Psychology Chapter 15

Stereotype threat

A "situational threat" in which individuals are aware of others' negative expectations, which leads to their fear that they will be judged and/or treated as inferior

Empathy

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

Expectations

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

Prosocial Behavior

Behavior aimed at benefiting others

Attributions

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

Scapegoating

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

Compliance

Changes in behavior at the request or direction of another; Providing a reason increases the likelihood of compliance even if it's not a good reason

Obedience

Changing behavior because we have been ordered to do so by an authority figure

Components of attitudes

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

Lowball technique

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

Stereotypes

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

Cognitive dissonance

Contradicting or clashing thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, or perceptions that cause discomfort

Three Dimensions in Social Cognition

Controllable-uncontrollable Stable-unstable Internal-external

Justification

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

Altruism

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

Deindividuation

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

Role of Nurture

Experiences and interactions with the people in our lives; Exposure to media; 35% of attitude differences were related to genes; Indirect effects

Prejudice

Holding hostile or negative attitudes toward an individual or group

Persuasion

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

Aggression

Intimidating or threatening behavior or attitudes intended to hurt someone

Door in the face technique

Making a large request first, followed by a smaller request

Foot in the door technique

Making a small request first, followed by a larger request

The Halo Effect

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

Three elements of love

Passion; Intimacy; Commitment

The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)

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")

Important attraction factors

Proximity;Mere-exposure effect; Similarity; Physical attractiveness

Social Influence

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

Attitudes

Relatively stable thoughts, feelings, and responses one has toward people, situations, ideas, and things

Diffusion of responsibility

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

Sociology

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

Social Psychology

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

Group polarization

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

Risky shift

Tendency for groups to recommend uncertain and risky options

Bystander effect

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

Mere presence

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

Social loafing

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

Social facilitation

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

Actor-Observer Affect

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

Self-Serving Bias

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

Just-World Hypothesis

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

Conformity

Tendency to modify behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, and opinions to match those of others

False Consensus Effect

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

The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

The beliefs we hold about others can produce the behaviors that we expect to find

Three Factors That Determine Persuasive Power

The source (Credibility dependent on perceived expertise and trustworthiness); The message (Logical and to the point); The audience (Emotional state & focus)

Ethnocentrism

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

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

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

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

altruism

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

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

there was at least one dissenter in the group