Maria has an important job interview that knows she's unprepared for. She chooses to go out with her friends the night before the interview. When she gets rejected from the job, she blames the fact that she was hungover. What is this an example of?
self-handicapping
Calvin feels that he ought to be a straight A student, but actually gets mostly Bs. How does Calvin feel as a result?
anxious
Your brother feels good about his salary at his summer job until he realizes your salary is higher. This is an example of ______________________.
upward social comparison
Allison got a C on her biology exam. Her friend Mike got a B and her friend David got a D. Who is Allison likely to talk to after class?
David
Terry went to lunch with his sister and her boyfriend. He finds his sister's boyfriend very irritating, but sat through lunch without lashing out. When he gets home, he opens his refrigerator and sees an apple, carrots, and a slice of cake. Which is Terry
cake
Fred (male) and Ethel (female) live in the same retirement community. Both were born and raised in the United States. Who has higher self-esteem?
they both have the same levels of self-esteem
What are the ABC's of attitudes?
affect, cognition and behavior
Explicit attitudes are ______________, whereas implicit attitudes are _______________.
~ deliberative; intuitive
~ measured directly; measured indirectly
Alex doesn't really like the bar he and his friends go to on the weekends. He goes anyway because he thinks his friends really like it. However, his friends also don't really like that bar. What is this an example of?
pluralistic ignorance
Your mom wants to start exercising regularly. What is something that would help you figure out whether she'll follow through?
~ How she feels about exercising
~ How her family and friends feel about exercising
~ How much control she believes she has over exercising
John is relaxing and watching TV and sees a commercial for vitamins. John cares about his health and knows a lot about physical fitness. What aspect of the commercial is John likely to be persuaded by?
the quality of the message
Sandra isn't religious, but her mom tells her she has to go to church with her family until she moves out of the house. Because of this, Sandra goes to church anyway. Sandra is likely to __________________.
not change her attitude towards religion
Brad goes to an accountant to have his taxes done. When he gets to the office, he is surprised to learn that the accountant is a woman. She seems to be very good at math, and also warm and friendly. Which piece of information is Brad most likely to rememb
she is warm and friendly
Anna encounters someone who practices a different religion than she does. This person threatens her values. What emotional component of prejudice is Anna likely to experience toward this person?
disgust
Two football teams are playing against each other. Upon arriving at the stadium, the players shout insults at members of the other team. When the game is about to start, the lights go out in the stadium. What would reduce the teams' prejudice against each
working together to fix the lights
What statement about implicit biases is FALSE?
they are usually controllable
Rachel is about to take an exam in her statistics class. In order to ensure no one cheats, her teacher announces that she's giving female students Form A of the exam and male students Form B. It's likely that the female students will perform ____________
worse; gender was made salient
Jennifer is an elementary school teacher. The boys and the girls in her class decide that they don't like each other, and refuse to sit near each other or play together during recess. Jennifer wants to reduce this "us" versus "them" mentality. What should
Make the boys and girls work together on a project to earn an extra hour of recess
Introspection is an effective means of understanding ourselves when the ________.
focus is on a conscious decision making process
Research on self-control has demonstrated that engaging in self-regulation ________.
is like a muscle in that the more we practice self-control, the easier it becomes to self-regulate.
Positive self-talk such as "I am a lovable person" tends to ________.
sometimes decrease happiness for people with low self-esteem
The belief that we can achieve a particular goal through our own actions is known as ________.
self-efficiency
Ingratiation involves __________, whereas self-deprecation involves __________.
praising another person or using flattering language; lowering an audience's expectations of one's abilities
How can introspection be misleading?
We don't always know or have conscious access to the reasons for our actions.
Due to the fact that we can define ourselves differently at any time, we have many selves. Can we say that one of these selves is the "true" self?
No, because all selves can be accurate, depending on the context and comparative dimension.
What is the most common method used to measure personal self-esteem as an overall assessment of self-evaluation?
The Rosenberg Scale
Research shows that, on average, ___________________________________________.
Men have higher self-esteem than women.
Comparing yourself to someone less competent than you is called _________________, whereas comparing yourself to someone more competent than you is called _________________.
downward social comparison; upward social comparison
How do we engage in self-presentation?
though self promotion, self verification, ingratiation and self-depreciation
Why do we engage in self-presentation?
to impress others
What is self-promotion?
attempting to present our positive characteristics to other people
What is self-verification?
we want others to agree with our views of ourselves
What is ingratiation?
attempting to convey to others that we like them by flattering or praising them
What is self-depreciation?
implying that we're not as good as other people by building others up or bringing ourselves down
What is self-handicapping?
actions people take to handicap their own performance in order to build an excuse for anticipated failure
What do we use self-handicapping?
preserves self-esteem
What is self-discrepancy theory?
~ People's specific emotional reaction to a discrepancy depends which self-guide they do not meet
~ Actual - Ideal = Sad
~ Actual - Ought = Anxious
~ Actual - Feared = Relief
What is a discrepancy?
~ a mismatch between our actual self and a self-guide
~ motivate change and result in emotional reactions
Introspection makes us think about what?
what makes us who we are
What is the social comparison theory?
We compare ourselves to others in many domains and for many attributes.
To whom do we compare ourselves?
people who are similar to ourselves (people in the same domains)
What is social identity theory?
we perceive ourselves and identify as members of a social group
What is personal-versus-social identity continuum?
perceive ourselves as unique individuals at the personal level and as social group members at the social level
What is intragroup comparison?
compare ourselves to other people who are members of our group(s)
What is intergroup comparison?
compare our group to other groups
What is the comparison of personal and social identity?
when we are categorizing ourselves using personal identity we use intragroup comparison so we can experience ourselves as an individual whereas when we are categorizing ourselves using social identity we use intergroup comparison so we can experience ours
What are positive self views?
~ Motivated to view ourselves positively
~ More powerful than desire to be accurate
What is the self-evaluation model?
We distance ourselves from those who perform better than us and move closer to others who perform worse than us (Protects our self-esteem and helps us maintain positive views of ourselves)
What is the social identity theory?
~ Motivated to view our social groups positively
~ Other members of our social group can make us feel positive when they perform well
~ Compare yourself to other person as an individual - feel negatively
~ Compare yourself to other person as social group
What is "basking in reflected glory"?
~We feel good about ourselves when a member of our social group does well (we reflect their success onto ourselves)
What is the better than average effect?
view ourselves as above average on almost all traits
What are the self-serving biases?
better than average effect, self-serving attributions and unrealistic optimism
Why do we have self-serving bias?
~ We notice our own behavior more than others' behavior
~ We are motivated to self-enhance
What is self control?
Refraining from actions we like and engaging in actions we don't enjoy to attain a goal
What is ego depletion?
diminished ability to exert self-control after we have previously done so
What is the sociometer theory?
~ Self-esteem is an internal cue that monitors our social standing.
~ Informs us whether we are included or excluded by others
~ High self-esteem - relationships are going well
~ Low self-esteem - relationships are not going well
We hold values similar to, and identify with, ________.
members of our reference group(s)
LaPiere's research with the Chinese couple pointed out the ________.
difficulty of predicting actual behavior from reported attitudes
According to the theory of planned behavior, our behavioral intentions are determined in part by our perceptions of whether others will approve or disapprove of the behavior, our perceptions of our ability to perform the behavior, and ________.
our attitudes toward a particular behavior
According to the elaboration-likelihood and the heuristic-systematic models of persuasion, the two key factors that will determine whether we engage in effortful or effortless processing of information are one's ________.
capacity to process information and level of motivation
Cognitive dissonance arises when we notice a discrepancy between our attitudes and our behaviors. One way we can reduce the dissonance is by ________.
modifying either the attitude or the behavior to be more consistent with each other
What attitudinal factor describes the extent of how strongly an individual feels about an issue?
extremity
According to the theory of planned behavior, what type of process precedes the decision to engage in a particular behavior?
a rational process
What is usually true of a persuasive communicator?
An attractive communicator is more persuasive than an unattractive communicator.
We form attitudes via classical conditioning by ______________________.
developing associations
What is NOT a way that we resist persuasion attempts?
ego-depletion
What are implicit attitudes?
~ Attitudes you may not be aware of, or that are more subtle
~ Difficult to control
~ Various ways to assess these
~ "Fast" thinking - intuitive
What are explicit attitudes?
~ Attitudes you are aware of
~ Controllable
~ Self-reported
~ "Slow" thinking - deliberative
Why are implicit attitudes important to study?
Allow us to examine attitudes that are often influenced by social desirability when self-reported
How do we form attitudes?
~ Social learning- learning by interacting with or observing other people
~ Conditioning- learning by association
How does classical conditioning contribute to attitude development?
~ Can affect attitudes using one of two pathways:
Direct route- positive stimuli paired with target, transfer affect to target
Indirect route- create "memory link" by pairing target with a specific stimuli
~ Can occur through subliminal conditioning- cond
How does instrumental conditioning contribute to attitude development?
~ Strengthening of responses that lead to positive outcomes or avoidance of negative outcomes
~ Learn which views are the "right" ones to hold
~ New contexts can change these attitudes
Do attitudes effect behavior?
Depends on:
~ Situational factors
~ Attitude extremity
~ Immediate or distant impact
~ Attitude clarity and correctness
~ Personal experience
Social context determines what?
when attitudes predict behavior
What is plaurisitc ignorance?
We believe others have different attitudes than we do, even when they don't
How do attitudes guide behavior?
~ Reasoned thought (Theory of planned behavior)
~ Spontaneous behavioral responses (Attitude-to-behavior process model)
What is the attitude to behavior process model?
~ Something activates our attitude
~ That attitude influences our perception
~ Knowledge about what's appropriate is also activated
~ Attitude and what's appropriate shape definition of event
What is the theory of planned behavior?
~ Rationally make a decision to engage in a behavior
~ Consider multiple behavioral options and the consequences/outcomes of each
~ Make a decision about whether or not to act
~ Make behavioral intentions
~ Sometimes make a plan to implement our intention
What are the characteristics of effective persuasion?
~ Communicator (person doing the persuading)
~ Message (what's used to persuade)
~ Audience (people being persuaded)
What are the characteristics of an effective communicator?
~ Seem credible
~ Argue against their own self-interests
~ Are physically attractive
~ Are people we already like
~ Are people we feel we know already
What are the characteristics of effective messages?
~ Are spread by word of mouth
~ Are subtle
~ Aren't based on fear
What is the central route to persuasion?
~ Systematic processing
~ Carefully consider message content and ideas
~ Effortful, deliberate
What is the peripheral route to persuasion?
~ Heuristic processing
~ Use mental shortcuts, believe experts, trust what makes you feel good
~ Less effortful, automatic
How do we resist being persuaded?
~ Reactance- negative reactions to others telling us what to do
~ Forewarning- resist persuasion when we know in advance that we're going to be targeted
~Selective avoidance- don't pay attention to information that challenges our attitudes
~ Counterargume
What is cognitive dissonance?
~ We experience discomfort when we realize our attitudes and behavior don't line up
~ We like consistency, so we don't like when our attitudes and behavior are inconsistent
~ Can sometimes lead us to change our attitudes
What is cognitive dissonance's role in attitude change?
~ Dissonance is stronger when we lack justification for acting against our attitudes
-Small rewards = greater attitude change
-When we believe the action was freely chosen
~ Changing our attitudes to be consistent with our behaviors reduces dissonance
What is self-perception theory?
~ We look to our behavior when we feel uncertain about our feelings or beliefs
~ Alternative to cognitive dissonance theory
Gender-based discrimination affects a substantial proportion of the population by ________.
blocking women's progress in the workplace
One result of tokenism is that it ________.
helps to maintain the perception that the existing system is fair
In a study, participants were told an African American student had been discriminated against in the grading of a paper, and had either complained about it or dealt with it by accepting responsibility. Participants evaluated the student ________ in the __
more negatively; complaint; responsibility
The contact hypothesis is based on the idea that ________.
increased contact between members of different social groups can help to reduce prejudice between the groups
One approach to reducing prejudice and bias is to encourage individuals to recategorize outgroup members and ingroup members as both being part of a larger single social entity. This approach is known as the ________ model.
common ingroup identity
Encouraging majority members to think about the advantages they have enjoyed as a result of their majority status increases their ________ guilt, which, in turn ________ racism.
collective; reduces
When are women more likely to gain access to high-status positions?
When companies are in a time of crisis
How do prejudiced people come to perceive themselves as unprejudiced?
They compare themselves to extreme bigots and feel that they don't match up.
Some people feel that certain groups of people have some underlying, biologically-based features that distinguish that group from other groups. These supposed distinguishing features are known as ________.
essences
Training individuals to refute their own stereotypes is known as ________ training and has the effect of ________ stereotype activation.
stereotype negation; reducing
What is sterotyping?
Generalized beliefs about social groups and the traits or characteristics they are believed to share
What is prejudice?
Negative emotional responses to or dislike of others based on group membership
What is discrimination?
Treating others differently (usually negatively) based on group membership
What is a glass ceiling?
~ Barrier that prevents women from reaching high level positions in the workplaces
~ Managerial characteristics overlap with male stereotypes
~ Women in these roles often evaluated negatively
What is the glass cliff effect?
Choosing women for leadership positions after some sort of crisis that makes the position risky or likely to result in failure
What is tokenism?
When a few members of a marginalized group are admitted to some role
Why do stereotypes exists?
Use stereotypes because they make it easier to process information
How do stereotypes work?
~ Determine what we pay attention to
~ Influence how we process social information
~ Process stereotype-consistent information more quickly and remember it better than stereotype-inconsistent information
~ Change when we see the behaviors of a group chang
What is a subtype?
Subset of stereotype-inconsistent group members
Subjective rating versus objective rating
~ Might rate people from different groups equally on a subjective scale, but differently on an objective scale
~ Subjective depends on comparison to other group members
~ Objective is the same regardless of comparison
Are all prejudices the same?
~ Not exactly, typically has been broadly defined as negative attitudes
~ But might be several types of emotional responses:
Fear
Anger
Guilt
Envy
Disgust
What are minimal groups?
Groups that are arbitrary and have no meaning
Prejudice threats to self-esteem
~ We want to view our group positively
~ This is compromised when our group is threatened
~ Derogate other groups to reaffirm our group's value
Prejudice as a competition for resources
~ Many valued resources are scarce
~ Zero-sum outcomes - if one group gets them, another group can't
~ Realistic conflict theory:
-Competition between groups = view other group negatively
-View outgroup as enemies, view ingroup as morally superior, think
Prejudice as cognitive effects on social categorization
~ Think in terms of "us" (positive) and "them" (negative)
~ Want to feel positively about our group (and as a result, ourselves) = favor our group, express bias against outgroups
~ Identity fusion: See the self strongly as part of a group
-When this happe
What are the cognitive aspects of prejudice?
~ Outgroup homogeneity - "They are all alike, we are all different."
~ Cross-race identification- Difficulty identifying faces of people who are a different race than us
Modern racism
~ Replaces "old-fashioned racism" - more subtle
~ Don't share racist views in public, but do so in private/with friends
~ Attribute views to things other than prejudice
~ Make self seem "colorblind
What are the implications of implicit biases?
~ Shoot/don't shoot studies- people are more likely to mistakenly shoot unarmed Black men
~ Likely influenced by the stereotype that links Black men and criminality
How do people maintain their views of themselves as non-prejudiced?
~ Social comparison - compare to extreme bigots
~ Don't match prototype of hate group, so not racist
How do people avoid feelings of collective guilt?
~ Derogate victims
~ Moral disengagement - not seeing initial wrongdoing as necessary for harming others
~ Motivated forgetting - make it more difficult to think of ingroup perpetrating harm than ingroup being victim of harm
What are the consequences of concealing identities?
Hiding identity can result in lower self-esteem and increased psychological distress.
What is a stereotype threat?
The fear of confirming others' negative stereotypes about one's group
What are the effects of a stereotype threat?
If people are aware of a particular stereotype against their group for performance on a specific task then they will fear (or be anxious about) confirming the stereotype so they will perform worse on the task than if this stereotype wasn't made salient
Social learning perspective (prejudice reduction)
Children learn social attitudes from important others (But as they get older, other factors can influence attitudes like schools and military)
Contact hypothesis (prejudice reduction)
~ Prejudice is reduced when there is more contact between groups
~ Realize similarities
~ Reduces "us" versus "them" mentality
Recategorization (prejudice reduction)
~ Shift boundary between "us" and "them"
~ "Them" becomes part of "us"
~ Common ingroup identity model- view oneself as members of a single social group - more positive attitudes
~ When "them" becomes part of "us", bias is eliminated
Collective guilt (prejudice reduction)
~ Feeling collective guilt can reduce prejudice
~ Thinking about White advantages leads to more guilt than thinking about Black disadvantages
~ More collective guilt = lower prejudice
~ When combined with efficacy = antidiscrimination behaviors
Resisting stereotypes and biases (prejudice reduction)
We can reduce our reliance on stereotypes when we learn to respond "no" to them and through attributional training
Social influence (prejudice reduction)
~ Our group's attitudes strongly influence our own
~ Changing perceptions of group attitudes can change own attitudes
~ More likely to endorse stereotypes when think ingroup does
~ Less likely to endorse stereotypes when think ingroup doesn't