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Social Psychology Chapter 4, 5, 6

Terms in this set (61)

what are attitudes
beliefs and feelings related to a person or event
how well do people predict their own behavior
attitudes hardly predict behavior
Daniel Batson moral hypocrisy
disjuncture between attitudes and actions; experiment with option between fun and boring task and allowed them to choose if they had to do it or if someone else had to do it
when do attitudes predict behavior
1. other influences on what we say and do are minimized
2. the attitude is specific to behavior
3. when attitudes are strong
implicit association test
a computer-driven assessment that uses reaction times to measure people's automatic associations between attitude objects and evaluative words, easier pairings and faster responses indicate stronger unconscious associations
what are the findings of the IAT
implicit biases are pervasive, people differ in implicit biases, and people often are unaware of implicit biases
when are attitudes a good prediction of behavior and when are they not
they predict well over a long period of time but not a specific instance
principle of aggregation
the effects of an attitude become more apparent when we look at a person's average behavior
why does making people self-aware/ self-conscious keep them truer to their convictions
they are forced to think about their attitudes and therefore more likely to act accordingly
what makes an attitude strong
1. become stronger if we think about them
2. if people are self-aware
3. accessibility
4. stability
5. development through experience
what is a role
set of norms that defines people in a given social situation
what happens when someone begins to behave against their beliefs
their attitude begins to change because of behavior; acting immorally erodes moral sensitivity; harming someone causes dislike but being kind makes you like them
when is choosing a moral act more likely to lead to the development of a moral attitude
when it is chosen rather than coerced.
foot in the door phenomenon
the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request comply later with a larger request
low ball technique
a tactic for getting people to agree to something. people who agree to an initial request will often still comply when the requester ups the ante. people who receive only the costly request are less likely to comply with it.
why do our beliefs affect our attitudes
1. self-presentation/ impression management
2. self-justification/ cognitive dissonance
3. self-perception
self-presentation/impression management
the desire to appear consistent
self-justification/cognitive dissonance
people tend to start to love the things they suffer for to lessen the tension present in their thinking and reasoning; external rewards are not enough to justify behavior (festinger)
when do attitudes follow behavior
when we feel some responsibility for them
selective exposure
a tendency to seek information and media that agrees with our attitudes and opinions
dissonance after decisions
after making important decisions we sometimes reduce dissonance by upgrading the chosen alternative and downgrading the unchosen one (can breed overconfidence)
what do we do when we are unsure of our attitudes towards something
we infer them much as we would someone observing us, by looking at our behavior and their circumstances under which it occurs
self-perception theory
our behavior can influence how we feel; smiling makes us feel happier, unconsciously mimic others; dissonance; in situations where attitudes are not well formed explains attitude formation
insufficient justification
reduction of dissonance by internally justifying one's behavior when external justification is "insufficient"
facial feedback effect
the tendency of facial expressions to trigger corresponding feelings such as fear, anger or happiness
over-justification effect
the result of bribing people to do what they already like doing, they may then see their actions as externally controlled rather than intrinsically appealing
self-affirmation theory
a theory that people often experience a self-image threat after engaging in an undesirable behavior; and they can compensate by affirming another aspect of the self. threaten people's self-concept in one domain, and they will compensate either by refocusing or by doing good deeds in some other domain
Donald Brown
identified several hundred universal behaviors and language patterns
what is culture
enduring behavior, ideas, attitudes and traditions transmitted from one generation to the next
what is our most important shared characteristic
ability to learn and adapt
what are norms
accepted ideas about appropriate behavior
what trait theory has been tested in many different cultures
Big 5
what are the 5 universal social belief dimensions
1. cynicism
2. social complexity
3. reward for application
4. spirituality
5. fate control
what is aggression
physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone
what is the biggest influence in gender gap for aggression
testosterone
how much of our personality is influenced by biology
less than 50%
how much is personality influenced by home environment
0-10%
epigenetic
explores the mechanism by which environments trigger genetic expression and alter genes
what is conformity
change in behavior or belief as the result of real or imagined group pressure
what are the 3 types of conformity
1. acceptance
2. compliance
3. obedience
acceptance
acting and believing in accord with social pressure, genuinely believe what group says
compliance
conforming to an expectation or request while privately disagreeing
obedience
compliance involving behaving in response to a direct order or command
Sherif's experiment
asked groups of men how much a stationary light moved (auto-kinetic effect); participants were aware of other people's guesses and could change theirs after hearing what others said and most people did
chameleon effect
mimicking someone else's behavior; people who mimic seem more empathetic and are liked more
mood linkage
sharing ups and downs of mood with others
mass hysteria
suggestibility that occurs on a large scale
Asch studies
six confederates gave incorrect answers to see if participants would agree even if they knew it was the incorrect answer; 75% of people conformed at least once
Milgram's study
teacher and learner experiment; 65% of people gave the highest shock when there was pressure from authority
ethics of Milgrim's study
critics said that the experiment could damage people's self-concept and stress them unnecessarily
what breed's obedience
1. victim's distance and depersonalization
2. closeness and legitimacy of authority
3. institutional authority
what are lessons from obedience studies
1. compliance with lesser evil can lead to worse
2. social influence can be strong enough to make people conform to falsehood or act cruelly
what are conditions that strengthen conformity
1. the group has at least 3 people
2. the group is unanimous
3. the group is cohesive
4. one admires the group's status and attractiveness
5. the response or behavior is made publicly
6. one has no prior commitment to a response
normative influence
based on one's desire to fulfill others' expectations, often to gain acceptance
informational influence
occurring when people accept evidence about reality provided by other people (desire to be correct)
what personality factors make someone more likely to conform
agreeableness, conscientiousness
what personality factors are less likely to conform
higher open to new experiences, novelty seekers, people with strong belief in free will and personal control
what class of people tend to prefer conformity to others
working class while middle class prefers to be unique
when is it more important to conform to people's expectations
when taking on a new role
reactance
motive to protect or restore a person's sense of freedom; attempts to restrict someone's personal freedom usually produces an anti-conformity effect
asserting uniqueness
in a group we are more aware of our differences and act in ways that preserve our individuality
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