Social Psychology ch 4-7 – Flashcards
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Social perception
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A general term for the processes by which people come to understand one another
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physiognomy
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The art of reading character from faces
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baby face
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large round eyes, high eyebrows, round cheeks, large forehead. Seem to be found as helpless, warm, kind, naive, weak, honest, and submissive
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script
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preset notions about certain types of situations, often culture specific
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mind perception
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the process by which people attribute humanlike mental states to various animate and inanimate objects, including other people
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agency and experience
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People perceive minds along two dimensions
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Agency
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A target's ability to plan and execute behavior
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experience
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The capacity to feel pleasure, pain, and other sensations
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nonverbal behavior
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Behavior that resembles a person's feelings without words
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happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, and disgust
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six primary emotions
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insula
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brain structure activated when both sniffing a disgusting odor and watching others sniff it
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gaze
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eye contact, a powerful form of nonverbal communication
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Eye contact effect
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people who look us straight in the eye draw and hold our attention, increase arousal, and activate key social areas of the brain
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attribution theory
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a group of theories that describe how people explain the causes of behavior
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personal attribution
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attribution to internal characteristics of an actor, such as ability, personality, mood, or effort
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situational attribution
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attribution to factors external to an actor, such as a task, other people, or luck
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correspondent inference theory
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People try to infer from an action whether the act corresponds to an enduring personal characteristic of an actor
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choice, expectedness, effects
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Three factors of the correspondent inference theory
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covariation principle
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Kelley - a principle of attribution theory that holds that people attribute behavior to factors that are present when a behavior occurs and are absent when it does not
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consensus information
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How do different people react to the same stimulus?
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distinctiveness information
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How does the same person react to different stimuli?
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consistency information
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How does the person react at a different time when the stimulus is the same?
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Low consensus, low distinctiveness, high consistency
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Behavior is attributed to the person
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High consensus, high distinctiveness, high consistency
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Behavior is attributed to stimulus
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cognitive heuristics
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information processing rules of thumb that enable us to think in ways that are quick and easy but frequently lead to error
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availability heuristic
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the tendency to estimate the likelihood that an event will occur based on how easily instances of it come to mind
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false-consensus effect
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the tendency for people to overestimate the extent to which others share their opinions, attributes, and behaviors
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base-rate fallacy
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the finding that people are relatively insensitive to consensus information presented in the form of numerical probabilities
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Counterfactual thinking
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the tendency to imagine alternative events or outcomes that might have occurred but did not - colors people's emotional reactions to events
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fundamental attribution error
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the tendency to focus on the role of personal causes and underestimate the impact of situations on other people's behacior
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Self-serving bias
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people tend to see what they want to see and make self-serving, one-sided attributions for behavior
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belief in a just world
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the belief that individuals get what they deserve in life
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impression formation
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the process of integrating information about a person to form a coherent impression
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priming
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the tendency for recently used or perceived words or ideas to come to mind easily and influence the interpretation of new information
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information integration theory
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the theory that impressions are based on perceiver dispositions and a weighted average of a target person's traits
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summation model
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the more positive traits of a person, the better
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averaging model
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the higher the average value of all traits, the better
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trait negativity bias
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the tendency for negative information to weigh more heavily on our impressions than positive information
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implicit personality theory
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a network of assumptions people make about the relationships among traits and behaviors
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central traits
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Traits that exert a powerful influence on overall impressions (warm v cold)
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primacy effect
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the tendency for information presented early in a sequence to have more impact on impressions than information presented later
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need for closure
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an individual's desire to reduce cognitive uncertainty, which heightens the importance of first impressions
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change of meaning hypothesis
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Once people have formed an impression they start to interpret inconsistent information in light of that impression
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confirmation bias
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the tendency to seek, interpret, and create information that verifies existing beliefs
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belief perserverence
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sticking to initial beliefs even after they have been discredited
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self-fulfilling prophecy
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the process by which one's expectations about a person eventually lead that person to behave in ways that confirm those expectations
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biased experience sampling
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When you cut yourself off from a negative person/experience, further distancing you from new information and limiting the opportunity to revise your opinion
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bounded rationality
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we are rational within bounds, based on our abilities, motives, time, and other factors
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satisficing
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people make judgments that are not logically perfect but are good enough based on our bounded rationality
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racism
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prejudice and discrimination based on a person's racial background, or institutional/cultural practices that promote the domination of one race over another
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sexism
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prejudice and discrimination based on a person's gender, or institutional/cultural practices that promote the domination of one gender over another
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stereotype
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a belief or association that links a whole group of people with certain traits or characteristics
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prejudice
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negative feelings toward persons based on their membership in certain groups
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discrimination
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behavior directed against persons because of their membership in a particular group
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modern racism
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a form of prejudice that surfaces in subtle ways when it is safe, socially acceptable, and easy to rationalize
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implicit racism
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racism that operates unconsciously and intentionally
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implicit associations test
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test that measures the extent two concepts are associated
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metastereotypes
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thoughts about the outgroup's stereotypes about them
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ambivalent sexism
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a form of sexism characterized by attitudes about women that reflect both negative, resentful beliefs and affectionate and chivalrous but potentially patronizing beliefs and feelings
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hostile sexism
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negative and resentful feelings about women
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benevolent secism
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affectionate and chivalrous, but patronizing, feelings about women
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Robbers Cave
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Sherif (1961) found that superordinate goals were the only thing that mended the divide between groups
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superordinate goal
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a shared goal that can only be achieved through cooperation
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realistic conflict theory
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the theory that hostility between groups is caused by direct competition between groups for resources
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relative deprivation
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feelings of discontent aroused by the belief that one fares poorly compared with others
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ingroup favoritism
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the tendency to discriminate in favor of ingroups over outgroups
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social identity theory
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the theory that people favor ingroups over outgroups in order to enhance their self esteem
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social dominance orientation
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a desire to see one's ingroup as dominant over other groups and a willingness to adopt cultural values that facilitate oppression of other groups
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system justification
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processes that endorse and legitimize existing social arrangements
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social categorization
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the classification of persons into groups on the basis of common attributes
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outgroup homogeneity effect
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the tendency to assume that there is greater similarity among members of outgroups than among members of ingroups
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illusory correlation
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an overestimate of the association between variables that are only slightly or not at all correlated
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Allport and Postman
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Study with the black man in a suit vs a white man holding a razor. Participant fautily identified the black man as holding the razor
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social role theory
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the theory that small gender differences are magnified in perception by the contrasting social roles occupied by men and women - Alice Eagly
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stereotype content model
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a model proposing that the relative status and competition between groups influence group stereotypes along the dimensions of competence and warmth
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subliminal presentation
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a method of presenting stimuli so faintly or rapidly that people do not have any conscious awareness of having been exposed to them
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self regulation of prejudiced responses model
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Monteith et al, people who are truly motivated to not be prejudiced are confronted with the reality that they have failed at that goal, causing guilt, but allowing them to develop expertise at recognizing the stimuli that trigger these failures and exert more control over them
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Amadou Diallo
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An unarmed African immigrant who was shot 41 times when reaching for his wallet. Protestors claimed the incident was due to racial profiling
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stigmatized
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individuals who are targets of negative stereotypes
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stereotype threat
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the experience of concern about being evaluated based on negative stereotypes about one's group
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Steele et al
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Studies about stereotype threat where students were reminded of their race and stereotypes about their race before taking tests
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contact hypothesis
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The theory that direct contact between hostile groups will reduce prejudice under certain conditions
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jigsaw classroom
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A cooperative learning method used to reduce prejudice through interaction in group efforts
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attitude
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A positive, negative, or mixed reaction to a person, object, or idea
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attitude scale
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A multiple-item questionnaire designed to measure a person's attitude toward some object
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Need for evaluation
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An individual's desire to react to stimuli in strong positive or negative ways
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bogus pipeline
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A phony lie-detector device that is used to get respondents to answer truthfully to sensitive questions
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facial electromyograph
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An electronic instrument that records facial muscle activity associated with emotions and attitudes
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implicit attitude
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an attitude, such as prejudice, that one is not aware of having
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correspondence
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similarity between attitudes and behavior
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theory of planned behavior
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the theory that attitudes toward a specific behavior combine with subjective norms and perceived control to influence a person's actions (Ajzen)
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persuasion
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the process by which attitudes are changed
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central route
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the process by which a person thinks carefully about a communication and is influenced by the strength of the argument
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peripheral route
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the process by which a person does not think carefully about a communication and is influenced by the superficial cues
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elaboration
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the process of thinking about and scrutinizing the arguments contained in a persuasive communication
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ability and motivation
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Two factors that influence whether someone takes the central route or peripheral route
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sleeper effect
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A delayed increase in the persuasive impact of a noncredible source
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level of discrepancy
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How far a position the speaker takes from the audience's existing position
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need for cognition
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a personality variable that distinguishes people on the basis of how much they enjoy effortful cognitive activities
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inoculation hypothesis
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the idea that exposure to weak versions of a persuasive argument increases later resistance to that argument
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psychological reactance
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the theory that people react against threats to their freedom by asserting themselves and perceiving the threatened freedom as more attractive
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cognitive dissonance theory
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the theory that holding inconsistent cognitions arouses psychological tension that people become motivated to reduce
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insufficient justification
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a condition in which people freely perform an attitude-discrepant behavior without receiving a large reward
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Festinger and Carlsmith
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Experiment that found that people rated task enjoyment as higher when given $1 to lie instead of $20 to lie
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insufficient deterrence
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a condition in which people refrain from engaging in a desirable activity, even when only mild punishment is threatened
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Aronson and Mills
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Researchers who found that people who underwent a severe initiation rated the boring task as more enjoyable because they altered their attitudes to justify their suffering
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unwanted negative consequences, personal responsibility, physiological arousal, and attribution of arousal to behavior
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Four steps for the arousal and reduction of dissonance
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self-perception theory
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Bem - We infer how we feel by observing ourselves and the circumstances of our behavior
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impression-management theory
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A dissonance view of self-persuasion where what matters is not a motive to BE consistent but to APPEAR consistent
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Self-affirmation theory
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We change our attitudes after dissonance because of damage to the self-concept, causing guilt
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conformity
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The tendency to change our perceptions, opinions, and behavior in ways that are consistent with group norms
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autokinetic effect
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Effect from Sherif's study where in darkness, a stationary point of light appears to move
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Line Judgment Task
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Asch's study where participants conformed to the obviously wrong majority 37% of the time
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informational influence
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influence that produces conformity when a person believes others are correct in their judgments
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normative influence
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Influence that produces conformity when a person fears the negative social consequences of appearing deviant
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private conformity
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the change of beliefs that occurs when a person privately accepts the position taken by others
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public conformity
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A superficial change in overt behavior without a corresponding change in opinion that is produced by real or imagined group pressure
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Law of diminishing returns
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Asch found that adding additional members to the majority group stops having an effect after 3 or 4 confederates
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minority influence
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the process by which dissenters produce change within a group
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idiosyncrasy credits
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interpersonal "credits" that a person earns by following group norms. Once a certain amount have been accumulated, some deviance is tolerated
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complexity, affluence, heterogeneity
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Triandis - three factors influencing whether a culture is individualist or collectivist
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compliance
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changes in behavior that are elicited by direct requests
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norm of reciprocity
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we treat others as they have treated us
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foot-in-the-door technique
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A two-step compliance technique in which the influencer sets the stage for the real request by first getting a person to comply with a much smaller request
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lowballing
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A two-step compliance technique in which the influencer secures agreement with a request then increases the size of the request by revealing hidden costs
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door-in-the-face technique
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A two-step compliance technique in which the influencer prefaces the initial request with one so large that it is rejected
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that's-not-all technique
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A two-step complaince technique in which the influencer begins with an inflated request, then decreases its apparent size by offering a discount or bonus
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obedience
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Behavior change produced by the commands of authority
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Meeus and Raaijmakers
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Researchers who redid Milgram's experiment with psychological harm instead of physical
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social impact theory
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the theory that social influence depends on the strength, immediacy, and number of source persons relative to target persons
