psych ch 15

Tendency to attribute behavior of others to internal causes while attributing the behavior of ourselves to external causes

Actor-observer effect

Intimidating or threatening behavior or attitudes intended to hurt someone

Aggression

Desire or motivation to help others with no expectation of anything in return

Altruism

Participants in this experiment were asked to look at the lines on two cards, announcing which of the comparison lines was closest to the length to the standard line.

Asch's Conformity Experiment

Beliefs one develops to explain human behaviors and characteristics, as well as situations

Attributions

Tendency for people to avoid getting involved in an emergency they witness because they assume someone else will help

Bystander effect

Contradicting or clashing thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, or perceptions that cause discomfort We need consistency

Cognitive dissonance (attitude change)

Changes in behavior at the request or direction of another This person or group generally _does not_ have any true authority Often happens outside of our awareness Providing a _reason_ increases the likelihood of compliance... even if it's not a good reason

Compliance

Cognitive (beliefs about object, person, or situation) Affective (mood or emotion, emotional evaluation) Behavioral (feelings and beliefs guide behavior)

Components of attitudes

Tendency to modify behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, and opinions to match those of others Following the crowd Tendency to conform to the norms or standards of the social _environment_; often occurs because people feel compelled to fit in and belong

Conformity

Diminished sense of personal responsibility, inhibition, or adherence to social norms that occurs when group members are not treated as individuals

Deindividuation

Sharing of duties and responsibilities among all group members that can lead to feelings of decreased accountability and motivation

Diffusion of responsibility

Making a large request first, followed by a smaller request

Door in the face technique (social influence techniques)

Ability to understand and recognize another's emotional point of view, is a major component of altruism.

Empathy

Helping others to reduce their distress

Empathy

To see the world only from the perspective of one's own group

Ethnocentrism

Are a form of social influence Other people's behavior is partly derived from how we view them, just as our behavior is partly derived from how others view us.

Expectations

Tendency to overestimate the degree to which others think or act like we do

False consensus effect

Making a small request first, followed by a larger request

Foot in the door technique (social influence techniques)

Tendency to attribute behavior of others to internal causes We believe this even if behavior really has external causes

Fundamental attribution error

Tendency for a group to take a more extreme stance than originally held after deliberations and discussion

Group polarization

We look to others when we are uncertain about something

Informational social influence (Three major reasons for conformity)

Tendency to believe the world is a fair place and individuals generally get what they deserve

Just-world hypothesis

Degree to which one's actions are explained by rewards or other circumstances

Justification (attitude change)

More likely to help close relatives

Kin selection

Commitment is gained first to reasonable or desirable terms, which are then made less reasonable or desirable

Lowball technique (social influence techniques)

Tendency for people to change their behavior just because of the presence of other people

Mere presence

When mood is high or low

Mood

We want the approval of others

Normative social influence (Three major reasons for conformity)

Changing behavior because we have been ordered to do so by an authority figure Imbalance of power Stanley Milgram's study

Obedience

Intentionally trying to make people change their attitudes and beliefs, which may lead to changes In their behaviors

Persuasion

Behavior aimed at benefitting others

Prosocial Behavior

Controllable-uncontrollable Stable-unstable Internal-external

Psychologists often describe three dimensions

We help those we believe can return the favor later

Reciprocal Altruism

Others belong to a group we respect, admire, or long to join

Reference group (Three major reasons for conformity)

Tendency for groups to recommend uncertain and risky options

Risky shift

35% of attitude differences were related to genes Indirect effects

Role of Nature

Experiences and interactions with the people in our lives Exposure to media (via classical conditioning and observational learning)

Role of Nurture

Blaming a person or group for the actions of others or for conditions not of their making

Scapegoating

Tendency to attribute success to personal characteristics and failures to environmental factors

Self-serving bias

We help when the benefits outweigh the costs

Social Exchange Theory

Tendency for the presence of others to improve personal performance when the task or event is fairly uncomplicated

Social facilitation

Tendency for people to make less than their best effort when individual contributions are too complicated to measure

Social loafing

Study of human cognition, emotion, and behavior in relation to others, including how people behave in social settings

Social psychology

Sociologists would more likely investigate religious practices, rituals, and organizations

Sociology

Conclusions or inferences we make about people who are different from us based on their group membership, such as race, religion, age, or gender

Stereotypes

Persuasion hinges on the way people think about an argument Can occur via one of two pathways Central route - focus is on the content of the message and thinking critically about it Peripheral route - focus is on "extramessage factors"

The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)

Our overall impression of people (often related to physical appearance) influences our reactions to them or their behavior.

The Halo Effect

Refers to how a person is affected by others as evidenced in behaviors, emotions, and cognition Can be obvious or barely noticeable

The Power of Others

The beliefs we hold about others can produce the behaviors that we expect to find! 1968 study in San Francisco - "intellectual bloomers" vs "non-bloomers"

The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Children more likely than middle age adults to be persuaded Emotional state Focus

The audience (persuasive)

Logical and to the point Amount of fear-inducing

The message (persuasive)

Credibility dependent on perceived expertise and trustworthiness Attractiveness

The source (persuasive)

Early one Halloween evening, Bart's friends asked him to join them in smashing their neighbors' decorative pumpkins. He complied. Later, he was surprised by his own failure to resist them when they got him to throw eggs at a passing police car. Bart's experience BEST illustrates the:

foot-in-the-door technique

In the Stanford Prison Study, participants were randomly assigned to be prisoners and guards in the experiment. The guards wore khaki prison uniforms, carried night sticks, and wore sunglasses, while the prisoners wore prison garb with their prison numbers on the back. These costumes signified the participants' social:

roles

The local basketball team consistently performs better in front of the home crowd on their home court. This BEST illustrates:

social facilitation

A _____ might study the political attitudes of individual voters. A ____ might study the behavior of political parties.

social psychologist; sociologist

Which attributional bias is correctly matched with its definition?

just-world hypothesis - People tend to think that other people get what they deserve

The motivation to help others with no expectation of a return is called:

altruism

Before Rhonda left for college, she told her friend Michelle that she thought sororities were filled with snobs and she would never consider joining one. However, during Rhonda's first week on campus, she was approached by a sorority member who invited her to a social function and encouraged her to pledge. After Rhonda attended the party, she told Michelle, "Sororities do a lot of good things for the community. They're really service organizations." Rhonda's change in attitude to match her behavior reflects:

cognitive dissonance reduction.

The highest form of love in Sternberg's theory includes all three components: passion, intimacy, and commitment. It is called _______ love.

consummate

Juan was shopping for a new watch, and the salesperson pressured him to spend money way above his financial limit. Juan attributed this behavior to the salesperson's pushy personality. Juan was attributing his behavior to _____ factors.

dispositional

In Asch's conformity studies, participants were less likely to conform when

there was at least one dissenter in the group.