Unit 1: Social Psychology Flashcards
the scientific attempt to explain how the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of other human beings
Social Psychology
(Allport, 1954)
What is the person-situation debate?
explanation of Individual behavior (personality/values/interests) and situational (social norms/expectations) that influences decision-making
long-standing traits and patterns that propel individuals to consistently think, feel and behave in consistant ways
Personality
What trait?
high: inventive/curious
low: consistent/cautious
Openness to Experience
What trait?
high: efficient/organized
low: careless/irresponsible
Conscientiousness
What trait?
high: Outgoing/energetic
low: solitary/reserved
Extraversion
What trait?
high: friendly/compassionate
low: critical/distrusting
Agreeableness
What trait?
high: Nervous/temperamental
low: calm/stable
Neuroticism (emotional stability)
what are the three arguments that Walter Mischel proposed regarding personality and Assessment in 1968
- Unimpressive upper limit to predictive value of personality
- Situations are more improtant than traits to explain behavior
- No use to measure personality, as people display no consistency in behavior.
an individual’s tendency to attribute another’s actions to their character or personality, while attributing their own behavior to external situational factors outside of their control
Fundamental Attribution Error
environmental forces that cue desirable behaviors
Situational Strength
Behavior as a product of both the individual and situation
Interactionism
Why does the Fundamental attribution error occur?
- Cognitive ease
- Information asymmetry
- Self-serving bias
Identity concealment reduces personal accountability, increasing frequency of deviant behavior
Deindividuation
Relatively stable feeling/belief that is direct toward an object
Attitude
What makes up an attitude?
Affect
Behavior
Cognition
the importance of an attitude as assessed by how quickly it comes to mind.
Attitude Strength
degree of alignment between the components of the tripartite model of attitudes
Attitude Consistency
desire for consistency between thoughts, statements, and behaviors
cognitive dissonance
General state of feeling, not identified with a particular stimulus and not sufficiently intense to interrupt thought processes.
Mood
Feeling often experienced in reaction to an event, that can ultimately interrupt thought process
Emotions
Reflect on one’s own behavior and experiences
Attribute behavior to attitude toward understanding current attitude standing
Issue of equifinality
Self-perception theory
Theory the use of environmental cues, including social interactions, to determine one’s attitude standing
Social information processing theory
the process by which a person or entity attempts to influence another to change their beliefs or behaviors
Persuasion
the normative expectation of mutual exchange
Reciprocation
tendency to seek alignment in behaviors, beliefs, and attitude
Consistency
desire to align behavior with the behavior engaged by others
Social Validation
increased liklihood to be persuaded by those we like or admire
Liking
increased likelihood to comply based on perceptions of competence or expertise
Authority