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Social Psychology > Social Cognition - Exam 1 > Flashcards

Social Cognition - Exam 1 Flashcards

1
Q

Define social psychology

A

The scientific study of the way individuals think, feel, and behave in social situations

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2
Q

sp vs personality psychology

A

Both study individual, but pp focuses on individual differences

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3
Q

sp vs sociology

A

Sociologists study how groups or categories of people are affected by large scale social factors

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4
Q

Advantage of experimental research

A

It can establish causation

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5
Q

What is random assignment?

A

Assigning participants to the conditions of an experiment so that they have an equal chance of being in a given condition

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6
Q

Why is random assignment the great equalizer?

A

It creates equivalent groups in everything but the conditions created by the experimenter.

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7
Q

Define demand characteristics

A

Cues in an experiment that tell the participant what behavior is expected

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8
Q

How are demand characteristics minimized?

A

Instructions are standardized or administered by a computer

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9
Q

What safeguards protect research subjects?

A

Provide informed consent, truthfulness (deception only if justified and not if it would cause a subject to revoke consent), protection from harm, confidentiality, debriefing.

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10
Q

Steps characterizing social judgment (conscious or unconscious?)

A

Gathering evidence, then drawing an inference - and often unconsciously (intuitively)

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11
Q

Basis of impression of others

A

behavior and performance; appearance; other people’s impressions and observations; groups, roles and positions

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12
Q

How does more information about a person affect our impression of them?

A

Negatively, since we learn in what ways we’re unlike them.

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13
Q

How should celebrities (and others trying to make a good impression) present themselves?

A

The less they know about you, the better.

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14
Q

Effect of desires/preferences on gathering and interpreting evidence

A

People generally attend to information consistent with their preferences and events are interpreted in a way consistent with wants

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15
Q

Why do people engage in wishful thinking?

A

To regulate affect or mood (affect regulation: cognitions and behaviors aimed at regulating our feelings and mood)

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16
Q

What is a heuristic?

A

A short cut method or rule of thumb used to make a judgment

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17
Q

Describe the availability heuristic

A

A rule in which the subjective likelihood of an event is based on the ease with which instances of the event are available from memory

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18
Q

Define belief perseverance

A

Persistence of one’s initial conception (e.g. when it is discredited and another basis is found)

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19
Q

What is judgmental overconfidence?

A

The overestimation that the likelihood of one’s judgment is correct

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20
Q

How does incompetence feed overconfidence?

A

It takes competence to recognize competence, so without it it’s easy to overestimate ours.

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21
Q

Two remedies for overconfidence

A

Prompt feedback, considering disconfirming evidence,

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22
Q

Internal vs external attribution

A

Internal attributions ascribe causality to an individual’s personality/character, etc. whereas external attributions ascribe it to their situational factors

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23
Q

Discounting principle

A

Less influence is attributed to a factor if other plausible causes were present.

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24
Q

Augmentation principle

A

More influence is attributed to a factor if factors inhibiting the outcome were present.

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25
Q

When are external attributions more likely?

A

When people’s behavior is constrained, normative and socially desirable

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26
Q

When is attributional thinking most likely?

A

Unexpected and negative events and behavior

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27
Q

Why does socially undesirable behavior lead to more internal attributions and impact impressions more than socially desirable behavior?

A

Negative behavior tends to be less frequent and more diagnostic, and we want to avoid it

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28
Q

fundamental attribution error

A

the tendency to underestimate the

impact of external factors on other people’s behavior and to overestimate the role of internal causes

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29
Q

Is the fundamental attribution error universal?

A

It exists across cultures, though East Asians are more sensitive to situational factors

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30
Q

Describe belief in a just world

A

the belief that the world is a just place

where individuals get what they deserve

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31
Q

How does just world belief affect attribution?

A

Increases our tendency to make the fundamental attribution error by leading us to discount external factors

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32
Q

Why do people want to believe in a just world?

A

It allows them a sense of control over their life.

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33
Q

Define defensive attributions

A

the tendency to hold victims responsible for their fate when the consequences of their actions are severe

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34
Q

Evidence of biologically determined universal emotional expressions

A
  1. comparative studies (e.g. w/ other animals) 2. cross-cultural studies
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35
Q

Sheldon’s three body types

A

ectomorphs (anxious, introverted), mesomorphs (assertive, athletic) and endomorphs (sociable, good-humored)

36
Q

Is there much empirical evidence for Sheldon’d theory?

A

Not really, just some related speculation

37
Q

3 important functions of nonverbal expression

A

1) convey feelings and preferences 2) social influence and control 3) convey status and dominance

38
Q

Do men or women read nonverbal expression most accurately?

A

Women

39
Q

Define personal space

A

the area immediately surrounding us that is treated as an integral part of ourselves

40
Q

Factors affecting personal space preference

A

gender, culture and status

41
Q

Why are people bad at deception detection?

A

It’s difficult. There’s no single indicator that someone is lying and people attend to wrong cues.

42
Q

Basic processes during deception are: attempted control, high arousal and complex cognitive processing. What deception indicators are associated with these?

A

rehearsed appearance, lack of spontaneity; pupil dilation, blinking, fidgeting, speech errors; hesitation and pauses. Also, general negative affect (guilt and fear, less smiling and positive statements).

43
Q

The leakiest nonverbal channels are:

A

voice quality and to a lesser extent posture/body movement

44
Q

What is measured in a polygraph test?

A

Changes in arousal (blood pressure, pulse, respiration and perspiration).

45
Q

Types of questions asked during a polygraph:

A

biological (baseline), relevant and control (increase arousal, to establish that person isn’t just nervous).

46
Q

Problems with polygraph test

A

Too many false positives and false negatives; can be beaten

47
Q

How can a polygraph be beaten?

A

By increasing arousal during control questions (thoughts, tack in shoe).

48
Q

Ingroup vs outgroup perceptions

A

ingroup perceptions marked by ethnocentrism; outgroup perceptions are simplistic, emphasize outgroup homogeneity, and differences between groups.

49
Q

Are stereotypes always negative or inaccurate?

A

No, can be positive and generally true

50
Q

What is the function of stereotypes?

A

Enable us to quickly size up situations/persons and make judgments and decisions.

51
Q

Define confirmation bias

A

the tendency to judge or perceive events in a manner that is consistent with expectations.

52
Q

What is a self-fulfilling prophecy or behavior confirmation?

A

instances where people act toward others in ways that causes their expectations for others to come true.

53
Q

Define stereotype threat

A

When people perceive themselves to be at risk of confirming negative stereotypes about their social group

54
Q

How does stereotype threat undermine performance?

A

evaluation apprehension, state anxiety and/or reducing self-efficacy

55
Q

Why is it important to understand how people perceive, judge and explain behavior?

A

Because people act based on their perceptions of the situation and not the situation itself

56
Q

How do preexisting attitudes and beliefs affect our assessment of new information?

A

We assimilate evidence that tends to support them (called biased assimilation).

57
Q

What nonverbal channel do most people (wrongly) focus on in detecting deception?

A

Facial expressions

58
Q

How does modern racism differ from old-fashioned racism?

A

More subtle, often implicit

59
Q

What is institutional racism and how does it differ from individual racism?

A

When laws, customs and practices reflect or create inequities in society. Difference is that individual intention does not affect its status as discrimination.

60
Q

Why do surveys underestimate the racial stereotypes and prejudices that exist in society?

A

Because of the influence of social desirability bias, people downplay them.

61
Q

Why are the stereotypes of Euro-Americans more consequential than those of other groups?

A

Because they are the majority, so their effects won’t be canceled out and stereotypes about minorities are much more negative.

62
Q

Causes of prejudice and stereotypes

A

psych: ignorance, dissimilarity, social identity, scapegoating; social: social learning, socio-economic standing and justification, competition

63
Q

What does social identity theory say about the cause of ingroup favoritism?

A

Caused by group membership, since our self-esteem is highly dependent on that.

64
Q

What is scapegoating or displacement and who is most likely to be a victim of it?

A

The redirection of aggression toward a substitute target, usually disliked, visible or lacking ability to retaliate

65
Q

What is the vicious cycle of stereotypes and prejudice and the status of minorities?

A

low SES leads to errors which leads to stereotyping which leads to discrimination which leads to low SES

66
Q

Why are racial stereotypes resistant to change?

A

Majority group members benefit from them. Also, confirmation bias, self-fulfilling prophecy and subtyping.

67
Q

How do majority group members benefit from stereotypes and prejudice?

A

a

68
Q

How do we prevent stereotypes from influencing judgment?

A

Changing structural conditions, education and using individuated judgments

69
Q

What are individuated judgments?

A

Judgments based on information about the individual

70
Q

Education limited as way to reduce prejudice. Why?

A

It’s only effective at younger ages. Adult attitudes are entrenched.

71
Q

What anti-prejudicial information can be conveyed through education?

A

Discrimination is wrong, erroneousness of stereotypes, respect and appreciation of other cultures, understanding of racial dynamics

72
Q

What is self-esteem?

A

A person’s overall self-evaluation and sense of self-worth, including perceived social value or significance

73
Q

What is self-efficacy?

A

A person’s overall belief about their general competency or capabilities.

74
Q

What is the overjustification effect?

A

the tendency for external rewards to undermine intrinsic interest

75
Q

Negative outcomes of low self-esteem?

A

less positive relationships, loneliness, increased risk of depression, drug abuse, delinquency

76
Q

Negative outcomes of high self-esteem?

A

More likely to be obnoxious, to interrupt, to talk at people rather than with them. When threatened they’re less friendly, more antagonistic and rude, and more apt to put down others to prop themselves up. Have a sense of entitlement.

77
Q

Difference between fragile and secure high self-esteem?

A

Underlying basis: fragile version caused by deep-seated doubts about oneself. Behaviorally: fragile seeks validation, shows off.

78
Q

Difference between perceiving the self and perceiving others?

A

In perceiving self, we have more information, under influence of self-serving bias and also have introspective access.

79
Q

How do we come to know ourselves?

A

Impressions and observations of others; observing our behavior and performance; our group memberships, relationships, roles, and positions; introspection

80
Q

What is the overjustification effect?

A

the tendency for external rewards to undermine intrinsic interest

81
Q

Define self-perception

A

The process in which people infer their traits,

abilities, attitudes, and other internal characteristics from their overt behavior.

82
Q

Who do we tend to compare ourselves to?

A

People similar to ourselves (also, people tend to define themselves in terms of the qualities that
make them distinct)

83
Q

What is downward comparison?

A

Comparing oneself to others with less ability or success, usually to prop up self-esteem.

84
Q

What is self-serving/self-enhancement bias?

A

Tendency to judge the behavior and performance of self favorably

85
Q

What is the self-serving bias in attribution?

A

the tendency to attribute personal failure to situational factors and success to self

Social Psychology (1 decks)

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