1. Ch. 15 Social Psychology

2. Social psychology is the scientific study of the ways in which the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of one individual are influenced by the real, imagined, or inferred behavior or characteristics of other people.

3. 1.Social Cognition A. Impression Formation Schemata - ready-made categories Primacy effect Early info weighs more Self-fulfilling prophecy We bring about expected behavior in another person Stereotypes A set of characteristics believed to be shared by all members of a social category

4. B.Attribution Explaining behavior Biases Fundamental attribution error Overemphasize personal causes for others and underestimate personal causes for self

5. Defensive attribution Success attributed to own efforts, failure to external factors Just-world hypothesis - assume bad things happen to bad people Attribution across cultures Varies dramatically

6. C.Interpersonal Attraction Proximity - living or working close Physical Attractiveness Power assumptions about character Similarity In attitudes, interests, values, background Exchange We like people who appreciate us Intimacy - self disclosure

7. 2.Attitudes A. The Nature of Attitudes Attitudes and behaviors Relatively stable beliefs, feelings, and behaviors (math) Self-monitoring Behave as others expect Attitude development Imitation Reward Teachers Peers Mass media

8. B.Prejudice and Discrimination Prejudice Unfair attitude Sources of prejudice Frustration-aggression theory Displaced frustration - scapegoat Authoritarian personality Rigidly conventional

9. Racism Directed at particular racial group Modern racism More subtle Institutional racism $36,915 average income of white family $21,423 average income of African-American family

10. Reducing prejudice Recategorize Catholics and Protestants view themselves as Christians Education Equal status contact and one-to-one contact Cooperation

11. C.Attitude Change Process of Persuasion 1. Attention 2. Comprehending 3. Accepting

12. Communication Model Source Message Medium Audience Cognitive dissonance Two contradictory cognitions Increase consonant elements

13. D.Compliance Change in behavior in response to a request E.Obedience Obey orders

14. 3. Social Influence A. Cultural Influence Norm Shared idea about how to behave B. Cultural Assimilators technique of asking why people behave a certain way - staying open-minded

15. C. Conformity Yield to social norms Conformity across cultures Varies - higher in collectivist cultures

16. D. Compliance Change in behavior in response to a request from someone foot-in-the-door (get them to say yes first) lowball (get compliance then raise price) door-in-the-face (get them to decline large request then ask something smaller)

17. E. Obedience Change in behavior in response to a command Milgram

18. 4. Social Action A. Deindividuation Loss of personal sense of responsibility in a group B. Helping Behavior Altruistic behavior - helping behavior that is not linked to personal gain Bystander effect - helpfulness decreases as bystanders increase Helping behavior across cultures

19. C. Group Dynamics Polarization in group decision making Shift toward more extreme position The effectiveness of groups Groupthink - Bay of Pigs invasion, Watergate cover-up, Challenger disaster

20. Group Leadership Great person theory Personal qualities qualify one to lead

21. D. Organizational Behavior Productivity Hawthorne effect Just attention of experimenter changed behavior Communication and responsibility Buy-in is important Shared governance