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Social Psychology

Beginner

Study how individuals think about, influence, and relate to others.

30 min readUpdated: 1/22/2025PsychePedia Editorial Team

Key Concepts

Fundamental Attribution Error: The tendency to overemphasize dispositional factors and underemphasize situational factors when explaining others' behavior.
Cognitive Dissonance: Psychological discomfort from holding inconsistent cognitions, motivating attitude or behavior change.
Conformity: Changing one's behavior or beliefs to match those of others or to fit group norms.
Groupthink: Defective group decision-making where desire for consensus overrides realistic appraisal of alternatives.
Bystander Effect: The phenomenon where individuals are less likely to help in an emergency when others are present.
Elaboration Likelihood Model: Theory proposing two routes to persuasion: central (careful argument processing) and peripheral (reliance on heuristic cues).
Social Identity Theory: Theory that people derive self-concept from group memberships and are motivated to view their groups positively.
Implicit Bias: Unconscious attitudes or stereotypes that automatically influence perception, judgment, and behavior.
Social Facilitation: Improved performance on simple tasks and impaired performance on complex tasks in the presence of others.
Reciprocal Altruism: Evolutionary theory that helping non-relatives can be adaptive if recipients reciprocate, increasing the helper's survival chances.

Reading short version (3 min)

Attitudes and Persuasion

Attitude Components (ABC Model): - Affective: Emotional reactions - Behavioral: Actions toward object - Cognitive: Beliefs about object

Attitude Formation: - Classical conditioning - Operant conditioning - Observational learning - Mere exposure effect

Persuasion (Elaboration Likelihood Model): - Central Route: Careful processing of arguments (high involvement) - Peripheral Route: Reliance on heuristics and cues (low involvement)

Cognitive Dissonance (Festinger): - Discomfort from inconsistent cognitions - Attitude change to reduce dissonance - Insufficient justification effect

Group Processes

Social Facilitation: Improved performance on simple tasks, impaired on complex tasks in presence of others.

Social Loafing: Reduced effort in groups. Reduced by: Individual accountability, meaningful tasks, small groups.

Groupthink (Janis): Defective decision-making in cohesive groups prioritizing consensus over critical thinking. - Symptoms: Illusion of invulnerability, stereotyping outgroups, self-censorship - Prevention: Encourage dissent, outside perspectives, devil's advocate

Group Polarization: Group discussion leads to more extreme positions.

Deindividuation: Loss of self-awareness in groups leads to uninhibited behavior.

Prejudice and Discrimination

Prejudice: Negative attitude toward a group Stereotype: Generalized belief about a group Discrimination: Negative behavior toward a group

Sources of Prejudice: - Social learning - Social identity theory: In-group favoritism - Realistic conflict theory: Competition for resources - Cognitive factors: Categorization, illusory correlation

Reducing Prejudice: - Contact Hypothesis: Intergroup contact under optimal conditions - Equal status - Common goals - Cooperation - Institutional support - Perspective-taking - Individuating information

Implicit Bias: Unconscious associations measured by Implicit Association Test (IAT).

Prosocial Behavior and Aggression

Prosocial Behavior: Actions intended to benefit others.

Bystander Effect: Less likely to help when others present. - Diffusion of responsibility - Pluralistic ignorance

Factors Increasing Helping: - Clear emergency - Competence - Personal connection - Empathy - Mood

Aggression: Behavior intended to harm.

Types: - Hostile: Goal is harm - Instrumental: Harm as means to other goal

Influences on Aggression: - Biological: Hormones, brain regions - Frustration-aggression hypothesis - Social learning - Situational factors: Heat, crowding, provocation

Test Your Knowledge

5 questions to test your understanding of this topic

References

[1]
Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., & Sommers, S. R. (2021). Social Psychology. Pearson (10th ed.).
[2]
Myers, D. G., & Twenge, J. M. (2022). Social Psychology. McGraw-Hill (14th ed.).
[3]
Fiske, S. T., & Taylor, S. E. (2017). Social Cognition: From Brains to Culture. SAGE Publications (3rd ed.).
[4]
Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1986). Communication and Persuasion: Central and Peripheral Routes to Attitude Change. Springer-Verlag.
[5]
Cialdini, R. B. (2021). Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Harper Business (New and Expanded ed.).
[6]
Milgram, S. (1974). Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View. Harper & Row.
[7]
Allport, G. W. (1954). The Nature of Prejudice. Addison-Wesley.
[8]
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An Integrative Theory of Intergroup Conflict. The Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations, Brooks/Cole.
[9]
Latané, B., & Darley, J. M. (1970). The Unresponsive Bystander: Why Doesn't He Help?. Appleton-Century-Crofts.
[10]
Bandura, A. (1973). Aggression: A Social Learning Analysis. Prentice-Hall.

My Highlights

No highlights yet. Use the Highlight button in the article.

Social Psychology

Beginner

Study how individuals think about, influence, and relate to others.

30 min readUpdated: 1/22/2025PsychePedia Editorial Team

Key Concepts

Fundamental Attribution Error: The tendency to overemphasize dispositional factors and underemphasize situational factors when explaining others' behavior.
Cognitive Dissonance: Psychological discomfort from holding inconsistent cognitions, motivating attitude or behavior change.
Conformity: Changing one's behavior or beliefs to match those of others or to fit group norms.
Groupthink: Defective group decision-making where desire for consensus overrides realistic appraisal of alternatives.
Bystander Effect: The phenomenon where individuals are less likely to help in an emergency when others are present.
Elaboration Likelihood Model: Theory proposing two routes to persuasion: central (careful argument processing) and peripheral (reliance on heuristic cues).
Social Identity Theory: Theory that people derive self-concept from group memberships and are motivated to view their groups positively.
Implicit Bias: Unconscious attitudes or stereotypes that automatically influence perception, judgment, and behavior.
Social Facilitation: Improved performance on simple tasks and impaired performance on complex tasks in the presence of others.
Reciprocal Altruism: Evolutionary theory that helping non-relatives can be adaptive if recipients reciprocate, increasing the helper's survival chances.

Reading short version (3 min)

Attitudes and Persuasion

Attitude Components (ABC Model): - Affective: Emotional reactions - Behavioral: Actions toward object - Cognitive: Beliefs about object

Attitude Formation: - Classical conditioning - Operant conditioning - Observational learning - Mere exposure effect

Persuasion (Elaboration Likelihood Model): - Central Route: Careful processing of arguments (high involvement) - Peripheral Route: Reliance on heuristics and cues (low involvement)

Cognitive Dissonance (Festinger): - Discomfort from inconsistent cognitions - Attitude change to reduce dissonance - Insufficient justification effect

Group Processes

Social Facilitation: Improved performance on simple tasks, impaired on complex tasks in presence of others.

Social Loafing: Reduced effort in groups. Reduced by: Individual accountability, meaningful tasks, small groups.

Group Polarization: Group discussion leads to more extreme positions.

Deindividuation: Loss of self-awareness in groups leads to uninhibited behavior.

Prejudice and Discrimination

Prejudice: Negative attitude toward a group Stereotype: Generalized belief about a group Discrimination: Negative behavior toward a group

Sources of Prejudice: - Social learning - Social identity theory: In-group favoritism - Realistic conflict theory: Competition for resources - Cognitive factors: Categorization, illusory correlation

Implicit Bias: Unconscious associations measured by Implicit Association Test (IAT).

Prosocial Behavior and Aggression

Prosocial Behavior: Actions intended to benefit others.

Bystander Effect: Less likely to help when others present. - Diffusion of responsibility - Pluralistic ignorance

Factors Increasing Helping: - Clear emergency - Competence - Personal connection - Empathy - Mood

Aggression: Behavior intended to harm.

Types: - Hostile: Goal is harm - Instrumental: Harm as means to other goal

Influences on Aggression: - Biological: Hormones, brain regions - Frustration-aggression hypothesis - Social learning - Situational factors: Heat, crowding, provocation

Test Your Knowledge

5 questions to test your understanding of this topic

References

[1]
Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., & Sommers, S. R. (2021). Social Psychology. Pearson (10th ed.).
[2]
Myers, D. G., & Twenge, J. M. (2022). Social Psychology. McGraw-Hill (14th ed.).
[3]
Fiske, S. T., & Taylor, S. E. (2017). Social Cognition: From Brains to Culture. SAGE Publications (3rd ed.).
[4]
Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1986). Communication and Persuasion: Central and Peripheral Routes to Attitude Change. Springer-Verlag.
[5]
Cialdini, R. B. (2021). Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Harper Business (New and Expanded ed.).
[6]
Milgram, S. (1974). Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View. Harper & Row.
[7]
Allport, G. W. (1954). The Nature of Prejudice. Addison-Wesley.
[8]
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An Integrative Theory of Intergroup Conflict. The Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations, Brooks/Cole.
[9]
Latané, B., & Darley, J. M. (1970). The Unresponsive Bystander: Why Doesn't He Help?. Appleton-Century-Crofts.
[10]
Bandura, A. (1973). Aggression: A Social Learning Analysis. Prentice-Hall.

My Highlights

Key Concepts

Introduction to Social Psychology

Social Cognition

Attitudes and Persuasion

Social Influence

Group Processes

Prejudice and Discrimination

Prosocial Behavior and Aggression

Test Your Knowledge

References

My Highlights

Key Concepts

Introduction to Social Psychology

Social Cognition

Attitudes and Persuasion

Social Influence

Group Processes

Prejudice and Discrimination

Prosocial Behavior and Aggression

Test Your Knowledge

References