Psychology of Social Situations (College Board AP® Psychology): Flashcards
0Still learning
Know0
Define social norms.
Was this flashcard helpful?
Cards in this collection (60)
Define social norms.
Social norms are the unwritten rules, expectations, and roles that a group or society establishes for its members' behavior.
Why do people conform through normative social influence?
People conform through normative social influence to gain acceptance, feel they belong, or avoid social disapproval, without necessarily changing their private beliefs.
True or False?
Informational social influence changes a person's private beliefs, not just their public behavior.
True.
Informational social influence occurs when people believe others have better information, so they genuinely update their private beliefs as well as their public behavior.
Define central route persuasion.
Central route persuasion occurs when a person is motivated and able to think carefully about a message's content, producing stronger, more lasting attitude change.
What determines attitude change through peripheral route persuasion?
Attitude change through peripheral route persuasion depends on superficial cues rather than argument quality, producing weaker, less durable change.
A positive overall impression of a person that leads us to assume they also have other positive qualities is called the ______ effect.
A positive overall impression of a person that leads us to assume they also have other positive qualities is called the halo effect.
Define foot-in-the-door technique.
The foot-in-the-door technique involves making a small initial request before a larger one, since complying with the small request creates commitment and consistency.
Who developed the elaboration likelihood model?
Petty and Cacioppo developed the elaboration likelihood model, which describes central and peripheral routes to persuasion.
Define door-in-the-face technique.
The door-in-the-face technique involves making a large, unreasonable initial request expected to be refused, followed by a smaller, more reasonable request.
Define norm of reciprocity.
The norm of reciprocity is the social rule that people feel obligated to return favors done for them.
True or False?
Central route persuasion is always more effective than peripheral route persuasion.
False.
Peripheral route persuasion can be more immediately effective when the audience is unmotivated or lacks knowledge, so effectiveness depends on the audience and context.
What typically happens when someone violates a social norm?
Violating a social norm, even a minor one, typically produces discomfort, disapproval, or social sanctions, even without an explicit rule.
Define conformity.
Conformity is the modification of behavior or beliefs to align with the views, actions, or expectations of a group.
How does conformity differ from obedience?
Conformity involves responding to implicit social pressure from peers, whereas obedience involves complying with explicit directives from an authority figure.
True or False?
Public compliance means a person has genuinely changed their private beliefs to match the group.
False.
Public compliance means changing outward behavior to match the group while privately disagreeing; genuinely changing one's beliefs is private acceptance.
What task did participants complete in Asch's conformity experiments?
Participants judged which of three comparison lines matched the length of a standard line, an unambiguous perceptual task.
Define critical trial.
A critical trial in Asch's study was a trial on which all confederates unanimously gave the same incorrect answer before the real participant responded.
On critical trials in Asch's study, approximately ____ of responses were conforming, incorrect answers.
On critical trials in Asch's study, approximately 32% of responses were conforming, incorrect answers.
What percentage of participants conformed on at least one critical trial in Asch's study?
Approximately 75% of participants conformed on at least one critical trial in Asch's study.
True or False?
About twenty-five percent of participants in Asch's study never conformed on any critical trial.
True.
Approximately 25% of participants never conformed, showing that conformity is not universal even under group pressure.
Define ally effect.
The ally effect is the sharp drop in conformity, from about 32% to about 5%, that occurs when just one confederate gives the correct answer.
Up to how many confederates does conformity keep increasing in Asch's follow-up studies?
Conformity increases up to about three to four confederates, after which additional group members do not significantly increase conformity.
Conformity increases when a task is more ________________ or ambiguous.
Conformity increases when a task is more difficult or ambiguous.
True or False?
Participants in Asch's study were told in advance that some group members were confederates instructed to give wrong answers.
False.
Participants were deceived about the confederates' role, meaning they could not give fully informed consent to a study of conformity.
Define obedience.
Obedience is compliance with the explicit orders of an authority figure, unlike conformity, which responds to implicit peer pressure.
How does obedience differ from persuasion?
Obedience involves complying with an order even if one privately disagrees, whereas persuasion aims to change a person's attitudes through communication.
True or False?
In the agentic state, a person sees themselves as an autonomous individual acting on their own moral judgement.
False.
In the agentic state, a person sees themselves as an agent executing another's wishes and transfers moral responsibility to the authority figure.
Define legitimate authority.
Legitimate authority is perceived when a figure is associated with recognized expertise, institutional role, or official status, such as a doctor or police officer.
What question motivated Milgram's obedience experiments?
Milgram was motivated by how ordinary people could participate in systematic atrocities, such as during the Holocaust.
In Milgram's study, shock voltage increased from 15V to ______ in 15V increments.
In Milgram's study, shock voltage increased from 15V to 450V in 15V increments.
What percentage of Milgram's participants delivered the maximum shock level?
Approximately 65% of Milgram's participants delivered the maximum shock level of 450V.
True or False?
All of Milgram's participants refused to deliver shocks beyond 300 volts.
False.
100% of participants delivered shocks of at least 300V, far more than psychiatrists had predicted.
Why could Milgram's participants not give fully informed consent?
Participants were misled about the study's purpose, the learner's identity as a confederate, and the fact that no real shocks were delivered.
How did obedience change when the experimenter gave instructions by telephone rather than in person?
Obedience dropped to approximately 20% when the experimenter gave instructions by telephone, showing that proximity of authority matters.
When two confederate teachers refused to continue before the real participant's turn, obedience dropped to approximately ____.
When two confederate teachers refused to continue before the real participant's turn, obedience dropped to approximately 10%.
True or False?
Cross-cultural replications of Milgram's study reliably show that collectivist cultures obey more than individualist cultures.
False.
Replications show no reliable pattern linking obedience to individualism versus collectivism; cultural norms about authority and the exact setup are stronger predictors.
Define social facilitation.
Social facilitation is the finding that the presence of others improves performance on well-learned or simple tasks.
What happens to performance on novel or complex tasks when others are present?
Performance is impaired on novel or complex tasks when others are present, an effect called social inhibition.
True or False?
Social facilitation always improves performance, regardless of how difficult the task is.
False.
The presence of others improves performance on simple or well-learned tasks but impairs performance on novel or complex tasks.
Define social loafing.
Social loafing is the tendency for individuals to exert less effort on a task when working in a group than when working alone.
How does identifiability affect social loafing?
Social loafing decreases when individual contributions can be measured and identified, because accountability increases.
The false consensus effect is the tendency to ______________________ the extent to which other people share our own beliefs.
The false consensus effect is the tendency to overestimate the extent to which other people share our own beliefs.
Define group polarization.
Group polarization is the tendency for group discussion to strengthen members' initial attitudes, producing a more extreme group position.
What type of leader increases the risk of groupthink?
A directive leader who signals a preferred outcome increases the risk of groupthink, especially in a highly cohesive group.
True or False?
Mindguarding means group members actively encourage dissenting opinions to be voiced openly.
False.
Mindguarding means some members protect the group from contradictory information, suppressing dissent rather than encouraging it.
Define deindividuation.
Deindividuation occurs when group membership reduces self-awareness and personal responsibility, increasing the likelihood of atypical or antisocial behavior.
What happened to the guards' behavior in Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment?
Guards quickly adopted abusive behaviors toward prisoners, illustrating how anonymity and assigned roles can produce deindividuation.
Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment was terminated after ____ days because of the psychological harm being caused.
Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment was terminated after six days because of the psychological harm being caused.
Define prosocial behavior.
Prosocial behavior is voluntary behavior intended to benefit others, such as helping, sharing, cooperating, and donating.
Which norm describes the expectation that people should help those in need, even without reward?
The social responsibility norm is the expectation that people should help those in need, even without any return.
True or False?
Researchers universally agree that altruism is motivation entirely free of self-interest.
False.
Some researchers argue that apparently selfless acts may be partly motivated by social debt, such as avoiding guilt or gaining approval.
Define bystander effect.
The bystander effect is the reduced likelihood of helping in an emergency when other people are present.
How many witnesses were initially reported to have failed to intervene in the murder of Kitty Genovese?
Initial reports claimed that 38 witnesses failed to intervene, although these details were later disputed.
In Darley and Latané's study, when participants believed they were the only witness, approximately ____ helped.
In Darley and Latané's study, when participants believed they were the only witness, approximately 85% helped.
What percentage of participants helped when they believed five other people could also hear the emergency?
Only 31% of participants helped when they believed five other people could also hear the emergency, with a much longer response time.
Define diffusion of responsibility.
Diffusion of responsibility is the tendency for each individual to feel less personally responsible for helping when more bystanders are present.
True or False?
Pluralistic ignorance occurs when people privately believe there is an emergency but act calm because others appear calm.
True.
This mismatch between private concern and public calm reinforces inaction, as everyone assumes the situation is not urgent.
How does singling out a specific bystander reduce the bystander effect?
Directly addressing a specific person eliminates diffusion of responsibility, making that person far more likely to help.
In Darley and Latané's study, when participants believed one other person could also hear, approximately ____ helped.
In Darley and Latané's study, when participants believed one other person could also hear, approximately 62% helped.
Why could participants in Darley and Latané's study not give fully informed consent?
Participants were misled about the nature of the study and the identity of the other participants, who were actually confederates or recordings.
Sign up to unlock flashcards
or