Social psychology Study Guide

📖 Core Concepts Social psychology – the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are shaped by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Attitude – a learned, global evaluation (positive ↔ negative) that can guide thought and action, but is not a perfect behavior predictor. Cognitive dissonance – psychological discomfort from holding contradictory cognitions; motivates attitude or behavior change to restore consistency. Implicit vs. explicit attitudes – explicit are self‑reported; implicit are unconscious and measured with the Implicit Association Test (IAT). Attribution – the process of assigning causes to behavior (internal/dispositional vs. external/situational) and judging stability and controllability. Heuristics – mental shortcuts: availability, representativeness, confirmation, hindsight. Social influence – conformity, compliance, obedience, and minority influence; driven by normative (approval) and informational (accuracy) motives. Group processes – norms, roles, in‑group favoritism, deindividuation, and social facilitation. Self‑concept – the set of beliefs about oneself; includes self‑schemas, social comparison, and self‑perception mechanisms. Persuasion models – Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) (central vs. peripheral routes) and Cialdini’s six principles (reciprocity, commitment, social proof, authority, liking, scarcity). --- 📌 Must Remember Fundamental Attribution Error: over‑emphasize dispositional causes for others, underestimate situational ones. Actor‑Observer Bias: attribute own actions to situation, others’ actions to disposition. Self‑Serving Bias: credit successes internally, failures externally. Foot‑in‑the‑Door: small request → larger request compliance. Door‑in‑the‑Face: large request (rejected) → smaller request compliance. Milgram’s obedience ceiling: 65 % of participants delivered the maximum shock when ordered. Asch conformity curve: conformity rises sharply up to 3–4 confederates, then plateaus. Cognitive Dissonance effect: lower external justification → greater attitude change (Festinger & Carlsmith, 1959). ELM central route: high motivation & ability → lasting attitude change. ELM peripheral route: low motivation/ability → short‑term change via cues (e.g., attractiveness). Replication crisis: only 39 % of classic studies replicated (Open Science Collaboration, 2015). --- 🔄 Key Processes Attribution Sequence Observe behavior → assess consistency, distinctiveness, consensus → assign cause (internal/external) → evaluate stability & controllability. Cognitive Dissonance Reduction Detect inconsistency → experience discomfort → (a) change attitude, (b) add consonant cognitions, (c) trivialize the conflict, (d) change behavior. ELM Persuasion Flow Sender → message → receiver’s motivation + ability → central (scrutinize arguments) or peripheral (process cues) route → attitude change. Compliance via Foot‑in‑the‑Door Request #1 (tiny) → gain commitment → increased self‑perception of being “helpful” → Request #2 (larger) accepted. Minority Influence Process (Moscovici) Consistent, confident minority → validation (creates doubt) → conversion (some majority members adopt minority view). --- 🔍 Key Comparisons Explicit vs. Implicit Attitudes Explicit: self‑report, predicts verbal behavior. Implicit: unconscious, predicts non‑verbal behavior. Central vs. Peripheral Routes (ELM) Central: effortful, logical, durable change. Peripheral: relies on heuristics/cues, temporary change. Normative vs. Informational Influence Normative: conform to be liked/accepted. Informational: conform to be correct. Conformity vs. Compliance Conformity: change in public behavior to match group (often without explicit request). Compliance: acquiescence to a direct request. Social Facilitation vs. Deindividuation Facilitation: presence of others improves performance on simple/well‑learned tasks. Deindividuation: anonymity reduces self‑awareness → risky or uninhibited behavior. --- ⚠️ Common Misunderstandings “Attitudes always predict behavior.” Situational constraints often override attitudes. “People are always rational in social decisions.” Heuristics and biases (e.g., availability) lead to systematic errors. “Obedience equals compliance.” Obedience is obedience to authority; compliance is responding to a request. “Minorities never influence the majority.” Consistent minorities can shift norms (minority influence). “Replication failures mean the original study was wrong.” They may reflect methodological differences, low power, or context‑specific effects. --- 🧠 Mental Models / Intuition “The Lens Model” – think of social perception as a camera: schema lenses filter incoming data, shaping what we see. “Dissonance as a Thermostat” – when the internal temperature (inconsistency) rises, the system automatically adjusts (attitude or behavior) to cool down. “Two‑track Highway (ELM)” – high traffic (motivation/ability) directs cars onto the central lane; low traffic diverts them to the peripheral lane. “Attribution Sandbox” – imagine a sandbox where you can place “internal” or “external” pebbles; the more pebbles you place in one side, the stronger that attribution feels. --- 🚩 Exceptions & Edge Cases Fundamental Attribution Error weakens when the target is a close friend or when situational constraints are salient. Social facilitation can impair performance on complex or new tasks (the “choking under pressure” effect). Implicit measures (IAT) predict behavior better when the behavior is spontaneous or non‑verbal; explicit measures dominate when the behavior is deliberate. Minority influence is more effective when the minority is consistent, confident, and unanimous. Deindividuation is amplified by uniforms, darkness, crowds, and online anonymity but mitigated by identifiable cues (e.g., name tags). --- 📍 When to Use Which Choose ELM central route when the audience is highly motivated (personal relevance) and has adequate ability (knowledge). Use peripheral cues (celebrity endorsement, scarcity) when motivation or ability is low. Apply foot‑in‑the‑door for requests that can be scaled up (e.g., donations). Use door‑in‑the‑face when the initial large request is clearly unrealistic, making the subsequent request seem reasonable. Select normative influence strategies (e.g., social proof) to boost acceptance in group‑oriented contexts. Rely on informational influence when the target audience doubts their own knowledge (e.g., health advice). --- 👀 Patterns to Recognize “Three‑judge” pattern in conformity questions – conformity spikes up to 3 confederates, then levels off. “Low‑price, high‑scarcity” cue → peripheral persuasion. “Self‑serving attributions” in success/failure narratives → look for internal vs. external language. “Repeated exposure to a stereotype → activation of related schema → possible ultimate attribution error. “Anonymity + crowd → likely deindividuation outcomes (e.g., riots, online trolling). --- 🗂️ Exam Traps Distractor: “Attitudes always predict behavior.” → Wrong; situational factors can dominate. Distractor: “Fundamental attribution error applies equally to self and others.” → Wrong; self‑serving bias flips the direction. Distractor: “Milgram’s participants were forced to continue.” → Wrong; they complied voluntarily under perceived authority. Distractor: “Social facilitation always improves performance.” → Wrong; it impairs complex tasks. Distractor: “Implicit attitudes are measured with self‑report scales.” → Wrong; they require indirect tasks like the IAT. Distractor: “Minority influence works best when the minority is loud and aggressive.” → Wrong; consistency and confidence, not aggression, are key. ---