Social Psychology vs. Sociology Quiz

Social Psychology vs. Sociology

• Social psychology examines how individuals think and relate to groups.
• Individuals and experiments are key aspects of social psychology.
• Sociology studies how groups interact and function.
• Groups of people and field research are important in sociology.

Social Behavior

• Humans are social animals; social interaction is advantageous.
• Social interaction does not imply shared interpretations of reality.
• Social psychology studies how thoughts, feelings, and behavior are influenced by interactions.
• Social context includes the presence of others, interactions, settings, expectations, and social norms.
• Our behaviors are shaped by social cognitions and the actions of those around us.

Social Cognition

• Social cognition refers to processes by which humans understand others.
• The human brain specializes in social cognition, particularly the medial prefrontal cortex, which activates when considering others' attributes.
• This activity remains constant, even when asleep.
• Understanding others is a continuously active process.
• The environment considers individuals to be their primary objects of study.
• Individuals spend significant time analyzing and understanding the behaviors of others.
• Comprehending human behavior is vital for survival.

Social Cognition - Identity

• Social psychology and personality are linked.
• Personal identities are defined by values, experiences, ideas, and relationships; these are unique.

Social Cognition - Stereotypes

• Categorization of information is a vital part of information processing.
• Stereotypes are useful tools for interacting with others.
• Stereotypes can be inaccurate and routinely applied, especially toward out-groups.
• Stereotypes can be self-perpetuating, leading to perceptual confirmation.
• Stereotype threat describes how external expectations can influence internal motivation and behavior, which can negatively affect performance.
• Work of Claude Steele and colleagues shows the impact of imposed expectations on those of social identities.
• Worry about confirming the stereotype can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Social Cognition - Prejudice

• Prejudice involves negative feelings and beliefs towards an out-group, justifying discriminatory behavior.
• Causes include social distance, competition, scapegoating, conformity to social norms, and the impact of media stereotypes.

Social Cognition - Combating Prejudice

• The Robbers Cave experiment demonstrates the conflict over resources between groups, highlighting the importance of de-escalating tensions.
• Education plays a limited role in minimizing prejudice, but legislation and changing existing narratives can prove to be more effective tools.
• Cooperation on shared tasks can help reduce prejudice.

Social Cognition - Attribution Theory

• Attribution theory examines how we make judgments about others' behaviors.
• Judgments are based on observable behaviors and causal reasoning, leading to better judgment when causal factors are considered.
• Actor-observer asymmetry describes how we explain our own behaviors versus those of others.
• Fundamental attribution error involves overestimating internal factors for other's behaviors.

Social Cognition - Cognitive Dissonance

• Cognitive dissonance examines inconsistencies between one's beliefs or actions and their impact.
• Individuals strive for internal consistency, which can lead to adjustments in beliefs or behaviors.

Social Cognition - Self-Serving Bias

• Self-serving bias refers to the tendency of individuals to view themselves favorably.
• People often judge their abilities as above average relative to others.
• Memory is commonly selective when it comes to self-assessments.

Social Influence

• Social influence refers to how one person controls another's behaviors.
• Influence is essential to various facets of human interactions in society.
• Humans exhibit susceptibility to social influence without necessarily realizing the influence exists.
• Influence is tied to social cooperation, altruism, and functioning as a society.
• 3 fundamental principles of social influence are pleasure/pain, approval/acceptance, and desire to be accurate.

Social Influence - Social Norms

• Social norms are defined expectations for behaviors in specific social contexts.
• Adhering to social norms shapes behavior in social situations.
• Social norms can be explicit (stated rules) or implicit (understood expectations).
• Adjustments to norms occur to maintain consistency within the group.

Social Influence - Conformity

• Conformity involves adjusting one's opinions and behaviors to align with the group.
• Informational conformity arises from a desire to be correct, while normative conformity arises from a desire to be liked.
• Sherif's autokinetic effect and informational conformity illustrate factors that influence opinions.

Social Influence - Obedience (Milgram Experiment)

• The Milgram experiment investigates obedience to authority.
• Participants' obedience to authority figures, even in situations involving potentially harmful actions, is a key finding.
• Factors such as the physical presence of the authority figure and the distance from the recipient of the actions influence obedience levels.

Social Influence - Social Influence on Semanitary Students - Diffusion of Responsibility

• Diffusion of responsibility describes decreasing likelihood of intervention when more people are present.
• Observation that seminary students are less likely to help in certain situations.

Social Behavior - Interpersonal attraction

• Human relationships are influenced by environmental factors including familiarity, similarity, and the reward theory, suggesting those who provide benefits are more attractive. • Physical attractiveness is a significant factor in interpersonal attraction. • Sternberg's triangular theory of love posits that love consists of intimacy, passion, and commitment.

Dreams and Determinism

• All behaviors have a purpose, including slips of the tongue, forgetting, and dreams which serve a purpose, manifest (apparent) and latent (true) content.

Personality (Chapter 11)

• The chapter explores the concept of personality and the challenges in defining and assessing it.
• This chapter introduces the idea of the Barnum effect(people are likely to believe a description of their personality is accurate.
• It also examines several major theories of personality and their perspectives on individual differences in thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

This quiz explores the key differences between social psychology and sociology, focusing on how individuals and groups interact. It delves into social behavior, social cognition, and the influences of social contexts. Test your understanding of these concepts and their applications in real-world scenarios.