Lesson 11 Flashcards
Central route processing
Routes to Persuasion
persuasive message is evaluated by thoughtful consideration of the issues and arguments used.
Peripheral route processing
persuasive message is evaluated on the basis of irrelevant or extraneous factors ( who, how long, emotional appeal)
Cognitive Dissonance
mental conflict that occurs when a person hold two contradictory attitudes or thoughts. EX: “I smoke.”/ “Smoking leads to cancer.”
Modifying: “I really don’t smoke too often.” Changing importance: “ The evidence on this is weak.” Adding additional: “My regular exercise offsets the smoking effect.” Denying: “ There is no evidence linking smoking to cancer.”
Schemas
stored information in memory that can bias the way new information is processed and interpreted.
Self Schemas
beliefs and views about oneself
Event Schemas
recognition of typical ways in which a sequence of
action tends to unfold
Role Schemas
information on “appropriate” behavior based on
social categories: age, race, sex, occupation.
Person Schemas
understanding of individuals you know and/or
types of people.
Attribution theory
considers how we decide what the causes of a particular behavior is on the basis of samples of a person’s behavior.
Situational causes
external causes for a person’s behavior
Dispositional causes
internal causes (traits/personality) for a person’s behavior.
(she cut me off because she’s inconsiderate”
Halo Effect
an initial understanding of a person’s positive or negative traits is used to assume other positive or negative traits.
“She is not very punctual, so she must be lazy and unorganized as well.”
Assumed-similarity bias
tendency to think of people as being similar to oneself even when meeting them for the first time.
(assuming others see the world just as you do)
Self-serving bias
tendency to attribute positive outcomes to personal factors/traits and negative outcomes to external factors.
“ I got an A on the exam because I am smart” VS “ I got an F on the exam because the teacher is unfair.”
Fundamental Attribution error
tendency to overestimate other people’s behavior to dispositional causes and minimize the importance of situational causes.
“He must not have held the door open for me because he is a rude person.”
Just world Phenomenon
general belief that people get what they deserve.
A homeless person must have done drugs or is lazy. A wealthy person must have worked really hard.
Self-fulfilling prophecy
tendency to let our preconceived expectations of others influence how we treat them and they in turn may act according to our treatment of them.
(Teacher’s expectations of students influencing their performance. )
Scapegoat theory
when our self worth is in doubt or in jeopardy, we tend to find others to blame vent our frustration towards.
“I can’t get a job because all the immigrants are stealing them.”
Norms
Group Dynamics
Implicit or explicit rules that govern acceptable behavior and attitudes for a given group:
gender, age, ethnicity, circumstances.
(How women are supposed to behave, walking around campus with a swimsuit unacceptable)
Conformity
Group Dynamics
A change in behavior or attitude brought about by a desire to follow beliefs or stands of other people
Deindividuation
Group Dynamics
In large groups we tend to lose some self awareness and may engage in behavior that is uncharacteristic
(mob mentality, hurting someone as a group vs. individual)
Group Polarization
Group Dynamics
Like-minded people in groups often reach more extreme decisions than those made by any single individual
(KKK, Gang Members)
Diffusion of Responsibility
Group Dynamics
In a group setting, the sense of personal responsibility to help another person in need decreases
Out-group Homogeneity
Group Dynamics
Tendency to believe all members of a group are more similar than is true
(stereotypes stem from being in outgroup)
