Week 10 + Chapter 13

Question 1

Conformity

Answer 1

matching behavior and appearance to perceived social norms.

Conformity can be useful in ambiguous situations

reduces the risk of rejection by a social group

Question 2

Social Norms

Answer 2

Usually unspoken or unwritten rules for behavior in social settings.
We often conform to social norms without being asked to do so.

Question 3

Social norms, vs compliance and obedience

Answer 3

We often conform to social norms without being asked to do so.

In contrast, compliance and obedience lead us to fulfill a request from another person.

In compliance, the person making the request has no authority over us

In obedience, the request is coming from an authority figure.

Question 4

Descriptive Social Norms

Answer 4

Perceptions of how people typically behave in a given situation—what most people do, not what they should do.

Example:
If you see everyone recycling in your neighborhood, you’re more likely to do it too, because that behavior is seen as the norm.

Question 5

Prescriptive Social Norms

Answer 5

Perceptions of what behaviors are approved of or ought to be done by society or a group.

Example:
Believing that you should give up your seat for an elderly person on the bus, even if not everyone actually does it.

Question 6

Informational Influence

Answer 6

Conforming because we believe others have accurate information and know better, especially in ambiguous situations.

Example:
At a fancy dinner, you watch others to figure out which fork to use because you assume they know the proper etiquette.

Question 7

Normative Influence

Answer 7

Conforming to fit in with a group and be liked or accepted, even if you privately disagree.

Example:
Laughing at a joke you don’t find funny because everyone else is laughing.

Question 8

Compliance

Answer 8

agreement with a request from a person with no perceived authority

Question 9

Door-in-the-face

Answer 9

A persuasive technique in which compliance with a target request is preceded by a large, unreasonable request.

Question 10

foot-in-the-door

Answer 10

A compliance strategy where someone is more likely to agree to a large request after first agreeing to a small, related request.

🧠 Example:
A charity asks you to sign a petition (small request). Later, they ask you to donate money (larger request). Since you already agreed once, you’re more likely to say yes again.

Question 11

Low-balling

Answer 11

making further requests of a person who has already committed to a course of action.

Example
A car dealer offers you a great deal on a car. You agree to buy it. Then they come back and say there was an error, and the price is actually higher—but you still follow through because you’ve already committed.

Question 12

Obedience

Answer 12

compliance with a request from an authority figure.

Question 13

Halo Effect

Answer 13

occur when one characteristic or a small number of characteristics have a large impact on overall perception.

If someone is physically attractive, we might also assume they are kind, intelligent, or trustworthy—even without evidence.

Question 14

Thin Slices of Behavior

Answer 14

Quick judgments we make about people based on brief observations—often just seconds long.

Example:
Forming an impression of a teacher’s personality within the first 30 seconds of class, which might end up being surprisingly accurate.

Question 15

Attributions

Answer 15

a judgment about the cause of a person’s behavior

Our answers to questions about why others behave in certain ways are attributions, or judgments about the causes of other people’s behavior

Question 16

Dispositional attributions

Answer 16

A judgment assigning the cause of a person’s behavior to personal qualities or characteristics.

Internal Factor

Question 17

situational attributions

Answer 17

A judgment assigning the cause of a person’s behavior to the environment.

External Factor

Question 18

Fundamental Attribution error

Answer 18

According to this view, people do not underestimate situational variables as proposed by correspondence bias, but instead completely fail to consider situational variables while making attributions.

Question 19

Correspondence bias

Answer 19

the tendency to view behavior as the result of disposition, even when the behavior can be explained by the situation in which it occurs.

Factors that contribute to correspondence bias include a lack of awareness of the power of the situation and unrealistic beliefs about how situations should affect people.

Question 20

Actor-observer bias

Answer 20

emphasizing dispositional attributions to explain the behavior of others while emphasizing situational attributions to explain our own behaviors.

Question 21

Self-serving bias

Answer 21

attributing success to dispositional factors while attributing failure to situational factors.

The self-serving bias can make you feel better, but it also can make it harder to learn from experience.

Question 22

Just-world Belief

Answer 22

The assumption that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people.

Question 23

Stereotypes

Answer 23

a simplified set of traits associated with membership in a group of category.

Question 24

prejudice

Answer 24

a prejudgment, usually negative, of another person on the basis of membership in a group.

Question 25

discrimination

Answer 25

unfair behavior based on stereotyping and prejudice.

Question 26

Bystander effect

Answer 26

The tendency for individuals to be less likely to help in an emergency when others are present. Example: If someone collapses in a crowded subway station, people might assume someone else will step in, so no one acts right away.

Question 27

Diffusion of responsibility

Answer 27

A reduction in the feeling of personal responsibility to act because others are present and share the obligation. Example: In a group project, one student may put in less effort assuming someone else will do the work.

Question 28

Audience inhibition

Answer 28

Reluctance to help in an emergency for fear of judgment from others if one misjudges the situation. Example: Not calling for help when someone looks sick because you're afraid of overreacting or looking foolish in front of others.

Question 29

Groupthink

Answer 29

a type of flawed decision making in which a group does not question its decisions critically.

Question 30

Group Polarization

Answer 30

the intensifying of an attitude following discussion. Group polarization does not reverse the direction of attitudes, but rather accentuates the attitudes held at the outset

Question 31

Social facilitation

Answer 31

A situation in which the presence of other people changes performance. Improvements in performance are more likely to occur when people are engaged in simple, well-practiced activities, such as riding a bicycle, as opposed to highly complex, novel activities, such as memorizing a difficult list of words.

Question 32

Social loafing

Answer 32

reduced motivation and effort shown by individuals working in a group.

Question 33

Deindividuation

Answer 33

Immersion of an individual within a group, leading to anonymity