Unit 14 Flashcards
Attribution theory
How do we explain people’s behavior? (Situational or dispositional)
Influenced by culture
Dispositional attribution
Point blame to person’s internal state (traits, who they are)
Situational attribution
Attribute blame to external situation (Ex. Roads were slippery)
Fundamental attribution error
The tendency for observers, when analyzing others’ behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of a personal disposition
(Ex. She just got into the accident because she is a horrible driver (not because someone pulled out in front))
Attitudes
Feelings, often influenced by beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events (Ex. If I believe someone is threatening me, I may feel fear and anger toward the person, and act defensively)
Attitudes affect our actions
Actions affect our attitudes (James-Lange Theory)
Peripheral route persuasion
Occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as speaker’s attractiveness (Ex. Use hot person in skin ad to persuade us)
Central route persuasion
Occurs when people are influenced by arguments and respond with favorable thoughts (Ex. To persuade buyers to purchase particular phone, an ad might itemize the phone’s great features)
Foot-in-the-door phenomenon
The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request
Role
A set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave
Standford Prison Study
Role playing morphed into real life in one famous and controversial study in which male college students volunteered to spend time in a simulated prison (people took on their roles, prisoners felt like prisoners, guards felt like guards).
Cognitive dissonance theory
Leon Festinger’s theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) or our thoughts and behaviors are inconsistent (Ex. Person knows they should not smoke but does, feels guilt when they do)
Social psychology
Scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another
Norms
Understood rules for accepted and expected behavior. Norms prescribe “proper” behavior
Conformity
Adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with w/ a group standard
Normative social influence
Influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval
Informational social influence
Influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept other’s opinions about reality
Social facilitation
Improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others
Social loafing
Tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward obtaining a a common goal than when individually accountable
Deindividuation
The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity
Group polarization
The enhancement of a group’s common preferences through discussions within the group
Groupthink
The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives
When a group’s desire to agree and keep harmony is so strong that they stop thinking critically about other options (FIT IN)
Culture
The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next
Prejudice
An unjustifiable (and usual negative) attitude toward a group and its members. Prejudice generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition of discriminatory action.
