Social Psychology Chapter 13 492 517 520 533 39 PSYCHOLOGY 1100 FINAL EXAM REVIEW o What is Social Psychology o o o o Social Psychology the study of how people influence others behavior beliefs and attitudes Need to Belong Theory humans have a biologically based need for interpersonal connections We seek out social bonds when we can and suffer negative psychological and physical consequences when we can t Roy Baumeister Mark Leary Conformity obedience and many other forms of social influence become maladaptive only when they re blind or unquestioning Social Comparison Theory Theory that we seek to evaluate our abilities and beliefs by comparing them with those of others Upward Social Comparison we compare ourselves with people who seem superior to us in some way Downward Social Comparison we compare ourselves with others who seem inferior to us in some way o o o o o o o o Mass Hysteria outbreak of irrational behavior that is spread by social contagion o o o o o o Collective Delusions When many people simultaneously come to be convinced of bizarre things that are false Urban Legends False stories repeated so many times that people believe them to be true Social Facilitation enhancement of performance brought about by the presence of others Easy tasks Social Disruption a worsening of our performance in the presence of others Difficult tasks Attribution process of assigning cause to behavior Fundamental Attribution Error Tendency to overestimate the impact of dispositional influences on other people s behavior Because of this error we attribute too much of people s behavior to who they are and tend to underestimate the impact of situational influences on other s behavior Dispositional Influences enduring characteristics such as personality traits attitudes and intelligence Social Influence Conformity and Obedience Conformity Tendency of people to alter their behavior as a result of group pressure Confederates undercover agents of the researcher Deindividuation tendency of people to engage in uncharacteristic behavior when they are stripped of their usual identities due to a feeling of anonymity and lack of individual responsibility Groupthink An emphasis on group unanimity at the expense of critical thinking Group Polarization tendency of group discussion to strengthen the dominant positions held by individual group members Cult group of individuals who exhibit intense and unquestioning devotion to a single cause Brainwashed transformed by group leaders into unthinking zombies Inoculation Effect Approach to convincing people to change their minds about something by first introducing reasons why the perspective might be correct and then debunking them Obedience Adherence to instructions from those of higher authority Authoritarianism figures of authority are to be respected and obeyed not questioned More likely to comply with experimenters demands Helping and Harming Others Prosocial Behavior and Aggression Pluralistic Ignorance error of assuming that no one in a group perceives things as we do Diffusion of Responsibility reduction in feelings of personal responsibility in the presence of others Social Loafing phenomenon whereby individuals become less productive in groups Altruism helping others for unselfish reasons Enlightenment Effect Learning about psychological research can change real world behavior for the better Attitudes and Persuasion Changing Minds Belief a conclusion regarding factual evidence Attitude belief that includes an emotional component Attitude does not predict behavior well o o o o o o o o o o o When attitudes are highly accessible and firmly held over time they tend to be better predictors of behavior o Self monitoring personality trait that assesses the extent to which people s behavior reflects their true feelings and attitudes o o o o o Low self monitors what you see is what you get High self monitors social chameleons Attitude predicts behavior better for low self monitors than for high self monitors o o o o Recognition Heuristic makes us more likely to believe something we ve heard many times generally serves us well Religiosity the depth of our religious convictions Cognitive Dissonance Theory we alter our attitudes because we experience an unpleasant state of tension cognitive dissonance between two or more conflicting thoughts cognitions Cognitive Dissonance unpleasant mental experience of tension resulting from two conflicting thoughts or beliefs Reduce anxiety by Changing cognition A o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o Changing cognition B Introducing a new cognition C that resolves the inconsistency between A and B Self Perception Theory theory that we acquire our attitudes by observing our behaviors Impression Management Theory theory that we don t really change our attitudes but report that we have so that our behaviors appear consistent with our attitudes Dual process models there are two alternative pathways to persuading others Central route leads us to evaluate the merits of persuasive arguments carefully and thoughtfully Here we focus on the informational content of the arguments do they hold up under close scrutiny Attitudes acquired via this route tend to be strongly held and relatively enduring Peripheral route leads us to respond to persuasive arguments on the basis of snap judgments Here we focus on the surface aspects of the arguments how appealing or interesting are they Attitudes acquired via this route tend to be relatively weaker and unstable however they can affect short term choices in powerful ways Foot In The Door Technique persuasive technique involving making a small request before making a bigger one Door In The Face Technique persuasive technique involving making an unreasonably large request before making the small request we re hoping to have granted Low Ball Technique persuasive technique in which the seller of a product starts by quoting a low sales price and then mentions all of the add on costs once the consumer has agreed to purchase the product Implicit egotism the finding that we re more positively disposed toward people places or things that resemble us in Louisiana Name letter effect gravitating toward people and places similar to our name John Jessica Louises Prejudice and Discrimination Prejudice drawing negative conclusions about a person group of people or situation prior to evaluating the evidence Stereotype a belief positive or negative about the characteristics of members of a group that is applied generally