Social Psychology – Exam Review Notes

WHAT IS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY?

• Studies how social situations influence thoughts, feelings, behaviors.
• Intrapersonal focus: emotions, attitudes, self, cognition.
• Interpersonal focus: helping, aggression, prejudice, attraction, group dynamics.

SITUATIONAL vs. DISPOSITIONAL INFLUENCES

• Situationism: behavior driven by immediate context.
• Dispositionism: behavior driven by internal traits.
• Modern view: both factors interact.

ATTRIBUTION BIASES

• Fundamental Attribution Error: over‐credit traits, under‐credit situation (e.g., Quizmaster study).
• Actor–Observer Bias: others’ acts → traits; our acts → situations.
• Self-Serving Bias: successes → internal causes; failures → external causes (protects self-esteem).
• Attribution dimensions: locus, stability, controllability.

JUST-WORLD HYPOTHESIS

• Belief that outcomes are deserved → victim blaming, sense of control/predictability.

SOCIAL ROLES, NORMS & SCRIPTS

• Social role: expected behavior pattern (e.g., student).
• Norm: group’s rule for acceptable behavior.
• Script: event sequence knowledge guiding action.
• Stanford Prison Experiment: rapid adoption of authoritarian guard / submissive prisoner roles; halted after 6 days.

ATTITUDES & COGNITIVE DISSONANCE

• Attitude components: affect, behavior, cognition.
• Cognitive Dissonance: discomfort from inconsistency → change behavior, beliefs, or add cognitions.
• Justification of effort: harder initiation ↑ liking (Aronson & Mills).

PERSUASION

• Elaboration Likelihood Model:
  • Central route – logic/data, lasting change when audience analytic.
  • Peripheral route – cues/emotion, temporary change.
• Foot-in-the-Door: small request → larger compliance via consistency.

CONFORMITY (ASCH)

• Conformity: adjust behavior to group.
• Asch effect: 76\% conformed at least once.
• Increases with larger majority, public responses; drops with one dissenter.
• Normative influence: fit in; Informational influence: assume group is correct.

OBEDIENCE (MILGRAM)

• Obedience: comply with authority demand.
• 65\% delivered maximum 450-volt shocks to unresponsive learner.

GROUP PROCESSES

• Groupthink: desire for consensus → poor decisions, suppressed dissent.
• Group Polarization: discussion strengthens initial attitude.
• Social Facilitation: skilled/easy tasks ↑ performance with audience.
• Social Loafing: less effort in groups on easy tasks; hard tasks ↓ loafing.

PREJUDICE & DISCRIMINATION

• Prejudice (attitude), Stereotype (belief), Discrimination (behavior).
• Types: racism, ageism, homophobia, sexism.
• Dual attitudes: explicit (conscious), implicit (unconscious).
• Self-fulfilling prophecy & confirmation bias maintain stereotypes.
• In-group bias & scapegoating fuel intergroup conflict.

AGGRESSION & BULLYING

• Hostile aggression: anger-driven harm.
• Instrumental aggression: goal-oriented harm.
• Frustration–Aggression Theory: blocked goals → aggression.
• Evolutionary view: male dominance, gene protection.
• Bullying: repeated harm; boys → direct, girls → indirect; cyberbullying rising.

PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR

• Bystander Effect: diffusion of responsibility ↓ helping (Kitty Genovese).
• Prosocial behavior: voluntary helping; altruism: cost > benefit.
• Motivations: empathy, egoistic benefits.

RELATIONSHIPS & ATTRACTION

• Formation: proximity, similarity (homophily), reciprocity, self-disclosure.
• Attraction: symmetry; women—large eyes, low waist-hip; men—height, broad shoulders.
• Matching Hypothesis: partner of similar attractiveness.
• Sternberg’s Triangular Theory: intimacy, passion, commitment; consummate love = all three.
• Social Exchange Theory: maintain relationships when benefits > costs.