Social Psych Exam 2

facial electromyography

(EMG) an electronic instrument that records facial muscle activity associated with emotions and attitudes

IAT

(Implicit Association Test) implicit = unconscious measures the speed with which one responds to pairings of concepts

List and understand six reasons that stereotypes survive

1. Confirmatory bias due to use of schema 2. Subtyping: exceptions to a stereotype are placed in a separate category rather than used to revise the held stereotype 3. Self-fulfilling prophecy: the process by which one's expectations about a person eventually lead that person to behave in ways that confirm those expectations 4. Socialization: gender stereotypes are learned early (age 2) 5. Modeling: imitating important others (parents, teachers, friends) 6. Media effects

Name two components of ambivalent sexism

1. Hostile sexism: negative, resentful beliefs and feelings 2. Benevolent sexism: affectionate and chivalrous, but patronizing beliefs and feelings

two critical errors that result from social categorization

1. Overestimation of differences between groups 2. Overestimation of similarities within groups (stereotyping)

types of social influence

1. conformity: tendency to change perceptions, opinions, or behavior in ways that are consistent with group norms 2. compliance: changes in behavior based on direct requests from one person to another 3. obedience: changes in behavior based on direct orders from one perosn to another

two factors that are related to defiance

1. having allies gives individuals the courage to disobey 2. personality traits

list four factors related to attitude strength, which is related to an attitude's impact on intention and behavior

1. if it affects our self-interests 2. related to deeply held philosophical, political, religious values 3. attitudes shared by close friends, family, social ingroups 4. personality

modern racism

A form of racism that surfaces in subtle ways when it is safe, socially acceptable, and easy to rationalize

realistic conflict theory

A mutually shared goal that can be achieved only through intergroup cooperation; reduces prejudice

superordinate goal

A mutually shared goal that can be achieved only through intergroup cooperation; reduces prejudice

Which of the following theories suggests that intentions to perform a behavior are best predicted by attitudes toward the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control? A) theory of planned behavior B) cognitive dissonance theory C) self-perception theory D) self-affirmation theory

A) theory of planned behavior

Sam thinks that all economics profs are intelligent, attractive, and fabulously good dancers. This is an example of... A) prejudice B) discrimination C) an ingroup D) a stereotype

D) a stereotype

cognitive dissonance

discomfort that arises from inconsistency between two or more attitudes, or between attitudes and behavior

Robbers Cave Experiment

Boys were divided into two groups and taught to hate each other then had to work together to solve a problem

bogus pipeline

a phony lie-detector device that is sometimes used to get respondents to give truthful answers to sensitive questions

authoritarian personality

submissive toward figures of authority but aggressive toward subordinates

real-life examples of superordinate goals

working together to push a car (cave experiment); war

List and understand four ways that prejudice and discrimination can be reduced

1. Allport's contact hypothesis: contact in cave experiment will only work if there is equal status, personal interaction, cooperative activities/superordinate goals, and a clear understanding from authorities that prejudice is not accepted 2. School interventions: educational level is the strongest predictor of level of prejudice 3. Recategorization: shifting the boundary to include outgroup members in the ingroup 4. Challenging stereotypes through greater cognitive effort: information inconsistent with a schema can be incorporated, but requires effort

Four important conditions required for contact hypothesis to work

1. Equal status 2. Personal interaction 3. Cooperative activities (superordinate goals) 4. Clear understanding from authorities that prejudice is not accepted

Name two causes of stereotypes/prejudice/discrimination

1. Group identification •Ingroups: groups with which an individual feels a sense of membership, belonging, and identity (country, religion, political party) •Outgroups: groups that an individual does not belong to 2. Cognitive factors •Social categorization •Stereotype effect

order the three types of social influence in terms of the degree of pressure involved

1. conformity 2. compliance 3. obedience

Everyone in the fast-food restaurant seemed to be leaving their leftovers on the table as opposed to throwing them away on their way out the door, so Jeff left his tray on the table as well. This is best described as an example of... A) conformity B) obedience C) compliance D) deindividuation

A) conformity

In comparison to obedience and compliance, conformity... A) involves less direct pressure from others B) occurs only in response to the behavior of a group of others C) requires the physical presence of at least one other person D) is more likely to produce destructive behaviors

A) involves less direct pressure form others

Conformity levels do not continue to increase dramatically as the group size gets bigger and bigger because additions to the group are subject to... A) the law of diminishing returns B) low-balling C) the silence of norms D) perceptual contrast

A) the law of diminishing returns

An attitude is implicit if you... A) try to hide it B) are not aware of it C) cannot measure it D) disagree with it

B) are not aware of it

Modern racism can be distinguished from what has been termed "old-fashioned" racism in that modern racism is... A) more prevalent than "old-fashioned" racism B) less obvious than "old-fashioned" racism C) less destructive than "old-fashioned" racism D) more likely to be revealed later in life than "old-fashioned" racism

B) less obvious than "old-fashioned" racism

Bridgette thinks short people are lazy and Barbara refuses to let short people join her book club. Bridgette is exhibiting _____, whereas Barbara is exhibiting _____. A) discrimination; prejudice B) stereotyping; discrimination C) prejudice; stereotyping D) prejudice; discrimination

B) stereotyping; discrimination

Which of the following is not an example of social influence? A) a sports fan who decides to join the other members of the stadium crowd in doing the wave B) a student who hears that some of his fellow classmates may have been exposed to a noxious gas and immediately comes to feel a bit nauseated himself C) a model who catches a glimpse of herself wearing a swimsuit in a mirror and suddenly becomes self-conscious about the way she looks D) a guest at a dinner party who does not understand a joke told by the host, but laughs anyway because everyone else is laughing

C) a model who catches a glimpse of herself wearing a swimsuit in a mirror and suddenly becomes self-conscious about the way she looks

The most direct and straightforward way to assess an attitude is through the use of... A) covert measures B) implicit measures C) self-report measures D) behavioral observation

C) self-report measures

contact hypothesis

Contact like in cave experiment will only work if certain requirements are met: •Equal status •Personal interaction •Cooperative activities/superordinate goals •Clear understanding from authorities that prejudice is not accepted

examples of cognitive dissonance

Festinger and Carlsmith's experiment: subjects were in a boring experiment. One group was told to lie for $1, another $20, and another $0. $1 group had cognitive dissonance because they had insufficient justification, so they tried to say "it wasn't that bad"

various sequential request strategies

Foot-in-the-Door Technique: person begins with a very small request, secures agreement, then makes a separate larger request Low-Balling: an offer is changed to make it less attractive, after it appears that it has been accepted Door-in-the-Face Technique: person begins with a very large request that will be rejected, then follows that up with a more modest request That's Not All, Folks!: additional benefits are added to the main offer

describe whether longer messages are better

If peripheral: the longer the message, the more valid it must be. If central: longer messages are only effective if there is enough important information

shooter bias

If the target holds a gun, the subject is quicker to shoot if the target is black. If the target holds a harmless object, the subject is slower not to schoot if target is black.

pro and con of using self-report questionnaires

Pro: direct and straightforward Con: may not be accurate for sensitive questions

classic experiments on conformity

Sherif's autokinetic study; Asch's line judging study

Asch's line judging study

Subjects were seated with 5-7 confederates. Group was asked to judge lines. Confederates gave incorrect answers on some of the questions. 76% of subjects agreed with the incorrect answer on at least one trial.

social categorization

The classification of persons into groups on the basis of observable characteristics

attitude

a positive, negative, or mixed reaction to a person, object, or idea expressed at some level of intensity

forewarning and resistance

advanced knowledge allows time to develop counterarguments

conditions required for the central route of persuasion to work

assumes that listeners are attentive, active, and thoughtful; this assumption is correct only some of the time; more likely if the listener is high in need for cognition

Theory of Planned Behavior

attitude toward a behavior, subjective norm (our beliefs about what others think we should do), and perceived behavior control all affect our intentions, which then affect our behavior

link between attitudes and behavior

attitudes and behavior are only weakly correlated, but attitudes can predict future behavior

costs of conformity

can lead to maladaptive change in behavior or beliefs (Asch study; voting)

central route vs. peripheral route

central route: person thinks carefully about a message; influenced by the strength and quality of the message peripheral route: person does not think critically about the contents of a message; influenced by superficial cues

obedience

changes in behavior based on direct orders from one perosn to another

compliance

changes in behavior based on direct requests from one person to another talking fast and catching people off guard can improve compliance; people can be disarmed by the simple phrasing of the request

influence on group size on conformity

conformity increases with group size, but only up to a point (about 3 or 4 others - law of diminishing returns); perception that othes are either in "collusion" or "spineless sheep"

norm of reciprocity

dictates that we treat others as they have treated us; leads us to feel obligated to repay acts of kindness, even when unsolicited

describe whether messages based on fear are effective

depends on the strength of the argument and whether the message contains reassuring advice

cognitive dissonance theory

discomfort that arises from inconsistency between two or more attitudes, or between attitudes and behavior; We are then motivated to resolve this by changing our attitude or behavior or cognitions; Can lead to irrational and/or maladaptive behavior

relationship between conformity and collectivistic/individualistic cultures

greater conformity in collectivistic cultures compared to individualistic cultures

conditions that make the peripheral route work

humor related to the message content; speaker is physically attractive or similar to the listener; message associated with positive feelings

Sherif's autokinetic study: informational influence or normative influence?

informational influence

informational influence vs. normative influence

informational influence: people conform becaue they believe others are correct normative influence: people conform because they fear the consequences of appearing deviant

subliminal messages

messages delivered too quickly to be consciously perceived

Asch's line judging study: informational influence or normative influence?

normative influence

Sherif's autokinetic study

participants publicly giving answers to a vague task converged on a common answer

benefits of conformity

people can conform to social norms that are adaptive; littering study (parking lot flyers--if confederate cleaned up litter, subject was more likely to do the same)

ultimate attribution error

people in ingroups are seen more favorably; people in outgroups are seen more negatively

informational influence: private conformity or public conformity?

private conformity: changes in both behavior and beliefs

normative influence: private conformity or public conformity?

public conformity: change in behavior but not beliefs

reactance

resistance when we believe that we are being manipulated or being forced to change our opinion

conformity

tendency to change perceptions, opinions, or behavior in ways that are consistent with group norms

placebo effect

the belief that something works makes it indeed work

describe whether and when subliminal messages are effective

they work only when you already believe in the message being delivered

social identity theory

threats to one's self-esteem heighten the need for ingroup favoritism

two factors that increase credibility (which is related to persuasiveness)

trustworthiness; competence/expertise

effect of having an ally in dissent

when there was an ally in Asch's study, conformity dropped by almost 80%. An ally can reduce the normative pressures to conform

stereotype vs. prejudice vs. discrimination

•Stereotypes: beliefs that associate a whole group of people with certain traits •Prejudice: negative feelings about others because of their connection to a social group •Discrimination: negative behaviors directed against persons because of their membership in a particular group