Psychology Ch 11

can reduce cognitive dissonance in two ways

- change our behavior to fit our attitudes - change our attitudes to fit our behavior

internal and external causes

-inside and specific to the person -outside the person, situational factors

culture of honor

cultural norms about masculine pride and family honor may foster aggressive behavior

elaboration likelihood model

identifies two pathways of persuasion. central route and peripheral route.

persuasion

involves trying to change someone's attitude - and often their behavior as well

mood

our mood can determine whether or not we engage in kind behaviors

controllable and uncontrollable causes

power over some causes but not others

personal perception

refers to the processes by which we use social stimuli to form impressions of others.

genes

role of genes in aggression is most easily seen in nonhuman animals and in the process of selective breeding

aggression

social behavior whose objective is to harm someone, either physically or verbally. common in humans and nonhuman animals

self-fulfilling prophecy

social expectations cause individuals to act in ways that make the expectations come true

ethnocentrism

tendency to favor one's own ethnic group over other groups

social cognition

the area of psychology that explores how people select, interpret, remember, and use social information - the way in which individuals think in social situations

self-esteem

the degree to which we have positive or negative feelings about ourselves

mere exposure effect

the more we encounter someone or something, the more likely we are to start liking the person or thing

observer

the person who offers a casual explanation of the actor's behavior

group polarization effect

the solidification and further strengthening of an individual's position as a consequence of a group discussion or interaction

bystander effect

the tendency for an individual to be less likely to help in an emergency when other people are present. people tend to look for cues about how to behave. deindividuation is a process in which individuals feel anonymous and lose a sense of personal responsibility

attribution theory

the view that people are motivated to discover the underlying causes of their behavior as part of their effort to make sense of that behavior

social identity

the way individuals define themselves in terms of their group membership

socioeconomic status

those of lower socioeconomic status tend to be more likely to help than those who have more.

gender

women are more likely than men to help when the content involves existing interpersonal relationships or nurturing. men are more likely to help in situations in which a perceived danger is present

central route

works by engaging the audience thoughtfully with a sound, logical argument.

self-perception theory

Daryl Bem's take on how behavior influences attitudes. individuals make inferences about their attitudes by observing their behavior

neurobiological factos

aggressive behavior often results when areas such as the limbic system are stimulated by electric currents

personality

agreeableness is the personality trait most strongly associated with prosocial behaviors.

cognitive determinants

aspects of the environment may prime us to behave aggressively. priming involves making something salient to a person, even without the person's awareness

social exchange theory

based on the idea of social relationships as involving an exchange of goods, the objective of which is to minimize costs and maximize benefits

obedience

behavior that complies with the explicit demands of the individual in authority

relational aggression

behavior that is meant to harm the social standing of another person through activities such as gossiping and spreading rumors

conformity

change in a person's behavior to coincide more closely with a group standard

social loafing

each person's tendency to exert less effort in a group because of reduced accountability for individual effort

stable and unstable causes

enduring and permanent or temporary

investment model

examines the ways that commitment, investment, and the availability of attractive alternative partners predict satisfaction and stability in relationships

frustrating and aversive circumstances

frustration can lead to aggression or passive behavior. physical pain, personal insults, crowding, and unpleasant events also lead to aggression

stereotype

generalization about a group's characteristics that does not consider any variations from one individual to another. natural extension of the limits on human cognitive processing and our reliance on concepts in cognitive processing.

altruism

giving aid to another person with the ultimate goal of benefiting that person, even if it incurs a cost to oneself

heuristics in social information processing

helpful tools for navigating the complex social landscape, but they can lead to mistakes.

egoism

helping another person for personal gain, such as to feel good, or avoid guilt.

social contagion

imitative behavior involving the spread of behavior, emotions, and ideas

groupthink

impaired group decision making that occurs when making the right decisions is less important than maintaining group harmony

stereotype threat

individual's fast-acting, self-fulfilling fear of being judged based on negative stereotype about his or her group

informational social influence

influence other people have on us because we want to be right

normative social influence

influence others have on us because we want them to like us

peripheral route

involves factors such as the attractiveness of the person giving the message or the emotion power of an appeal

personality - aggression

low levels of agreeableness are associated with more aggressive behavior

media

music, tv, film, and video games can influence prosocial behavior

social facilitation

occurs when an individual's performance improves because the presence of others

deindividuation

occurs when being part of a group reduces personal identity and erodes the sense of personal responsibility

effort justification

one type of dissonance reduction. refers to rationalizing the amount of effort we put into getting something by increasing its value.

attitudes

opinions and beliefs about people, objects, and ideas - how we feel about the world

false consensus effect

overestimation of the degree to which everybody else thinks or acts the way we do

empathy

person's feeling of oneness with the emotional state of another. we feel what that person is feeling

social comparison

process by which we evaluate our thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and abilities in relation to others. tells us what our distinctive characteristics are and aids us in building an identity

cognitive dissonance

psychological discomfort caused by two inconsistent thoughts. notice an inconsistency between what we believe and what we do

overt aggression

refers to physically or verbally harming another person directly

self-serving bias

refers to the tendency to take credit for one's own successes and deny responsibility for one's own failures

inoculation

resisting persuasion. giving people a weak version of a persuasive message and allowing them time to argue against it can help individuals avoid persuasion

positive illusions

rosy views of themselves that are not necessarily rooted in reality

observational learning - aggression

social cognitive theorists believe that individuals learn aggression through reinforcement and observational learning

social identity theory

social identity is a crucial part of self-image and a valuable source of positive feelings about oneself

social psychology is connected to real life

take inspiration from real-life events and their research has important implication for many aspects of everyday life. research includes topics like leadership, organizational behavior, marketing and persuasion

risky shift

tendency for a group decision to be riskier than the average decision made by the individual group members

actor

the person who produces the behavior to be explained

Social psychology

the scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to other people.

fundamental attribution error

when observers make attributions about behaviors, they often overestimate the importance of internal traits and underestimate the importance of external situations when they seek explanations of another person's behavior