Unit 9 - Social Psychology

ATTRIBUTION THEORY

attribution theory (determine attitude, shape behavior)

• dispositional attribution: someone is always crabby bc internal (personality)

  • someones asks for notes, u think bc lazy so unsympathetic

• situational attribution: someone is always crabby bc external, parents dying

  • someone asks for notes, u think bc sick that day so sympathetic

biases in attributions

• actor/observer bias: about yourself & others

  • we blame own actions on situations, but others’ on personality (actor of own life)

    • you slipped on even ground but stranger slipping bc clumsy

• fundamental atribution error: only about others

  • we overestimate personality/underestimate situations when judging others

    • cashier is rude bc bad attitude not situation like working 10 hr shift

• self-serving bias: only about self

  • take credit for successes but blame external factors for failures (make urself feel better)

    • won game bc im good, lost bc ref was biased

explanatory style

• optimistic:

  • positive events: internal, stable, global

    • you are smart

  • negative events: external, unstable, specific

    • external factor caused you to get into crash

  • consequence: better for mental health, more motivation

• pessimistic:

  • positive events: external, unstable, specific

    • i was the only senior on team ofc got award

  • negative events: internal, stable, global

    • in car accident bc i terrible driver

• fundamental attribution error: when analyze other behavior, underestimate impact of situation/overestimate personal disposition

LOCUS OF CONTROL

external

• things happen to you

internal

• you make things happen

PERSON PERCEPTION

mere exposure effect

• more you see/near smth, the more you like it

self-fulfilling prophecy

• if you expect someone to do smth, prophecy will results in that behavior becoming more likely

social comparison

• upward: comparing onself to someone better off, inspiring/discouraging

• downward (relative deprivation): comparing oneself to someone worse off, boost self-esteem

PREJUDICE & DISCRIMINATION

cognitive load

• amt of mental effort used in working memory (too high, too difficult to process)

discriminatory (behaviors)

• unfair action against group of ppl, behavioral expression

• ex. refuse to hire elderly bc they’re bad at tech

implicit attitudes (automatic feelings w/out conscious aware)

• ethnocentrism: tendency to view own culture as standard, believe superiority

  • believing speaking English is only way to communicate

• in-group bias: your grouop is better (school, country, sex, religion)

  • mhs is better than other schools around here

• just world phenomenon: people get what they deserve (victim blame, make us feel better)

  • bobby got robbed when at ATM at night: hes stupid for going at night

• out-group homogeneity bias: think everyone in group you don’t to is the same

  • all elderly people don’t like…

prejudice (attitude)

• neg/pos feeling toward a group

• ex. I don’t trust teens on road

stereotype

• oversimplified an generalized belief about group of people, +/-

• ex. all elderly people are bad at using technology

• when cognitive load high, default to steretype (shortcuts)

ATTITUDE FORMATION

belief perseverance

• tendency to cling to belief even when contrary opinion

confirmation bias

• believe smth is true, seek info that agrees w you/ignore opposite info

cognitive dissonance

• when 2 thoughts or thought/behavior are inconsistent, we feel uncomfortable so change our behavior/thoughts or minimize inconsistency

  • change behavior: usually last thing to do (stop sunbathing)

  • change a thought: deny evidence (skin cancer not from sunbathing)

  • add a thought: (important to get vitaminD, can only get from sunbathing)

  • triviliaze inconsistency: try to justify (only go to beach once a yr)

POWER OF SITUATION

conformity

• change one behavior to fit norms of everyone else

• factor: social insecurity, group over 3, unanimous group, admire group, no prior commitment, being observed, culture encourages respect for social standard

• everyone around you stands up at beep, you stand even when group leaves

obedience

• tendency to comply w/ oders from someone perceived as authority

persuasion - elaboration likelihood model (influence)

• central route to persuasion (long term): analytical/logical exam of choice

  • ad: list comfiness, uniqueness, price of shoe

  • candidate A has strong record/qualities

• door in face technique: tendency to agree w/ reasonable request after being asked larger one

  • ask teacher for week extension than ask for extension till midnight (more likely yes)

• foot in door technique: tendency to comply w/ larger request after complied w/ smaller one

  • joining cult: ask for name, than coffee meetup, than go to 1 group meeting, than go to weekly meeting (joined)

  • said yes to one thing, likely say yes again

• peripheral route to persuasion (short term): choice influenced by incidental cues (emotion)

  • ad: picture of serena williams wearing shoes

  • candidate A has annoying voice so vote for B

  • halo effect: tendency for positive impressions in one area to influence feeling of them in other areas

    • pretty, so must be smart/hard working

social influence theory

• informational social influence: conforming bc others seen as source of correct info

  • follow bc you dont know what to do, not bc you think you’ll be judged

  • follow locals when traveling

• normative social influence: desire to follow norms to gain approval/avoid disapproval

  • ppl laught at joke dont find funny bc others laugh

GROUPS

collectivism

• values group harmony, shared goals, comunity over individual desire

  • soccer team share prize $ equally tho one person scored most

deindividuation

• loss of self-aware/restraint when in group situations that fosters anonymity

  • more comfortable dancing in group

  • say hate words when masked/online

diffusion of responsibility

• when others present, feel less sure of role/take less ownership of what happens

  • someone hurt, don’t call 911 bc think someone else will

false consensus effect

• tendency to overestimate how much others agree w/ your behavior/opinion

  • everyone skips breakfast

group polarization

• feel even more strongly about idea after spending time w/ like-minded ppl

  • spend time at star wars convention, become huge fan

groupthink

• group cohesiveness is more important than facts (lead to defective decisions)

  • everyone says yes to leader even though think it’s bad idea

individualism

• values independence, personal goals, self reliance over group needs

  • leila chooses college for her interest rather than fam wish

  • company reward employee on individual performance not group effort

industrial-org psychologists

• psychologist who sway/improve workplace behavior, productivity, employee satisfaction

  • design hiring process to lower bias

multiculturalism

• idea that different cultures should be valued and exist w/in society

  • city hosts festivals for many cultures

social facilitation

• often perform simple/well-learned tasks better in presence of others

  • types name faster w/ audience

social inhibition

• often perform comples/new tasks worse in presence of others

  • typed long sentence slower w/ audience

social loafing

• exert less effort in group than when individually accountable

  • if in tug of war, exert less effort the bigger your group

social traps

• when individuals act in own short term interest, cause harm to group in long run

  • farmer clears forest for crops, help him get profit but deforest hurt ecosystem

superordinate goals

• goals that diff groups must work together to achieve, reduce conflict

  • 2 rival schools work together to raise $ for charity

PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR

altruism - help other w/out expecting smth in return

• bystander effect: when presence of other reduce helping behavior (diffusion of responsibility)

  • someone collapses, no one calls 911

• social debt: feeling obligation to return favor/help after getting help from them

  • someone helps you w/ math hw, obligated to help them too

• social reciprocity norm: help those who helped them.ight help them in future

  • friend helps you move, you offer to help them w/ project

• social responsibility norm: beleive that ppl should help those in need bc right thing

  • stranger helps elderly cross street