about yourself organize and guide processing social info

self fufilling prophecy

we produce behavior that match what others say about us

whats correlated with mental and physical health

self-esteem

narcissism

overinflated sense of self often accompanied by egocentrism, belief that one is better than others, and a corresponding lack of empathy for others

psychological immune system

we attempt to protect and maintain our self esteem, likely because it is more adaptive and functional

self-serving bias

taking credit for successes and denying our failures

self-handicapping

sabotage future performance due to fear of failure

false consensus and uniqueness

when we mess up, “everybody does that “ (consensus) and when we succeed, “only we could have done that” (uniqueness )

unrealistic optimism

beleiving our likelihood for encountering negative events is unlikely, especially compared to rest of population

dual processing theories

both conscious and unconscious factors affect our self-concept and behavior

attributional deficiency

we have difficulty figuring out or explaining why we do what we do

planning fallacy

underestimating how long it will take us to complete a task

impact bias

believing our current emotions will be more extreme, and for longer , than they actually are

locus of control

what we think controls the outcome of life

example of external locus of control

learned helplessness - when someone starts believing they can’t change or control a situation, even when they actually can.

self presentations

placing our “best foot forward”

self- monitoring

how much you change your behavior around others

spotlight effect

believing other people notice your physical appearance

estimated 50% will notice shirt, only 23% did

illusion transparency

believing people can tell our mood

ex: people rated themselves on how nervous they thought the student observer would rate them, they rated lower

infamous marshmallow study shows

ones ability to control their behavior is correlated with success in school and work

priming

flashing a stimuli that may influence later decisions, either consciously or unconsciously

schemas

our “mental frameworks” used to perceive and organize our world or the typical person, place or thing

scripts

the “play by play” or typical sequence of events that occurs within a larger event

ex: what TYPICALLY happens in a lecture classroom

conformation bias

search for evidence to confirm our beliefs but ignore evidence disproving them

what does belief perseverance say about what happens when we obtain information that contradicts our existing beliefs

we will ignore it and keep our beliefs in the face of cantradictory evidence

2 types of persuasion

education and propaganda

education persuasion

positive persuasion, like/ agree with message

propaganda persuasion

negative persuasion, dislike/ disagree with message

the central route

attending/ deeply engaging with the message

the peripheral route

not attending/ deeply engaging with the message

the peripheral route is a form of ___

heuristic processing

the central and peripheral routes align with

dual processing theory, central route is conscious processing mode and peripheral route is unconscious processing mode

motivation, interest, unlimited resources, systematic, controlled, argument

central route

not motivated, not interested,limited resources, heuristic, automatic, periphery

peripheral route

Cialdini’s principles of persuasion: reciprocity

providing someone with something makes them want to return the favor

Cialdinini’s principles of persuasion: commitment/ consistency

making an initial decision makes them more likely to stick with it even when things change

lowball technique

Getting someone to agree to an offer then changing the terms to make it less attractive, hoping they will still agree

Cialdini’s principles of persuasion: social proof

people are more likely to do something when they see other people doing it

Cialdini’s principles of persuasion: liking

warm feelings towards someeone increases compliance

Cialdini’s principles of persuasion: authority

more likely to be persuaded by “credible experts”

Cialdini’s principles of persuasion: scarcity

people want something more whwn they believe its limited or hard to get

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sleeper effect

when a message becomes more persuasive over time even though its source was not credible at first

what makes a communicator appear “expert”?

good body posture, eye contact, speaking more quickly also listening, their perceived credentials

what makes a communicator appear “trustworthy”

having another person introduce them, not explicitly attempting to persuade, not making too much eye contact

should the communicator use the central or peripheral route if they’re trying to use a logically based argument

central

should the communicator use the central or peripheral route if they’re trying to use a emotionally based argument

peripheral route

is evoking more fear always more persuasive, or can a message evoke too much fear (and backfire)? EARLIER RESEARCH

suggests too much fear could backfire

is evoking more fear always more persuasive, or can a message evoke too much fear (and backfire)? LATER RESEARCH

suggests that more fear = more persuasion

What is the curvilinear relationship between fear and persuasion?

too little fear is ineffective, moderate fear is most persuasive, and too much fear can backfire.

What is the linear relationship between fear and persuasion?

the more fear a message evokes, the more persuasive it becomes

foot in the door (bait and switch)

initially making a small request makes it more likely the recipient will later agree to a larger request

door in the face

initially making a larger request that someone is likely to refuse makes it more likely they will agree to a smaller request after

arguments presented first

primacy effects

arguments presented last

recency effects

thoughtfulness

what the recipient thinks about while listening to the communicators argument matters

need for cognition

people who like to deeply think about issues are more likely to use the central route and persuaded by good arguments

a predisposition to respond in a favorable or unfavorable manner to an attitude object

attitudes

Important Attitudinal Characteristics: readiness for response

prepares one to act either positively or negatively

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Important Attitudinal Characteristics: evaluative

an (un)favorable thought/ feeling

Intangible ideas that are not directly observable

hypothetical constructs

the ABCS of attitudes:

Affect, Behavioral cognitions

Response latency (i.e., IAT)

Faster responses = stronger attitudes

Explicit Attitudes

attitudes we are consciously aware of and can consciously express

implicit attitudes

Automatic feelings or beliefs that you may not be consciously aware of.

Social desirability:

Changing your answer to look good or be accepted by others.

Most common measurement approach of implicit behaviors:

implicit association test

moral hypocrisy (Batson et al)

appearing moral while avoiding actually doing it

Are attitudes and behavior related? NO

LaPiere, , Wicker, Batson et al.

Are attitudes and behavior related? YES

more recent (Glasman & Alberracin, 2006)

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Research has identified an important mediator:

behavioral intention

Attitudes lead to ____ which then leads to ___

an intention to act, behavior

The idea that attitudes, social norms, and perceived control influence our intentions, which influence our behavior.

theory of planned behavior

Strong attitudes are often

formed via direct experience

Principle of Compatibility

Specific attitudes are better at predicting specific behaviors.

Principle of Aggregation

Attitudes predict a pattern of behaviors rather than one single behavior.

Does behavior affect attitudes?

Yes- Zimbardo Prison Study, self-perception theory, cognitive dissonance

Self-perception theory

We figure out our attitudes by observing our own behavior

theory of cognitive dissonance

We feel uncomfortable when our behavior and attitudes don’t match, so we may change our attitude to reduce it.

Why does behavior affect attitudes?: Self-presentation/impression management

We don’t want to appear inconsistent

Why does behavior affect attitudes?: Self-justification/overjustification

We convince ourselves we actually hold the attitudes that would justify our behaviors

Why does behavior affect attitudes?: Self-perception

We figure out our attitudes by observing our own behavior.

mediating variable

Explains how or why one social factor affects another.

moderating variable

Explains when a social factor has a stronger or weaker effect.

conformity

changing behavior due to real or imagined pressure

compliance

Changing behavior due to pressure but not believing in the change (dressing)

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Muzafer Sherif (1935-37)

blinking light in dark room “how far did the light move?” Individual estimate and group estimate

Solomon Asch: group pressure (1946, 55)

conforming to a group’s incorrect answer because of social pressure

Asch % of people conformed to confederates wrong answers

37%

(1965, 74) a “teacher” quizzed a “learner” abt their memory for word lists while an “experimenter” observed behind the “teacher” in a white lab coat

Milgram: Obedience

Milgram results

2/3 participants shocked learners to what they thought to be 450 volts