PSYCH 111 (Intro to
Psychology) SOCIAL
PSYCHOLOGY EXAM 3
STUDY GUIDE MICHIGAN
UNIVERSITY
,FSocial Psychology
Attributions: what made someone do something
● Personal (dispositional) attribution - person is at fault (because of me…)
● Situational attribution - “thing” or situation is at fault (because of it..)
Kelley’s attribution theory :
- For behaviors that are consistent, people make attributions when consensus and
distinctiveness are low
- People will make stimulus (situational) attributions when consensus and distinctiveness
is high
Attribution theory:
- A set of theories that explain the causes of behavior
● Fundamental attribution error : (when explaining the behavior of others) overestimating
the role of personal (or dispositional) factors and underestimate role of situational factors
- We act as if other people are driven by personal factors but we are driven more
by situational factors
*we are driven by situational factors
Why FAE?
- People are more aware of situations more than themselves
- Don’t want to blame our own behavior (to make ourselves feel good)
● Just World Hypothesis
- Belief that the world is basically just a place and people get what they deserve
● Gilbert and Malone (1995)
- Attributions are a two stage process
● Make quick reflex- like initial attribution (personal)
● Then we update attribution based on situational factors
Conformity
- A change in belief or behavior as a result of real or imagined group pressure
- Increases with a larger group size
● Chameleon effect (monkey see, monkey do)
- Participants mimicked their partners without realizing it
, ● Sheif paradigm
- Autokinetic effect: the illusion that a stationary spot of light is moving when
viewed in a darkened room
● Public conformity
- Both behavior and opinions change
● Public conformity
- Behavior and opinions only changed because of the group, once the group is
gone you go back to your answer (the pressure is gone)
- Asch study
● Sheif paradigm : private acceptance
- Social comparison theory: we want to know if our opinions are correct and how
good our abilities are.
● Normative power (influence)
- Feeling pressure from group because of punishment from the group (desire to
gain approval or avoid disapproval)
● Informational influence
- Accepting others opinions about reality (ex: reading movie reviews)
Milgrams shock study
*men and women share similar roles of obedience
● Foot in the door effect- compliance needs compliance
- Getting someone to proceed with something
- Setting something small to big for an effect to work
Stanford prison experiment
Altruism
- Helping behavior that is motivated primarily by a desire to benefit other, not yourself
- From evolutionary point of view
● 2 pathways to helping:
- Personal distress (guilt anxiety, and discomfort)
- Empathy
● Social perception - the process of which we evaluate
Psychology) SOCIAL
PSYCHOLOGY EXAM 3
STUDY GUIDE MICHIGAN
UNIVERSITY
,FSocial Psychology
Attributions: what made someone do something
● Personal (dispositional) attribution - person is at fault (because of me…)
● Situational attribution - “thing” or situation is at fault (because of it..)
Kelley’s attribution theory :
- For behaviors that are consistent, people make attributions when consensus and
distinctiveness are low
- People will make stimulus (situational) attributions when consensus and distinctiveness
is high
Attribution theory:
- A set of theories that explain the causes of behavior
● Fundamental attribution error : (when explaining the behavior of others) overestimating
the role of personal (or dispositional) factors and underestimate role of situational factors
- We act as if other people are driven by personal factors but we are driven more
by situational factors
*we are driven by situational factors
Why FAE?
- People are more aware of situations more than themselves
- Don’t want to blame our own behavior (to make ourselves feel good)
● Just World Hypothesis
- Belief that the world is basically just a place and people get what they deserve
● Gilbert and Malone (1995)
- Attributions are a two stage process
● Make quick reflex- like initial attribution (personal)
● Then we update attribution based on situational factors
Conformity
- A change in belief or behavior as a result of real or imagined group pressure
- Increases with a larger group size
● Chameleon effect (monkey see, monkey do)
- Participants mimicked their partners without realizing it
, ● Sheif paradigm
- Autokinetic effect: the illusion that a stationary spot of light is moving when
viewed in a darkened room
● Public conformity
- Both behavior and opinions change
● Public conformity
- Behavior and opinions only changed because of the group, once the group is
gone you go back to your answer (the pressure is gone)
- Asch study
● Sheif paradigm : private acceptance
- Social comparison theory: we want to know if our opinions are correct and how
good our abilities are.
● Normative power (influence)
- Feeling pressure from group because of punishment from the group (desire to
gain approval or avoid disapproval)
● Informational influence
- Accepting others opinions about reality (ex: reading movie reviews)
Milgrams shock study
*men and women share similar roles of obedience
● Foot in the door effect- compliance needs compliance
- Getting someone to proceed with something
- Setting something small to big for an effect to work
Stanford prison experiment
Altruism
- Helping behavior that is motivated primarily by a desire to benefit other, not yourself
- From evolutionary point of view
● 2 pathways to helping:
- Personal distress (guilt anxiety, and discomfort)
- Empathy
● Social perception - the process of which we evaluate
