SOC PSY
believe they can perform behavior
7 ATTITUDES AND ATTITUDE CHANGE:
attitude as an enduring evaluation, positive or
negative, of people, objects, or ideas.
cognitively based attitude. An attitude of this kind
allows us to classify the pluses and minuses of an
object based primarily on the relevant facts, such as
the objective merits of an automobile.
Affectively Based Attitudes An attitude rooted more
in emotions and values,
Classical Conditioning - The phenomenon whereby a
stimulus that elicits an emotional response
Operant Conditioning - The phenomenon whereby
behaviors we freely choose to perform become more
or less frequent, depending on whether they are
followed by a reward or punishment.
behaviorally based attitude stems from people’s
observations of their own behavior toward an object.
self-perception theory, under certain circumstances
people don’t know how they feel until they see how
they behave.
Explicit attitudes are ones we consciously endorse
and can easily report;
Implicit attitudes, on the other hand, are
involuntary, uncontrollable, and at times unconscious
evaluations
Attitude accessibility refers to the strength of the
association between an object and an evaluation of
it, which is typically measured by the speed with
which people can report how they feel about the
object or issue
how attitudes predict deliberative behaviors is the
theory of planned behavior when people have time
to contemplate how they are going to behave, the
best predictor of their behavior is their intention,
which is determined by three things:
attitude toward the specific behavior not general
attitude
subjective norms people belief how they care others
view their questions
perceived behavioral control ease w/ which people
Subjective Norms. In addition to measuring attitudes
toward the behavior, we also need to measure
subjective norms—people’s beliefs about how others
they care about will view the behavior in question
cognitive dissonance theory. One way that attitudes
change is when people engage in counter attitudinal
advocacy for low external justification.
persuasive communication, such as a speech or
television advertisement that advocates a particular
side of an issue.
Yale Attitude Change approach, the effectiveness of
a persuasive communication depends on aspects of
the communicator, or source of the message; aspects
of the message itself
elaboration likelihood model of persuasion
specifies when people will be influenced by what the
speech says
central route to persuasion. Under other conditions,
people are not motivated to pay attention to the
facts; instead, they notice only the surface
characteristics of the message, such as how long it is
and who is delivering it.
they are persuaded if the surface characteristics of
the message—such as the fact that it is long or is
delivered by an expert or attractive communicator—
make it seem like a reasonable one. peripheral route
to persuasion
One way to get people’s attention is to scare them,
attempt to change attitudes by stirring up fears is
called a fear-arousing communication.
Another way in which emotions can cause attitude
change is by acting as a signal for how we feel about
something heuristic–systematic model ofpersuasion
subliminal message is a technique used in marketing
and other media to influence people without their
being aware of what the messenger is doing. This
may involve the use of split-second flashes of text,
hidden images, or subtle cues that affect the
audience at a level below conscious awareness.
The more people have thought about pro and con
arguments beforehand using the technique known as
attitude inoculation
reactance theory (Brehm, 1966), people do not like
feeling that their freedom to do or think whatever
they want is being threatened. When they feel that
their freedom is threatened,
8 CONFORMITY:
Conformity People found themselves caught in a
web of social influence. In response, they altered
their behavior to conform to the expectations of
others, changing one’s behavior due to the real or
imagined influence of others
informational social influence We conform because
we believe that others’ interpretation of an
ambiguous set of circumstances is accurate and will
help us choose an appropriate course of action, It
occurs when people do not know the correct (or
best) action to take.
private acceptance, in which people conform to the
behavior of others because they genuinely believe
that these other people are right
public compliance, in which conforming to other
people’s behavior publicly without necessarily
believing in what the other people are doing or
saying
A dramatic form of informational social influence
occurs during crises
Ambiguity is the most crucial variable for
determining how much people use each other as a
source of information.
social norms implicit (and sometimes explicit) rules
for acceptable behaviors, values, and beliefs Groups
have certain expectations about how their members
should behave, and members in good standing
conform to these rules.
normative social influence occurs when the
influence of other people leads us to conform in
order to be liked and accepted.
we certainly do not all agree on many major issues,
such as abortion, affirmative
action, or same-sex marriage, social impact theory.
Strength: How important to you is the group?
Immediacy: How close is the group to you in space
and time during the attempt to influence you?
Number: How many people are in the group?
Social impact theory specifies when normative social
influence is most likely to occur by referring to the
strength, immediacy, and size of the group.
idiosyncrasy credits, allowing them to deviate from
the group without serious consequences.
Injunctive norms have to do with what we think
other people approve or disapprove of. Injunctive
norms motivate behavior by promising rewards (or
punishments) for normative (or nonnormative)
behavior. (littering is wrong)
Descriptive norms concern our perceptions of the
way people actually behave in a given situation,
regardless of whether the behavior is approved or
disapproved of by others. Descriptive norms
motivate behavior by informing people about what is
effective or adaptive behavior.( dropping peanut
shells on the ground at a baseball game)
Foot-in-the-Door Technique getting people to agree
first to a small request makes them more likely to
agree later to a second, larger request
Door-in-the-Face Technique people for a large
request that they will probably refuse makes them
more likely to agree later to a second, smaller
request
9 GROUP PROCESSES:
group consists of two or more people who interact
and are interdependent in the sense that their needs
and goals cause them to influence each other
Social norms are a powerful determinant of our
behavior All societies have norms about which
behaviors are acceptable, some of which all
members are expected to obey
Social Roles Most groups have a number of well-
defined social roles, which are shared expectations in
a group about how particular people are supposed to
behave, Whereas norms specify how all
groupmembers should act, roles specify how people
who occupy certain positions in the group should
behave.
Group cohesiveness refers to the qualities of a group
that bind members together and promote mutual
liking
Group Diversity related to cohesiveness is the matter
of how diverse a group’s composition is. More often
than not, members of a group tend to be alike in age,
sex, beliefs, and opinions
When people’s individual efforts on a task can be
evaluated, the mere presence of others lead to social
facilitation: Their performance is enhanced on
simple tasks but impaired on complex tasks.
When people’s individual efforts cannot be
evaluated, the mere presence of others leads to
relaxation and social loafing: Performance is
impaired on simple or unimportant tasks but
enhanced on complex tasks.
deindividuation, which is the loosening of normal
constraints on behavior when people can’t be
identified
You undoubtedly know what it’s like to try to
convince a group to follow your idea, be faced with
opposition and disbelief, and then have to sit there
and watch the group make the wrong decision,
process loss, which is any aspect of group interaction
that inhibits good problem solving
group polarization this tendency for groups to make
decisions that are more extreme than the initial
inclination of its members toward greater risk if
people’s initial tendency is to be risky and toward
greater caution if people’s initial tendency is to be
cautious
persuasive arguments interpretation, all individuals
bring to the group a set of arguments supporting
their initial recommendation. One aspect of being in
a group is that you might be exposed to persuasive
arguments you hadn’t thought of before.
social comparison interpretation, when people
discuss an issue in a group, they first check out how
everyone else feels.
Great Person Theory - The idea that certain key
personality traits make a person
a good leader, regardless of the situation.
Transactional leaders set clear, short-term goals and
reward people who meet them.
Transformational leaders, on the other hand, inspire
followers to focus on common, long-term goals
contingency theory of leadership, which argues that
leadership effectiveness depends both on how task
oriented or relationship oriented the leader is and on
the amount of control and influence the leader has
over the group
task-oriented leaders, who are concerned more with
getting the job done than with workers’ feelings and
relationships, high-control work situations,
relationship- oriented leaders, who are concerned
more with workers’ feelings and relationships, low-
control work situations,
SOCIAL DILEMMAS, These occur when the most
beneficial action for an individual will, if chosen by
most people, have harmful effects for everyone.
Negotiation is a form of communication between
opposing sides in a conflict in which offers and
counteroffers are made and a solution occurs only
when both parties agree
integrative solution, is an outcome to a conflict
whereby the parties make trade-offs on issues
according to their different interests;
10 INTERPERSONAL ATTRACTION:
“self-expansion.” This is the desire to overlap or
blend with another person, so that you have access
to that person’s knowledge, insights, and experience
and thus broaden and deepen your own experience
of life
The people who, by chance, are the ones you see
and interact with the most often are the most likely
to become your friends and lovers propinquity effect
“functional distance,” which refers to aspects of
architectural design that determine which people
you cross paths with most often.
mere exposure effect: The more exposure we have
to a stimulus, the more apt we are to like it
Opinions and Personality. A large body of research
indicates that the more similar someone’s opinions
are to yours, the more you will like the person.
Interests and Experiences. The situations you choose
to be in are usually populated by people who have
chosen them for similar reasons. we choose to enter
into certain social situations where we then find
similar others.
Appearance. Similarity also operates when it comes
to more superficial considerations.
Genetics. People also tend to be drawn toward
others who are genetically similar to them.
Cultural Standards of Beauty. Are people’s
perceptions of what is beautiful or handsome similar
across cultures
The Power of Familiarity. “averaging” faces together
produces one face that looks typical, familiar, and
physically attractive
Halo effect is a cognitive bias by which we tend to
assume that an individual with one positive
characteristic also possesses other
Evolutionary Psychology is the attempt to explain
social behavior in terms of genetic factors that have
evolved over time according to the principles of
natural selection.
Companionate love consists of feelings of intimacy
and affection we have for someone that are not
accompanied by passion or physiological arousal.
Passionate love involves an intense longing for
another person, characterized by the experience of
physiological arousal the feeling of shortness of
breath and a thumping heart in someone’s presence
attachment styles, concerning how infants form
bonds with their primary caregivers (usually their
mothers or fathers).
Secure attachment style cry and show signs of
distress when their parent leaves the room and are
quite happy when he or she returns.
avoidant attachment style do not react much at
their parent’s departure or return.
anxious/ambivalent attachment style seem
distressed even before the parent leaves the room
and can be difficult to soothe even upon the parent’s
return, their response often a mixture of anger and
indifference.
Social exchange theory holds that how people feel
about a relationship will depend on their perceptions
of the rewards they receive from it
Rewards are the gratifying aspects of a relationship
that make it worthwhile and reinforcing.
Costs are, obviously, the other side of the coin, and
all friendships and romantic relationships have some
costs attached
outcome of the relationship is a direct comparison of
its rewards and costs;
equity theory, argue that people don’t engage in
relationships the way they do board games, doing
anything they can to end up with the most reward in
the bank.
exchange relationships, interactions between new
acquaintances are governed by equity concerns
communal relationships, people give in response to
the other’s needs, regardless of whether they get
paid back
destructive behaviors: actively harming the
relationship
constructive behaviors: actively trying to improve
the relationship
11 PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR:
Prosocial Behavior - Any act performed with the goal
of benefiting another person
Altruism - The desire to help another person even if
it involves a cost to the helper
Kin Selection. the idea that behaviors that help a
genetic relative are favored by natural selection
The Reciprocity Norm. the expectation that helping
others will increase the likelihood that they will help
us in the future.
Group Selection. People who have traits that make
them more likely to survive are more likely to
reproduce and pass those traits on to future
generations.
Social exchange theory argues that much of what we
do stems from the desire to maximize our rewards
and minimize our costs
Empathy the person in need of help, putting
ourselves in the shoes of another person and
experiencing events and emotions the way that
person experiences them
Batson, empathy-altruism hypothesis: When we feel
empathy for another person, we will attempt to help
that person for purely altruistic reasons, regardless
of what we have to gain.
altruistic personality, the qualities that cause an
individual to help others in a wide variety of
situations
in-groups, or the groups with which they identify as
a member, and discriminate against members
out-groups, defined as groups with which they do
not identify
religious people are more likely to help than other
people are if the person in need of help shares their
beliefs
urban overload hypothesis, urban dwellers in a
calmer, less stimulating environment, they would be
as likely as anyone else to reach out to others.
Bystander Effect The finding that the greater the
number of bystanders who witness an emergency,
the less likely any one of them is to help.
diffusion of responsibility happens when there are
many witnesses
positive psychology focuses on qualities of the
person and seeks to increase human virtues such as
empathy and altruism.
12 AGGRESSION:
aggression is defined as intentional behavior aimed
at causing either physical or psychological pain. It
should not be confused with assertiveness, even
though most people loosely refer to others as
“aggressive” if they stand up for their rights, write
letters to the editor complaining about real or
imagined injustices, or are supremely ambitious.
Hostile aggression an act of aggression stemming
from feelings of anger and is aimed at inflicting pain
or injury.
instrumental aggression, there is an intention to
hurt the other person, but the hurting takes place as
a means to some goal other than causing pain.
physical aggression men and boys are much more
likely than women to commit in provocative
situations, to pick fights with strangers, and to
commit crimes of violence.
relational aggression Girls and women are more
likely than males to commit
Social-cognitive learning theory holds that we learn
social behavior, from aggression to altruism, in large
part by observing others and imitating them a
process called observational learning.
frustration-aggression theory, people’s perception
that they are being prevented from attaining a goal
will increase the probability of an aggressive
response this is especially true when the frustration
is unpleasant, unwelcome, and uncontrollable.
Weapons Effect the increase in aggression that can
occur because of the mere presence of a gun or
other weapon.
mild punishment, a degree just powerful enough to
get the child to stop the undesired activity
temporarily, leads the child to try to justify his or her
restraint and, as a result, can make the behavior less
appealing
harsh punishments reduce aggression usually
backfires; it may put a halt to a child’s aggressive
behavior in the short term, but children who are
physically punished tend to become more aggressive
and antisocial over time
theory of catharsis, predicts that venting one’s anger
or watching others behave aggressively would serve
to “get it out of your system” and make people less
likely to behave aggressively themselves.
“righteous aggression” a person commits increases
the likelihood that it will be repeated.
13 PREJUDICE:
Prejudice is a widespread phenomenon, present in
all societies of the world. hostile or negative attitude
toward people in a distinguishable group, based
solely on their membership in that group.
stereotype is a generalization about a group of
people in which identical characteristics are assigned
to virtually all members of the group, regardless of
actual variation among the members.
Out-Group Homogeneity. the belief that “they” are
all alike
Blaming the Victim. people who have rarely been
discriminated against have a hard time fully
understanding what it’s like to be a target of
prejudice.
Realistic conflict theory holds that limited resources
lead to conflict between groups and result in
prejudice and discrimination

discrimination, which is unfair treatment of contact hypothesis, the most important way to
members of a stigmatized group solely because of reduce prejudice between racial and ethnic groups is
their membership in that group. through contact, bringing in-group and out-group

microaggressions, define as “slights, indignities, and members together.

put-downs” that many minorities routinely
encounter

social distance, a person’s reluctance to get “too

close” to another group.

self-fulfilling prophecy. It is an expectation of one’s

own or another person’s behavior that comes true
because of the tendency of the person holding it to
act in ways that bring it about.

“sport strategic intelligence,” When a game of

miniature golf was framed as a measure

“natural athletic ability,” the pattern reversed, and

the Black athletes outperformed the White athletes

Institutional discrimination, when companies and

other institutions are legally permitted or socially
encouraged to discriminate on the basis of race,
gender, or other categories, prejudice will seem
normal.

normative conformity. The tendency to go along

with the group to fulfill the group’s expectations and
gain acceptance

Ethnocentrism. The belief that your own culture,

nation, or religion is superior to all others

in-group bias refers to the positive feelings and

special treatment we give to people we have defined
as being part of our in-group;

out group often leads to unfair treatment of others

merely because we have