Social Psych Final

The power of the situation

We are all beings "in a situation". A situation is comprised of the time, place, people, human interactions, culture, social constructs, political circumstances, economic circumstances in which a person exists. We each bring to the situation our own attitudes, values, prior knowledge, prior experiences, and world view. Each of us constructs our own social reality through our individual perspective, using all these things.

tokenism

When a single member of a minority group is present in an office, workplace, or classroom and is seen as a representative of that minority group rather than as an individual

self-fulfilling prophecy

a belief that leads to its own fulfillment

reactance

a motive to protect or restore one's sense of freedom

Interdependence

a mutual relationship where individuals depend/contribute to each other

locus of control

a person's tendency to perceive the control of rewards as internal to the self or external in the environment

"that's not all" technique

a sales technique in which the persuader makes an offer and then adds something extra to make the offer look better before the target person can make a decision

stereotype

a set of beliefs and expectations about member of a group based solely on their inclusion in that group based on traits or characteristics one believes they share- sometimes overgeneralized, inaccurate, and resistant to new information

availability heuristic

a strategy for making judgments on the basis of how easily specific kinds of information can be brought to mind - This can lead us to underestimate the frequency of events that are not very impressive while overestimating events that are more spectacular or intense.

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

pure research

a type of scientific investigation that seeks to gain knowledge for the sake of knowledge itself

ingratiating tactics

attempts to seemingly befriend you in order to influence you

aggression

behavior whose purpose is to harm another

dispositional causation

cause of behavior attributed to internal factors such as personality or character

situational causation

causes relating to external or environmental events

conformity

change in behavior or belief/attitude as a result of real or imagined pressure of others

Type A behavior pattern

characterized by high levels of competitiveness, time urgency, hostility

central route

cognitive route of persuasion based on the content and deeper aspects of an argument

acceptance

conformity that involves both acting and believing in accord with social pressure

fear appeals

designed to change attitudes by producing apprehension and anxiety. These are more effective if they are accompanied by specific, precise recommendations for actions to take if one wants to avoid the danger.

transactional leaders

direct their groups by rewarding desired behavior and using disciplinary actions for poor performance or infractions of rules. They usually strengthen an already established group.

egoism

excessive interest in one's self; belief that one should be interested in one's self rather than in others; selfishness

Asch Experiment

experimented how people would rather conform than state their own individual answer even though they know the group's answer is wrong. presented with bar graph and asked which is longest etc.

exchange tactics

explicit or implicit promises that you will be rewarded if you comply

attitude innoculation

exposing someone to weak attacks upon their attitudes so that when stronger attacks come, they will have refutations available

disinhibition

exposure to media violence or actual violence reduces individual's normal inhibitions against behaving aggressively

hard sell

focuses on the qualities of the product itself

frustration-aggression link

frustration is a very powerful determinant of aggression

individualism

giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications

collectivism

giving priority to the goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly

transformational leaders

have a profound effect on followers because of their personal characteristics (Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr. Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher)

representative heuristic

judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes

common identity groups

linked by the category rather than each other - gender groups, ethnic groups...

overhelping

maliciously offering help in a way that sabotages the recipient by making him/her seem incapable, inept, and generally incompetent

common bond groups

members are bonded to each other and have frequent face-to-face interactions, like sports teams, friendship groups (like on "Friends", "How I Met Your Mother", "That 70's Show",), or work groups (creative teams, work social groups that meet after hours)

script

mental draft of a situation, which tells us what to expect and what is expected of us

schema

mental framework for a concept containing everything we know about that it. We continually add information to that framework and it helps us to organize information so we can relate to our world.

Desensitization

observing aggression diminishes the negative reaction to aggressive stimuli

peripheral route persuasion

occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker's attractiveness

self-efficacy

one's sense of competence and effectiveness

impact bias

overestimating the enduring impact of emotion-causing events

free riders

people who benefit from the group but give little in return

dispositional model of helping

people who help because it is their nature to do so: -empathy -belief in a just world -social responsibility -internal locus of control -low egocentrism

related fields

personality psych, sociology and anthropology

optimism bias

predisposition to expect things to turn out well

prejudice

prejudgment (usually negative) - the belief that a person or group, on the basis of assumed racial, ethnic, gender, cultural or other features, will possess particular characteristics or perform in a particular way

sexism

prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex.

superordinate goals

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation

heuristics

simple rules which are short-cuts for making complex decisions or drawing inferences - usually accurate, but not always

emergent leader

some rises to the situation and seem to be an obvious choice for present needs

social facilitation

strengthening of dominant (likely) responses in the presence of others.Others being present causes arousal which can boost our performance at things we do well or when we enjoy the interaction or competition with others. (the mere presence of others strongly affect our behavior)However, the arousal from the presence of others can lead to anxiety and interfere with our performance if the task is difficult or if being with others makes us self-conscious. (distraction conflict) Given extreme pressure, we're vulnerable to choking up, so even when others usually facilitate our performance, if the crowd is too big for comfort, or too critical, or too personal, it can cause anxiety instead.

soft sell

strives to link a product with a pleasant image related to the product's use

belief perseverance

tendency for beliefs to remain unchanged, even in the face of contradiction

group polarization

tendency of group members to move to an extreme position after discussing an issue as a group

empathy

the ability to understand and share the feelings of another

self-presentation

the act of expressing oneself and behaving in ways designed to create a favorable impression or an impression that corresponds to one's ideals

impression management

the attempt by people to get others to see them as they want to be seen

aggregate behavior

the behavior of all households and firms together

Ethnocentricity

the belief in the inherent superiority of one's own group and culture

relative deprivation

the belief that one lacks a desired resource in comparison with another group which one perceives to have more of that resource

impression formation

the forming of the first knowledge that a person has concerning another person

Debriefing

the post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants

persuasion

the process by which attitudes are changed

Social psychology

the scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and causes of individual behavior and thought in social situations. It is a scientific discipline, that focuses on people, and their thoughts, feelings, and actions.

cognitive dissonance

the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioral decisions and attitude change.

bystander effect

the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present

risky shift

the tendency for groups to make riskier decisions than individuals would

social loafing

the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable

just world phenomenon

the tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get

self-serving attribution bias

the tendency to attribute personal failures to the situation, while attributing personal successes to ourselves

planning fallacy

the tendency to underestimate how long it will take to complete a task

fundamental attribution error

the tendency to underestimate situational influences and overestimate dispositional influences (correspondence bias)

attribution theory

the theory that we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition

discrimination

unjustified negative behavior toward a group or its members - actions taken toward members of a particular group because of their inclusion in that group

altruism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others

possible self

what individuals might become, what they would like to become, and what they are afraid of becoming

Deindividuation

when an individual seems to lose himself or herself in the group's identity

mood dependent memory

when learning occurs during a particular emotional state, it is most easily recalled when one is again in that emotional state

compliance

yielding - conformity that involves publicly acting in accord with social pressure while privately disagreeing - giving in but internally disagreeing

attributional model of helping

your emotional response and the nature of the help you give is based on an analysis of the underlying cause for a request for help

priming

"setting the stage" to induce or influence thoughts, feelings, or actions - Recent exposure to stimuli influences the interpretation of information and readies people to respond in a particular manner

3 major focuses of social psychology

- the consequences of social influences on individuals and the way they understand the world - social interaction; study of the unique characteristics of social behavior when two or more people do things together. - group processes. Social psychologists study group properties such as roles, status, group pressure, and communication

Milgram's Obedience Experiment

The study to see if people were likely to obey an authority figure in a white lab coat claiming to be a scientist. The "teachers" gave an electric shock to "learners" when they have a wrong answer.

how to increase helpfulness

-be explicit and personal -activate norms for helping -act as a helpful model -personalize help

least threatening kinds of aid are...

-from donors with positive characteristics/motivation -that does not threaten autonomy/sense of control -from siblings and older relatives that is offered, rather than asked for -that can be reciprocated by the recipient that comes -from donors lease able to give the aid

Big Ideas in Social Psychology

-we construct our social reality -our social institutions are powerful, sometimes perilous -attitudes shape and are shaped by behavior -social influences shape behavior -dispositions shape behavior -social behavior is also biological behavior -feelings and actions toward people are sometimes positive/sometimes negative

4 factors that determine obedience

1. the victim's emotional distance 2. the authority's closeness and legitimacy 3. institutional authority (prestige of the authority) 4. the liberating effects of group influence

Internal Review Board (IRB)

A committee that is charged with protecting human rights and ensuring that all research studies are conducted in a manner consistent with community, professional, and legal standards. The American Psychological Association only accredits colleges and universities if they have an IRB in place to evaluate all studies using human subjects.

obedience

A form of compliance that occurs when people follow direct commands, usually from someone in a position of authority

social reality

An individual's subjective interpretation of other people and of relationships with them

group think

Because they are a group, a group may come to a more sound decision or less sound decision than individuals would. While a group can collectively have more information and a broader perspective than an individual, there can be pressure to achieve consensus which can lead to poor decisions.

racism

Belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.

ageism

Discrimination based on age

foot-in-the-door technique

asking for a small commitment and, after gaining compliance, asking for a bigger commitment

aggressive cues

Stimuli that have been associated in the past with actual aggression or violence and that will trigger aggression again

forewarning

advance knowledge that one is about to become the target or persuasion often increases resistance to the persuasion

hostile aggression

aggression driven by anger and performed as an end in itself

instrumental aggression

aggression in which the goal is to obtain something of value

emotional aggression

aggression with the explicit goal of hurting a victim

great person theory of leadership

all great leaders share certain traits

emergent-norm perspective

an emerging group definition of appropriate behavior shaping a new norm, such as a violent mob

informed consent

an ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

glass ceiling

an invisible limit on women's climb up the occupational ladder

lowball

an offer or deal is changed to make it less attractive after the person has accepted it

door-in-the-face technique

asking for a large commitment and being refused and then asking for a smaller commitment

threat-to-self-esteem model

reactions to receiving assistance depend on whether help is perceived as supportive or threatening

displacement

redirecting anger/aggression to a target other than the source of frustration

social support

relationships with people and groups that can provide us with emotional comfort and personal and financial resources

reciprocal concessions

requesters compromise by reducing the size of the initial request, thereby inviting a concession on the part of those who initially refused the larger request

naturalistic research

research designed to study the behavior of people or animals in their everyday lives

norms

rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members

applied research

scientific study that aims to solve practical problems