Test 'Social Psychology' – Book
Chapters
Kassin, S., Fein, S., Markus, H.R. (2021) Social Psychology, International
Edition. 11th edition, ISBN 9780357122846
Table of Contents
Chapter 3: The Social Self...............................................................................3
Chapter 3.1: The Self-Concept.....................................................................................3
Chapter 3.2: Self-Esteem.............................................................................................7
Chapter 3.3: Self-Perception......................................................................................12
Chapter 4: Perceiving Persons......................................................................15
Chapter 4.1: Observation: The Elements of Social Perception...................................15
Chapter 4.2: Attribution: From Element to Dispositions.............................................17
Chapter 4.3: Integration: From Dispositions to Impressions......................................21
Chapter 4.4: Confirmation Biases: From Impressions to Reality................................24
Chapter 4.5: Social Perception: The Bottom Line.......................................................26
Chapter 5: Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination...................................28
Chapter 5.1: The Nature of the Problem: Persistence and Change............................28
Chapter 5.2: Causes of the Problem: Intergroup, Motivational, Cognitive, and Cultural
Factors...................................................................................................................... 32
Chapter 5.3: Reducing the Problem: Social Psychological Solutions..........................39
Chapter 6: Attitudes.....................................................................................43
Chapter 6.1: The Study of Attitudes..........................................................................43
Chapter 6.2: Persuasion by Communication..............................................................47
Chapter 6.3: Persuasion by Our Own Actions............................................................53
Chapter 6.4: Changing Attitudes...............................................................................58
Chapter 7: Conformity..................................................................................59
Chapter 7.1: Social Influence as “Automatic”............................................................59
Chapter 7.2: Conformity............................................................................................ 59
Chapter 7.3: Compliance........................................................................................... 65
Chapter 7.4: Obedience............................................................................................. 69
Chapter 7.5: The Continuum of Social Influence........................................................73
Chapter 8: Group Processes..........................................................................75
Chapter 8.1: Fundamentals of Groups.......................................................................75
Chapter 8.2: Individuals in Groups: The Presence of Others......................................77
Chapter 8.3: Group Performance: Problems and Solutions........................................80
Chapter 8.4: Conflict: Cooperation and Competition Within and Between Groups.....85
,Chapter 9: Attraction and Close Relationships...............................................88
Chapter 9.1: Need to Belong: A Fundamental Human Motive....................................88
Chapter 9.2: The Initial Attraction.............................................................................90
Chapter 9.3: Close Relationships...............................................................................95
Chapter 10: Helping Others.........................................................................102
Chapter 10.1: Evolutionary and Motivational Factors: Why Do People Help?...........102
Chapter 10.2: Situational Influences: When Do People Help?..................................106
Chapter 10.3: Personal Influences: Who Is Likely to Help?......................................111
Chapter 10.4: Interpersonal Influences: Whom Do People Help?.............................112
Chapter 11: Aggression..............................................................................116
Chapter 11.1: What Is Aggression?..........................................................................116
Chapter 11.2: Culture, Gender, and Individual Differences.....................................116
Chapter 11.3: Origins of Aggression........................................................................120
Chapter 11.4: Situational Influences on Aggression................................................123
Chapter 11.5: Media Effects....................................................................................127
Chapter 11.6: Reducing Aggression and Violence...................................................129
,Chapter 3: The Social Self
Chapter 3.1: The Self-Concept
The "cocktail party effect" refers to the tendency of people to pick a
personally relevant stimulus, like a name, out of a complex and noisy
environment. To the cognitive psychologist, this phenomenon shows that
human beings are selective in their attention. To the social psychologist, it
also shows that the self is a brightly lit object of our own attention.
Self-concept = The total of beliefs that people have about themselves.
- According to Hazel Markus, the self-concept is made up of cognitive
molecules she called self-schemas (= beliefs about oneself that
guide the processing of self-relevant information). Self-schemas can
be schematic and aschematic.
- We draw our sense of who we are from our past and current
relationships with the significant others in our lives. Our self-
concepts match our perceptions of what others think of us.
Introspection
Self-knowledge is derived from introspection, a looking inward at one's
own thoughts and feelings. There are two main limitations of introspection
to gain self-knowledge:
1. Human beings are mentally busy processing information, which is
why we so often fail to understand our own thoughts, feelings, and
behaviours. Apparently, it is possible to think too much and be to
analytical, only to get confused.
2. People overestimate the positives.
When it comes to self-insight, people do have difficulty projecting forward
and predicting how they would feel in response to future events; a process
known as affective forecasting. People overestimate the strength and
duration of their emotional reactions; a phenomenon they call impact bias.
Self-Perception
Self-perception theory = The theory that when internal cues are difficult to
interpret, people gain self-insight by observing their own behaviour.
, - Example: have you ever devoured a sandwich in a record time, only
then to conclude that you must have been incredibly hungry?
- People learn about themselves through self-perception only when
the situation alone seems insufficient to have caused their
behaviour.
Simine Vazire proposed a Self-Other Knowledge Asymmetry (SOKA) model
in which she predicts that we know ourselves better than others do when
it comes to traits that are "internal" and hard to observe (such as how
optimistic, anxious, or easily upset a person is) and that there is no self-
other difference when it comes to traits that are "external" and easy to
observe (such as how quiet, sociable, or messy a person is). The model
predicts how accurate self- knowledge and other- knowledge are
depending on the type of trait being judged. The model explains when you
know yourself better than others do, and when others may know you
better than you know yourself. The accuracy of self- vs. other- knowledge
depends on two factors:
1. Observability = How easy it is to observe a trait.
2. Evaluativeness = How socially desirable or undesirable a trait is (and
therefore how much people might be biased when judging it).
Facial feedback hypothesis = The hypothesis that changes in facial
expression can lead to corresponding changes in emotion. It works
through two mechanisms:
1. Self-perception: You notice your facial expression and infer how you
feel (e.g., “I’m smiling, so I must be happy”).
2. Physiological feedback: Moving facial muscles sends signals to your
brain that affect your emotional state (e.g., smiling triggers feel-
good chemicals).
Coles et al. (2019) concluded that while facial feedback, such as smiling or
frowning, can influence emotional experiences, the effects are generally
small and vary across different situations.
Intrinsic motivation originates in factors within a person. In contrast,
extrinsic motivation originates in factors outside the person. People strive
for reward. When someone is offered a reward for something they already
like to do, that behaviour becomes overjustified, which means that is can
be attributed to extrinsic as well as intrinsic motives. The overjustification
effect refers to the tendency for intrinsic motivation to diminish for
activities that have become associated with reward or other extrinsic
factors. What used to be 'fun' activities can now feel like 'work' (sport,
music etc.).
Chapters
Kassin, S., Fein, S., Markus, H.R. (2021) Social Psychology, International
Edition. 11th edition, ISBN 9780357122846
Table of Contents
Chapter 3: The Social Self...............................................................................3
Chapter 3.1: The Self-Concept.....................................................................................3
Chapter 3.2: Self-Esteem.............................................................................................7
Chapter 3.3: Self-Perception......................................................................................12
Chapter 4: Perceiving Persons......................................................................15
Chapter 4.1: Observation: The Elements of Social Perception...................................15
Chapter 4.2: Attribution: From Element to Dispositions.............................................17
Chapter 4.3: Integration: From Dispositions to Impressions......................................21
Chapter 4.4: Confirmation Biases: From Impressions to Reality................................24
Chapter 4.5: Social Perception: The Bottom Line.......................................................26
Chapter 5: Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination...................................28
Chapter 5.1: The Nature of the Problem: Persistence and Change............................28
Chapter 5.2: Causes of the Problem: Intergroup, Motivational, Cognitive, and Cultural
Factors...................................................................................................................... 32
Chapter 5.3: Reducing the Problem: Social Psychological Solutions..........................39
Chapter 6: Attitudes.....................................................................................43
Chapter 6.1: The Study of Attitudes..........................................................................43
Chapter 6.2: Persuasion by Communication..............................................................47
Chapter 6.3: Persuasion by Our Own Actions............................................................53
Chapter 6.4: Changing Attitudes...............................................................................58
Chapter 7: Conformity..................................................................................59
Chapter 7.1: Social Influence as “Automatic”............................................................59
Chapter 7.2: Conformity............................................................................................ 59
Chapter 7.3: Compliance........................................................................................... 65
Chapter 7.4: Obedience............................................................................................. 69
Chapter 7.5: The Continuum of Social Influence........................................................73
Chapter 8: Group Processes..........................................................................75
Chapter 8.1: Fundamentals of Groups.......................................................................75
Chapter 8.2: Individuals in Groups: The Presence of Others......................................77
Chapter 8.3: Group Performance: Problems and Solutions........................................80
Chapter 8.4: Conflict: Cooperation and Competition Within and Between Groups.....85
,Chapter 9: Attraction and Close Relationships...............................................88
Chapter 9.1: Need to Belong: A Fundamental Human Motive....................................88
Chapter 9.2: The Initial Attraction.............................................................................90
Chapter 9.3: Close Relationships...............................................................................95
Chapter 10: Helping Others.........................................................................102
Chapter 10.1: Evolutionary and Motivational Factors: Why Do People Help?...........102
Chapter 10.2: Situational Influences: When Do People Help?..................................106
Chapter 10.3: Personal Influences: Who Is Likely to Help?......................................111
Chapter 10.4: Interpersonal Influences: Whom Do People Help?.............................112
Chapter 11: Aggression..............................................................................116
Chapter 11.1: What Is Aggression?..........................................................................116
Chapter 11.2: Culture, Gender, and Individual Differences.....................................116
Chapter 11.3: Origins of Aggression........................................................................120
Chapter 11.4: Situational Influences on Aggression................................................123
Chapter 11.5: Media Effects....................................................................................127
Chapter 11.6: Reducing Aggression and Violence...................................................129
,Chapter 3: The Social Self
Chapter 3.1: The Self-Concept
The "cocktail party effect" refers to the tendency of people to pick a
personally relevant stimulus, like a name, out of a complex and noisy
environment. To the cognitive psychologist, this phenomenon shows that
human beings are selective in their attention. To the social psychologist, it
also shows that the self is a brightly lit object of our own attention.
Self-concept = The total of beliefs that people have about themselves.
- According to Hazel Markus, the self-concept is made up of cognitive
molecules she called self-schemas (= beliefs about oneself that
guide the processing of self-relevant information). Self-schemas can
be schematic and aschematic.
- We draw our sense of who we are from our past and current
relationships with the significant others in our lives. Our self-
concepts match our perceptions of what others think of us.
Introspection
Self-knowledge is derived from introspection, a looking inward at one's
own thoughts and feelings. There are two main limitations of introspection
to gain self-knowledge:
1. Human beings are mentally busy processing information, which is
why we so often fail to understand our own thoughts, feelings, and
behaviours. Apparently, it is possible to think too much and be to
analytical, only to get confused.
2. People overestimate the positives.
When it comes to self-insight, people do have difficulty projecting forward
and predicting how they would feel in response to future events; a process
known as affective forecasting. People overestimate the strength and
duration of their emotional reactions; a phenomenon they call impact bias.
Self-Perception
Self-perception theory = The theory that when internal cues are difficult to
interpret, people gain self-insight by observing their own behaviour.
, - Example: have you ever devoured a sandwich in a record time, only
then to conclude that you must have been incredibly hungry?
- People learn about themselves through self-perception only when
the situation alone seems insufficient to have caused their
behaviour.
Simine Vazire proposed a Self-Other Knowledge Asymmetry (SOKA) model
in which she predicts that we know ourselves better than others do when
it comes to traits that are "internal" and hard to observe (such as how
optimistic, anxious, or easily upset a person is) and that there is no self-
other difference when it comes to traits that are "external" and easy to
observe (such as how quiet, sociable, or messy a person is). The model
predicts how accurate self- knowledge and other- knowledge are
depending on the type of trait being judged. The model explains when you
know yourself better than others do, and when others may know you
better than you know yourself. The accuracy of self- vs. other- knowledge
depends on two factors:
1. Observability = How easy it is to observe a trait.
2. Evaluativeness = How socially desirable or undesirable a trait is (and
therefore how much people might be biased when judging it).
Facial feedback hypothesis = The hypothesis that changes in facial
expression can lead to corresponding changes in emotion. It works
through two mechanisms:
1. Self-perception: You notice your facial expression and infer how you
feel (e.g., “I’m smiling, so I must be happy”).
2. Physiological feedback: Moving facial muscles sends signals to your
brain that affect your emotional state (e.g., smiling triggers feel-
good chemicals).
Coles et al. (2019) concluded that while facial feedback, such as smiling or
frowning, can influence emotional experiences, the effects are generally
small and vary across different situations.
Intrinsic motivation originates in factors within a person. In contrast,
extrinsic motivation originates in factors outside the person. People strive
for reward. When someone is offered a reward for something they already
like to do, that behaviour becomes overjustified, which means that is can
be attributed to extrinsic as well as intrinsic motives. The overjustification
effect refers to the tendency for intrinsic motivation to diminish for
activities that have become associated with reward or other extrinsic
factors. What used to be 'fun' activities can now feel like 'work' (sport,
music etc.).
