Psych

1. Define social psychology and explain its main focus.

   • Social Psychology: studies the effects of social variables and cognitions on individual behavior and social interaction.

   • Social psychology looks at how people’s thoughts, feelings, perceptions, motives and behavior are influenced by other people; it tries to understand behavior and mental processes within its social context
     
     

2. What is social context, and how does it influence behavior?

   • Social context: includes the real, imagined, or symbolic presence of other people; the activities and interactions that take place among people; the settings in which behavior occurs; and the expectations and social norms governing behavior in a given setting

3. Compare and contrast situationism and dispositionism in explaining human behavior.

   • Situationism: A view that says environmental conditions influence people’s behavior much or more than their personal disposition does.

   • Dispositionism: A view that says internal factors (genes, traits, character qualities) influence our behavior more than the situation we are in.

   • People’s behavior depends heavily on the social roles they play, and the social norms of the group
     
     

4. What are social roles, and how do they impact individual behavior?

   • Social Roles: One of several socially defined patterns of behavior that are expected of persons in a given setting or group.

   • The roles people assume may be the result of a person’s interests, abilities and goals, or they may be imposed on a person by cultural, economic or biological conditions.
     
     

5. Define social norms and provide an example of how they influence behavior.

• Social Norms: A group’s expectations regarding what is appropriate and acceptable for its members’ attitudes and behaviors in given situations.

• Ex: It’s a social norm for girls to like makeup but its not socially normal for guys to like makeup

6. Explain the concept of conformity and describe the Asch Effect.

• Conformity: The tendency for people to adapt their behaviors, attitudes, and opinions to fit the actions of other members of a group.

• The Asch Effect: A form of conformity in which a group majority influences individual judgments.

7. What are the three factors that influence whether a person will conform to group pressure, according to Asch?

• The size of the majority

• The presence of a partner who dissented from the majority

• The size of the discrepancy between the correct answer and the majority’s opinion.
  
  

8. Differentiate between normative social influence and informational social influence.

Informational

• Influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality

• Often results in internalization or private acceptance, where a person genuinely believes that the information is right

Normative: Influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval

or avoid disapproval

9. Summarize the findings of Milgram’s obedience study.

Milgram’s obedience study found a large portion of participants continued to administer shocks despite the learner's protests, reaching the highest voltage level in the experiment. The key factor influencing obedience was the perceived legitimacy and authority of the experimenter. Participants seemed to relinquish personal responsibility for their actions when following the authority figure's instructions. 

10. Describe the concept of groupthink and list two factors that promote it.

Groupthink: The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic view of the alternatives.

• Factors that promote groupthink:

  1. Directive leadership

  2. Homogeneity of members’ social background

11. What is social loafing, and how does it differ from social facilitation?

Social Loafing: Tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts towards a common goal

Social Facilitation: Tendency for improved performance of tasks in the presence of others. This is generally because of a heightened state of awareness

12. Explain Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment and its significance in understanding social roles.
    
    

13. What is cognitive dissonance, and how does it impact behavior?

Cognitive dissonance: A highly motivating state in which people have conflicting cognitions (thoughts), especially when their voluntary actions conflict with their attitudes; this impacts people behavior when people’s cognitions and actions are in conflict (a state of dissonance) they often reduce the conflict by changing their thinking to fit their behavior.

14. Define the fundamental attribution error and provide an example of how it might occur in daily life.

The Fundamental Attribution Error: the tendency to overemphasize personal traits while minimizing situational influences. Assigning the causality to personal characteristics when causality actually lies with the situation.

• EX: The last time you were driving and were cut off by another car. 

  • “what an idiot – that guy is a terrible driver”

  • “That guy must have a good reason to be in such a hurry.”

15. What is the bystander effect, and what factors contribute to it?

Bystander effect: The tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present; refers to cases in which individuals do not offer any means of help

to a victim when other people are present.

• Cohesiveness

• Ambiguity