Social Psychology Flashcards

1
Q

Define Social Psychology

A

The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.

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2
Q

Define Attribution Theory

A

The theory that we explain someone’s behavior by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition.

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3
Q

Define Fundamental Attribution Error

A

The tendency for observers, when analyzing others’ behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition.

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4
Q

Define Attitude

A

Feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events.

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5
Q

Define Peripheral Route Persuasion

A

Occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker’s attractiveness.

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6
Q

Define Central Route Persuasion

A

Occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts.

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7
Q

Define Foot-In-The-Door Phenomenon

A

The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request.

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8
Q

Define Role

A

A set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave.

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9
Q

Define Cognitive Dissonance Theory

A

The theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent. For example, when we become aware that our attitudes and our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes.

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10
Q

Define Conformity

A

Adjusting our behavior to thinking to coincide with a group standard.

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11
Q

Define Normative Social Influence

A

Influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval.

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12
Q

Define Informational Social Influence

A

Influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality.

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13
Q

Define Social Facilitation

A

Improved performance on simple or well learned tasks in the presence of others.

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14
Q

Define Social Loafing

A

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

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15
Q

Define Deinviduation

A

The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity.

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16
Q

Define Group Polarization

A

The enhancement of a group’s prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group.

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17
Q

Define Groupthink

A

The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives.

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18
Q

Define Culture

A

The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.

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19
Q

Define Norm

A

An understood rule for accepted and expected behavior. Norms prescribe “proper” behavior.

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20
Q

Define Prejudice

A

An unjustifiable and usually negative attitude toward a group and its members. Prejudice generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action.

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21
Q

Define Stereotype

A

A generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people.

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22
Q

Define Discrimination

A

Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members.

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23
Q

Define Just-World Phenomenon

A

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

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24
Q

Define Ingroup

A

“Us”—people with whom we share a common identity.

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25
Q

Define Outgroup

A

“Them”—those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup.

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26
Q

Define Ingroup Bias

A

The tendency to favor our own group.

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27
Q

Define Scapegoat Theory

A

The theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame.

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28
Q

Define Other-Race Effect

A

The tendency to recall faces of one’s own race more accurately than faces of other races. Also called the cross-race effect or the own-race bias.

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29
Q

Define Aggression

A

Any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy.

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30
Q

Define Frustration-Aggression Principle

A

The principle that frustration—the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal—creates anger, which can generate aggression.

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31
Q

Define Social Script

A

Culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations.

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32
Q

Define Mere Exposure Effect

A

The phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them.

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33
Q

Define Passionate Love

A

An aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a love relationship.

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34
Q

Define Companionate Love

A

The deep affection attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined.

35
Q

Define Equity

A

A condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it.

36
Q

Define Self-Disclosure

A

Revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others.

37
Q

Define Altruism

A

Unselfish regard for the welfare of others.

38
Q

Define Bystander Effect

A

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

39
Q

Define Social Exchange Theory

A

The theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs.

40
Q

Define Reciprocity Norm

A

An expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them.

41
Q

Define Social-Responsibility Norm

A

An expectation that people will help those needing their help.

42
Q

Define Conflict

A

A perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas.

43
Q

Define Social Trap

A

A situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing their self-interest rather than the good of the group, become caught in mutually destructive behavior.

44
Q

Define Mirror-Image Perceptions

A

Mutual views often held by conflicting people, as when each side sees itself as ethical and peaceful and views the other side as evil and aggressive.

45
Q

Define Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

A

A belief that leads to its own fulfillment.

46
Q

Define Superordinate Goals

A

Shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation.

47
Q

Define Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension (GRIT)

A

A strategy designed to decrease international tensions.

48
Q

Fritz Heider (1958)

A

Proposed the attribution theory.

49
Q

What two forms do persuasion efforts generally take?

A

Peripheral route persuasion and central route persuasion.

50
Q

What do social psychologists focus on/study?

A

How we think about, influence, and relate to one another. They study the social influences that explain why the same person will act differently in different situations.

51
Q

How do attitudes and actions affect each other?

A

When other influences are minimal, attitudes that are stable, specific, and easily recalled can affect our actions. Actions can modify attitudes, as in the foot-in-the-door phenomenon and role playing. When our attitudes don’t fit with our actions, cognitive dissonance theory suggests that we will reduce tension by changing our attitudes to match our actions.

52
Q

What is the chameleon effect?

A

The tendency of people to take on the emotional tones of people around us and unconsciously imitate expressions, postures, and voice tones.

53
Q

What is empathy?

A

Feeling what others are feeling.

54
Q

What is mood linkage?

A

Sharing up and down moods.

55
Q

In what situations are we more likely to conform?

A

When we:
are made to feel incompetent or insecure
are in a group with at least three people
are in a group in which everyone else agrees
admire the group’s status and attractiveness
have not made a prior commitment to any response
know that others in the group will observe our behavior
are from a culture that strongly encourages respect for social standards.

56
Q

Stanley Milgram

A

Social psychologist who conducted what became social psychology’s most famous, controversial, and influential obedience experiments (electric shocks).

57
Q

Why were Milgram’s experiments controversial?

A

The use of deception and stress triggered a debate over research ethics.

58
Q

What types of situations are most likely to encourage obedience?

A

Solomon Asch and others have found that we are most likely to adjust our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard when we:
are made to feel incompetent or insecure
are in a group with at least three people
are in a group in which everyone else agrees
admire the group’s status and attractiveness
have not made a prior commitment to any response
know that others in the group will observe our behavior
are from a culture that strongly encourages respect for social standards

59
Q

What did Milgram’s obedience experiments teach us about the power of social influence?

A

They demonstrated that strong social influences can make ordinary people conform to falsehoods or give in to cruelty.

60
Q

What three things cause social loafing?

A

1) People acting as part of a group feel less accountable, and therefore worry less about what others think.
2) Group members may view their individual contributions as dispensable.
3) When group members share equally in the benefits, regardless of how much they contribute, some may slack off and free ride on others’ efforts.

61
Q

What is ethnocentricism?

A

Assuming the superiority of one’s ethnic group.

62
Q

Prejudice is a negative _________; discrimination is a negative __________.

A

attitude; behavior

63
Q

What are the social roots of prejudice?

A

Social inequalities and divisions.

64
Q

What are the cognitive roots of prejudice?

A

The cognitive roots of prejudice grow from our natural ways of processing information: forming categories, remembering vivid cases, and believing that the world is just and our own and our culture’s ways of doing things are the right ways.

65
Q

What are some biological influences on aggression?

A

Genetic Influences:
those with the Y chromosome are more aggressive
identical twins are likely to have similar temperaments.

Neural Influences:
there are certain brain areas that, when stimulated, will either inhibit or facilitate aggression
Studies of violent criminals have revealed diminished activity in the frontal lobes

Biochemical Influences:
hormones such as testosterone influence the neural systems that control aggression
low levels of certain neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, are also linked to higher levels of aggression
alcohol circulating in the bloodstream can unleash aggressive responses to frustration

66
Q

What are some psychological influences on aggression?

A
domineering behavior
frustration
aversive stimuli can evoke hostility
hot temperatures
physical pain
personal insults
foul odors
crowding
rewards or reinforcement for aggressive behavior
67
Q

What are some social-cultural influences on aggression?

A
aggressive parental role models
media models
music
TV shows/movies
pornography
video games
deindividuation
minimal father involvement
rejection from a group
68
Q

What three factors influence our liking of one another?

A

Proximity, physical attractiveness, and similarity.

69
Q

What is proximity?

A

Geographical nearness.

70
Q

How does proximity influence our liking of one anther?

A

It is relationship’s most powerful predictor. It often breeds liking, partly because of the mere exposure effect.

71
Q

How does attractiveness influence our liking of one anther?

A

Physical appearance most affects first impressions, and predicts how often people date and how popular they feel.

72
Q

How does similarity influence our liking of one another?

A

In real life, opposites do not attract. Friends and couples are likely to share common beliefs, attitudes, and interests.

73
Q

What is the reward theory of attraction?

A

We will like those whose behavior is rewarding to us, and we will continue relationships that offer more rewards than costs.

74
Q

How does romantic love typically change as time passes?

A

Passionate love is slowly replaced by companionate love, enhanced by equity and self disclosure.

75
Q

What three situational facts must be present in a situation for bystanders to help?

A

We will help if the situation enables us to (1) notice the incident, (2) interpret it as an emergency, and (3) assume responsibility.

76
Q

What is a diffusion of responsiblity?

A

When more people share responsibility for helping, any single bystander is less likely to help (bystander effect).

77
Q

When do the best odds of our helping someone occur?

A

the person appears to need and deserve help
the person is in some way similar to us
the person is a woman
we have just observed someone else being helpful
we are not in a hurry
we are in a small town or rural area
we are feeling guilty
we are focused on others and not preoccupied
we are in a good mood

78
Q

Why do we help others?

A

One widely held view is that self-interest underlies all human interactions, and our constant goal is to maximize rewards and minimize costs. If the reward exceeds the costs, you will help (social exchange theory). Others believe that we help because we have been socialized to do so, through norms that prescribe how we ought to behave (reciprocity norm, social-responsibility norm).

79
Q

What fuels social conflict?

A

Social traps; mirror-image perceptions that may become self-fulfilling prophecies.

80
Q

What four processes help promote peace?

A

Contact: non-competitive contact between parties of equal status typically helps promote peace.
Cooperation: a shared predicament has a powerfully unifying effect.
Communication: voicing viewpoints and understanding other’s needs and goals can lead to a mutually beneficial resolution.
Conciliation: tensions can be eased by small conciliatory acts that are reciprocated.

81
Q

Philip Zimbardo

A

Stanford prison experiments that explored the affects of playing a role.

82
Q

Leon Festinger

A

Proposed the cognitive dissonance theory.

83
Q

Solomon Asch

A

Conformity tests.