PSY 240: FINAL EXAM
387 Cards in this Set
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Prejudice
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a preconceived negative judgment of a group and its individual members
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Attitude
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a distinct combination of feelings, inclinations to act, and beliefs
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Stereotypes
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negative evaluations that mark prejudice often supported by negative beliefs
A belief about the personal attributes of a group of people
Overgeneralized, inaccurate, and resistant to new information
Some generalizations can be more or less true and not always negative
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Gordon Alport
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described stereotyping as the law of least effort
We maximize our cognitive time and energy by developing accurate attitudes about some topics while relying on simple sketchy beliefs for others
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Cognitive Misers
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someone who doesn't want to have to spend a lot of time thinking about something
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Sensory overload
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we select and weigh what's important to attend to
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Discrimination
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unjustified negative behavior or harmful action toward a group or its members
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Prejudice vs. Discrimination
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Prejudice is a negative attitude, discrimination is negative behavior
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Racism
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an individuals prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory behavior toward people of a given race OR institutional practices (even if not motivated by prejudice) that subordinate people of a given race
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Sexism
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an individuals prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory behavior toward people of a given sex OR institutional practices (even if not motivated by prejudice) that subordinate people of a given sex
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Prejudice: Implicit and Explicit
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We can have different explicit (conscious) and implicit (automatic) attitudes toward the same target
Much as we quickly associate a hammer with a nail than with a pail we can measure how speedily we associate white with good versus black with good
Although explicit attitudes may cha…
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Racial Prejudice
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Most folks see prejudice in other people
White Americans estimated 44% of their peers to be high prejudice and only 14% gave themselves a high score
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Whites tend to contrast the present with
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the oppressive past perceiving swift and radical progress
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Blacks tend to contrast the present with their
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ideal world which has not yet been realized and perceive somewhat less progress
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Subtle forms of Prejudice
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Subtle forms are even more widespread than blatant overt prejudice
Prejudice attitudes and discriminatory behavior surface when they can hide behind the screen of some other motive
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Automatic prejudices involve
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primitive regions of the brain associated with fear (amygdala)
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Controlled processing involve
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frontal cortex which enables conscious thinking
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Gender Stereotypes
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Two conclusions are indisputable: Strong gender stereotypes exist and Members of stereotyped group accept the stereotypes
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People everywhere perceive
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women as more agreeable and men as more outgoing
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Sexism: Benevolent and Hostile
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Gender attitudes often mix a benevolent sexism (women have a superior moral sensibility) with hostile sexism (once a man commits she puts him on a tight leash)
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Social Inequalities
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After inequalities exist prejudice helps justify the economic and social superiority of those who have wealth and power
Upper class individuals are more likely than those in poverty to see people's fortunes as the outcomes they have earned thanks to skill and effort and not as the resu…
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Hostile and benevolent sexism extends to other prejudices
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We see other groups as competent or as likable but often not as both
We typically respect the competence of those high in status and like those who agreeably accept a lower status
Asians, Jews, Germans, nontraditional women, and assertive African American and gay men tend to be resp…
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Social dominance orientation
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tend to view people in terms of hierarchies
They like their own social groups to be high status they prefer being on top
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Ethnocentrism
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The tendency to view the world through ones own cultural filters
It reflects how we learn to act, perceive, and interpret others behaviors
It is normal consequence of growing up in a society
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Ethnocentric
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believing in the superiority of one's own ethnic and cultural group, and having a corresponding disdain for all other groups
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Ethnocentric people share certain tendencies
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an intolerance for weakness, a punitive attitude, and a submissive respect for their group's authorities
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We learn how to
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Perceive others
Interpret the behaviors of others
Make judgments of the behaviors of others
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Ways to recognize ethnocentrism
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Recognize how culture can filter or influence our perceptions
Recognize that people of different cultural backgrounds have different filters that produce their own distortions or perceptions. Their version of reality will seem as real and valid to them as ours is to us
Develop ways …
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Authoritarian personality
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a personality that is disposed to favor obedience to authority and intolerance of out-groups and those lower in status
Particularly prone to engage in prejudice and stereotyping
As children they usually face harsh discipline
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Conformity
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If prejudice is socially accepted many people will follow the path of least resistance and conform
They will act out of a need to be liked and accepted
People become more likely to favor discrimination after hearing someone else do so
Those who conform to other social norms are…
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Institutional Supports
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Social institutions may increase prejudice through overt polices such as segregation, or by passively reinforcing the status quo
Schools are the most prone to reinforce dominant cultural attitudes
Often unintended and unnoticed
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Frustration and Aggression: The Scapegoat Theory
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When the cause of our frustration is intimidating or unknown, we often redirect our hostility
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Realistic group conflict theory
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the theory that prejudice arises from competition between groups for scarce resources
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Social identity
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the we aspect of self concept, the part of our answer to "who am I" that comes from our group memberships
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We categorize
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we find it useful to put people, ourselves included, into categories
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We identify
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we associate ourselves with certain groups (our in-groups) and gain self-esteem by doing so
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We compare
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we contrast our groups with other groups (out-groups) with a favorable bias toward our own group
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In-group
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us, a group of people who share a sense of belonging a feeling of common identity
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Out-group
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them, a group that people perceive as distinctively different from or apart from their in-group
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Out-group homogeneity
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the belief that "they" are all alike
The perception that individuals in the out-group are more similar to each other than they really are and more similar than members of the in-group
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In-group bias
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The tendency to favor one's own group
The mere experience of being formed into groups may produce this
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In group bias feeds favoritism
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We are so group conscious that given any excuse to think of ourselves as a group we will do so
We are more prone to in-group bias when our group is small and lower in status relative to the out-group
When we are part of a small group surrounded by a larger group we are more consciou…
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Must in-group liking foster out-group disliking?
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To the extent we see virtue in us, we likely see evil in them
Out-group stereotypes prosper when people feel their in-group identity most keenly
We ascribe uniquely human emotions to in-group members and are more reluctant to see human emotions in out-group members
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Infrahumanization
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denying human attributes to out-groups
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With death on their minds people exhibit terror management
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According to this theory people's self-protective emotional and cognitive responses when confronted with reminders of their morality
Adhere more strongly to their cultural worldviews and prejudices shield themselves from the threat of their own death to derogating those who further aro…
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Categorize
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organize the world by clustering objects into groups
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We find it especially easy and efficient to rely on stereotypes when we are
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Pressed for time
Preoccupied
Tired
Emotionally aroused
Too young to appreciate diversity
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Mere division into groups can create an out-group homongeneity effect
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A sense that they are all alike and different from us and our group
Perception of out-group members as more similar to one another than are in-group members.
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Own race bias
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The tendency for people to more accurately recognize faces of their own race (also called the cross-race effect or other-race effect)
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Own-age bias
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the tendency for both children and older adults to more accurately identify faces from their own age groups
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Distinctive People
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People define you by your most distinctive traits and behaviors
People also take note of those who violate expectations
Distinctiveness Feeds Self Consciousness
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The Just World Phenomenon
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the tendency of people to believe that the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get
Merely observing another innocent person being victimized is enough to make the victim seem less worthy
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Aggression
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physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone
Excludes unintentional harm, such as auto accidents or sidewalk collisions
Excludes actions that may involve pain as an unavoidable side effect of helping someone (dental)
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Hostile aggression
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springs from anger its goal is to injure
Most murders
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Instrumental aggression
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aggression that aims to injure but only as a means to some other end
Most terrorism
Most wars
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Legitimate Aggression
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Harmful actions justified by rules, roles, or need to protect oneself from harm in a dangerous situation
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Frustration aggression theory
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The theory that frustration triggers a readiness to aggress
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Frustration
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is anything that blocks us from attaining a goal
Grows when our motivation to achieve a goal is very strong, when we expected gratification and when the blocking is complete
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Displacement
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the redirection of aggression to a target other than the source of the frustration. Generally the new target is a safer or more socially acceptable target
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Relative Deprivation
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the perception that one is less well off then others with whom one compares oneself
Explains why happiness tends to be lower and crime rates higher in communities and nations with large income inequality
Frustration is not only caused by complete deprivation more often frustration a…
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Social learning theory
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the theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded and punished
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Social Scripts
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One thing happens, next thing, etc. so you are learning by watching others
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Arousal
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A given state of bodily arousal feeds one emotion or another, depending on how the person interprets and labels the arousal
Arousal fuels emotions
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Aggression Cues
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Violence is more likely when aggressive cues release pent-up anger
The sight of a weapon is such a cue
What is within sight is within mind
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Pro-social behavior
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positive, constructive, helpful social behavior; the opposite of antisocial
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Desensitization
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Repeat an emotional arousing stimulus, the emotional response will extinguish
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Cognitive Priming
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Watching violent television primes aggressive-related ideas
After viewing violence people offer more hostile explanations for others behavior
Recognize aggressive words quicker
Interpret spoken homonyms with more aggressive meaning
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Media Influences
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Increases in aggressive behavior
Increases in aggressive thoughts
Increases in aggressive feelings
Decreases in helping others and in empathy for others
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Social exchange theory
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The theory that human interactions are transactions that aim to maximize one's rewards and minimize one's costs
Human interactions are guided by social economics
We exchange not only material goods and money but also social goods-love, services, information, status
In doing so we…
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Rewards
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may be internal or external
Helpings boost to self-worth explains this do-good/feel good effect
Giving increases happiness
We credit people for their good deeds only when we cant explain them
We attribute their behavior to their inner dispositions only when we lack external ex…
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Egoism
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A motive (supposedly underlying all behavior) to increase one's own welfare. The opposite of altruism which aims to increase another's welfare
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Guilt
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Has been a painful emotion that people avoid and seek to relieve
Cultures have institutionalized ways to relieve guilt: Animal and human sacrifices, offerings of grains and money, penitent behavior, confession, denial
People will do whatever can be done to expunge the guilt reliev…
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Feel Good, Do Good
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Happy people are helpful people
This effect occurs with both children and adults regardless of whether the good mood comes from a success, from thinking happy thoughts, or from any of several other positive experiences
In a good mood people are more likely to have positive thoughts
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The Reciprocity Norm
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An expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them
To those who help us, we should return help, not harm
We "invest" in others and expect dividends
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Social capital
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The mutual support and cooperation enabled by a social network
The supportive connections, information flow, trust and cooperative actions that keep a community healthy
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The Social Responsibility Norm
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Reminds us to balance giving and receiving
With people who clearly are dependent and unable to reciprocate another social norm motivates our helping (children, severely impoverished, disabled)
Decrees that people should help those who need help without regard for future exchanges
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Gender and Receiving Help
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Women who are perceived as less competent and more dependent receive more help than men
Women offered help equally to males and females where men offered more help to females
Women not only receive more help but also seek more help
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Genuine Altruism
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Our willingness to help is influences by both self-serving and selfless considerations
Distress over someone's suffering motivates us to relieve our upset either by escaping the distressing situation or by helping
Especially when we feel securely attached to someone
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Empathy
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the vicarious experience of another's feelings putting oneself in another shoes
We feel empathy for those with whom we identify
We feel more empathy for a real person than a suffering aggregate
When we feel empathy we focus not so much on our own distress as on the sufferer
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Empathy Cognitive
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understanding another's feelings and why
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Empathy-induced altruism
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Produces sensitive helping
Inhibits aggression
Increases cooperation
Improves attitudes toward stigmatized groups
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Empathy-induced altruism: Liabilities
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It can be harmful-People who risk their lives on behalf of others sometimes lose them
People who seek to be good can also do harm
It can't address all needs-Its easier to feel empathy for a needy individual rather than the earth
It burns out-Feelings others pain is painful which m…
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Number of Bystanders
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A single situational factor the presence of other bystanders decreases intervention
People are more likely to respond helpfully to a request for help if they believe the request has come to them alone and not to several others as well
As the number of bystanders increases any given …
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Interpreting
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Once we notice an event we must interpret it
Each person uses others behaviors as clues to reality
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Illusion of transparency
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a tendency to over-estimate others ability to read out internal states
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Bystander effect
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the finding that a person is less likely to provide help when there are other bystanders
The probability that any one bystander will help decreases
The amount of time that passes before help occurs increases
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Personality Traits
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Conformity seemed more influenced by the situation then by measurable personality traits
They seldom predict a specific act which is what most experiments on altruism measures but predict average behavior across many situations more accurately
There are individual differences in hel…
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Network of traits that predispose a person to helpfulness
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Those high in positive emotionality, empathy, and self efficacy are most likely to be concerned and helpful
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Personality influences how particular people react to particular situations
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Those high in self monitoring are attuned to others expectations and are helpful if they think helpfulness will be socially rewarded
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Personalized Appeal
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A personal approach makes one feel less anonymous and more responsible
When one expects to meet the victim and other witnesses again helpfulness increases
Circumstances that promote self awareness (name tags, being watched and evaluated, undistracted quiet) increases helping
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Door-in-the-face technique
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A strategy for gaining a concession. After someone first turns down a large request (the door in the face) the same requester counteroffers with a more reasonable request
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Moral exclusion
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The perception of certain individuals or groups as outside the boundary within which one applies moral values and rules of fairness
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Moral inclusion
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Is regarding others as within one's circle of moral concern
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Cyberbullying
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The use of digital technology with the intent to hurt, defame, or embarrass another person
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Characteristics of Cyberbullying
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Intent to harm
Power imbalance
Repetition of harmful behaviors (First three are same as in-person bullying)
Victim cannot hide from bully when at home
Audience is potentially large
Bully usually is anonymous
Bullying may not have clear opportunities for empathy/remorse
…
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During Adolescence
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Some feel an increased sense of invulnerability
A false belief that problems happen to others wont happen to them
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What 5 factors influence whether a person will offer help in an emergency?
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Noticing the emergency
Interpreting the situation as an emergency
Assuming responsibility
Knowing what to do
Deciding to Help
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Situational Factors that Influences Helping Behavior
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Similarity of victim/person in need to us
Physical attraction to victim/person in need
Liking of victim/person in need
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Attributions of Victim responsibility
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In general we are less motivated to help if we perceive victim as having caused the emergency
If the causes seem to be: Internal and under the victim's control we may respond with negative feelings and not to help
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Perspective taking
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the ability to consider the viewpoint of another
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Imagine other
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imagine how the other person perceives a situation and feels
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Imagine self
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imagine how you could feel in the same situation
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Evolution
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has allowed humans to live creatively in a changing world and to thrive in environments
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Culture
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Enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions, shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next
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Cultural Diversity
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Much of our behavior is socially programmed not hardwired
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Expected Behavior
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As etiquette rules illustrate all cultures have their accepted ideas about appropriate behavior
We often view these as a negative force that imprisons people in a blind effort to perpetuate tradition
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Norms
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Standards accepted and expected behavior.
Prescribe "proper" behavior
What is "normal"
Restrain us and control us so subtly that we hardly sense their existence
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Personal Space
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Sort of portable bubble or buffer zone that we like to maintain between ourselves and others
As situations change so does the size of our bubbles
The buffer zone we like to maintain around our bodies. Its size depends on our familiarity with whoever is near us
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With strangers Americans keep a fairly
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large space 4ft or more
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Individuals differ in personal space needs
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some people prefer more than others
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Groups differ in personal space needs
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adults maintain more distance than children do
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Universal Friendship Norms
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People everywhere have some common norms for friendship
Important not to embarrass a friend with public criticism
Respect friends privacy, make eye contact while talking, don't divulge things said in confidence
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Universal trait dimensions
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five personality dimensions:
Stable
Outgoing
Open
Agreeable
Conscientious
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Despite gender role inequalities the majority of the world's people would ideally like to see
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more parallel male and female roles
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Gender Roles Vary with Time
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Changing male-female roles cross many cultures as illustrated by women's gradually increasing representation in parliaments of most nations
Changes across cultures and over a remarkably short time signal that evolution and biology do not fix gender roles
Time also bends the genders
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Nurture assumption
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Parental nurture, the way parents bring their children up, governs who their children become
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Peer-Transmitted Culture
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Children do acquire many of their values including political affiliation and religious faith at home
Genetic influences explain roughly 50% of individual variations in personality traits
Shared environmental influences account for 0-10% of personality differences
Peer influence a…
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Parents have an important influence
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but it is substantially indirect
Parents help define schools, neighborhoods, and peers that directly influence whether the children become certain types of people
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Interaction
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A relationship in which the effect of one factor (such as biology) depends on another factor (such as environment)
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Epigenetics
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Meaning "in addition to" genetics
Explores the molecular mechanisms by which environments trigger genetic expression
Experience may attach complex molecules to parts of DNA molecules preventing any genes in that stretch of DNA from producing proteins coded by that gene
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The moral
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We choose labels to suit our values and judgments. Labels both describe and evaluate, and they are inescapable
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Conformity
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Is not just acting as other people act, it is also being affected by how they act
It is acting or thinking differently from the way you would act and think if you were alone
Change in behavior or belief to accord with others
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People conform more when
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The judgment is difficult
The group agrees unanimously
The group is valued or admired
Conformity or deviation is easily identifiable
They are scared
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People conform less when
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Have expertise on the issue
Have high social status
Are strongly committed to our view
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Three types of conformity
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Compliance
Obedience
Acceptance
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Compliance
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Sometimes we conform to an expectation or a request without really believing in what we are doing
We comply primarily to reap a reward or avoid a punishment
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Obedience
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If our compliance is to an explicit command
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Acceptance
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Sometimes we genuinely believe in what the group has persuaded us to do
We may join millions of others in exercising because we accept that it is healthy to exercise
Sometimes follows compliance we may come to inwardly believe something we initially questioned
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Captainitis
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FAA crash investigators observed some airplane crashes, the captain made an obvious error that resulted in the crash. The other crew members did not correct the error
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Muzzier Sherif
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Wondered whether it was possible to observe the emergence of a social norm in the laboratory
At Columbia university the men whom Sherif tested changed their estimates of distance markedly
A group norm typically emerged
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Autokinetic phenomenon
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Self (auto) motion (kinetic). the apparent movement of a stationary point of light in the dark
Considered an optical illusion
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Social Contagion
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The chameleon affect
People tend to mirror the grammar that they read and hear
Because our behavior influences our attitudes and emotions our natural mimicry inclines us to feel what the other feels
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Experiments that have explored conformity in everyday situations
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Dental flossing: those given the inflated estimate not only expressed increased intent to floss but also flossed more over the ensuing three months
Cancer screening: if led to believe few of other men in Germany had undergone screening a similarly percent signed up, but 39% signed up a…
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Milligram's Obedience Experiments
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The shocking experiment where the subject is supposed to shock the "learner" every time he gets a word wrong on the list
To keep the participant going he uses 4 prods
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4 Prods
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Prod 1: please continue (go on)
Prod 2: the experiement requires that you continue
Prod 3: It is absolutely essential that you continue
Prod 4: You have no other choice; you must go on
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Milligram's Experience Results
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Groups guessed that they would disobey by 135 volts, none expected them to go beyond 300 volts
65% progressed all the way to 450 volts
Those who stopped often did so at the 150 volt point when the learners protestations became more compelling
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Roles
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Expectations defining the appropriate behavior of an occupant and his/her behavior toward persons in other roles/positions
Roles can be assigned in a relatively former manner (president, secretary, etc.) sometimes individuals drift into roles based on their interest and skills
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Obedience: Victims Distance
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Participants acted with the greatest obedience and least compassion when the "learners" could not be seen
When the victim was remote and the "teachers" heard no complains, nearly all obeyed calmly to the end
It is easiest to abuse someone who is distant or depersonalized
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Obedience: Closeness and Legitimacy of Authority
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Physical presence of the experimenter also affected obedience
When the experimenter gave orders by phone full obedience dropped by 21%
Authority must be perceived as legit
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Obedience: Institutional Authority
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In every day life authority figures backed by institutions wield social power
Many participants said that if it were not for Yale's reputation they would not have obeyed
When run outside of Yale the compliance percentage decreased from 65% to 48%
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The Power of the Situation
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the immediate situational forces are just as powerful
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Evil results from social forces
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The heat
Humidity
Disease
Etc.
Can help make a whole barrel of apples go bad
Situations can induce ordinary people to capitulate to cruelty
The drift toward evil usually comes in small increments without any conscious intent to do evil
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Three classic experiments (Sherif, Asch, Milgram) expose the potency of several phenomena
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Behavior and attitudes are mutually reinforcing, enabling a small act of evil to foster the attitude that leads to a bigger evil act
The power of the situation can induce good people, faced with dire circumstances to commit reprehensible acts
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Group Size
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A small group can have a big effect
Found that 3-5people will elicit much more conformity than just 1 or 2
Increasing the number of people beyond 5 yields diminish returns
The way the group is packaged makes a difference
Two groups of three people elicited more conformity tha…
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Unanimity
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Someone who punctures the group unanimity deflates its social power
People will usually voice their own convictions if just one other person has also differed from the majority
It is difficult to be a minority of one
Observing someone else's dissent even when it is wrong can incr…
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Cohesion
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The more cohesive a group is the more power it gains over its members
Group members who feel attracted to the group are more responsive to its influences
Fearing rejection by group members whom they like they allow them a certain power
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Status
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Higher-status people tend to have more impact
Junior group members acknowledge more conformity to their group than do senior group members
People of lower status accept the experimenters commands more readily than people of higher status
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Public Response
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In experiments people conform more when they must respond in front of others rather than writing their answers privately
It is much easier to stand up for what we believe in the privacy of the voting booth than before a group
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Prior Commitment
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In the face of group pressure people never do back down
After having made a public commitment they stick to it
At most they will change their judgments in later situations
Prior commitments restrain persuasion too
Making a public commitment makes people hesitant to back down
…
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Normative influence
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Conformity based on a persons desire to fulfill others expectations often to gain acceptance
Springs from our desire to be liked
Going along with the crowd to avoid rejection
To stay in people's good graces or to gain approval
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Informational influence
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Conformity occurring when people accept evidence about reality provided by other people
Springs from our desire to be right
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Who Conforms: Personality
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Internal factors seldom precisely predict a specific action, they better predict a persons average behavior across many situations
Personality also predicts behavior better when social influences are weak
Every psychological event depends on the state of the person and at the same t…
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Who Conforms: Culture
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Compared with people in individualistic countries collectivist countries are more responsive to others influence
In individualist countries university students seen themselves more nonconforming than others in their consumer purchases and political views
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Who Conforms: Social Roles
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Social roles allow some freedom of interpretation to those who act them out but some aspects of any role must be performed
It takes a whole cluster of norms to define a role
Roles have power effects
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Persuasion
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entails clearing several hurdles
Any factors that help people clear the persuasion hurdles will increase persuasion
Example: if an attractive source increases your attention to a message then the message should have a better chance of persuading you
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Central Route
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When people are motivated and able to think about an issue they are likely to take the central route
Focusing on the arguments
If those arguments are strong and compelling persuasion is likely
Occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thought…
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Peripheral Route
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Rather than analyzing whether the arguments are compelling, we might follow the peripheral route
Focusing on cues that trigger automatic acceptance without much thinking
Occurs when people are influences by incidental cues such as a speakers attractiveness
In these situations eas…
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Two routes to persuasion
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Explicit and reflective
Implicit and automatic
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Credibility
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The effects of source credibility diminish after a month or so
If a credible persons message is persuasive its impact may fade as its source is forgotten or dissociated from the message
The impact of a non-credible person may correspondingly increase over time if people remember the…
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Source credibility
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perceived expertise and trustworthiness
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Perceived Expertise
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Say things the audience agrees with makes one seem smart
Helps to be seen as knowledgeable on the topic
Speak confidently
A charismatic, energetic, confident-seeming person often is convincing
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|
Perceived Trustworthiness
|
Speech style
Looking person straight in the eye instead of fazing downward they impressed people as more believable
Is higher if the audience believes the communicator is not trying to persuade them
Those who argue against their own self-interest
|
|
Attractiveness and Liking
|
Having qualities that appeal to an audience
An appealing communicator is more persuasive on matters of subjective preference
|
|
Liking
|
As a rule we prefer to say yes to requests of people we know and like
Strangers use this simple rule in hundreds of ways to get us to comply with their requests
|
|
Physical Attractiveness
|
Research indicates we automatically assign favorable traits to good-looking people (talents, kindness, honesty, intelligence)
Arguments especially emotional ones are often more influential when they come from people we consider beautiful
Matters most when people are making superfici…
|
|
Halo Effect
|
One positive characteristic dominates the way we view a
person
Ex: study of Canadian federal elections
Attractive candidates received more than 2 ½ times as many votes as less attractive candidates. 73% denied their vote was included by physical appearance, 14% allowed for the possi…
|
|
Similarity and Attractiveness
|
Tend to like people who are like us
People who act as we do subtly mimicking our postures are likewise more influential
As a general rule people respond better to a message that comes from someone in their group
|
|
Reason Versus Emotion
|
Depends on the audience
Well educated or analytical people are responsive to rational appeals
Thoughtful involved audiences often travel the central route, more responsive to reasoned arguments
Uninterested audiences more often travel the peripheral route, more effected by their …
|
|
How peoples attitudes are formed
|
When peoples initial attitudes are formed primarily through emotion they are more persuaded by later emotional appeals
When people initial attitudes are formed primarily through reason they are more persuaded later by intellectual arguments
|
|
The effect of good feelings
|
Messages become more persuasive through association with good feelings
Partly happens by enhancing positive thinking and partly by linking good feelings with the message
People who are in a good mood view the world through rose colors glasses
Also make faster more impulsive decis…
|
|
The effect of arousing fear
|
Messages can be effective by evoking negative emotions
Fear arousing message
Works best if a message leads people not only to fear the severity and likelihood of a threatened event but also to perceive a solution and feel capable of implementing it
Vivid propaganda often exploits…
|
|
Discrepancy
|
Disagreement produces discomfort, and discomfort prompts people to change their opinions
Greater disagreement=more change
A communicator who proclaims an uncomfortable message may be discredited
|
|
One sided appeals
|
A one sided appeal was most effective with those who already agreed
An appeal that acknowledge opposing worked better with those who disagreed
|
|
Two sided appeals
|
Two sided presentation is more persuasive and enduring if people are or will be aware of opposing arguments
|
|
One sided vs. two sided appeals
|
Example: a political candidate speaking to a politically informed group or a community group advocating for or against gay rights would indeed be wise to respond to the opposition
|
|
Primacy Effect
|
information presented early is more persuasive
First impressions are important
Other things being equal, information presented first usually has the most influence
|
|
Recency Effect
|
information presented last sometimes has the most influence.
Less common than primacy
|
|
A life cycle explanation
|
attitudes change as people grow older
|
|
A generational explanation
|
attitudes do not change; older people largely hold onto the attitudes they adopted when they were young. Because these attitudes are different from those being adopted by young people today, a generation gap develops
Evidence mostly supports this
The attitudes of older people usuall…
|
|
Forewarned is forearmed-Counterargument
|
Knowing someone is trying to persuade you breeds counterargument
|
|
Uninvolved Audiences Use
|
Peripheral Cues
Analytical people enjoy thinking carefully and prefer central routes of persuasion
|
|
Need for cognition
|
the motivation to think and analyze.
People who conserve their mental resources are quicker to respond to such peripheral cues as the communicators attractiveness and the pleasantness of the surroundings; low need for cognition
|
|
Ways to stimulate people's thinking
|
Using rhetorical questions
Presenting multiple speakers
Making people feel responsible for evaluating or passing along the message
Repeating the message
Getting peoples undistracted attention
Stimulating thinking makes strong messages more persuasive and weak messages less …
|
|
Cults: Compliance Breeds Acceptance
|
New converts soon learn that membership is no trivial matter
Quickly made active members of the team
Behavioral rituals, public recruitment, and fundraising strengthen the initiates identities as members
The greater the personal commitment the more the need to justify it
|
|
Cults: the foot-in-the-door phenomenon
|
The pattern in cults is for the activities to become gradually more arduous, culminating in having recruits solicit contributions and attempt to convert others
Monetary offering are at first voluntary then mandatory
|
|
Attitude inoculation
|
Exposing people to weak attacks upon their attitudes so that when stronger attacks come they will have refutations available
|
|
Developing Counterarguments
|
Weak arguments will prompt counterarguments which are available for a stronger attack
|
|
Group
|
All groups have one thing in common: their members interact
Two or more people who interact and who influence one another
|
|
Different groups help us meet different needs
|
Affiliation-to belong to and connect with others
Achieve
Gail social identity
|
|
Co-actors
|
co participants working individually on a noncompetitive activity
|
|
Social facilitation
|
Original meaning: the tendency of people to perform simple or well-learned tasks better when others are present
Current meaning: the strengthening of dominant (prevalent, likely) responses in the presence of others
|
|
Zajonc
|
Arousal enhances whatever response tendency is dominant
Increased arousal enhances performance on easy tasks for which the most likely response is correct
On complex tasks for which the correct answer is not dominant increased arousal promotes incorrect responding
|
|
Social arousal
|
facilitates dominant responses whether right or wrong
Example: in others presence students took less time to learn a simple maze and more time to learn a complex one
|
|
Crowding
|
With others present people perspire more, breath faster, tense their muscles more, and have higher blood pressure and a faster heart rate
The effect of others presence increases with their number
Sometimes the arousal and self-conscious attention created by a large audience interfer…
|
|
Evaluation apprehension
|
Observers make us apprehensive because we wonder how they are evaluating us
Concern for how others are evaluating us
The enhancement of dominant responses is strongest when people think they are being evaluated
The self-consciousness we feel when being evaluated might also interf…
|
|
Distraction
|
When we wonder how cofactors are doing or how an audience is reacting we become distracted
The conflict between paying attention to others and paying attention to the ask overloads our cognitive system causing arousal
We are "driven by distraction"
|
|
Mere presence
|
The mere presence of others produces some arousal without evaluation apprehension or distraction
This hints at an innate social arousal mechanism common to much of the zoological world
Animals are probably not worried about evaluation
Example: human runners are energized when run…
|
|
Social loafing
|
The tendency for people to exert less effort when they pool their efforts toward a common goal than when they are individually accountable
|
|
Social Loafing Observation
|
noise produced by 6 people shouting and clapping as loud as you was less than three times that produced by one person alone
Those who clapped both alone and in groups did not view themselves as loafing; they perceived themselves as clapping equally in both situations
|
|
Task demands where social loafing occurs
|
Addictive tasks
Individual contributions of group members are added together to form the groups product
Example: tug of war
|
|
What Causes Social Loafing?
|
Coordination losses
Difficulty coordinating individual activities and contributions
You never reach max efficiency
Identifiability of each members contributions
Example: hand clapping study
Actual group (with other group members) vs. pseudogroup (alone but told that other gro…
|
|
Strategies to reduce social loafing
|
Make contribution identifiable
Increase commitment to successful performance
Make task more involving and important
Strengthen group cohesiveness
|
|
Free riders
|
People who benefit from the group but give little in return
Example: students pumped exercise bikes more energetically when they knew they were being individually monitored than when they thought their output was being pooled with that of other riders
|
|
Group situations decrease
|
evaluation apprehension
When people are not accountable and cannot evaluate their own efforts responsibility is diffused across all group members
|
|
Social Facilitation vs. Social loafing occurs
|
Being observed → increased evaluation concerns → social facilitation occurs
Being lost in crowd → decreased evaluation concerns → social loafing occurs
|
|
People in groups loaf less when the task is
|
Challenging (People may perceive their efforts as indispensable)
Appealing
Involving
|
|
Deindividuation
|
Loss of self awareness and evaluation apprehension
Occurs in group situations that foster responsiveness to group norms (good or bad)
Groups can generate a sense of excitement of being caught up in something bigger than one's self
People are more likely to abandon normal restrain…
|
|
Group Size and Deindividuation Examples
|
Crowds were present as someone threatened to jump from a building or bridge
When the crowd is small and exposed by daylight people usually did not try to bait the person with cries of jump
When a large crowd or the cover of night gave people anonymity the crowd usually did bait and …
|
|
Anonymity
|
Halloween observation of Seattle children trick-or-treating
Experimenter greeted them warmly and invited them to "take one of the candies" then left the candy unattended
Children in groups were more than twice as likely to take extra candy as solo children
Children who had been a…
|
|
Self Awareness
|
a self-conscious state in which attention focuses on oneself. It makes people more sensitive to their own attitudes and dispositions
Opposite of deindividuation
Those made self-aware exhibit increased self-control and their actions more clearly reflect their attitudes
|
|
Group polarization
|
Group-produced enhancement of members pre-existing tendencies
A strengthening of the members average tendency not a split within the group
|
|
Explaining Polarization: Informational influence
|
Deals with the arguments presented during a discussion
Group discussion elicits a pooling of ideas most of which favor the dominant viewpoint
Statements often entangle information about the persons arguments with cues concerning the persons position on the issue
Active participat…
|
|
Explaining Polarization: Normative influence
|
Concerns how members of a group view themselves via the other members
We are most persuaded by people in our own reference groups
|
|
Social Comparison
|
evaluating ones opinions and abilities by comparing oneself with others
We want to evaluate our opinions and abilities with by comparing our views with others
|
|
Pluralistic ignorance
|
a false impression of what most other people are thinking or feeling or how they are responding
They don't realize how strongly others support the socially preferred tendency
|
|
Groupthink: Pearl Harbor
|
Military commanders in Hawaii received a steady stream of information about Japans preparation for an attack on US somewhere in the Pacific.
Military intelligence lost radio contact with Japanese aircraft which had begun moving straight for Hawaii
Air reconnaissance could have sopp…
|
|
Groupthink: Bay of Pigs Invasion
|
President Kennedy tried to overthrow Fidel Castro by invading Cuba with 1,400 CIA trained Cuban exiles
Nearly all were killed or captured and Cuba allied itself more closely with former USSR
|
|
Groupthink: The Vietnam War
|
President Jonson escalated the war in Vietnam on the assumption that US missions would bring North Vietnam to the peace table with the appreciative support of South Vietnam
They continued the escalation despite warning from government intelligence and nearly all US allies
Resulting …
|
|
Groupthink
|
the mode of thinking that persons engage in when concurrence-seeking becomes so dominant in a cohesive in-group that it tends to override realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action
|
|
Groupthink sprouts
|
An amiable, cohesive group
Relative isolation of the group from dissenting viewpoints
A directive leader who signals what decision he or she favors
|
|
Symptoms of Groupthink
|
lead group members to overestimate their groups might and right
Group members also become closed-minded
The group suffers from pressures toward uniformity
|
|
Lead group members to overestimate their groups might and right
|
An illusion of invulnerability; Groups developed an expressive optimism that blinded them to warnings of danger
Unquestioned belief in the group's morality; Group members assume the inherent morality of their group and ignore ethical and moral issues
|
|
Group members also become closed-minded
|
Rationalization; Groups discount challenges by collectively justifying their decisions
Stereotyped view of opponent; Consider their enemies too evil to negotiate with or too weak and unintelligent to defend themselves against a planned initiative
|
|
The group suffers from pressures toward uniformity
|
Conformity pressure; Group members rebuffed those who raised doubts about the groups assumption and plans, at times not by argument but by personal sarcasm
Self-censorship; To avoid uncomfortable disagreements members withheld or discounted their misgivings
Illusion of unanimity; Se…
|
|
Preventing Groupthink
|
Be impartial-do not endorse any position
Encourage critical evaluation
Occasionally subdivide the group then reunite to air differences
Welcome critiques from outside experts and associates
Before implementing call a "second-chance" meeting to air any lingering doubts
|
|
Contrast Principle
|
when two items are presented together if the second item is fairly different from the first, then it is seen as more different than if the items were presented separately
Virtually undetectable
|
|
Reciprocation
|
We should repay, in kind, what another person has provided us
|
|
Social Psychology Definition
|
Science that studies the influences of our situations with special attention to how we view and affect one another
Study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another
Less on individual differences and more on how individual view/affect one another
|
|
Social Psychology is the scientific study of:
|
Social Thinking
Social Influence
Social Relations
|
|
Social Thinking
|
How we perceive ourselves and others
What we believe
Judgments we make
Our attitudes
|
|
Social Influence
|
Culture
Pressures to conform
Persuasion
Groups of people
|
|
Social Relations
|
Prejudice
Aggression
Attraction/intimacy
Helping
|
|
Group Identity
|
Friends who share values and experiences may provide a buffer against loneliness
|
|
What are the two general ways the values enter psychology?
|
Obvious
OR
Subtle
|
|
Europeans values VS. Americans values
|
Europeans take pride in nationalities which has given a major theory of social identity
Americans focus on the individual; how one thinks about others, is influenced by them, and relates to them
|
|
Culture
|
Enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next
|
|
Social representations
|
A society's widely held ideas and values, including assumptions and cultural ideologies
Help us make sense of the world
|
|
Defining the Good Life
|
Abraham Maslow
Self-actualized people
|
|
Self-Actualized People
|
People who with their needs for survival, safety, belonging, and self esteem satisfied go on to fulfill their human potential
|
|
I Knew it All Along
|
Problem with common sense is that we invoke it after we know the facts
We are more likely to blame decision makers for what are in retrospect "obvious" bad choices than to praise them for good ones which also seem "obvious"
We forget that what is obvious to us now was not nearly so …
|
|
Hindsight Bias
|
Tendency to exaggerate after learning an outcome, ones ability to have foreseen how something turned out
Errors in judging the future foreseeability and remembering our past combine to create hindsight bias
|
|
Theory
|
An integrated set of principles that explain and predict observed events
Often means "less than fact" a middle rung on the confidence ladder from guess → theory → fact
theories are ideas that summarize and explain facts
|
|
A good theory effectively summarizes many observations and makes clear predictions that we can use to...
|
Confirm or modify the theory
Generate new exploration
Suggest practical applications
|
|
Hypotheses
|
Testable predictions
Allow us to test a theory by suggesting how we might try to falsify
Predictive feature of good theories can make them practical
|
|
Conducting Research Stages
|
Stage 1: select problem/question
Stage 2: Form hypotheses
Stage 3: Design Investigation
Stage 4: Analyze data using stats
Stage 5: Interpret findings and make conclusions
|
|
SPSS
|
statistical package for the social sciences
|
|
Statistics
|
Describe and interpret observations and responses
Make decisions to accept or reject hypotheses
Make reliable inferences from observations and responses
A measure that is calculated from a sample
Parameters are usually not known and estimated with statistics
|
|
Laboratory research
|
controlled situation
|
|
Field research
|
uncontrolled
|
|
Correlational research
|
Asking whether two or more factors are naturally associated
|
|
Experimental research
|
Manipulating some factor to see its effect on another
searching for cause and effect
|
|
When 2 variables correlate any combination of 3 explanations is possible:
|
either one could cause the other or both could be affected by a 3rd variable
|
|
Correlations quantify
|
negative correlation: as one factor goes up the other goes down
positive correlation: the two factors scores rise and fall together
-1 --> 0 --> +1
Knowing that two variables change together (correlate) enables us to predict one when we know the other but correlation does not spe…
|
|
Survey research
|
If survey researchers want to describe a whole population they will obtain a representative group by taking a random sample
|
|
Positive relationship
|
Two variables tend to move in same direction
As value of X increases Y increases
As X decreases Y decreases
|
|
Negative relationship
|
Two variables tend to go in opposite directions
As value of x increases, y decreases
As x decreases y increases
|
|
Random Sample
|
One in which every person in the population being studied has an equal chance of inclusion
helps generalize the population
|
|
Experimental research
|
searching for cause and effect
|
|
Independent variables
|
varying one or two factors at a time
experimental factor that is manipulated
|
|
Dependent variable
|
variable being measured
depends on manipulations of independent variable
|
|
Mundane
|
superficially similar to everyday situations
|
|
Random assignment
|
Each person has an equal chance of being in one group or the other
Helps infer cause and effect
More important than random selection
Makes sure there is no confounding variable
|
|
Experimental
|
absorbs and involves participants
sometimes requires deceiving people
|
|
Deception
|
effect by which participants are misinformed or misled about the study's methods and purposes
|
|
Demand characteristics
|
Cues that seem to "demand" certain behavior
|
|
Ethical Principles
|
Tell potential participants enough about the experiment to enable their informed consent
Be truthful. Only use deception if essential and justified by significant purpose
Protect participants from harm and significant discomfort
Treat information about the participants confident…
|
|
Social surroundings and self-awareness
|
When we are the only member of our race, gender, or nationality in a group we notice how we differ and how others are reacting to our differences
|
|
Self-interest colors our social judgement
|
When problems arise in close relationship, we usually attribute more responsibility to our partners than to ourselves. When things go well we see ourselves more responsibility
|
|
Self-concern motivates our social behavior
|
In hopes of making positive impression we agonize about our appearance
|
|
Self-concept and the brain
|
Right hemisphere plays important role; put yours to sleep and you will have trouble recognizing your own face
Medial prefrontal cortex; Helps stitch together the sense of self, and becomes more active when you think of yourself
|
|
Self schemas
|
Specific beliefs by which you define yourself
Perceiving ourselves as athletic, overweight, smart, etc.
Powerfully affect how we perceive, remember, and evaluate other people and ourselves
|
|
Person schemas
|
focus on groups of people or a particular person
|
|
Social Comparisons
|
Evaluating ones abilities and opinions by comparing oneself with others
Others around us help us define the standard by which we define ourselves as rich/poor, smart/dumb, tall/short
Much of life revolves around this concept
|
|
Schemas
|
Schemas=mental templates by which we organize our worlds
help us process enormous amounts of information rapidly and economically
aid in recall, interpret information, and draw meaningful inferences
help us fill in missing information when we do not have all the information
|
|
Social Comparisons and satisfaction
|
When we experience an increase in affluence, status, or achievement we compare upward and raise our standards by which we evaluate achievements
|
|
Individualism
|
Concept of giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining ones identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications
Identity is self contained
Western culture
Flourishes when people experience affluence, mobility, urbanism, and mass media
…
|
|
Independent self
|
Constructing ones identity as an autonomous self
|
|
Collectivism
|
Giving priority to the goals of one's group and defining one's identity accordingly
Asia, Africa, central/south America
People are more self-critical and have less need for positive self regard
Say "I" less often
|
|
Interdependent self
|
Constructing one's identity in relation to others
|
|
Self knowledge
|
We readily form beliefs about ourselves
Sometimes we think we know but our inside information is wrong
|
|
When predicting our behavior...
|
Friends and family often know things better and can predict things with startling accuracy compared to yourself
|
|
Planning Fallacy
|
Most common error in behavior prediction is underestimating how long it will take to complete a task
|
|
Affect forecasting
|
Reveal that people have greatest difficulty predicting the intensity and the duration of the future emotions
|
|
Predicting our feelings
|
Hungry shoppers do more impulse buying
When natural disasters happen people are more likely to be more sad if greater number of people are killed
People overestimate how much their well-being would be effected by both bad events and good events
|
|
Self-esteem
|
Overall self evaluation or sense of self-worth
|
|
Causal arrow
|
People who value themselves in a general way are more likely to value their looks, abilities, and so forth
|
|
Self-esteem motivation
|
Self-esteem feelings are like a fuel gauge
Relationships enable surviving and thriving
Gauge alerts us to threatened social rejection, motivating us to act with greater sensitivity to others expectations
|
|
Terror management theory
|
Argues that humans must find ways to manage their overwhelming fear of death
The reality of our own death motivates us to gain recognition from our work and values
Proposes that people exhibit self-protective emotional and cognitive responses when confronted with reminders of moral…
|
|
Narcissism
|
Having an inflated sense of self
Narcissists have high self esteem but missing the piece about caring for others
|
|
Narcissism is linked with...
|
Narcissism correlates with materialism, the desire to be famous, inflated expectations, fewer committed relationships, more gambling, and more cheating
Linked to lack of empathy
Those high in narcissism and low in empathy are less successful in the long run, make lower grades in col…
|
|
Low vs. Secure Self-Esteem
|
When feeling bad or threatened low self-esteem people take a negative view of everything
Secure self-esteem one rooted in feeling good about who one is than in grades/looks/money/others is conducive to a long term well being
|
|
Self compassion
|
leaving behind comparisons with others and instead treating ourselves with kindness
|
|
Self control and energy
|
Effortful self-control depletes our limited willpower that is reserved
Our brain consumes available blood sugar when engaged in self-control
Weaker after exertion, replenished with rest, and strengthened by exercise
|
|
Self efficacy
|
How competent we feel on a task
Those with strong feelings of self-efficacy are more persistent, less anxious, and less depressed
Live healthier lives and more academically successful
|
|
Self efficacy vs. self esteem
|
If you believe you can do something=self efficacy
If you like yourself overall=self-esteem
If you want to encourage someone focus on their self-efficacy not self-esteem
|
|
Locus of Control
|
The extent to which people perceive outcomes as internally controllable by their own efforts or as externally controlled by chance or outside sources
|
|
Internal locus of control
|
Believing you control your own destiny
|
|
External locus of control
|
Chance or outside forces determine your fate
|
|
Learned Helplessness
|
The sense of hopelessness and resignation learned when a human or an animal perceives no control over repeated bad events
|
|
Self Determination
|
If you learn how to exert willpower in one area of your life, resisting temptation in other areas becomes easier too
|
|
Self-serving bias
|
The tendency to perceive oneself favorably
|
|
Self serving attributions
|
The tendency to attribute positive outcomes to self and negative outcomes to other factors
One of the most important human biases
Making these activates brain areas associated with reward and pleasure
|
|
Unrealistic Optimism
|
Adult women are likely to be optimistic about their relative risk for breast cancer
Illusory optimism increases our vulnerability (We don't take sensible precautions)
|
|
False consensus effect
|
The tendency to overestimate the commonality of ones opinions and ones undesirable or unsuccessful behaviors
When we behave badly in a task we reassure ourselves by thinking that such lapses are common
|
|
Motivational explanation of false consensus effect
|
We want to believe others agree with us-that our actions and judgments are normal, correct, and appropriate
|
|
Perceptional distortion explanation of false consensus effect
|
It may be easier to recall and notice examples of people agreeing than disagreeing with us (based on availability heuristic)
|
|
False uniqueness effect
|
the tendency to underestimate the commonality of ones abilities and ones desirable or successful behaviors
On matters of ability we serve our self image by seeing our talents and more behaviors relative unusual
|
|
Priming
|
awakening or activating of certain associations
Often our thoughts and actions are subtly primed by unnoticed events
ex: Watching a scary movie → furnace noise interpreted as intruder
|
|
Embodied cognition
|
mutual influence of bodily sensations on cognitive preferences and social judgments
|
|
First Impressions
|
Our first impressions of one another are more often right than wrong
The better we know people the more accurately we can read their minds and feeling
|
|
Perceiving and Interpreting
|
When social information is subject to multiple interpretations preconceptions matter
People everywhere perceive mediators and media as biased against their position
Tell where you see bias and you will signal your attitudes
Our assumptions about the world can even make contradict…
|
|
Kulechov effect
|
Filmmakers control peoples perceptions of emotion by manipulating the setting in which they see a face
Director who would skillfully guide viewers inferences by manipulating their assumptions
|
|
Spontaneous trait transference
|
When we say something bad or good about another people spontaneously tend to associate that trait with us
|
|
Belief Perseverance
|
It is difficult to diminish falsehood once the person conjures a rationale for it
Persistence of one's initial conceptions
such as when the basis for ones belief is discredited, an explanation of why the belief might be true survives
|
|
Confirmation Bias
|
People tend to not seek information that might disprove what they believe
We are eager to confirm out beliefs but less inclined to seek evidence that might disprove them
Helps explain why our self images are so stable
|
|
Remedies for Overconfidence
|
Prompt feedback
Unpack a task
Think of a good reason why their judgments might be wrong
|
|
Heuristics
|
simple, efficient thinking strategies
Decision making principles used to make inferences or draw conclusions quickly and easily
|
|
Fallacies/Biases
|
Errors and distortions that occur in the way people use social information
|
|
The Representativeness Heuristic
|
To judge something by intuitively comparing it to our mental representation of a category
The tendency to presume sometimes despite contrary odds that someone or something belongs to a particular group if resembling a typical member
|
|
Base-rate information
|
Use information about how common some pattern is in the general population
|
|
Base-rate fallacy
|
Failure to use information about patterns and probabilities in the general population
Ignoring or under using information that describes most people
Instead we are influenced by distinctive features
|
|
The Availability Heuristic
|
If examples are readily available in our memory then we presume that the other such examples are commonplace
The more easily we recall something the more likely it seems
People are slow to deduce particular instances from a general truth, but remarkably quick to infer general truth …
|
|
Illusory Correlation
|
Perception of a relationship where none exists or perception of a stronger relationship than actually exists
If we believe a correlation exists we are more likely to notice and recall confirming instances
|
|
Illusion of Control
|
Perception of uncontrollable events as subject to one's control or as more controllable than they are
|
|
Regression Toward the Average
|
The statistical tendency for extreme scores or extreme behavior to return toward one's average
ex: Getting a high grade on first exam and then a low score on the next regressing back to average
|
|
Misattribution
|
Mistakenly attributing a behavior to the wrong source
|
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Attribution theory
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The theory of how people explain others behavior
Internal dispositions or external situations
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Dispositional attribution
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Attributing behavior to the persons disposition and traits
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Situational attribution
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Attributing behavior to the environment
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Inferring Traits
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The ease with which we infer traits
An effortless automatic inference of a trait after exposure to someone's behavior
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Commonsense Attributions
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How we explain behavior
Consistency: how consistent is the persons behavior in this situation
Distinctiveness: how specific is the persons behavior to this particular situation
Consensus: to what extent to others in this situation behave similarly?
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The Fundamental Attribution Error
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Discounting of the situation
The tendency of observers to underestimate situational influences and overestimate dispositional influences upon others behavior
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Perspective and Situational Awareness
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When we act the environment commands out attention, when we watch another person act that person occupies the center of attention and the environment becomes invisible
When our action feels intentional and admirable we attribute it to our own good reasons not the situation
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Self fulfilling prophecy:
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a belief that leads to its own fulfillment
Our ideas lead us to act in ways that produce their apparent confirmation
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The ABCs of attitudes
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Affect
Behavior
Cognition
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Affect
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Emotional feelings about an object
Overall + or - feelings
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Behavior
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Tendency toward action
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Cognition
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All facts, knowledge, and beliefs about an object
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When do attitudes affect behavior?
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when other influences on what we say and do are minimal, when the attitude is specific to the behavior, and when the attitude is potent
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Characteristics of Attitudes
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Fundamentally evaluative, attitudes have polarity (Really like vs. really don't (no middle)
Relatively stable
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Situational factors for attitudes
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Social influences-desire to avoid "standing out"
Situational cues-specifying action that can be inconsistent with our attitudes
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Personal factors for attitudes
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Degree to which attitude is important to you
Self monitoring-sensitivity to situational cues and prompts
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Attitude
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Favorable or unfavorable evaluative belief about objects, events, ideas, categories, and aggregates of people
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High Self Monitoring
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adjusts behavior due to external circumstances
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Low Self Monitoring
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less sensitive to situational cues
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Implicit association test (IAT)
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A computer assessment of implicit attitudes. The test uses reaction times to measure peoples automatic associations between attitude objects and evaluative words. Easier pairings are taken to indicate stronger unconscious associations
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Explicit vs. implicit biases
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Explicit and implicit biases may together predict behavior better than either alone
For attitudes formed earlier in life implicit attitudes often are the better predictor of behavior
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Two conditions where attitudes will predict behavior
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When we minimize other influences upon our attitude statements and on our behavior
When the attitude is specifically relevant to the observed behavior
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When are attitudes potent?
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Our attitudes become potent if we think about them
Self conscious people are usually in touch with their attitudes
Attitudes best predict behavior are accessible as well as stable
When attitudes are forged by experience they are more accessible, more enduring, and more likely to …
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Role Playing
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a set of norms that defines how people in a given social position ought to behave
Actions expected of those who occupy a particular social position
Behavior is a product of both the individual person and the situation
What is unreal (an artificial role) can morph into what is rea…
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The Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon
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If you want people to do a big favor for you an effective strategy is to get them to do a small favor first
The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a bigger request
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Low-ball technique
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a tactic for getting people to agree to something. People who agree to an initial request will often still comply when the requester up's the ante. People who receive only the costly request are less likely to comply with it
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Self presentation theory
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assumes that for strategic reasons we express attitudes that make us appear consistent
We see making a good impression as a way to gain social and material rewards to feel better about ourselves even to become more secure in our social identities
We express attitudes that match our …
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Cognitive dissonance theory
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assumes that to reduce discomfort we justify out actions to ourselves
Assumes we feel tension (dissonance) when two simultaneously accessible thoughts or beliefs (cognition) are psychologically inconsistent
To reduce unpleasant arousal we often adjust our thinking
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Cognitive
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thoughts/beliefs
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Dissonance
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lack of agreement or consistency/conflict
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Cognitive dissonance
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a condition of conflict resulting from inconsistency between one's beliefs and actions
Ex: opposing the slaughter of animals and eating meat
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Three ways to reduce cognitive dissonance
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Change attitude/behavior to make them consistent
Get new information that supports the attitude or behavior
Minimize importance of conflict so it can be safely ignored
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Selective exposure
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The tendency to seek information and media that agree with ones views and to avoid dissonant information
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Social Cognition
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Study of how people interpret, analyze, remember, and use information about the social world
Emphasizes that perception is organized
New experiences are assimilated selectively and incorporated with prior experiences into meaningful and functionally useful categories
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Shortcuts
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To compensate for limited information processing abilities we use short-cuts or cognitive strategies
A cognitive strategy must be reasonably accurate most of the time
If a cognitive strategy always leads to wrong decisions were likely to change to a different strategy
These often…
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Self perception theory
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assumes that our actions are self revealing
when we are unsure of our attitudes we infer them much as we would someone observing us by looking at our behavior and the circumstances under which is occurs
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Bottom-up processing
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Aspects of recognition that depend first on information from the stimulus that comes up to the brain from sensory receptors
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Top-down processing
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Higher-level cognitive processes and psychological factors
Ex: expectations
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Insufficient Justification
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Reduction of dissonance by internally justifying ones behavior when external justification is insufficient
Having felt this for their action they would experience more discomfort (dissonance) and thus be more motivated to believe in what they had done
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Over-justification effect
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the result of bribing people to do what they already like doing; they may see their actions as externally controlled rather than intrinsically appealing
An unanticipated reward does not diminish intrinsic interest because people can still attribute their actions to their own motivation…
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Comparing Theories
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Dissonance conditions arouse tension especially when they threaten positive feelings of self worth and this arousal is necessary for the attitudes follow behavior effect
Dissonance theory cannot explain attitude changes that occur without dissonance
Dissonance theory also does not e…
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Social trap
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a situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing its self interest, become caught in mutually destructive behavior.
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The Tragedy of the Commons
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The commons is any shared resource including air, water, energy sources, and food supplied. The tragedy occurs when individuals consume more than their share, with the cost of their doing so dispersed among all causing the ultimate collapse-the tragedy- of the commons
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Non-zero-sum games
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Games in which outcomes need not sum to zero
With cooperation both can win
With competition both can lose
Also called mixed-motive situations
Each game pits the immediate interests of individuals against the well-being of the group
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Resolving Social Dilemas
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Small group
Communication
Changing the Payoffs
Appealing to Altruistic Norms
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Mirror-Image Perceptions
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Reciprocal views of each other often held by parties in conflict
For example each may view itself as moral and peace-loving and the other as evil and aggressive
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Simplistic Thinking
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When tensions rise views of the enemy become more simplistic and stereotyped
Even the mere expectation of conflict can serve to freeze thinking and impede creative problem solving
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Common External Threats Build Cohesiveness
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Group members under duress became friendlier with one another, more cooperative, less argumentative, less competitive
Just being reminded of an out-group heightens peoples responsiveness to their own group
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Subordinate Goals Foster Cooperation
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Goals that unite all in a group and require cooperative effort
A shared goal that necessitates cooperative effort
A goal that overrides peoples differences from one another
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Climate and Conflict
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Many human maladies from economic downturns to wars have been traced to climate fluctuations
When the climate changes agriculture suffers leading to increased famine, epidemics, and misery
Poorer countries with fewer resources are especially vulnerable
When miserable people becom…
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Personal Experience and the Availability Heuristic
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Vivid and recent experiences often overwhelm abstract statistics
Vivid images being readily available in memory often hijack out emotions and distort our judgments
We make our intuitive judgments under the influence of the availability heuristic and thus we often fear the wrong thin…
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People often exhibit a "system justification" tendency
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A tendency to believe in and justify the way things are in their culturally especially when comfortable and not want to change their familiar status quo
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Reducing Consumption: Incentives
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As a general rule we get less of what is taxed and more of what is rewarded
Public policies are used that harness the motivating power of incentives
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Reducing Consumption: Feedback
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Harness the power of immediate feedback of the consumer by installing "smart meters" that provide continuous readout of electricity use and its cost
When an energy supplier sticks a smiley or frowny face on home energy bills when the consumers energy use is less or more than the neighb…
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Are Wealthy Countries Happier?
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Some correlation between national wealth and well-being
After nations reached above $20,000 GDP per person higher levels of national wealth are not predicative of increased life satisfaction
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Are Wealthy Individuals Happier?
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In poor countries where low income threatens basic needs being relatively well-off does predict greater well-being
In affluent countries where most can afford life's necessities affluence still matters-partly because people with more money perceive more control over their lives
Afte…
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Is the Wealthier Twenty-First Century Happier?
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They are not
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Adaption level phenomenon
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Our tendency to judge our experience (sounds, temperatures, incomes) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience
We adjust our neutral levels (the points at which sounds seem neither loud nor soft, temperatures neither hot nor cold, events neither pleasant nor unpleasan…
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Social comparison
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evaluating one's abilities and opinions by comparing oneself with others
Especially with those in our own groups
Whether we feel good or bad depends on whom we're comparing ourselves with
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Tendency to compare upward
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As we climb the ladder of success or affluence we mostly compare ourselves with peers who are at or above our current level not with those who have less
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What enhances life quality?
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Close supportive relationships
Faith communities and voluntary organizations
Positive thinking habits
Experiencing nature
Flow
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PSY 240: Chapter 1