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