Unit 6 of AP Psychology delves into the fascinating world of social psychology, exploring how individuals' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the presence of others – both real and imagined. Mastering the vocabulary is crucial for success on the AP exam. This comprehensive guide breaks down key terms, providing definitions, examples, and connections to broader concepts.
Key Terms & Concepts:
Attitudes & Persuasion
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Attitude: A learned, relatively stable evaluation of a person, object, idea, or event. This evaluation influences our thoughts and behaviors. Example: Holding a positive attitude towards recycling influences you to actively participate in recycling programs.
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Cognitive Dissonance: The discomfort experienced when holding two or more conflicting cognitions (beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors). This discomfort motivates us to reduce the dissonance, often by changing our attitudes or behaviors. Example: Smoking despite knowing the health risks creates cognitive dissonance; to reduce it, a smoker might downplay the risks or quit smoking.
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Persuasion: The process of changing someone's attitude or behavior through communication. Effective persuasion involves understanding the audience, message framing, and the communication channel. Example: A compelling advertisement persuading viewers to purchase a particular product.
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Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM): A theory explaining persuasion by outlining two routes to persuasion: the central route (focus on message content) and the peripheral route (focus on superficial cues). Example: A scientifically detailed advertisement about a drug's efficacy uses the central route, while an advertisement featuring a celebrity endorsement uses the peripheral route.
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Foot-in-the-door Phenomenon: The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request. Example: Agreeing to sign a petition (small request) makes you more likely to donate money to the cause (larger request).
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Door-in-the-face Phenomenon: The tendency for people who have refused a large request to comply with a smaller request. Example: Refusing to donate $100 to charity makes you more likely to donate $10.
Conformity & Obedience
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Conformity: Adjusting one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard. This can be due to normative social influence (desire for acceptance) or informational social influence (desire for accuracy). Example: Changing your answer on a test to match the answers of your peers.
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Normative Social Influence: Conformity motivated by the desire to gain social approval and avoid disapproval. Example: Wearing similar clothes as your peers to fit in.
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Informational Social Influence: Conformity motivated by the belief that others' behavior provides accurate information. Example: Believing a crowd's reaction to a fire alarm indicates real danger.
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Obedience: Compliance with a direct command from an authority figure. Milgram's obedience experiments demonstrated the surprising level of obedience to authority. Example: Following a police officer's instructions during a traffic stop.
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Social Facilitation: Improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others. Example: An experienced athlete performing better in a competition than during practice.
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Social Loafing: The tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable. Example: Group projects where some members contribute less than others.
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Deindividuation: The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity. Example: Rioting behavior, where individuals feel less accountable for their actions.
Group Dynamics & Prejudice
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Group Polarization: The enhancement of a group's prevailing tendencies through discussion, often leading to more extreme decisions. Example: A jury initially leaning towards a guilty verdict becoming even more convinced after deliberation.
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Groupthink: The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives. Example: A group failing to consider dissenting opinions, resulting in a poor decision.
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Prejudice: An unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members. Prejudice generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action. Example: Holding negative stereotypes about a particular ethnic group.
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Stereotype: A generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people. Example: Assuming all members of a particular profession share certain personality traits.
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Discrimination: Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members. Example: Refusing to hire someone based on their race or religion.
This vocabulary list provides a strong foundation for understanding Unit 6. Remember to apply these terms to real-world examples and practice using them in different contexts to further solidify your understanding. Good luck with your AP Psychology studies!
