Introduction to psychology M 36: LearningCurve 36a. Social Thinking and Social Influence

are feelings that are based on beliefs; they predispose people to react in a particular way to objects, people, and events.

Attitudes

John is not a great golfer; he has only been playing golf for two years. One day, John was playing alone and a foursome in front of him told him he could play through. All four of the others watched him tee off. According to social facilitation research, what type of performance would you expect from John?

He will not perform well because of increased arousal.

According to research on social loafing, why would this not be as good an idea for United States workers?

In individualistic cultures social loafing would be more likely and decrease production.

Carl thinks that his new neighbor is mean and snobbish. This _____ will likely influence Carl to act negatively toward his neighbor.

attitude

Cynthia thinks that her new neighbor is mean and snobbish. This ____________ will likely influence Cynthia to act negatively toward her neighbor.

attitude

Your professor is curt with everyone on the first day of class. You think that your new professor is rude. This _____ will likely influence you to act negatively toward your professor.

attitude

The _____ principle indicates that, although we often cannot directly control all of our feelings, we can influence our feelings by changing our behavior.

attitudes-follow-behavior

According to the ______________, people explain behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition.

attribution theory

"Smile, and the world smiles with you." This statement suggests that people imitate others' expressions, a phenomenon Chartrand and Bargh (1999) called the _____ effect.

chameleon

The local basketball team seems to perform better in front of the home audience on their home court. This best illustrates:

social facilitation.

The branch of psychology that studies how people think, feel, and behave in social situations is called _____.

social psychology

In one study, participants who worked alongside someone who rubbed his face or shook his foot were observed to produce the same behaviors. This mimicry illustrates:

the chameleon effect.

We feel happier in the presence of happy people than in the presence of depressed people. This is known as

the chameleon effect.

We feel happier in the presence of happy people than in the presence of depressed people. This is known as:

the chameleon effect.

The common tendency in individualistic cultures to attribute the behavior of others to internal, personal characteristics, while ignoring or underestimating the effects of external or situational factors, is called the _____ error.

fundamental attribution

Your new roommate leaves dirty laundry all over her room and you assume she must be a slob. You ignore the fact that she is currently taking finals and working 40 hours per week. You are demonstrating the _____.

fundamental attribution error

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely": With dictatorial leaders and legions of sycophants and "yes-men," a totalitarian regime makes decisions that are increasingly ill-considered and divorced from reality. Social psychologists would refer to the phenomenon of _______ to explain this situation.

groupthink

Considering the results of Solomon Asch's research, conformity to group judgments probably would be _____ likely when participants are not observed by other group members when giving their answers.

least

In the Stanford Prison Study, subjects 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 _____ each of the subjects was to play in the experiment.

role

Your friend yells at you for being 5 minutes late for lunch. Rather than believe your friend is a rude jerk, you decide that she may be having difficulties with her partner thus her behavior is the result of

a situational attribution.

In _____ cultures people are less likely to commit the fundamental attribution error.

collectivist

Political _____ are MOST likely to make ____ attributions.

conservatives; dispositional

Once people have agreed to a small request, they have a tendency to comply with a larger request. This is known as the _____ phenomenon.

foot-in-the-door

It is an election year, and a volunteer asks if you would put a small, one-foot sign in your yard. You agree. The next week, your wife cannot believe you agreed to let the volunteer put a new, three-foot sign on the front lawn. This technique is known as the _____.

foot-in-the-door phenomenon

The tendency for the observer, when analyzing others, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition, is known as

the fundamental attribution error.

refers to the loss of self-awareness and evaluation apprehension. It occurs in group situations that foster responsiveness to group norms

Deindividuation

In one amusement park ride, people stand against the inside wall of a large, room-sized drum. As the ride starts, the floor drops out, and the room spins with increasing speed, first clockwise, then counterclockwise. "I swear I'll throw up!" Matt explains, waiting for the ride. "Don't you dare!" Mark exhorts. "If you do, then I will for sure." Chartrand and Bargh (1999) called this automatic imitation of others' behavior the _____ effect.

chameleon