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Definition
| The mental processes people use to make sense out of their social environment |
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| The effects of situational factors and other people on an individual’s behavior |
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| The mental processes we use to form judgments and draw conclusions about the characteristics and motives of other people |
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| 4 Principles of Person Perception |
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Definition
1. Your reactions to other are determined by your perception of them, not by who or what they really are
2. Your goals in a particular situation determine the amount and kinds of information you collect about others
3. In every situation, you evaluate people partly in terms of how you expect them to act in that situation
4. Your self-perception also influences how you perceive others and how you act on your perceptions |
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| The mental processes of categorizing people into groups (or social categories) on the basis of their shared characteristics |
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| Advantages of Social Categorization |
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Definition
• It is a natural, adaptive cognitive process
• Social categories provide us with considerable basic information about other people
• Allows us to mentally organize and remember information more efficiently and effectively |
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| Disadvantages of Social Categorization |
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Definition
• Ignores the person’s unique qualities by generalizing them
• Essentially jumping to conclusions with limited information |
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| The “rules”, or expectations, for appropriate behavior in a particular situation |
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| Implicit Personality Theory |
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Definition
• A network of assumptions or beliefs about the relationships among various types of people, traits, and behaviors
• We form cognitive schemas about the traits and behaviors associated with different types of people- mental shortcuts for perceiving people |
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| Halo Effect, how it affects first impressions |
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Definition
• We are often under the impression of “what is beautiful is good”- a result of the media
• We often believe that good looking people are happier, more intelligent, and better adjusted
• Physical attractiveness is not correlated with these, however, they tend to be less lonely and less anxious in social situations |
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Definition
| The mental process of inferring the causes of people’s behavior, including one’s own. Also refers to the explanation made for a particular behavior |
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| Fundamental Attribution Error |
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Definition
| • The tendency to attribute the behavior of others to internal, personal characteristics, while ignoring or underestimating the effects of external, situational factors; an attributional bias that is common in individualistic cultures |
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| • The tendency to attribute one’s own behavior to external, situational causes, while attributing the behavior of others to internal, personal causes; especially likely to occur with regard to behaviors that lead to negative outcomes |
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| • The tendency to attribute successful outcomes of one’s own behavior to internal causes and unsuccessful outcomes to external, situational causes |
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| • The tendency to blame ourselves for our failures, attributing them to internal, personal causes, while downplaying our own successes by attributing them to external, situational causes. Common in collectivistic cultures |
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| • States that physically attractive individuals are assumed to possess more socially desirable traits, live happier lives, and become more successful than unattractive people |
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| • The tendency to blame an innocent victim of misfortune for having somehow caused the problem or for not having taken steps to avoid or prevent it |
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| The assumption that the world is fair and therefore people get what they deserve and deserve what they get |
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| A learned tendency to evaluate some object, person, or issue in a particular way; such evaluations may be positive, negative or ambivalent |
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Term
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Definition
1. Cognitive- Beliefs, thoughts, ideas about the attitude object
2. Behavioral- Predisposition to act in a particular way
3. Emotional (affective)- Feelings and emotions about the attitude object |
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Term
| When are we most likely to act on our attitudes? |
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Definition
• Attitudes are extreme or frequently expressed
• Attitudes have been formed through direct experience
• You are very knowledgeable about the subject
• You have a vested interest in the subject and personally stand to gain or lose something on a specific issue
• You anticipate a favorable outcome or response from others for doing so |
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Term
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Definition
| • An unpleasant state of psychological tension or arousal (dissonance) that occurs when two thoughts or perceptions (cognitions) are inconsistent; typically results from the awareness that attitudes and behaviors are in conflict |
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Definition
| • A cluster of characteristics that are associated with all members of a specific social group, often including qualities that are unrelated to the objective criteria that define the group |
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| A negative attitude toward people who belong to a specific social group |
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| Sherif's Robber cave experiment |
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Definition
• Helped clarify the conditions that promote intergroup conflict and harmony
• Boys were separated into 2 groups and arrived at Robbers Cave State Park, were set to meet in a series of competitive games
• Intense rivalry between the groups ensued
• The researchers tried to stop hostility by having them do different activities (eat, go to a movie) together, but contact alone did not bring them together
• The researchers created situations in which the two groups had to work together to achieve a common goal- after the tasks the rivalry diminished and they became friends |
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Term
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Definition
• Elliot Aronson tried adapting the results of the Robbers Cave experiment to an elementary school
• This approach brought together students in small, ethnically diverse groups to work on a mutual project- each student brought his own strengths and weaknesses and they worked together (Jigsaw puzzle)
• This created higher self-esteem and a greater liking for children in other ethnic groups than did children in Traditional classrooms- lessening of prejudice and intergroup hostility |
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Term
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Definition
The tendency to see members of an outgroup as very similar
• People with the dominant color eyes referred to the other group collectively |
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Definition
| • The tendency to judge the behavior of in-group members favorably and out-group members unfavorably |
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Definition
| the belief that one's own culture is superior to to all others and to use their culture as a standard on which to judge others |
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| • The tendency to adjust one’s behavior, attitudes, or beliefs to group norms in response to real or imagined group pressure |
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Definition
| The performance of an action in response to the orders of an authority or person of higher status |
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| Normative Social Influence |
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Definition
| • Behavior that is motivated by the desire to gain social acceptance and approval |
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| Informational Social influence |
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Definition
| • Behavior that is motivated by the desire to be correct |
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| Reasons people conform to normative and informational social influence |
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Definition
| • Because of ridicule and rejection from going against the grain of a group |
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Term
| Asch's Line study conformity results |
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Definition
• Group of people sat at a table, all but one were actors
• He showed 3 cards and would ask which comparison line was the same length as the standard line
• 76 % of people conformed on at least 1 of 18 trials, there was no direct pressure to conform- only implicit
• The subjects followed the majority and chose the wrong answer on 37% of trials
• A control group who answered alone were correct 99% of the time |
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| Milgram's Experimental Method |
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Definition
• The experiment had a subject shock and accomplice every time he answered a question wrong in the “experiment”
• The experimenter was played by a high school teacher, but made the subject believe he was a Yale Professor
• The “teacher” was given a shock of 45 volts to show the shock was real (only legitimate shock of the experiment)
• The experimenter was to keep insisting that the teacher must go on with the experiment, even after the learned fell silent after 330 volts |
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Term
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Definition
• 2/3 of subjects went to the full voltage, no subjects stopped at 300-volt level
• There were no differences when the study contained all women
• All of his subjects seemed to think the situation was authentic |
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Term
| What factors enhance obedience in Milgram's study? |
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Definition
• y- arrived with the expectation to obediently follow the experiment’s instructions
• The subjects were familiar that the study was to obtain scientific information for advancement- trusted the experimenter’s authority
• Each additional shock was only 15 volts higher than the previous- therefore it was a gradual, repetitive escalation of the task
• The teacher was reassured that the experimenter was responsible for the outcome
• Physical buffers distanced the subject from the pain being inflicted
1. The learner was in a separate room and not visible
2. Punishment was depersonalized (simply pushed a switch)
3. The learner never appealed directly to the teacher to stop shocking him |
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Term
| What factors inhibit obedience in Milgram's Study? |
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Definition
• Willingness to obey diminished sharply when the buffers that separated the learner and teacher were lessened or removed
• When the teacher was allowed to act as their own authority and to freely choose shock level, 95% did not venture beyond 150 volts
• Milgram found that people were more likely to defy authority when they saw others do it |
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Term
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Definition
• The tendency to expend led effort on a task when it is a group effort
• Especially pronounced when it is difficult or impossible to assess one’s individual contribution to the collective effort
• Common in individualistic cultures |
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Definition
• Common in collectivistic cultures
• Social loafing is reversed and individuals work harder when they were in groups than when they were alone |
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Term
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Definition
| • The tendency for the presence of other people to enhance individual performance |
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Definition
| The reduction of self-awareness and inhibitions that can occur when a person is a part of a group whose members feel anonymous |
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Definition
• Kitty Genovese was stabbed at 3:20 am and screamed for help, by 3:35 am, not one had called the police after her initial screams
• At 3:50 am the police were finally called
• A total of 38 people had witnessed the murder but no one acted |
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Term
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Definition
| • Helping another person with no expectation of personal reward or benefit |
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Term
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Definition
| • Any behavior that helps another, whether the underlying motive is self-serving or selfless |
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Term
| Latane and Darley's study |
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Definition
In a typical experiment, the participant is either alone or among a group of other participants or confederates. An emergency situation is then staged. The researchers then measure how long it takes the participants to act, and whether or not they intervene at all. These experiments virtually always find that the presence of others inhibits helping, often by a large margin
-bystanders monitor the reactions of other people in an emergency situation to see if others think that it is necessary to intervene. Since everyone is doing exactly the same thing (nothing), they all conclude from the inaction of others that help is not needed. |
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Term
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Definition
| • A phenomenon in which the greater the number of people present, the less likely each individual is to help someone in distress |
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Term
| Diffusion of Responsibility |
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Definition
| • A phenomenon in which the presence of other people makes it less likely that any individual will help someone in distress because the obligation to intervene is shared among all the onlookers |
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Term
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Definition
• People who feel good, successful, happy, or fortunate are more likely to help others
• Those good feelings can be due to virtually any positive event, such as receiving a gift, succeeding at a task, listening to pleasant music, finding a small amount of money, or even just enjoying a warm sunny day |
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Term
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Definition
| Conforming to other people’s behavior out of a genuine belief that what they are doing or saying is right. |
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Definition
| Conforming to other people’s behavior publicly without necessarily believing in what we are doing or saying. |
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Definition
| The rapid spread of emotions or behaviors through a crowd. |
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| When informational conformity backfires |
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Definition
| When one’s personal safety is involved, the need for information is acute—and the behavior of others is very informative. |
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Term
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Definition
| We categorize people in order to understand them and to predict their behavior. We then define behavior appropriate to the group based on norms we believe define a groups attitudes and behavior |
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Term
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Definition
| We adopt the identity of the group which we belong and then follow the norms of that group. The more emotionally bound we are to the group the more your self-esteem is tied to group membership. |
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Term
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Definition
| Once we identify our group membership we then begin comparing our group to others. In order to maintain self esteem we need to compare favorably to other groups sometimes by reducing the status of other groups when compared to our group. |
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Term
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Definition
| States that when you’re assigned to a group, you automatically think of that group as an in-group for you |
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| Dissonance Reducing Mechanisms |
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Definition
• Avoiding dissonant information
– we attend to information in support of our
existing views, rather than information that
doesn’t support them
• Firming up an attitude to be consistent with an action
– once we’ve made a choice to do something, lingering doubts about our actions would cause dissonance, so we are motivated to set them aside |
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Definition
| • Attitudes that we consciously endorse and can easily report. |
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Term
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Definition
| • Attitudes that are involuntary, uncontrollable, and at times unconscious. |
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