Ch 12 Outline Social Psychology What is social psychology Study of how a person s thoughts feelings and behavior are influenced by the real imagined or implied presence of others What are social influence conformity and group think Social influence the process through which the real or implied presence of others can directly or indirectly influence the thoughts feelings and behavior of an individual Social norms the customary rules that govern behavior in group or societies Conformity changing one s own behavior to match that of other people Groupthink occurs when people place more importance on maintaining group cohesiveness than on assessing the facts of the problem with which the group is concerned What is compliance and what are some ways to induce it Compliance is changing one s behavior as a result of other people directing or asking for the change What is obedience Changing one s behavior at the command of an authority of a figure like professor dean of students parents of a child o Milgram study teacher administered what he or she thought were real shocks to a learner Four ways to gain compliance 1 foot in the door technique asking for a small commitment and after gaining compliance asking for a bigger commitment 2 door in the face technique asking for a large commitment and being refused and then asking for a smaller commitment 3 Lowball technique getting a commitment from a person and then raising the cost of that commitment 4 That s not all technique the persuader makes an offer and then adds something extra to make the offer look better before the target person can make a decision Group polarization members involved in a group discussion take a more extreme positions and suggest riskier actions than individuals who have not participated in a group discussion What are social loafing and facilitation Facilitation is the presence of other people to have a positive impact on the performance of an easy task Loafing is people put less effort in to a task when working with others on that task What are attitudes what are their components and how good at they at predicting behavior Attitudes are the tendency to respond positively or negatively toward a certain person object idea or situation Three components to attitude affective emotional feelings behavioral actions cognitive thoughts They are often poor predictors of behavior unless the attitude is very specific or very strong How are attitudes formed Direct contact with the person situation object or idea Direct instruction from parents or others Interacting with other people who hold a certain attitude Vicarious conditioning watching the actions and reactions of others to ideas people objects and situations What is persuasion One person tries to change the belief opinion position or course of action of another person through argument pleading or explanation Key elements source of the message the message itself and the target audience What is cognitive dissonance Sense of discomfort or distress that occurs when a person s behavior does not correspond to that person s impression What are social cognition and impression formation SC the mental processes that people use to make sense of the social world around them IF forming of the first knowledge a person has about another person Primacy effect the very first impression one has about a person tends to persist even in the face of evidence to the contrary What does social categorization mean and how does it relate to stereotypes The assignment of a person to a category based on characteristics the new person has in common with other people with whom one has had experience in the past Stereotype a set of characteristics that people believe Is shared by all members of a particular social category What is an implicit association theory A schema What are attributions The process of explaining one s own behavior and the behavior of others Attribution theory the theory of how people make attributions Situational cause due to external factors such as delays action of others or some other aspect of the situation Dispositional cause attributed to internal factors such as personality or character Fundamental attribution error What are prejudice and discrimination and some of the theories as to why they exist Prejudice negative attitude held by a person about the members of a particular social group Discrimination treating people differently because of prejudice toward the social group to which they belong Forms ageism sexism racism too fat or too thin o In groups social groups with whom a person identifies us and out groups social groups with whom a person does not identify them o Realistic conflict theory conflict between groups increases prejudice and o Scapegoating tendency to direct prejudice and discrimination at out group members who have little social power or influence o Social cognitive theory views prejudice as an attitude acquired through direct discrimination instruction o Social identity theory the formation of a person s identity within a particular social group is explained by social categorization social identity and social comparison o Stereotype vulnerability the effect awareness of the stereotypes associated with their social group has on their behavior o Self fulfilling prophecy the tendency of one s expectations to affect one s behavior in such a way as to make the expectation mre likely to occur How can we reduce prejudice What is attraction and what is generally necessary for it to occur Interpersonal attraction liking or having the desire for a relationship with another person Proximity physical or geographical nearness People like people who are similar to themselves OR who are different from themselves complementary Reciprocity of liking tendency of people to like other people who like them back in return What is love and what are the components according to Sternberg A strong affection for another person due to kinship personal ties sexual attraction admiration or common interests Intimacy passion and commitment What is aggression and what can impact it Behavior intended to hurt or destroy another o Biology may include genetics the amygdala or limbic system and testosterone and serotonin levels o Social role the pattern of behavior that is expected of a person who is in a particular social position violent TV movies and videos are related to aggression What is prosocial behavior and altruism Socially desirable behavior that benefits others Altruism prosocial