Intro to Psychology Social Psychology

Group Think

Tendency for group members to try and change their beliefs (attitudes) so that they are similar to what they believe is the group's general opinion

Fundamental Attribution Error

Tendency to emphasize (overestimate) internal causes and ignore or underestimate the influence of external causes for a person's behavior

External Attribution

event or situation. Attribute behavior to environment

Internal Attribution

personality trait or mood. Attribute behavior to the person

Stanley Milgram

1963 study on obedience and authority.

Event Schema (Script)

Knowledge about sequences of events and actions expected to occur in particular settings

Altruism

Acting in a way that shows unselfish concern for the welfare of others

Group Polarization

Tendency for a group's dominant point of view to become stronger, more extreme with time.

Conformity

The tendency for people to adopt the behaviors, attitudes, and opinions of other members of a group

Social Norms

A group's expectations regarding what is appropriate and acceptable for its member's attitudes and behavior

Self-fulfilling prophecy

prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself, due to positive feedback between belief and behavior. Example: Prison Experiment

Self-Serving Bias

Attributional pattern in which one takes credit for success but denies responsibility for failure

3 Components of Attitude

Cognitive, Affective, Behavioral

Obedience

Form of compliance that occurs when people respond to orders of an authority

Out-Group

those outside the individual's group

Stereotypes

Collection of beliefs and impressions about a group and its members

Solomon Asch

Conformity

Diffusion of Responsibility

Dilution or weakening of each group member's obligation to act when responsibility is perceived to be shared with group members

Bystander Problem

Reluctance to come to someone's aid when others are present

Attitude (Belief)

a hypothetical construct that represents an individual's degree of like or dislike for something

In-Group

the group with which an individual identifies

Festinger and Carlsmith

Attitude change and cognitive dissonance

Social Psychology

The branch of psychology that studies the effects of social variables and cognitions on individual behavior and social interactions

Situationalism

The view that environmental conditions influence people's behavior as much or more than their personal dispositions do

Prejudice

a negative attitude toward an individual based solely in a particular group

Attribution Theory

concerned with how individuals interpret events and how these interpretations relate to their subsequent behavior.

Cognitive Dissonance

highly motivating state in which people have conflicting cognitions, especially when their voluntary actions conflict with their attitudes