Social Psychology

1. What is the social brain hypothesis?

Primates have large brains, in particular large prefrontal cortices, because they live in complex social groups that change over time.

2. What is a group? What are ingroups and outgroups?

2+ individuals who interact, share common goals and influence how each other thinks.

Groups to which you belong, and groups to which you do not belong.

3. What are social norms? What are roles? What is role conflict?

Explicit and implicit rules that govern the behavior and attitudes of group members.

The behavior expected of an individual because of their group membership.

A state of tension or distress that occurs when a person's roles have conflicting expectations.

4. What are the conditions of reciprocity and transitivity in terms of group formation?

To form a group, reciprocity and transitivity must be respected: people treat others as other people treat them & people generally share their friends’ opinions about others.

5. What is the outgroup homogeneity effect?

The tendency to view outgroup members as less varied than ingroup members.

6. What is the positivity bias? What is ingroup favoritism?

The tendency to view ingroup members more favorably than outgroup members.

We are more likely to distribute resources/do favors to/for ingroup members than to/for outgroup members.

7. What is social identity theory?

People not only identify with certain groups but also value these groups and experience pride in group membership.

8. What is the minimal group paradigm?

When groups are formed completely arbitrarily. 

9. What brain area is associated with group membership?

The medial prefrontal cortex, it is important about thinking about other people (generally or specifically).

10. What is dehumanization?

When opponents view each other as less than human and thus less deserving of moral consideration.

11. What is the risky shift effect? What is group polarization?

The tendency for decisions made in groups to be less conservative than the decision of the average group member.

The enhancement of a group’s prevailing inclinations through discussion.

12. What is groupthink and when does it typically occur?

When a group faces external pressure, members may not voice their disagreements, instead opting to go along with a bad decision to maintain group harmony.

13. What is mindguarding?

To preserve good feelings, only dissenting voices are suppressed.

14. How can groupthink be prevented?

When a leader welcomes various opinions, invites experts' critiques of developing plans, and assigns people to identify possible problems.

15. What is minority influence?

The power of a minority to sway majorities when they have a firm unwavering belief.

16. What is social facilitation?

Enhanced performance in the presence of others.

17. What is social impairment?

Reduced performance in the presence of others.

18. What is evaluation apprehension?

The uneasiness or worry about being judged or evaluated negatively by others.

19. What was Zajonc’s model to explain facilitation and impairment?

All animals are genetically predisposed to become aroused in the presence of others of our own species because it is associated with most rewards/punishments. Arousal leads animals to emit a dominant response. If the response is easy, social facilitation occurs. If the response is hard, social impairment occurs.

20. What is social loafing?

The tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts towards a common goal than when they are held individually accountable.

21. What is a diffusion of responsibility?

When people feel less individually accountable and thus are less concerned with what others think.

22. What is deindividuation?

Immersion in a group causes people to become less concerned with personal values. The presence of others can arouse us & diminish our sense of responsibility, especially if people can remain anonymous.

23. What is conformity?

Altering our behavior to match that of others or to match what is expected. 

24. What is the chameleon effect?

Unconsciously mimicking others’ expressions, posture or voice.

25. What is mood linkage?

A sharing of moods.

26. Describe the two primary reasons as to why people conform

Normative influence, which is when we go along with the group to fit in or avoid looking foolish.

Informational influence, which is when there is uncertainty about what is correct/expected, so people look to others for cues as to how to respond.

27. What percentage of people in the Asch experiment knowingly gave a wrong answer on each occasion?

37%.

28. What did Asch conclude about people who deviate from the group norm?

They are actively disliked.

29. Describe the factors that can increase and decrease conformity

Group size (smaller groups decrease conformity), lack of consensus (1+ dissenting voices decreases conformity) & social/cultural context (people tend to conform in collectivistic countries).

30. What is obedience?

The tendency to do what powerful people or people in positions of authority tell us to do.

31. In the Milgram experiment, what percentage of people did psychologists believe would actually shock someone up to 450 volts? What percentage actually ended up doing it?

0-3%.

62%.

32. What was Milgram’s main conclusion?

Ordinary people can be coerced into obedience by insistent authorities.

33. Describe the factors that can increase or decrease obedience

Buffers (when you can’t see the consequences of obedience, it’s easier to obey), perception of a legitimate authority, foot in the door (if you do a small act, it becomes easier to do a slightly larger act) & socialization. 

34. What is aggression? What is the difference between instrumental aggression and hostile aggression?

Behavior whose purpose is to harm another.

Aggressive behavior is done to achieve some goal, versus aggression for aggression’s sake.

35. What role may the amygdala play in aggression?

The amygdala’s reactivity is a good predictor of aggression.

36. What role may serotonin play in aggression? What have low levels of serotonin been associated with in adults and children?

Serotonin is important in controlling aggressive behavior.

Low serotonin levels tend to increase the likelihood of aggressive behavior.

37. How does testosterone seem to promote aggressive behavior?

By making people concerned with their status and by making people feel powerful & confident that they can prevail.

38. In what ways do women differ from men in their use of aggression?

Women are typically less aggressive than men, but female aggression is usually less impulsive than male aggression.

39. What is the frustration aggression hypothesis?

The extent to which a person is frustrated predicts the likelihood of aggression.

40. How does the cognitive neoassociationistic model of aggression differ from the frustration aggression model?

The CNMA emphasizes the role of negative emotions in triggering aggression, stating that frustration leads to aggression by eliciting negative emotions, thus implying that only situations that elicit negative emotions can trigger aggression.

41. What relationship does the MAOA gene have to aggression?

It controls the amount of monoamine oxidase, an enzyme that regulates serotonin levels.

42. What are prosocial behaviors?

Behaviors that are motivated by empathy and aim to benefit others. 

43. What is social exchange theory? What is the reciprocity norm?

Our constant goal is to maximize rewards and reduce costs: thus, self-interest motivates prosocial behavior.

People should benefit those who have benefited them.

44. What is altruism? What is inclusive fitness/kin selection?

Providing help when it is needed without any apparent benefit or reward for doing so.

Animals are more altruistic toward those with whom they share genes because organisms focus on transmitting their genes rather than on individual survival.

45. What is reciprocal altruism?

One animal helps another with the expectation that those benefits will be returned in the future.

46. According to Darley and Latane, what three things have to happen in a situation in order for a person to offer help?

One must notice the incident, interpret the incident as an emergency, and assume responsibility for helping.

47. What is the bystander effect/bystander apathy?

The failure to help by those who observe someone in need.

48. Describe the 4 factors that may cause bystander apathy

Diffusion of responsibility (bystanders expect that others will help), people may fear of making a social blunder or feel like they don’t have the expertise to intervene, people are less likely to help when they are anonymous and can remain so & in any situation, people only weigh how much risk they would put themselves in by helping and what benefits would they lose out on if they help.

49. In what situations can close contact help to reduce conflict?

If the contact is noncompetitive and between people of an equal status.

50. In the Robbers’ Cave Study, what type of contact did Sherif found worked best to reduce conflict?

Cooperative contact/shared superordinate: goals that require cooperation.

51. What are attitudes?

Enduring positive or negative evaluations of people, objects or events formed through experience and socialization.

52. What is the mere exposure effect?

Greater exposure to an item increases familiarity with it which causes people to have more positive attitudes about that item.

53. Which type of attitudes do people seem to develop the fastest?

Negative attitudes.

54. What factors influence the likelihood of predicting attitudes from behavior?

Specificity, strength of attitudes, direct experience, vested interest & accessibility.

55. What is the difference between explicit and implicit attitudes? What is the IAT?

Explicit attitudes are ones you know and can tell others about, while implicit attitudes work on a nonconscious level so that we are not always aware of them. 

A test designed to measure implicit attitudes.

56. What is balance theory?

People have a preference for triads where relationships are in harmony & an aversion to disharmonious triads.

57. What is cognitive dissonance? When does it occur? What does it motivate people to do?

Becoming aware of two conflicting thoughts, or a conflicting thought and behavior, causes an aversive feeling of dissonance that people are motivated to reduce by changing a thought or behavior.

58. What are rationalizations?

Myths we tell ourselves to reduce dissonance.

59. What were the results of Festinger’s dissonance experiment?

Insufficient justification for a behavior can lead to a change in attitude to reduce cognitive dissonance. 

60. What is post-decisional dissonance?

Coming to terms with a decision you made.

61. What is persuasion?

The active and conscious effort to change an attitude or behavior, usually with a message of some kind.

62. Describe the source, content, and audience of a persuasive message? What qualities are important for a source?

The source is who delivers a message, and they must be likeable and credible.

The content is what the message says, with strong arguments that appeal to the audience’s emotions).

The audience is who processes the message. 

63. What is the boomerang effect?

When efforts to persuade someone result instead in an opposite outcome.

64. What are the differences between one-sided and two-sided arguments?

One-sided arguments work best if the audience is already on your side or if it is very gullible.

Two-sided arguments work for more skeptical audiences, and involves acknowledging criticism before refuting it.

65. Describe the elaboration likelihood model

When people are motivated and able to process information, persuasion (logical arguments backed with evidence) should take the central route. When people are NOT motivated or able to process information, persuasion should take the peripheral route, relying on peripheral cues (source attractiveness, bright colors, music, etc.) instead.