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Social Psychology - AP Psychology
Social Psychology -
3 themes:
SOCIAL THINKING - Attributions and Attitudes
Attribution Theory - Suggests how we _________________ someone’s behavior - by crediting either the
__________________ (external attribution) or the person’s _____________________ (internal attribution)
Ex: Mom yelled at me today.
Internal Attribution
External Attribution
Ex: I bought mint chocolate chip ice cream today!
Internal Attribution
External Attribution
Fundamental Attribution Error - the tendency to __________________ the impact of the ____________________ and
to _________________ the impact of ______________________________________ when trying to explain another
person’s behaviors.
● On the flip side… we often attribute OUR OWN behaviors to _________________ factors, while downplaying
______________________ factors.
Attitudes Affecting Behaviors
We typically think… attitudes → actions.
● positive/negative attitudes affect our behaviors in positive or negative ways. (common sense view)
Behaviors Affecting Attitudes
Phenomenon
Foot-in-doorphenomenon
Role-playing
Description
Example
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Cognitive Dissonance
SOCIAL INFLUENCE - Conformity and Obedience
Conformity -
Behaviors are contagious.
● _________________________________________ - mimicking others’ behaviors
● _________________________________________ - mimicking others’ emotions
Solomon Asch’s Conformity Studies - 1955, asked participants to judge line lengths, when
most confederates would answer wrong, the participant would conform more than
___________ of the time.
● Participant experienced ____________________________________, resulting from
the conflicting beliefs/attitudes.
When do people conform?
Feelings of __________________ or
______________________.
_______+ people present
___________________ consensus
within group.
Group’s ________________ or
attractiveness is ______________
___________________________ to
any response
Others in the group _____________
one’s behavior
Why do people conform?
Description
NORMATIVE social
influence
Conforming to….
●
INFORMATIONAL
social influence
Conforming due to…
●
Obedience -
looking to others to get approval/avoid
rejection.
looking to others for information on what
to do.
Example
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Stanley Milgram’s Obedience Studies - 1963, 1974, etc - paired ____________________ and
________________, the learner received a “shock” for every wrong answer; shocks increased in
intensity as questions continued; _________% (of 40 in the original experiment) completed the
shock hierarchy.
● Participants experienced __________________________________________.
Why continue to shock?
● Presence of __________________________________.
● ________________________ institution (Yale vs community college)
● ___________________________________ and ______________________ of victims.
● _______________________________ for _______________________.
Bottom line: When considering to conform/not conform or to obey/disobey, consider the ___________________ and the
_______________________.
Individuals in Groups
Definition
Example
Social
facilitation
Others = arousal
 good at task  better performance
 bad at task  worse performance
 Remember Yerkes-Dodson law
Social loafing
Others = decreased effort in groups
Deindividuation
Possible when group member feel aroused (+/-) and
anonymous  lose self-consciousness and respond to the
group experience
Groups as Wholes
Definition
Group
polarization
"Preaching to the choir"
Groupthink
Considering few alternatives, selective gathering of info
Example
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Minority influence 

difficult but influential
must be _______________________________.
SOCIAL RELATIONS - Prejudice, Aggression, Conflict, Peacemaking, Attraction, Altruism
Prejudice 
Stereotyped beliefs  Negative feelings/emotions  Discriminatory actions

Prejudice = _____________________________________ for perceiving and reacting to events.
Causes of Prejudice
Definition
Social inequities
Haves vs. have-nots
Examples
Social groups
US (________________) vs. THEM (_________________)
Ingroup bias -
Scapegoating
The theory that prejudice offers an ___________________
for anger by providing someone to blame.
_________________________________ phenomenon - the tendency to believe the world is just/fair and that people
therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get.
 Good is rewarded, evil is punished  those who are rewarded are good? Those who suffer must be bad?
Aggression -
Biology (Nature)of Aggression
Environment (Nurture) of Aggression
_________________________ aggression - stems from feelings of _________________ and aimed at inflicting pain
 Frustration-aggression principle - reacting to aversive events in an aggressive manner.
 ex: bullying, trashing a locker room because you lost a game, punching a wall, etc.
_________________________ aggression - serves as a means ________________________________ than causing pain.
 ex: stealing a toy because you want to play with it, tackling the ball carrier in football, self-defensive actions, etc.
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Conflict 
___________________________________ - situation in which an individual experiences a conflict, then acts to
obtain short-term individual gains, which eventually leads in the long run to a loss for the group.
o Pits our own self-interests against society's well-being.
o
People often _______________________________ their self-serving tendencies in various ways.
Peacemaking
 Cooperation through ______________________________________________ - shared goals that override
differences among people and require cooperation.
o Working toward shared goals allows diverse people to discover their __________________________ and
shared values.
Attraction - 3 elements

_______________________ – geographic nearness/closeness  increased interactions
o Familiarity breeds fondness.
o
__________________________________________ - the phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel
stimuli increases liking of them.

__________________________________________
o Evolutionary
 Masculine/dominant/mature men
 Youthful/healthy women
o Cultural
 “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”

_________________________
o Opposites do not attract.
o Similarity breeds content.
o _______________________________________________ - we will like those whose behavior is
rewarding to us and we will continue relationships that offer more rewards than costs.
Romantic Love
 _______________________ love - an aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at
the beginning of a relationship.

_____________________________ love - the deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives
are intertwined.
o
________________________
o
________________________
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Altruism 
_________________________________ - the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if
other bystanders are present.
o reflects ________________________________  ___________________________________________
Why do we help others?
In other words…
Social exchange theory - social
behavior is an exchange process that
aims to maximize benefits and
minimize costs.
Social-responsibility norm - an
expectation that people can and should
help people who depend upon them.
Reciprocity norm - the expectation to
respond to a positive action with
another positive action.
Example