SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
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ROLES - A social position governed by norms
1. Norms - conventions by which we live 2. Zimbardo's Prison Study a. Students assigned to "guard" or "prisoner" roles b. Students behavior reflected their assigned roles 3. Milgram's Obedience Study a. Participants thought they were part of an experiment in learning b. "Teacher" was instructed to shock "learner" for wrong answer c. Majority of "teachers" complied with the instructions to administer shock • SOCIAL COGNITION - how the social environment influences thoughts, perception and belief 1. Attribution - motivation to explain behavior a. Situational - cause by the environment b. Dispositional - cause by something within individual c. Fundamental attribution error - overestimate dispositional and underestimate situational causes d. Self-serving bias - use dispositional attributions for good behaviors and situational attributions to excuse our own behaviors 2. Stereotypes - summary impressions when all members of a group share common traits 3. Attitude - a relatively enduring opinion including both cognitive and emotional components a. Attitudes and behavior influence each other b. Cognitive dissonance - when an attitude and behavior conflict we are motivated to make them consistent 4. Prejudice - unjustified negative attitudes toward a group • CONFORMITY - behavior that occurs as a result of real or imagined group pressure • OBEDIENCE - following orders from an authority • INDIVIDUAL AND GROUPS 1. Groupthink - tendency for all group members to think alike and suppress dissent 2. Group Polarization - tendency of a group to take a more extreme position than those of individual members 3. Responsibility a. Diffusion of responsibility - avoidance b. Social loafing - individual slows down to let the group shoulder the load c. Bystander apathy will not occur when one i. perceives the need to help ii. decides to take responsibility iii. weights the costs of helping iv. knows how to help |
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