social psychology

"Psychology In Action" Study of the causes, types, and consequences of human interaction

Belief that one's own country or culture is superior to all other countries and cultures

Placing one's won goals above those of the group

Placing group goals above individual goals

The process of forming an opinion about another person

Set of beliefs about members of a particular group

Phenomenon whereby our expectations elicit behaviors in others that confirm those expectations

Bringing preconceived ideas sterotypes to every situation

Features that influence impression formation

1. APPEARANCE: Attractive people have positive characteristics (witty, intelligent, pleasing)
2. SPEECH: Straightforward and clear speech is more appealing than speech that contains numerous qualifiers and hesitations, such as "like, maybe, kinda, I guess, and you know

An individuals decision to share personal information

People's mannerisms and nonverbal communication influence our impressions

Information that is available to you prior to 'actually meeting that person may influence our imperssion

Process of assigning causes to events and begaviors

Internal causes: personality traits
External causes: situational factors such as stressors

Refers to the extent to which a person's responses vary from situation to situation. The greater the variability the higher the distinctiveness.

Our "confidence" in makeng attributions regarding internal or external causes is greatest when our behaviors are consistent

Reactions of other people to the external object or behavior in question.

HIGH distinctiveness and HIGH consensus lead to an external attribution
LOW distinctiveness and LOW consensus lead to an internal attribution

When we are NOT objective we MIGHT think when we make attributions about the causes of behaviors, events, and situations. Various biases can influence our attributions

Tendency to attribute behaviors to internal causes

Any behavior observed by others that can have two attributions; the attributions of the person who performed the behavior (actor and the attribution of someone who witnessed the behavior (perceiver)

Tendency to make internal attributions when we are successful and external attributions when we fail

Any physical/psychological behavior that is performed with the intent of doing harm

Aggressive behavior that is performed with the specific intent of harming another person

Evaluative judgments about objects, people, and thoughts that include affective knowledge, and behavioral components

Affect=emotional i.e. fun
Cognition=knowledge about the object
Behavior=promt that makes us DO or SAY something

Protects us from threats to the self or ego

Maximize reinforcements and minimize punishments from the environment

Bring order and meaning to one's world

Questionaire that requires individuals to indicate their degree of agreement or disagreement with a set of statements

1-5 = Strongly agree through Strongly disagree

Actions speak louder than words

Classical and operant conditioning. Behaviors that result in reinforcement produce positive attitudes, punishment produces negative attitudes

Aversive state produced when an individual has two incompatible thoughts or cognitions simultaneously

Behaviors and thoughts are compatible

The extent to which we lide/dislike other people

Positively related to the formation of friendships

i.e. co-wokers become friends

We are attracted to people who arouse positive feeling in us, we avoid individuals who arouse negative feelings. In addition, emotional state, the nature of our social interaction is important ingredient in creating afffect

Positive affects such as laughing, smiling make us feel good and are positive reinforcers

We are also attracted to and make friends with people who are similar to us

Form of interpersonal attraction that is governed by an implicit set of rules.

Influences the formation of friendships. We are more likely to form friendships with people who are willing to disclose information about themselves

Not a general definition but recognized in two forms:

1. Passionate Love: transitory form of love that involves strong emotional reactions, sexual desires, and fantasies
2. Companionate Love: Long-lasting form of love that involves commitment

LOVE

Stresses the costs and rewards involved are the foundation of abusive relationships

CL: General outcome expected from a particular relationship

Behavior that benefits society or helps others

Most popular: Helping behavior performjed voluntarily with no anticipation of reward

Tendency for a group of bystanders to be less likely than an individual to provide assistance to a person in trouble.

Any physical/psychological behavior that is performed with the intent of doing harm

Aggresive behavior that is performed with the specific intent of harming another person

Aggersion that causes harm in the process of achieving another goal.

Being blocked from attaining a goal

The hypothesis that aggression is likely to occur when a person is frustrated

Use of social influence to cause people to change attitudes or behavior

Source of the persuasive message may alter our attitudes/behavior

The Greater the perceived expertise of the source of a message, the more persuasive

The more attractive the source, the more "Effective" the message

i.e. Sex sells: Ads such as Calvin Klein

People must trust the source of the message

Occurs when the message and its source become detached, messages from sources low in expertise, attractiveness, and trustworthiness may increase in effectiveness

Features of the message that can influence persuasion

You must "pay" attention, Numerous procedures designed to attract attention

Messages designed to change our attitudes and therby cause us to reach a particular conclusion

i.e. - Sierra Mist advertisement

For a message to be persuasive: it should not differ drastically from the attitudes of the audience

The tendency to react in the opposite direction to a persuasive message when compliance might place limits on personl freedom

A persuasive message that can arouse our "unconscious" motives

Below the level of conscious awareness

i.e. - popcorn & soda @ the movie theaters

Primacy = items presented first or last (recency effect) are remembered best

Persuasive messages are presented through a variety of channels-printed words, spoken words, pictures, movies, and videos

The knowledge and past experiences of the receiver of a persuasive message are important

Goal is to determine which cognitive prosesses take place when persuasion is effective

Initiating or changing a behavior in response to a direct command of an authority

Commands to change behavior are clear, and authority issuing the commands is obvious

Initiating or changing a behavior in response to indirect social pressures

Finding that groups make riskier decisions than individuals

Phenomenon in which group decision-making enhances or amplifies the original opinions of the group's members

Initiating or changing a behavior in response to a request

Phenomenon in which a person who has agreed to a small request is more likely to comply with a subsequent larger request

Tactic for increasing compliance that involves doing something for others to create a feeling of obligation on their part

An increase in performance that occures when other people are present

Tendency to exert less effort when working on a group task that does not involve evaluation of individual participants

Others may mean audiences who are observing or those who are also participating = coactors

Other people who are present and are engaging in the same behaviors as an individual at the same time

Phneomenon isn which the presence of a group results in a loss of personal identity and decrease in responsibility

Group interaction may generate riskier decisions or strengthen preexisting attitudes

Group will need a leader to function effectively

Business of the group is of primary importance to that individual

Free expression of ideas by members of a group to solve a problem

Tendency to make decisions intended primarily to promote the harmony of the group

Most people are members of social categories of various types and such membership can determine how people feel and act towards others

Judging a person on the basis of stereotypes about the group to which the person belongs

Behaviors that adversely affect members of a particular group

Prejudice frequently justifies social standing or maintains self-esteem

members of the "in-group" share common values, goals, and beliefs, whereas, members of the "outgroup" are seen as different from members of the "in-group"

Predudice can "satisfy" one's emotional need for "status", and increase the feeling of insecurity

1. Parties in both groups must be of equal status
2. Contact is more effective in breaking down sterotypes and reducing prejudices when both groups are untied in pursuit of a "common" goal
3. cooperation is successful in achieving a goal generally leads to reduced prejudice/discrimination