Unit 14: Social Psychology – Flashcards
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Social psychology
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Definition: The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another Remember: Being social is all about being with other people
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Heider's attribution theory
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Definition: The theory that we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition Example: Is that person angry just because they're an angry person or is it because something bad happened?
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Fundamental attribution error
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Definition: The tendency for observers, when analyzing another's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition Example: When a generally sad person is sad, people ignore them because they're always sad, but they could be going through an especially hard time right now and need someone to talk to
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Foot-in-the-door phenomenon
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Definition: The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request Example: Saying yes to helping someone with their homework often times turns into doing the whole thing for them
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Zimbardo's prison experiment
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Definition: To find out if prison brutality is due to the guards being cruel people or to the cruel environment, Zimbardo converted the basement of Stanford University into a simulated prison → Students were randomly assigned to either be a guard or a prisoner and they were treated exactly like they would have been in a real prison → As a result, the guards started to act cruel to the prisoners and the prisoners became either resigned or rebellious, just like in a real prison, proving that the cruelty is due to the environment's power set-up, not the people themselves Remember: We watched the video in class
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Central route persuasion
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Definition: Attitude change path in which interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts Example: The person being persuaded is an active participant in the process of persuasion
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Festinger's cognitive dissonance
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Definition: The theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent → When our awareness of our attitudes and of our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes Example: We know that what we're about to do is wrong, so we don't do it
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Attitudes
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Definition: Feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events Example: If you don't like math, you'll have a negative attitude going into math class for the first time at the beginning of the year even though you've never experienced it before and it could turn out great
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Belief perseverance
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Definition: The tendency to cling to one's initial belief even after receiving new information that contradicts or dis-confirms the basis of that belief Example: Still believing that some girl can't act even after she got the lead in the play and performed it very well
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Conformity
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Definition: Adjusting one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard Example: Changing the way you dress because the clothes you used to wear were clothes people made fun of
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Obedience
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Definition: Compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another's authority Example: Obeying your parents and making your bed when they tell you to
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Chameleon effect
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Definition: Unconscious mimicry of the postures, mannerisms, facial expressions, and other behaviors of one's interaction partners, such that one's behavior passively and unintentionally changes to match that of others in one's current social environment Example: When somebody yawns in class or is slouching in their seat, a lot of other people will also yawn or start slouching
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Mood linkage
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Definition: The tendency to absorb and participate in the prevailing mood of the other people around Example: If you're sad and your friends take you out to a party, it will probably make you feel better since everyone else at the party is happy and having a good time
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Asch's conformity experiment
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Definition: In the experiment, students were told that they were participating in a "vision test", but they didn't know that the other participants were Asch's assistants, who at first, answered the questions correctly but then started to answer them incorrectly → Almost 75% of the students went along with the incorrect answers at least once Remember: We watched the video in class
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Milgram's obedience experiment
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Definition: Milgram wanted to test how far people would go in obeying an instruction if it involved harming another person → Some participants in the experiment were made to be teachers and the others, who were Milgram's confederates, were the learners → The teachers were told to electrically shock the learners if they got the question wrong (no harm actually done - just a sound effect behind a wall) → The teachers obeyed, proving that ordinary people are very likely to carry out whatever orders the authority figure gives them Example: Offers an explanation as to why it was that the Nazis were so successful in carrying out the Holocaust
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Normative social influence
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Definition: Influence resulting from a person's desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval Example: Applauding after a play even though you didn't really like it so that you don't feel disapproved by everyone else there, especially the actors
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Informational social influence
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Definition: Influence resulting from one's willingness to accept others' opinions about reality Example: Naturally turning to the police for advice in an emergency
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Social facilitation
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Definition: Stronger responses on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others Example: Playing in your basketball game with extra-fancy tricks and lots of heart and soul because your dad is in the audience
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Social loafing
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Definition: The tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable Example: Someone in a group project not doing much work because they know the other members have their work to do on it too
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Deindividuation
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Definition: The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity Example: The KKK was able to gain a huge membership because of the clothing they wore → The hoods made the members anonymous
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Group polarization
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Definition: The enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group Example: Two opposing political parties meet for a discussion about an economic policy → They already disagree on it, but after the discussion, their disagreement will be even stronger
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Groupthink
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Definition: The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives Example: The Bay of Pigs invasion happened because of groupthink → The group became so consumed with the group that they lost their ability to make good judgement
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Prejudice
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Definition: An unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members → Prejudice generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action Example: Believing that African-Americans are not capable of going to college
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Discrimination
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Definition: Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members Example: Colleges not accepting African-Americans
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Scapegoating
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Definition: The theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame Example: After 9/11, the Middle Eastern community is seen as the scapegoat for terrorism
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In-group bias
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Definition: The tendency to favor our own group Example: White people believing they're the smartest in the class, even though there are African-American people getting the same grades
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Out-group homogeneity
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Definition: One's perception of out-group members as more similar to one another than are in-group members Example: "They are alike, we are diverse"
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Just-world phenomenon
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Definition: The tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get Remember: "Just" means fair
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Hindsight bias
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Definition: The tendency people have to view events as more predictable than they really are Example: After a basketball game, people say they knew that that team was going to win
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Mere exposure effect
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Definition: The phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them Example: Going to a foreign country, you might be nervous to try the food for the first time, but once you've eaten it a few times, you start to like it
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Self-fulfilling prophecy
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Definition: A belief that leads to its own fulfillment Example: Start the day by thinking "Today is going to be a bad day" and it probably will turn out to be
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Social role
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Definition: A set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave Example: Leaders have to be confident
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Culture
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Definition: The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next Example: Every country has its own culture
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Norm
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Definition: An understood rule for accepted and expected behavior → Norms prescribe "proper" behavior Example: Wear jeans and a t-shirt to school and you'll be fine because that's the norm, wear a formal gown and you'll probably be looked at weirdly because that's weird
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Personal space
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Definition: The buffer zone we like to maintain around our bodies Example: "Don't burst my bubble!" when people get too close
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Stereotype
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Definition: A generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people Example: Asian people are good at math, etc
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Other-race effect
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Definition: The tendency to recall faces of one's own race more accurately than faces of other races Example: Being a white person and seeing a line-up of people of different races, you're most likely to remember the face of the other white person in the line
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Frustration-aggression principle
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Definition: The principle that frustration - the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal - creates anger, which can generate aggression Example: Your brother being too loud when you're trying to do homework, causing you to lose concentration and get mad at your brother
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Passionate love
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Definition: An aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a love relationship Example: What causes sex
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Companionate love
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Definition: The deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined Example: What causes long-term marriage
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Equity
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Definition: A condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it Example: Being a good friend to someone else and them being a good friend to you is an equitable relationship - one where you're good to them and they do nothing for you is not
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Self-disclosure
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Definition: Revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others Example: Trusting a friend with something you're embarrassed to tell other people
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Altruism
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Definition: Unselfish regard for the welfare of others Example: A parent willing to die for their child
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Bystander effect
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Definition: The tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present Example: Bystanders are more likely to help if the car accident is on an empty road than if it's in the middle of a busy city because less people are around
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Diffusion of responsibility
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Definition: A sociopsychological phenomenon whereby a person is less likely to take responsibility for action or inaction when others are present Example: The bystander effect
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Social exchange theory
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Definition: The theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs Example: The golden rule - "Treat others the way you want to be treated"
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Reciprocity norm
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Definition: An expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them Example: Friends don't expect to be hurt by friends, they expect that friends will help them
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Social-responsibility norm
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Definition: An expectation that people will help those dependent upon them Example: Children expect their parents to help them
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Mirror image perceptions
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Definition: Mutual views often held by conflicting people, as when each side sees itself as ethical and peaceful and views the other side as evil and aggressive Example: Both political parties consider themselves the right one and the other one wrong
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Superordinate goals
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Definition: Shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation Example: If two people who don't get along get assigned to be partners for a project, they have to put that aside and work together to get a good grade
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Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension (GRIT)
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Definition: A strategy designed to decrease international tensions Remember: Grit = The passionate pursuit of long-term goals and the commitment to fulfill a mission with unswerving determination no matter what the obstacles → Decreasing international tensions involves working together no matter the obstacles
