Social Psych Midterm 2

Front 1

What is "process loss"?

Back 1

Any aspect of group interaction that inhibits good problem solving.

Front 2

What is "transactive memory"?

Back 2

the combined memory of two people that is more efficient than the memory of each individual

Front 3

What is "groupthink"?

Back 3

a kind of thinking where group cohesiveness and solidarity is more important than being realistic

Front 4

When is groupthink most likely?

Back 4

highly cohesive group; isolated from contrary opinions; and ruled by a directive leader who makes their wishes known; high stress; poor decision making procedures

Front 5

What are the "symptoms" of groupthink?

Back 5

group feels invulnerable; self-censorship (contrary views); belief in moral correctness of group; stereotyped views of outsiders; pressure on dissenters to conform; illusion of unanimity; mindguards (protect the leader

Front 6

How can a leader avoid groupthink?

Back 6

remain impartial; seek outside opinions; create subgroups; seek anonymous opinions

Front 7

What is "group polarization"?

Back 7

the tendency for groups to make decisions that are more extreme than the initial inclinations of the members

Front 8

What is "integrative complexity"?

Back 8

the ability of a leader to recognize more than one perspective on an issue and be able to integrate them

Front 9

What is the contingency theory of leadership?

Back 9

the theory that leadership effectiveness depends both on how task-oriented or relationship-oriented the leader is, and on the amount of control and influence they have over the group

Front 10

What is a "social dilemma"?

Back 10

a conflict where the most beneficial action for an individual, if chosen by most people, will have harmful effects on everyone (Stephen King book)

Front 11

What is a tit-for-tat strategy?

Back 11

a way of encouraging cooperation by at first acting cooperatively, but then always responding the way your opponent did on the previous trial

Front 12

What is an integrative solution?

Back 12

the parties make trade-offs on issues according to their different interests; each side concedes the most on issues that are unimportant to it but are important to the other side

Front 13

automatic thinking

Back 13

nonconscious, involuntary

Front 14

controlled thinking

Back 14

processed, effortful

Front 15

When the stakes are high and accuracy counts, people are more likely to use ___ strategies and thus to make _____ judgments.

Back 15

A: sophisticated, more accurate

Front 16

attitude inoculation

Back 16

when making people immune to persuasion by exposing them to messages that are opposite or against of their attitude, protection for later on when faced with stronger arguments

Front 17

door in the face compliance technique

Back 17

big to small (reciprocation)

Front 18

foot in the door

Back 18

small to big (consistency)

Front 19

Q: When people conform in attitudes or behaviours in order to be accepted and liked by others, social psychologists say that ______ has occurred.

Back 19

A: normative social influence

Front 20

Factors related to conformity

Back 20

-nature of the task (if it is ambiguous, more likely to conform)
-individual differences (old people often don’t see the need to conform)
-group size

Front 21

Q: People are more likely to conform to others’ responses when a task is difficult than when it is easy. This is because on ambiguous or difficult tasks, other people’s responses could potentially exert both ______ and ______influence, whereas on clear and easy tasks, only ____ influence occurs

Back 21

A: informational and normative; normative

Front 22

Power Distance

Back 22

refers to the tendency to see a large distance between those in the upper vs lower parts of a social structure

Front 23

What countries are lowest/highest in power distance?

Back 23

-lowest: Austria, Israel; highest: Guatamala, Malaysia
-most collectivistic countries are high on power distance

Front 24

Obedience vs Power Distance: Results of studies?

Back 24

-weird results: ie Austria = low power distance, high obedience
--studies were done differently, hard to compare, etc

Front 25

What are some central elements in conceptualization of a group?

Back 25

-common goal
-social structure
-face-to-face (or some form of) interaction
-self-categorisation

Front 26

What are the functions of norms for individuals?

Back 26

frame of reference to interpret the world, provides predictability, and useful in novel situations

Front 27

What are the functions of norms in a group?

Back 27

serve as social regulation that helps the group run smoothly

Front 28

What are the different crowd theories?

Back 28

“mad” (Le Bon) anonymity, suggestibility, contagion
“bad” (Allport)
de-individuation (Zimbardo)
pro- or anti-social (Diener etc)

Front 29

What are the Six Principles of Persuasion?

Back 29

1. Reciprocation
2. Social Validation
3. Consistency
4. Friendship/Liking
5. Scarcity
6. Authority

Front 30

Q: “How are you feeling?” technique works because:

Back 30

A: people who’ve asserted that they’re doing/feeling fine will consequently find it awkward to appear stingy in the context of their own admittedly favoured circumstances AND ?? harder to say no to helping those in less fortunate situations

Front 31

What are some Persuasion Techniques?

Back 31

-keep it simple
-hire a celebrity
-make them laugh
-make them think
-demonstrate the product creatively

Front 32

Why conform?

Back 32

the need to know and the need to be accepted

Front 33

dissenters are more effective if they are:

Back 33

-independent thinkers
-persistent
-have authority

Front 34

What are the patterns of conformity across cultures?

Back 34

conformity is higher in collectivistic nations; distinction: higher among ppl they value; conformity is higher among non-university students; conformity tends to be higher among those with some form of connection (interdependence)

Front 35

What are the stages of Intense Indoctrination?

Back 35

1. Softening-up Stage
2. Compliance Stage
3. Internalization Stage
4. Consolidation Stage

Front 36

What are the two thoughts on Basic Group Processes?

Back 36

-individualist (eg Allport, 1962)
-group is nothing more than a collection of individuals
-there is nothing more to a group than the people who comprise it

-collectivist (eg Sherif, 1936)
-there is something more to a group than just the people who comprise it
-analogy: water compromises of O and H: understanding water is quite different from understanding
the elements that comprise it: water has some characteristics that are beyond it’s elements

Front 37

What is the distinction between group development and group socialisation?

Back 37

-Development = time it takes for a group to develop and become cohesive
-socialisation = how individuals relate to the group and each other

Front 38

What are the Three Processes of Group Socialization?

Back 38

-evaluation (???)
-commitment (???)
-role transition (role of indiv in the group over time)

Front 39

What are the two assumptions of group socialization?

Back 39

-group exists over time and individuals move into or out of groups
-groups and individuals exert reciprocal influence over each other (collectivist assumption)

Front 40

What are the stages of group socialization?

Back 40

Investigation Socialization Maintenance Re-socialisation Remembrance

Front 41

What three characteristics of crowds did Le Bon describe?

Back 41

-Anonymity
-Suggestibility
-Contagion

Front 42

mental unity

Back 42

zombies!

Front 43

What was Allport's view in relation to Le Bon's?

Back 43

-Allport (1924) was highly critical of Le Bon and argued: “The individual in the crows behaves just as he would behave alone, only more so (p. 296)
-suggested that in crowd, people reveal their true nature
-individualistic perspective: there is no psychology of crowd; if you want to understand the crowd, understand the individual

Front 44

What are the similarities and differences of Le Bon and Allport's views?

Back 44

similarity of both perspectives: dismissive of crowds
difference: Allport says bad ppl join crowds, Le Bon says crowds make ppl bad

Front 45

deindividuation

Back 45

refers to loss of sense of individual responsibility and reduction of inhibition due to joining a group

Front 46

According to Zimbardo, the two circumstances that elicit de-individuation are:

Back 46

group size and anonymity

Front 47

Social Identity Theory

Back 47

Strength
Immediacy
Number

Front 48

Four Stages of Competence (Howell, 1982)

Back 48

1. Unconscious Incompetence: don’t realise you’re making the wrong attribution
2. Conscious Incompetence: when you realise you don’t understand the culture/context you are in; you know the way you are interpreting it is different than other people but you can’t do anything about it
3. Conscious Competence: consciously trying to change your behaviour to make the right contribution
4. Unconscious Competence: when you don’t need to think about to do’s/not to do’s (ie at wedding)

Front 49

Best sources of message (indiv vs collect)

Back 49

-individualist: credible, expert, and winner
-collectivist: older males & famous families (recognized in community)

Front 50

structure of message (indiv vs collect)

Back 50

-individualist: linear, conclusion is supported through inductive (state several facts  conclusion) or deductive (state your pieces at the beginning and then you provide supportive argument) reasoning
-collectivist: “beating around the bush”; say everything but the message

Front 51

characteristics of modern persuasion

Back 51

-use of peripheral route
-the message-dense environment
-short, 30 second ad
-the immediacy of persuasion (not a plan for the next 5 years; plan for today or this weekend)

Front 52

Are participants who are lead to believe a task is important more or less likely to conform?

Back 52

MORE!

Front 53

What three situations are most likely to produce conformity because of informational social influence?

Back 53

1. ambiguous situations
2. crises
3. situations in which an expert is present

Front 54

What can be said about male vs females in terms of group-influence?

Back 54

small tendency for women to be more easily influenced; might be magnified by the fact that males do more research (women know less about "male" subject matter)

Front 55

What are the three theories to explain the role of arousal in social facilitation?

Back 55

-other ppl cause us to become alert and vigilent
-they make us apprehensive about evaluation
-distract us from task at hand