Final Psych
Describe The Milgram studies of obedience
"Do people conform. even if conforming means hurting others?" Learner and Teacher (learner is always a confederate) Learner and Teacher are placed in different rooms. Teacher punishes incorrect answers with an electric shock (All an act) Teacher gets a 45v shock, so he/she knows what it feels like. Shocks get more intense as the experiment moves forward, from 15-450v!
How does a person's preexisting believes shape their perception of media bias?
"People with higher knowledge are less bias" Higher knowledge becomes more bias, still using preconceived beliefs to interpret facts.
What is the "Yale" approach to studying persuasion?
"Who says what by what method, to whom" Who: Source characteristics What: Aspects of the message Method: how message is communicated Whom: Recipient characteristics
If you are trying to sell an item using the peripheral route, what would your advertising message look like, in terms of the images and information that would be provided?
1. Ads with the words "quick, new, easy, improved, amazing, or introducing" sell better. 2. Merchandise on shelves at eye-level sells best. 3. Ads using animals, babies, or sex sell better than ads using cartoons or historical figures. 4. Stuff at the end of the aisle or close to checkout stand sells better. 5. Bundle pricing (2 for $1 rather than 59 cents each) sells more.
What were the major findings of The Milgram studies of obedience and why were they important?
62.5% of participants gave the maximum level shock, which was labeled "XXX"
What is the availability heuristic? Give an example of a study discussed in class.
A decision rule in which people make judgments based on the ease which instances come to mind. Example: Tversky and Kahneman 1973 Long list of male and female names IV: Famous names-all female DV: Which came to mind more? More female names because things that come to mind more easily are more common.
What is the definition of "operationalization"?
A process of defining the measurement of a phenomenon that is not directly measurable, though its existence is indicated by other phenomena. Example: People will bike faster when biking with others rather than alone.
What is a hypothesis?
A statement that describes a relationship between events derived from theories.
What is priming? How is the "Donald Paradigm" (discussed in class) an example of priming?
Activating particular associations in memory/Situational cues that influence automatic thoughts. The Donald Paradigm- Incidental cues from our environment can influence our behaviors. He had risked injury, and even death, a number of times(adventurous/reckless). By the way he acted one could readily guess that Donald was well aware of his ability to do many things well (self-confident/conceited). Other than business engagements, Donald's contacts with people were rather limited. He felt he didn't really need to rely on anyone (independent/aloof). Once Donald made up his mind to do something it was as good as done no matter how long it might take or how difficult the going might be. Only rarely did he change his mind even when it might well have been better if he had (persistent/stubborn)."
What is a within subjects design?
All participants get all levels of your independent variable. Example: All kids perform the task in both social settings, alone and together.
If you are trying to sell an item using the central route, what would your advertising message look like, in terms of the images and information that would be provided?
An important issue being displayed
What is a theory?
An integrated set of principles that explain and predict observed events.
What are implicit attitudes? How are they measured? What do they predict, in terms of behaviors?
Automatic, spontaneous reactions to objects can reflect our underlying associations and attitudes. We have negative automatic reactions to things that we don't like, and positive automatic reactions to things we do like.
Self reflective glory
Basking in reflected glory Cialdini et al (1976)
What are the necessary conditions for cognitive dissonance to arise?
Behavior must be freely chosen Behavior must be unjustified Behavior must have negative foreseeable consequences
What is an illusory correlation?
Beliefs that 2 things are correlated, when in fact they are not. Ex: Woman drivers
What kinds of items are usually marketed using the peripheral route? Why?
Cars, cigarettes, dresses
The Elaboration Likelihood Model: Heuristic/Peripheral route
Change attitudes through feelings and superficial associations Dominated by automatic processes.
The Elaboration Likelihood Model: Systematic/Central route
Changes attitudes through deliberative reasoning and analysis Dominated by controlled processes The person thinks carefully about message content Persuasion will rest on the strength of the message Tangential elements play a minimal role
Should we strive to avoid self-serving biases? Why or why not? What effect does depression have on self-serving biases?
Close contact with reality; accurate perception of the world. Moderately depressed individuals and people with low self esteem tend to be relatively accurate. Depressed individuals may distort in the opposite (negative) direction. Mild distortions in our favor helps us successfully navigate our worlds. (Taylor and Brown, 1988).
What are the 3 types of conformity?
Compliance Obedience Acceptance
What kinds of items are usually marketed using the central route? Why?
Computer- (Features, brands, memory space).
What were the major findings of the Asch study and why were they important?
Conformity was surprisingly high (75% conformed at least once) given that the answer was unambiguous, the confederates were strangers, and there was no pressure to conform (i.e. low stakes for being wrong.) Asch's original hunch was WRONG.
What are some factors discussed in class that influence how we define our self concept?
Culture/Language
What factors influence obedience?
Distance Authority
Describe Zimbardo's Prison experiment. What does this experiment tell us? What does it not tell us? (hint: look at slides)
Does NOT show... that we are powerless to resist roles that all people have evil inside them DOES show... That the roles we enact can shape our attitudes in powerful and unexpected ways The things that we do and say can become incorporated into our actual attitudes and our views of ourselves As a result, artificial roles can slowly become real
What is the major advantage of a true experiment, versus a correlational study?
Establishes causality Rules out confounds i.e. other factors that could have caused a difference between groups.
How does framing in terms of gains and losses influence judgments? X Describe the "disease study" (discussed in class) that illustrates this.
Framing generally refers to changing judgments by using different kinds of semantic labels. Torture vs enhanced interrogation Terrorists vs freedom fighters.
How do personality factors influence conformity?
Hypothesis: Personality matters in "weak" situations. Personality doesn't matter in "strong" situations. Almost HAS to be true, but little evidence.
What are some common misconceptions of the Milgram study?
If participants really believed that the learner was being shocked, they wouldn't have shown full obedience. (Most believed that they were really shocking someone.) Of the participants that did go to the highest levels of shocks, they never tried to disobey the experimenter. (They tried, but failed.)
What is counterfactual thinking?
Imagining alternative scenarios and outcomes that might have happened, but didn't/ when alternative realities are easy to imagine, they have a strong influence on us.
Automatic imitation
Imitation e.g. Bargh and Chartrand imitation study (Confed rubs face, confer shakes foot) e.g. Yawning study
How does culture influence conformity?
Individualist cultures generally conform less. Collectivist cultures generally conform more.
What is narcissism?
Inflated sense of self Initially charming and outgoing Usually don't have healthy relationships
What are the factors that predict conformity?
Informative social influence Normative social influence
What kind of conformity does the Sherif study illustrate?
Informative social influences
Describe the famous dissonance study in which participants lied about how fun a knob-turning experiment was. When did participants report the most liking for the experiment? When did they report the least liking?
Initial attitude: "I didn't enjoy the task" Sufficient justification ($20) Low dissonance Minimal attitude change Subsequent behavior: "Told other participants that I liked the task" Insufficient justification ($1) Higher dissonance Attitude change
What are the Foot in the door and door in the face phenomena?
Initial compliance to small requests makes us more willing to later comply to larger requests. Persuasion technique that increases the likelihood a respondent will agree to the second request.
Self serving attributions
Internal vs external attributions Example: I aced the test because I'm smart! External for failures I failed the test because it was unfair!
Unrealistic optimism
Most people believe that bad things are less likely to happen to them than to others.
Above average effect
Most people see themselves as above average on positive traits.
Normative social influence
Need to be accepted/Fear of rejection. Correct answer is relatively unambiguous. (e.g. Asch, 1951) Importance of the task should generally decrease conformity.
Informational social influence
Need to know "what's right" Arises when the correct answer is ambiguous (e.g. Sherif, 1935) Importance of the task should generally increase conformity.
What kind of conformity does the Asch study illustrate?
Normative social influences
Describe the Asch study of conformity
Original goal was to critique Sherif. Hypothesis: "People don't conform unless the decision to be made is highly ambiguous (unclear). When the correct answer is obvious, people won't conform." Showed three block lengths that one obviously matched up with
How does the overjustification effect provide evidence for self-perception theory? (hint: look at slides)
Overjustification: When we are compensated for doing things that we like, we no longer like to do them! E.g. practicing the violin Self perception theory: No "dissonance" because people are doing something that they like to do. And yet attitudes still change.
What is a between subjects design?
Participants are divided into groups, and each group gets one level of your independent variable. Example: 1/2 in a group, 1/2 alone.
In what ways are we good at affective forecasting? In what ways are we bad at it?
People usually get the valence right Mispredicting our feelings (impact bias) Miscontsrual Focalism Inaccurate theories Fail to account for our future preferences
The exceptionalist thesis
People who do awful things are exceptional people
The normalize thesis
People who do awful things are the same as everyone else.
What is belief perseverance? Describe a relevant study described in class.
Persistance of one's initial conceptions, such as when the basis for one's belief is discredited but an explanation of why the belief might be true survives/ Newly formed beliefs are surprisingly stable. Example: Anderson, Ross, And Lepper (1980) Gave participants descriptions of successful/unsuccessful fire fighter. DV: Link between success and risk taking which created a brand new belief.
Who tends to conform more than others?
Personality factors Culture Authority Group size Expertise Anonymity of judgments
What is affective forecasting?
Predicting how we feel
Sherif study of conformity (Autokinetic illusion)
Public condition includes participants only Public conditions include participants and confederates who are trained to give responses within a given range.
What are some explanations for obedience in The Milgram studies of obedience?
Raising objections is easy; outright defiance is difficult Release from responsibility "Foot in the door" Physical distance
What is the difference between random assignment and random selection?
Random assignment helps us infer cause and effect while random sampling helps us generalize to a population.
Conformity, therefore, is not a weakness or a choice.
Rather, it is a fact.
Based on the Elaboration Likelihood model, When is a person most likely to be influenced by the heuristic/peripheral route to persuasion?
Relatively automatic and effortless: -Lack of interest/knowledge -Lack of motivation -Lack of ability
Based on the Elaboration Likelihood model, when is a person most likely to be influenced by the systematic/central route?
Relatively controlled and effortful: -Have interest/knowledge -Have motivation -Have time/energy to engage
Self handicapping
Self-presentation strategy in which a person creates obstacles to his own performance either to provide an excuse for failure or to enhance success Franzoi, 2003
Subjective preferences -->
Similarity of source matters most
Describe Richard Petty's "famous 1981 study conducted at MU". What were the IVs? DVs? What were the results?
Students asked to read an essay in support of a mandatory comprehensive exam. • IV = personal involvement (low vs. high) -Next year vs. 10 years in future • IV = expertise of source (low vs. high) -Argument by high school student or higher ed commission • IV = strength of argument (low vs. high) -Argument used data and statistics or personal opinions and anecdotes Results: Those with a high stake are most persuaded by strong arguments, not expert opinion. Those with no stake are most persuaded by expert opinion, not argument strength. Results can be explained by assuming that people are "cognitive misers," who only think as much as they have to.
What is random selection?
Survey procedure in which every person in the population being studied has an equal chance of inclusion.
What is the fundamental attribution error? What are some reasons why the FAE occurs?
Systematic discounting of the situation. People's behavior is more notable than situational causes. We assign insufficient weight to situational causes even when made aware of them We are cognitive misers Language and culture.
What is the illusion of control?
Tendency to overestimate the degree to which we control things. Ex: Superstitions
False consensus
Tendency to see one's own attitudes as more common and shared than they really are. Example: Favor of legalizing pot? Actual attitude vs perceived attitude.
What is a "self-serving bias"?
Tendency to view ourselves favorably.
What were the major findings of the Sherif study of conformity and why were they important?
The auto kinetic effect is highly ambiguous (unclear). See a small dot of light in a dark room, appears to move even though it's not. Answers involved guessing. Re-test FULL YEAR later (in private) still showed the effect of the group. Suggests internalization of the group norm (i.e. they really saw the light differently)
What is the spotlight effect?
The belief that others are paying more attention to our appearance and behavior than they really are.
Give an example of a study from class that shows that we make causal attributions for our judgments and behaviors that are not correct
The chainsaw experiment. Participants watch a movie. 1 group silent, other has a chainsaw. The rate enjoyment is the same for both, but the chainsaw group thought it decreased enjoyment rate.
How does cognitive dissonance result in attitude change? Give a real-life example (hint: look at slides)
The disgusting grasshopper study (Zimbardo et al. 1965) Participants are asked to eat a grasshopper by a friend or an enemy Those asked by an enemy reported grasshopper was tasty.
What is an independent variable?
The experimental factor that a researcher manipulates.
What is anchoring and adjustment? Give an example of a study discussed in class.
The foundational decision making heuristic in situations where some estimate of value is needed. Tversky & Kahneman, 1974: Participants spun a "wheel of fortune" with numbers between 0-100 Asked whether percentage of African nations in the UN is greater or less than that number Estimates were significantly related to number spun on the wheel (even though that number was totally irrelevant!)
What is the illusions of transparency?
The illusion that our concealed emotions leak out and can be easily read by others.
Give an example of a study from class showing that analytical reasoning can result in worse decision making. Why does analytical reasoning sometimes result in worse decisions?
The poster study/ The dating study Draws attention to factors that are easy to articulate Draws attention away from our underlying feelings Draws attention to casual reasoning that may be wrong
What is random assignment?
The process of assigning participants to the conditions of an experiment such that all persons have the same chance of being in a given condition.
What is a major cultural difference in how the self is viewed?
The psychology of Western cultures assumes that your life will be enriched by believing in your power of personal control. (Independent self) Most cultures native to Asia, Africa, and Central and South America place a greater value on collectivism, respecting one's group and identifying oneself accordingly. (Interdependent self)
Mirror cells
The same cells are activated when we perform an action as when we observe someone else doing that same action.
What is social psychology?
The scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another.
What is the "I am _______" exercise, and what does it tell us about how we construct our self concepts?
The self-schemas that make up our self-concepts help us organize and retrieve our experiences.
What is the representativeness heuristic? Give an example of a study discussed in class. How is the confirmation bias related?
The tendency to presume, sometimes despite contrary odds, that someone or something belongs to a particular group if resembling (representing) a typical member. Example: Emos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman (1983) Linda- Philosophy in college, outspoken, etc. Bank teller or bank teller and feminist? The conjunction of two events cannot be more likely than either one of the events alone.
What is a dependent variable?
The variable being measured, so called because it may depend on manipulations of the independent variable.
Ideomotor action
Thinking about a behavior increases our tendency to perform that behavior ourselves.
Overconfidence: Given an example of a study from class. What are some causes of overconfidence? Remedies?
Top performers are under confident, bottom are overconfident. Causes: Failure to learn from feedback Poor feedback Temporal distance between judgment and event Remedies: Think about reasons why the judgment might not be right Try to get feedback Planning fallacy (double your estimates)
Social comparisons
Upward vs downward. Upward comparison is when there is need for knowledge Downward comparison is when there is a need to feel good about ourselves.
What are the important source characteristics that were covered in the book and in class?
WHO: Attractiveness: Physically or similarity of beliefs, dress, ethnicity, or behavioral Likeableness Credibility/trust: -Real- College professor > High School student -Perceived- Speed of speech & confidence of speech -Trustworthiness- Speed of speech, confidence of speech, body language, arguing against one's self interest. Expertise
What are some of social psychology's big ideas that are covered in the text?
We construct our own social reality Our social intuitions are often powerful but sometimes perilous Social influences shape our behavior Personal attitudes and dispositions also shape behaviors Social behavior is biologically rooted Applicable in everyday life
What is self-perception theory? How does it explain behavior-induced attitude change?
We observe our behaviors and make inferences about our attitudes. Attitude change can be dependent on the presence of tense emotions.
What is the "Mood as information" effect? What is a study that demonstrated this?
We think we know, but our inside information is wrong. Schwarz and Clore, 1983- Called and asked people about life satisfaction IV #1: Calls made on sunny days vs rainy days IV #2: Interview called attention to weather or not DV: Rating of life satisfaction
What are the ABCs of attitudes?
We usually assume basic consistency between attitudes and behaviors.
Reactance
When freedoms are threatened, we sometimes do the opposite of what we are told. e.g. Underage drinkers drink to greater excess than do drinks of the legal age.
Compliance example
When it is insincere
Acceptance example
When it is sincere, and we believe in the values that are being proposed
Summary of Baron et al. (1996)
When the correct answer is too unclear (ambiguous): Informational social influence Conformity higher when it's important When correct answer is clear (unambiguous): Normative social influence Conformity is lower when the task is important
When is the central route most persuasive?
When the issue is important
When is the peripheral route most persuasive?
When the issue is unfamiliar When the issue is insignificant or trivial When the receiver does not have the resources to process the information
Under what circumstances do attitudes predict behavior?
When there are minimal outside influences on attitude expression or behavior When attitudes are accessible, stable, and strong When attitudes and behavior are measured at the same level of specificity.
Obedience example
When we do it just to get a reward or avoid a punishment
What is cognitive dissonance?
When we hold inconsistent cognitions, we experience dissonance and are motivated to reduce or eliminate.
What is it about a true experiment that gives it this advantage?
With true experiments, everything about the conditions have to be the same except for levels of the independent variable, while correlational studies cannot randomly assign, cannot establish causality, and has a 3rd variable problem.
