Social Psychology

Question 1

What are two historical examples of confusing human behavior that exemplify the power of the situation?

Answer 1

1. Abu Ghraib Prison

2. The murder of Kitty Genovese

Question 2

What are the two types of attributions that seek to explain behaviors in certain situations?

Answer 2

Dispositional and situational

Question 3

what is an example of disposition, or internal factors?

Answer 3

Internal factors: personality traits, genetics, values, abilities, beliefs that guide a persons’ behavior

Question 4

Which studies seek to observe the cause and effect of situations on behavior?

Answer 4

Stanford Prison Experiment and Milgram Experiment

Question 5

What question did the Milgram Experiment seek to answer?

Answer 5

At what point does authority overrule a person’s conscience?

He did this by directing participants to deliver fake shocks to actors

Question 6

which bias may lead us to overestimate the power of the situation?

Answer 6

Self-serving bias

Question 7

Which error may lead us to underestimate the power of the situation

Answer 7

Fundamental attribution error

Question 8

What is the effect that explains the difference between self-serving bias and fundamental attribution error?

Answer 8

self-serving bias focuses on the self and emphasizes situational attribution. Fundamental-attribution error focuses on others, and dispositional attribution

Question 9

What is the Rosenthal and Golem effect?

Answer 9

This effects were discovered by labeling certain children (ambiguously) as “intellectual bloomers”

Question 10

How might the attributions we make relate to stereotypes?

Answer 10

Associating certain dispositions to groups of people can alter our interpretation of their behavior, and thus our behavior towards

Question 11

How might the actor react to stereotypes?

Answer 11

Self-fulfilling prophecy: reaction to negative stereotypes

Stereotype threat: fear of confirming stereotype which may increase distraction, anxiety

Question 12

What study did Claude Steele perform, and what stereotypes did it address?

Answer 12

Claude Steele studied underperformance caused by stereotype threat, by applying salience to certain stereotypes. Through diagnostic and undiagnostic tests, she discovered that there is virtually no difference in performance ability between:
men and women, african americans and others

Question 13

How might we determine our in-group vs outgroup?

Answer 13

Sometimes insignificant attributions. Situationally-dependant, adaptive, efficiently

Question 14

What is the difference between stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination?

Answer 14

stereotypes are simply ideas about a group, prejudice involved affect towards that stereotype, ad discrimination involves an action due to prejudice

Question 15

Which 2 processes might underly prejudice and discrimination?

Answer 15

in-group favoritism, outgroup discrimination

Question 16

________ is the tendency to see members of outgroups as more similar to each other than we see members of ingroups

Answer 16

Outgroup homogeneity effect

Question 17

What might discimination result from?

Answer 17

conflicting values, beliefs, and fundamental differences between groups

Question 18

which paradigm maintained that minimal conditions are required for ingroup/outgroup favoritism/discrimination arose?

Answer 18

Minimal group paradigm, studies by Tajfel, Bilig, and Bundy.

Question 19

What are some behaviors in groups?

Answer 19

Group polarization, groupthink, deindividuation, diffusion of responsibility, bystander effect, obedience, conformity

Question 20

What is the difference between group polarization and groupthink

Answer 20

Group polarization tends towards more radical decisions (than the individual’s normal tendency), whereas groupthink focuses on harmony

Question 21

Why might diffusion of responsibility take place?

Answer 21

Due to people’s idea of reduce responsibility if others are doing the same

Question 22

What is a study that is associated with conformity?

Answer 22

Solomon Asch’s conformity study showed that people conform due to normative influence (to fit in) and informational influence (because others might know better)

Question 23

What is a study that is associated with conformity?

Answer 23

Solomon Asch’s conformity study showed that people conform due to normative influence (to fit in) and informational influence (because others might know better).

Using trained actors and one single participant

Question 24

What are possible responses to struggle for survival resources?

Answer 24

Aggression and cooperation

Question 25

What are the two hypotheses associated with aggression?

Answer 25

Frustration-aggression hypothesis maintains that if a persons’ desire is disrupted, this leads to frustration which triggers the aggression to solve the frustration.

This doesn’t explain the cause of aggression, which is arguably due to negative affect.

Question 26

What else might affect aggression?

Answer 26

Gender, culture

Question 27

What does the prisoner’s dilemma show?

Answer 27

It shows the cost-benefit of cooperation

Question 28

How are reciprocal altruism and cooperation related?

Answer 28

Reciprocal altruism is simply prolonged cooperation

Question 29

What is kin selection?

Answer 29

Kin selection is not an altruistic behavior because it is associated with a person promoting the survival of its genes by helping relatives

Question 30

What are the different factors that lead to attraction?

Answer 30

1. Situational factors (mere exposure effect, proximity, time)
2. Physical factors
3. Psychological factors (inner qualities, similarities, being liked)

Question 31

What are the two basic types of love

Answer 31

1. Passionate (intense feelings)

2. Companionate (rational)

Question 32

How do the different types of love differ?

Answer 32

companionate love never stop growing, whereas passionate loves peak early and diminish

Question 33

How does social exchange explain divorce?

Answer 33

Social exchange is the hypothesis that people only maintain a relationship as long as the benefits outweigh the costs.

Question 34

what three factors influence whether a person accepts the cost-benefit ratio of a relationship?

Answer 34

1. it’s worth it given the environment
2. it’s similar to that of the significant other
3. sunk-cost fallacy

Question 35

What are the main motivations to gain social influence?

Answer 35

1. Hedonic motive
2. approval motive
3. accuracy motive

Question 36

Why might the approval motive be a lever for social influence?

Answer 36

this may be used for social influence as people are under normative influence

Question 37

Why might the accuracy motive be a lever for social influence?

Answer 37

this may be used for social influence as people are under informational influence. We are motivated to have the right attitudes and beliefs

Question 38

Which are the two types of persuasions?

Answer 38

systematic (logical), and heuristic (appeal to emotion or habit)

Question 39

Why might someone seek consistency?

Answer 39

To alleviate cognitive dissonance. This phenomenon is the reason foot-inthe door technique works

Question 40

what is social cognition?

Answer 40

the process by which we come to understand others

Question 41

What are the 4 main features/downfalls to stereotyping?

Answer 41

1. inaccurate
2. overused
3. self-perpetuating
4. Unconscious, automatic

Question 42

What is the opposite of self-fulfilling prophecy? Which downfall is this associated with (stereotyping)

Answer 42

perceptual confirmation, associated with self-perpetuating stereotypes

Question 43

what is the correspondence bias?

Answer 43

tendency to make dispositional attributions rather than situational attributions