question

Social psychology

answer

study of how people influence others' behavior, beliefs, and attitudes

question

Dunbar proposed size of human groups

answer

150

question

What limits how many people we can closely associate with?

answer

size of cortex relative to rest of brain

question

Need to belong theory - Leary and Baumeister

answer

humans have biologically based need for interpersonal connections

question

Schacter study on importance of social connection

answer

5 male volunteers placed in isolation, longest anyone lasted was 8 days

question

What region of the brain becomes activated with exclusion?

answer

cingulate cortex

question

What is the cingulate cortex activation associated with

answer

social exclusion

question

Percent of teenagers that report feeling occasional loneliness

answer

80%

question

Percent of adults 65 and older that report feeling occasional loneliness

answer

40%

question

loneliness predicts

answer

cognitive decline, Alzheimer's disease, possibly depression

question

T or F from the standpoint of an evolutionary approach to social behavior, conformity and obedience are inherently maladaptive

answer

false

question

who came up with the Social Comparison theory

answer

Festinger

question

Social comparison theory

answer

evaluate our abilities and beliefs by comparing them with those of others to better understand ourselves and our social world

question

upward social comparison

answer

compare ourselves with people who seem superior to us in some way

question

downward social comparison

answer

compare ourselves with others who seem inferior to us

question

How do we salvage self-esteem when social comparison makes us feel inferior?

answer

overestimate the talent of the person who is superior

question

mass hysteria

answer

contagious outbreak of irrational behavior that spreads rapidly

question

When are we most likely to engage in social comparison

answer

ambiguous situations

question

collective delusions

answer

when many people simultaneously come to be convinced of bizarre things that are false

question

Example of when societal beliefs influence our interpretations of reality

answer

windshield pitting as evidence for nuclear testing

question

urban legends

answer

false stories repeated so many ties that people believe them to be true; surprising but plausible, usually involve disgust

question

What happens to rumors over time

answer

grow less accurate, become oversimplified to make for a good story

question

social facilitation theorist

answer

Zajonc

question

social facilitation

answer

presence of others can enhance our performance in certain situations; occurs only on tasks we find easy

question

Triplett study of social facilitation

answer

bicycle racers go faster when riding with other bicyclists than when racing against the clock

question

Zajonc cockroach study of social facilitation

answer

cockroaches in maze with other cockroach spectators run the max faster and with fewer errors

question

social disruption

answer

worsening of performance in the presence of others; happens when we find a task difficult

question

mechanism for social disruption

answer

get distracted by other people being there, interferes with working memory which we need to complete the task

question

attribution

answer

assigning cause to behavior

question

fundamental attribution error

answer

tendency to overestimate impact of dispositional influences on other people's behavior and underestimate impact of situational influences

question

Times when less likely to commit fundamental attribution error

answer

if we have been in same situation, if we have been encouraged to feel empathetic, when talking about ourselves

question

Jones and Harris study of fundamental attribution error

answer

students assigned to read essay about Castro, others know that the assignment is random, but still assume that what the debaters said reflected their true feelings; underestimate the role of the situation

question

cultural differences in fundamental attribution error

answer

western cultures more likely to succumb to fundamental attribution errors than Japanese or Chinese

question

study of inanimate objects- cultural differences in fundamental attribution error

answer

americans more likely to attribute circle's movement to dispositional factors than situational factors

question

T or F the presence of other people always enhances our performance

answer

false

question

T or F social comparison almost always involves comparing ourselves with people who are worse off than we are

answer

false

question

conformity

answer

tendency of people to alter their behavior as a result of group pressure

question

in conformity, the transmission of pressure is

answer

horizontal

question

in obedience, the transmission of pressure is

answer

vertical

question

Asch study of conformity setup

answer

participants asked to say out loud which line is closest in length to a standard, other participants are confederates and say the wrong answer

question

Asch study of conformity results

answer

75% of participants conformed to incorrect norm in at least 1 trial

question

Asch studies of conformity, at what group size did the increases in conformity plateau

answer

5-6

question

variables affecting conformity in the Asch study

answer

uniformity of agreement, difference in the wrong answer, size of the group

question

uniformity of agreement and conformity

answer

if at least one of the confederates gave the correct answer, conformity dropped by 75%

question

Asch study- difference in the wrong answer and conformity

answer

if another confederate gave a different wrong answer, conformity decreased

question

Cultural level differences in conformity

answer

collectivist societies more likely to conform than Western individualistic societies

question

Pen selection study on cultural level factors on conformity

answer

Asians more likely to choose dominant pen color, Americans more likely to choose minority pen color

question

T or F gender affects conformity likelihood

answer

false

question

deindividuation

answer

tendency of people to engage in atypical behavior when stripped of their usual identities

question

What does deindividuation make su more vulnerable to

answer

conformity, social influences, impact of social roles

question

groupthink

answer

emphasis on group unanimity at the expense of critical thinking

question

who came up with the idea of groupthink

answer

Irving Janis

question

What concept helps explain why crowd behavior is so unpredictable?

answer

deindividuation

question

Stanford Prison experiment shows effects of

answer

deindividuation

question

Abu Ghraib Prison shows the effects of

answer

deindividuation

question

Deindividuation doesn't necessarily make us behave badly...just makes us ____

answer

more likely to conform to whatever norms are present in a situation

question

Le Bon theory about crowds of people

answer

people in crowds are more anonymous and therefore more likely to act on impulses

question

Do crowds always make people more aggressive?

answer

no; sometimes can make people less aggressive (i.e. avoiding eye contact on crowded bus)

question

Problem with groupthink

answer

groups become so intent on ensuring that everyone agrees that they lose capacity to evaluate issues objectively

question

real world examples of groupthink gone wrong

answer

Bay of Pigs invasion, Challenger launch

question

symptoms of groupthink

answer

illusion of group invulnerability, illusion of group's unanimity, unquestioned belief in the group's moral correctness, conformity pressure, stereotyping the out-group, self-censorship, mindguards

question

mindguard

answer

self-appointed individual in groupthink whose job

question

conformity pressure

answer

pressure on group members to go along with everyone else

question

self-censorship

answer

tendency of group members to keep their mouth shut even when they have doubts

question

ways to avoid groupthink

answer

encourage dissent within organization, appoint devil's advocate, have independent experts, follow up meetings, increase racial diversity within group

question

group polarization

answer

group discussion ends up strengthening the dominant position held by individual group members

question

cults

answer

groups that exhibit intense and unquestioning devotion to a single cause

question

4 ways cults promote groupthink

answer

persuasive leader who fosters loyalty, disconnecting group members from outside world, discouraging questioning of group's assumptions, establishing training practices that gradually indoctrinate members

question

best technique to resist indoctrination

answer

inoculation effect

question

Inoculation effect - William McGuire

answer

expose people to information consistent with cult beliefs and then debunk ti

question

obedience

answer

psychology of following orders from people above us in a hierarchy of authority

question

What do cults acquire power from?

answer

combining conformity and obedience

question

example of obedience gone wrong

answer

My Lai, Holocaust

question

Why is inoculation effect effective?

answer

gives people more of a chance to generate their own counterarguments, thus more open to arguments against ideology

question

In the stanley Milgram experiments what percentage of participants delivered at least some shocks?

answer

100%

question

In the stanley Milgram experiments what percentage of participants demonstrated complete compliance?

answer

62%

question

T or F the participants in the Stanley Milgram experiment were sadistic and enjoyed delivering the shocks

answer

false (seemed reluctant, but obeyed anyway)

question

In Stanley Milgram experiment what happened with increased psychological distance between the teacher and the learner (i.e. when the teacher could direct someone else to administer the shocks)

answer

increased total compliance to 93%

question

In Stanley Milgram experiment what happened with decreased psychological distance between the teacher and the learner (i.e. teacher and learner in same room or when teacher had to physically put learner's hand on shock plate)

answer

compliance declines

question

In Stanley Milgram experiment what happened with increased psychological distance between the teacher and the experimenter (i.e. experimenter gives instruction over the phone)

answer

compliance declines

question

In Stanley Milgram experiment what happened when there was another experimenter present who openly disagreed

answer

compliance drops to 0%

question

Trait of those who are more willing to defy or not comply

answer

more morally advanced

question

Trait of those who are more compliant

answer

high levels of authoritarianism, collectivist society members

question

bystander nonintervention

answer

people in a group are less likely to help in case of emergency

question

reasons for bystander nonintervention (2)

answer

pluralistic ignorance, diffusion of responsibility

question

pluralistic ignorance

answer

error of assuming that no one in the group perceives things as we do; assume that because no one else is reacting something must not be an emergency

question

when is pluralistic ignorance relevant

answer

when we are trying to decide if a situation is an emergency or not

question

diffusion of responsibility

answer

presence of others makes each person feel less responsible for the outcome

question

When might bystanders be more likely to intervene

answer

when emergency is physically dangerous, if the victim calls them out specifically

question

social loafing

answer

people slack off when they are in groups; partly due to diffusion of responsibility

question

examples of social loafing

answer

tug of war, participants in study are less loud in a crowd than on their own

question

cultural factors to social loafing

answer

people in individualistic societies are more prone than those in collectivist societies

question

ways to combat social loafing

answer

ensure that each person in group is identifiable, evaluate performances

question

Are people more likely to help when they are alone or in a group?

answer

alone 90% of the time

question

altruism

answer

helping others for unselfish reasons

question

Qualities of people more likely to help, act in a prosocial/altruistic manner

answer

extraverts, those with trained lifesaving skills, people less concerned with social approval

question

Are men more likely to help than women?

answer

men more likely to help in risky or physical tasks, particularly if the victim is a woman

question

aggression

answer

behavior intended to harm others, influenced by situations and dispositions

question

situational influences on aggression (7)

answer

interpersonal provocation, frustration, media influences, aggressive cues, arousal, alcohol or drugs, temperature

question

interpersonal provocation and aggression

answer

especially likely to strike out aggressively against those who have provoked us

question

frustration

answer

thwarted from reaching a goal

question

frustration and aggression

answer

more likely to behave aggressively when frustrated

question

example of frustration and aggression

answer

given difficult origami task in limited time, assistant who rushed participants were given lower rankings

question

media influences and aggression

answer

watching media violence may increase odds of violence short term

question

examples of aggressive cues

answer

guns, knives

question

aggressive cues and aggression

answer

aggressive cues can be stimulus for aggression

question

arousal and aggression

answer

when we have activated autonomic nervous system may mistakenly attribute arousal to anger and act aggressively

question

study of aggressive cues and aggression

answer

presence of gun on the table triggered more aggression in participants, stronger shocks delivered

question

Hillman study of arousal and aggression

answer

participants who pedaled on exercise bike delivered more intense electric shock to someone who annoyed them

question

How might alcohol or other substances work to increase aggression?

answer

disinhibit prefrontal cortex, lower inhibition toward behaving violently

question

When are effects of alcohol on aggression especially pronounced?

answer

when participants are impulsive to begin with

question

study of alcohol and aggression

answer

participants who drank or were given Valium chose more intense electric shocks to deliver during a competitive game

question

temperature and aggression

answer

warm temperatures increase irritability, which may make people more likely to commit aggressive acts

question

When is alcohol likely to trigger aggression?

answer

when target occupies the focus of our attention like when someone is threatening us directly

question

half or more of all the crimes are committed by what percentage of people

answer

5-6%

question

belief

answer

conclusion regarding factual evidence

question

attitude

answer

belief that includes an emotional component

question

Are attitudes a good predictor of behavior?

answer

no

question

correlation between attitudes and behavior

answer

0.38

question

For what types of people do attitudes best predict behavior

answer

highly accessible attitudes, attitudes held firmly and stably over time, low self monitors

question

sources of individual difference in aggression

answer

personality, sex differences, cultural differences

question

personality and aggression

answer

even when confronted with the same situation, different people react differently in their tendencies to behave aggressively

question

personality traits prone to violence

answer

high levels of negative emotions, impulsivity, lack of closeness to others

question

Which sex has higher levels of physical aggressiveness?

answer

males

question

which sex has higher levels of relational aggressiveness

answer

females

question

females have higher levels of what type of aggression

answer

relational aggression

question

relational aggression

answer

indirect aggression like spreading rumors, gossiping, social exclusion, and nonverbal putdowns for the purpose of interpersonal manipulation

question

What factors might play a role in the sex differences in aggression?

answer

testosterone, socialization

question

Cultural differences in aggression

answer

violence higher in the South with culture of honor, physical aggression less prevalent among Asians

question

Who created Cognitive dissonance theory

answer

Leon Festinger

question

Leon Festinger- Cognitive Dissonance Theory

answer

alter our attitudes because we experience unpleasant tension called cognitive dissonance and we are thus motivated to reduce or eliminate it

question

Process of cognitive dissonance theory of changing attitudes

answer

if we hold attitude (cognition A) that is inconsistent with another attitude or belief (cognition B) then we can reduce the resulting anxiety by changing cognition A, changing cognition B, or creating cognition C which resolves the inconsistency

question

our perceptions of our attitudes are

answer

more consistent over time than they actually are

question

Alternatives to cognitive dissonance theory (2)

answer

self-perception theory, impression management theory

question

self-perception theory

answer

acquire attitudes by observing our behaviors

question

impression management theory

answer

may not actually change our attitudes and just tell experimenters that we have in order to not appear inconsistent with our behaviors

question

2 different routes of persuasion

answer

central route, peripheral route

question

central route of persuasion

answer

evaluate arguments based on merits, focus on informational content

question

when are we likely to go through central route of persuasion?

answer

when we are motivated and able to evaluate the information

question

when are we likely to go through peripheral route of persuasion?

answer

when we are not motivated to weigh information carefully or we don't have the ability to do so

question

peripheral route of persuasion

answer

focus on surface aspects of arguments, like how appealing and interesting they are, characteristics of the communicator, recognition heuristic

question

Qualities of attitudes acquired via peripheral persuasion

answer

weaker, more unstable, but still capable of affecting short term choices

question

4 major techniques of persuasion

answer

foot in the door, door in the face, low ball, "but you are free" technique

question

foot in the door technique

answer

start with small request before making a bigger one

question

door in the face technique

answer

start with a large request before asking for a smaller one

question

low ball technique

answer

seller of product starts by quoting a price well below the sales price, then mentioning needed add ons

question

"but you are free" technique

answer

give people the sense that they are free to choose whether or not they perform the act you are trying to persuade them to do

question

How much does but you are free technique increase odds of acceptance of request

answer

doubles

question

When can door in the face technique backfire?

answer

if initial request is too high and seems insincere or unreasonable

question

What does foot in the door technique play upon

answer

cognitive dissonance theory; people feel the need to justify their initial commitment

question

We are more likely to swallow a persuasive message if someone has what characteristics

answer

similar to us, famous or attractive person, someone with expertise

question

implicit egotism effect

answer

more positively disposed towards people, places, or things that resemble us

question

examples of implicit egotism effect

answer

people like Rasputin more when he is given their birthday

question

name letter effect

answer

more likely to choose people to love or be friends with who have same first letter of name

question

persuasion tactics used by pseudoscience (7)

answer

creation of phantom goal, vivid testimonials, manufacturing source credibility, scarcity heuristic, consensus heuristic, natural commonplace, goddess

question

scarcity heuristic

answer

belief that because something is rare it must be valuable

question

consensus heuristic

answer

if most people believe that something works it must work

question

natural commonplace

answer

widely held belief that things that are natural are good

question

stereotype

answer

belief about a group's characteristic that we apply to most members of that group

question

stereotypes can fuel

answer

confirmation bias about people who differ from us

question

stereotypes can result in what kind of error

answer

ultimate attribution error

question

ultimate attribution error

answer

mistake of attributing negative behaviors of entire group to their disposition

question

What is the key difference between prejudiced and non prejudiced people in terms of stereotypes

answer

both harbor stereotypes, non prejudiced just work harder to resist (more frontal lobe activation)

question

When do people default to prejudiced beliefs?

answer

self-control weakened

question

Study of prejudice and self-control

answer

gave participants lemonade with Splenda or glucose; those given glucose better at inhibiting impulses, wrote less prejudiced essay about gays

question

Prejudice

answer

jump to premature negative conclusion before having all the evidence

question

What are biases associated with prejudice

answer

in group bias, out group homogeneity

question

in group bias

answer

tendency to favor individuals inside our group relative to members outside our group

question

out group homogeneity

answer

tendency to view all people outside our group as highly similar

question

What people are prone to high levels of prejudice?

answer

authoritarian personalities, high extrinsic religiosity, people with strong need to pigeon hole people into distinct categories

question

hypotheses for roots of prejudice

answer

scapegoat hypothesis, just-world hypothesis, conformity

question

scapegoat hypothesis

answer

prejudice can arise form need to blame other groups for our misfortunes

question

just-world hypothesis

answer

people have deep seated need to perceive the world as fair, believe that everything happens for a reason

question

what can just-world hypothesis lead to

answer

victim blaming

question

How can conformity and need for social approval lead to prejudice?

answer

need for social approval fuels prejudice against other groups

question

discimination

answer

treating out group members differently from members of in-group

question

minimal intergroup paradigm study

answer

create group based on arbitrary differences, separate participants to be dot overestimators or dot underestimators; distribute money and resources more to in group members than out group members

question

School teacher study of minimal intergroup paradigm

answer

sorts students into brown eyed and blue eyed, insults the blue eyed, brown eyed become arrogant and condescending, blue eyed become insecure and submissive

question

explicit prejudice

answer

prejudice of which we are aware

question

implicit prejudice

answer

prejudice of which we are unaware

question

Test for implicit prejudice

answer

implicit association test

question

implicit association test

answer

people have shorter reaction time with stereotype congruent than stereotype incongruent

question

T or F IAT correlates with explicit measures of prejudice

answer

false

question

Methods for reducing prejudice

answer

enjoyable contact between groups, groups need to be of roughly equal status, focring cooperation towards shared goals, disconfirm negative stereotypes, groups have the potential to become friends

question

T or F increased contact between racial groups is sufficient to reduce prejudice

answer

false

Psych 111 Chapter 13 – Social Psychology – Flashcards

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