Social Psychology Quiz

theory that we tend to give a casual explanation for someone’s behavior, often creating either the situation or the person’s disposition (character)

the context around their behavior (ex: the person who cut you off in traffic is in a rush)

this is who they are / personality (ex: the person who cut you off in traffic doesn’t care about other people)

when observing others, we tend to overestimate the role of dispositional factors and underestimate situational factors

the tendency to attribute our own behavior to situational causes but that of others to internal ones (how we view ourselves)

FAE is what we do to other people

AOB is what we do to ourselves

readiness to perceive oneself favorably (people accept responsibility for good behaviors and successes while attributing bad behaviors and failures to situations)

the belief that others are more easily influenced than yourself (effects of advertising upon our peers, yet denying that they affect us)

one way we change attitudes or beliefs by creating an argument that is directly related to the argument itself —> creates durable change in opinions for others

(difficult to do, yet more worthwhile)

another way we change attitudes or beliefs by creating an argument that is NOT central to the argument itself —> quick results but not durable

(easy, but less worthwhile)

getting someone to agree to a smaller task then they are more likely to agree to a larger request

making a large request that will likely be declined, but then get them to agree to a smaller thing

adjusting our behavior to coincide with a group standard (CONSCIOUS act)

changing behavior to fit the standard

UNCONSCIOUS mirroring or mimicking postures, mannerisms, facial expressions, and other behaviors to match the people we’re with

conformity = conscious

chameleon effect = unconscious

conformity - Asch Line Test

• the group is unanimous

• participant feels insecure or incompetent

• the group is at least three people

• one admires the group’s status

• one had made no prior commitment to a previous answer

• know that they will be observed

• culture values respect for social standards

conformity that requires someone telling you what to do - a form of social influence that involves acting on the orders of an authority figure

obedience - Electrical Shock Test

influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval / fit in or avoid disappointment in order to be liked and accepted by a group

influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality. people assume actions of other in an attempt to reflect correct behavior for a given situation.

an attributional type of cognitive bias where people tend to overestimate the extent to which their opinions, beliefs, preferences, values, and habits are normal and typical to those of others (you believe that more people agree with you than the actual number)

the mental discomfort that results from holding two conflicting beliefs (discomfort caused when your actions and beliefs do NOT match up)

cognitive dissonance - paid different amounts to lie about something

tendency to see one’s own culture as ‘right’

cultural practices must are understood in their own historical contexts and terms, as opposed to right or wrong

open and done in plain sight. EXPLICIT

hidden and done undercover. IMPLICIT (can’t place in words)

form of discrimination that is typically implicit as it is often overlooked. occurs on a group level and is the collective failure of an organization to provide service to certain groups of people (institution / system upholds certain values that maintain a problem for certain people and not others)

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

tendency to recall faces of one’s own race more accurately than the faces of other races (connects to outgrip homogeneity but this is specific to race)

tendency to form a judgement based on the first thing that comes to mind, usually based on vividness of memories

belief that they get what they deserve

(the world is just and therefore people get what they deserve and they deserve what they get)

idea that our social behavior is an exchange process, which we try to maximize benefits and minimize cost

expectation that people will respond to others depending on how others treat them (can be good or bad behavior)

treat others how you would like to be treated - returning benefits for benefits

an expectation that people will help those who need their help

tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling efforts toward a common goal than if they were individually accountable

if you are really good at something… or it is an easy task… you will perform BETTER in front of a group

if it is a difficult task or you are not very good at it… you will perform WORSE in front of a group

feel a SENSE of anonymity and become aroused using the sympathetic nervous system - people get swept in a group and lose sense of self

a generalized belief about a group of people

an unjustifiable, and usually negative attitude, towards a group of people and its members

“us”; people with whom we share a common identity

tendency to favor our own group

“them”; people we perceive as different or apart from our group

the belief that all members of other groups are similar, while members of their in-group are more diverse

an unjustifiable negative behavior towards a group and its members (behavior or lack thereof towards a group of people)

mutual views help by opposing groups where each group sees themselves as the rational, ethical side and the other side as evil, unethical, and aggressive (think of the Spiderman photo)

a phenomenon that refers to cases in which individuals do not offer any means of help to a victim when other people are present

• presence of examples helping

• not in a hurry

• victim appears to need / deserve help

• victim is similar to observer

• small town / rural area

• feelings of guilt

• focused on others / not preoccupied

• participants are in a good mood

whereby a person is less likely to take responsibility for action or inaction when others are present because they believe someone else will take responsibility, or has already done so.

(this facilitates the bystander effect AND social loafing)

groups tend to make more EXTREME decisions than the individual after speaking with members of their in-group as it strengthens common beliefs

group members suppress their reservations about the ideas supported by the group. they are more concerned with group HARMONY (works in highly cohesive groups)

• group is very cohesive

• group considers only a few options

• group is insulted from information coming from outside the group

• there is much stress because of great time pressure

• group is dominated by a very directive leader

• group feels invulnerable and immune to criticism

a phenomenon which occurs when people mistakenly believe that everyone else holds a different opinion than their own. most people in a group may go along with a view they do not agree with, because they incorrectly think that most other people in the group agree with it

(EX: homecoming dinner at a country club)

the belief that prejudices can be lessened or eliminated by direct contact between groups

both groups have:

• equal standing

• personal interaction

• support of other laws and authority

• superordinate goals

shared goals that override differences among people and require cooperation

superordinate goals —- summer camp experiment

repeated exposure to a novel stimulus increases liking of them

a positive / negative prediction that is so powerful that it directly or indirectly leads to the fulfillment of the prediction due to the positive feedback between the belief and the following behavior

when individuals feel they are at risk of confirming a negative stereotype about one’s group and subsequently do so

strategy designed to decrease international tensions by having one group recognize and admit mutual interests and intent to reduce tensions. this is followed by a small reconciliation gesture which is then reciprocated

a situation in which the conflicting groups can achieve the best outcome if they put aside their self-interests and pursue what is best for the group. however, most individuals will rarely do this because they will have to burden a small negative effect while the whole group receives all the benefit

the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities

the quality of being fair and impartial

learned behaviors — Bobo Doll experiment

situational variables in a person’s behaviors — Stanford Prison Experiment

due to a blocking of an attempted goal, a person or group will get frustrated and angry, eventually causing aggression

conflict arises when two or more groups are seeking the same scarce resource. this is especially problematic when there is a zero-sum situation or what one side gains, the other side loses (its a win-lose situation)