Attribution Theory Attributing behavior of others to either internal disposition or external situations Dispositional Attribution Based on a person’s personality or characteristics Situational Attribution Based on a person’s situation or environment

Attribution Theory Fundamental Attribution Error Self-serving Bias Make an attribution based on disposition when attribution should be situational Self-serving Bias Attributing one’s own behavior to situations but other’s behavior is dispositional

Attribution Theory Preexisting schema Attractiveness Bias A set of belief’s about other’s that leads to attribution that conforms to your expectations Attractiveness Bias The tendency to perceive attractive people as more competent than others

Constructing Social Reality Pygmalion effect The tendency for people to behave according to the expectation of others Self-Fulfilling prophecy A belief that causes itself to become true Behavioral expectation effect A person influences another according to their own expectations

Conformity Normative Social Influence Asch’s Conformity Studies A principle that requires people to adjust their behavior or thinking to match a group standard Normative Social Influence Influence that draws on a person’s desire for approval or feeling of belonging to a group Asch’s Conformity Studies Individuals will change their answer if other’s are giving an answer different than their own

Conformity Bystander Effect Reference Group The likelihood of receiving help from a bystander Depends on the number of bystander’s available Reference Group A group to which a person feels affiliated If one person conforms than others will do the same

Milgram’s Obedience Studies Teacher and learner Learner is asked questions and shocked for a wrong response Nothing was happening to the learner The real participant was the teacher 67% of individuals obeyed up to 450 volts

Milgrams Obedience Studies Proximity of researcher Legitimacy of authority Emotional distance to the learner No models of defiance A bystander is present Normative and informational influence Ingrained habit

Compliance A change in a person's behavior that occurs in response to a direct request Cognitive Dissonance A disconnect between internal attitudes and external behavior Lowball techniques Offering an attractive deal, only to change terms later

Compliance Bait-and-Switch technique Foot-in-the-door technique Offer something but then substitute that offer with something else Foot-in-the-door technique Compliance with a small request increases likelihood of responding to a larger request

Compliance Shared identity Norm of reciprocity A feeling that you are similar to others in feeling, thought and behavior Norm of reciprocity A tendency to desire a return of favors Door-in-the-face technique Making a large request to obtain compliance for a smaller request

Attitudes An evaluative belief or opinion about a person, object or idea Implicit attitude An attitude that automatically influences one’s reactions External attitude An attitude that one holds consciously and can report to others

Persuasion A deliberate effort to change an attitude or belief Central route Paying attention to good arguments that are personally relevant and appeal to reason Peripheral route Evaluating an argument based on tangential cues rather than the merits of the argument

Persuasion Elaboration-Likelihood Model Perseverance Effect Central route -motivation is high Peripheral route -motivation is low Perseverance Effect It is difficult to shake an initial impression Sleeper Effect Forgetting the sources of unreliable information Remembering information as being reliable

Group Influence Social Loafing Deindividuation People believe that individual efforts do not matter Being only one member makes effort less necessary Deindividuation People in a group relinquish personal responsibility

Group Influence Group polarization Group think The more members of a group discuss their ideas the more extreme the ideas become Group think A group members opinion becomes indistinguishable from the group

Prejudice/Discrimination An attitude toward a particular group Discrimination A behavior directed toward a particular group In-group/Out-group phenomenon A group that you are a part of has more diversity than the group that you do not belong to

Stereotypes A general belief about a group of people Stereotype threat A stereotyped group’s knowledge that they must work against stereotypes Helpful to understand how our world works in GENERAL Not helpful in understanding any one individual’s behavior

Aggression Behavior intended to harm another individual Genetics Alcohol and violence Environmental Childhood experiences Learned expectations of others Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis An individuals becomes frustrated when goals are not fulfilled Resulting behavior is aggression

Altruism Reciprocal altruism Egoism Prosocial behavior carried out without concerns for one’s own safety or self-interest Reciprocal altruism The hope of some benefit in return at some point in the future Egoism The act of altruism with hope of receiving some benefit in return

Altruism Collectivism Principlism Why do we help? Altruism that benefits the entire group Principlism Altruism as a result of principle Why do we help? Notice the situation Identify as an emergency Take responsibility Decide on course of action