Chapter 3 The Self

Chapter Outline

I. What are the Self-Concept and Self-Awareness?

A. Functions of Self
1. Self as Interpersonal Tool
2. Self as Decision Maker
3. Self as Regulatory System

II. How do Personal Factors Influence the Self-Concept and Self-Awareness?

A. Thinking About Your Thoughts
1. The Hazards of Introspection
2. Overestimation of the Impact of Events
B. Focusing on Self-Awareness
1. The Problem of Self-Discrepancy Theory
2. The Impact of Self-Awareness
3. The Limits of Self-Control
4. Escape from Self-Awareness
C. Examining Your Behaviour
1. Self-Perception Theory
2. Facial Feedback Hypothesis
D. Interpreting Your Motivation
1. The Dangers of Overjustification
2. Overcoming Overjustification

III. How Do Social Factors Influence the Self-Concept

A. Social Comparison Theory

IV. How Do People Maintain a Positive Self-Concept

A. Self-Serving Bias
1. Misremembering
2. Seeing Our Views as Shared by Others
B. Self-Serving Bias
1. Having High Perceived Control
2. Making Overconfident Judgments
C. Self-Serving Comparisons
1. The Benefits of Downward Comparison
2, Overcoming Threatening Comparisons
D. Self-Serving Behaviour
E. The Downside of Overly Positive Self-Views

V. How Do People Present Themselves to Others?

A. Self-Promotion
B. Ingratiation
C. Self-Verification
D. The Good-And Bad-News About Self-Presentation

VI. How Does Culture Influence Self?

A. Culture and Self-Concept
1. Independent Versus Interdependent Self-Construal
2. Factors Influencing the Self-Concept
B. Culture and Self-Perception and Self-Presentation
C. How People Experience Psychological Well-Being
D. Sources of Self-Motivation
E. Strategies for Maintaining a Positive Self-Concept
1. Use of False Uniqueness Bias
2. Causes of Cultural Differences in Self-Enhancement
F. Strategies of Self-Presentation
G. Variations Within Cultures

Learning Objectives

After studying the chapter, students should be able to:

Define self-concept
Discuss the reliability of introspection as a guide to self
Describe self-discrepancy theory
Generate a list of different ways people are made to become self-aware
Generate a list of ways people try to reduce self-awareness
Explain the role of mental energy in self-control
Discuss a personally relevant instance of Bems self-perception theory
Discuss two explanations for the effect of facial feedback on emotions
Identify intrinsic and extrinsic motivators
Explain the link between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in the overjustification
effect
Describe the operation of and mechanisms behind social comparison
Describe the relationship between memory and positive self-concept
Identify which attributional processes lead to positive self-concept
Describe the difference between false consensus and false uniqueness
Explain the nature of and the reason for the maintenance of erroneous beliefs (i.e.;
unrealistic optimism, illusory control, overconfidence)
Generate an example of BIRGing
Describe the benefits of downward social comparison
Explain how to overcome threatening comparisons with others
Describe the costs and benefits of self-handicapping
Describe how actions designed to improve presentation of self can actually harm
presentation of self
Explain the positive and negative aspects of both high and low self-monitoring
 Describe the differences between individualistic and collectivistic cultures
Explain how thoughts about the self differ between collectivistic and
individualistic cultures
Discuss why strategies useful for maintaining positive self-concept in
individualistic cultures dont always work in collectivistic cultures
 Chapter 4 Social Perception
Chapter Outline

I. How Do We Think About Why Other People Do What They Do?

A. Heiders Theory of Nave Psychology
B. Jones and Daviss Theory of Correspondent Inference
C. Kellys Covariation Theory
D. Weiners Attribution Theory
E. Intergroup Attribution

II. What Types of Errors Do We Make In Thinking About Other People

A. Fundamental Attribution Error
B. Actor-Observer Effect
1. Access to Internal Thoughts and Feelings
2. Desire to Maintain a Positive Self-Image

III. Why Do We Make Errors When We Think About Other People?

A. Salience
B. Lack of Cognitive Capacity
C. Beliefs About Others Abilities and Motivations
D. Self-Knowledge
E. Final Thoughts on Attribution Error

IV. How Do We Form Impressions of People Based on Nonverbal Behaviour?

A. Communicating in Nonverbal Ways
1. Causes of Errors in Communication
2. Cues for Detecting Deception
3. Individual Differences in Detecting Deception
4. The Power of Facial Expressions

V. How Does Culture Relate to Social Perception

A. Types of Attributions
B. Factors Influencing Attributions
1. View of Personality as Changeable
2. Stronger Focus on the Situation
3. The Impact of Distraction

VI. How Does Culture Relate to Expressions of Emotion

A. Emotional Display Rules
1. Choice of Words
2. Emphasis on Tone
Learning Objectives

After studying the chapter, students should be able to:

Explain the differences between internal and external attributions

Explain correspondent inference
Describe the factors that go into drawing a correspondent inference
Describe Kelleys covariation model
Explain the circumstances under which the covariation model leads to a situational
attribution
Explain the circumstances under which the covariation model leads to a dispositional
attribution
Define the fundamental attribution error
Explain why the fundamental attribution error occurs
Generate an example of the fundamental attribution error
Define the actor-observer effect
Explain why the actor-observer effect occurs
Generate an example of the actor-observer effect
Describe the differences between the fundamental attribution error and the actor-
observer effect
Discuss the role ulterior motives play in our attributions about others behaviours
Describe the role salience plays in erroneous social perception
Explain the two stages in Gilberts two-stage model of attribution
Explain how the relationship most people see between behaviours and attitudes can
lead to errors in social perception
Explain why dispositional attributions are associated with positive incentives more than
negative incentives
Discuss the role of intentions in attributions as regards the self
Describe errors in social perception associated with nonverbal cues
Explain the relationship between the fundamental attribution error and the detection of
deception
Define verbal cues associated with deception
Discuss the role of culture in nonverbal cues related to deception
Explain how distraction has a different impact on attribution errors in people from
different cultures.
Provide two examples of emotional display rules
Describe how culture affects emotional expressiveness through language
 Chapter 5 Social Cognition
Chapter Outline

I. How Can Shortcuts Lead to Errors in Thinking About the World?

A. Intuition
B. Availability
1, The Impact of Past Experience
2. The Role of Unconscious Priming
3. The Information Available
C. Representativeness
D. Base-Rate Fallacy
E. Anchoring and Adjustment
F. Counterfactual Thinking/Simulation
1. Factors Influencing the Use of Counterfactual Thinking
2. The Benefits of Counterfactual Thinking

II. How Does Presentation Influence How We Think About the World
A. Contrast Effect
B. Framing

III. How Do We Form Impressions of People?

A. The Ease of Impression Formation
1. The Power of First Impression
2. Accuracy of First Impressions
3. The Power of Negative Traits
B. The Impact of Mood

IV. How Do Beliefs Create Reality

A. People See What They Expect to See
1. Seeing Events in Line With our Beliefs
2. Seeing Uncorrelated Events as Correlated
3. Seeing a Positive Outcome as More Likely
4. Seeing a Given Outcome as Inevitable
B. People Maintain Beliefs Over Time
1. Explaining Belief Perseverance
2. Factors Leading to Belief Perseverance
C. Peoples Behaviour Elicits What They Expect
1. Explaining the Process of Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
2. The Good News About the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

V. How Does Culture Influence Social Cognition

A. Cognitive Errors
B. Beliefs About Traits
1. Self-Construal and Field Dependence
Learning Objectives

After studying the chapter, students should be able to:

Explain how automatic thinking and heuristics are related to one another
Discuss the pros and cons of effortful and automatic thinking
Define social cognition
Describe a situation(s) where intuitions accuracy is poor
Describe a situation(s) where intuitions accuracy is good
Define the availability heuristic
Generate an example of the availability heuristic from the students own
experience
Define schema
Discuss the role schemas play in the use of the availability heuristic
Define priming
Explain how both too much and too little information can lead to the use of the
availability heuristic
Define the representativeness heuristic
Generate an example of the representativeness heuristic from the students own
experience
Define the base-rate fallacy
Generate an example of the base-rate fallacy from the students own experience
Define anchoring and adjustment
Generate an example of anchoring and adjustment from the students own
experience
Define counterfactual thinking
Generate an example of counterfactual thinking from the students own
experience
Describe three reasons why individuals might use counterfactual thinking
Define the contrast effect
Generate an example of the contrast effect from the students own experience
Define framing
Explain the relationship between reconstructive memory and framing
Discuss the accuracy (or lack thereof) of first impressions
Describe how the primacy effect influences first impressions
Explain how the trait negativity bias influences impression formation
Describe the different effects different moods have on impression formation
Define perceptual confirmation
Define illusory correlation
Define hindsight bias
Generate an example of hindsight bias from the students own experience
Define belief perseverance
Discuss the role causal explanations play in belief perseverance
Explain the functioning of the self-fulfilling prophecy
 Discuss factors that make use of the self-fulfilling prophecy less likely
Discuss positive outcomes of the self-fulfilling prophecy
Discuss how culture affects social perception and cognition
Discuss how different cultures view the idea of personality traits
 Chapter 6 Attitude Formation and Change
Chapter Outline

I. How Do We Form Attitudes?

A. Classical Conditioning
B. Operant Conditioning
C. Observational Learning/Modeling
D. How Much Do Attitudes Matter?

II. When Do Attitudes Predict Behaviour?

A. Strength
1. Importance
2. Direct Experience
B. Accessibility
C. Specificity
D. Social Norms
1. Theory of Planned Behaviour
2. Prototype/Willingness Model
E, The Trans-Theoretical Model of Behaviour Change (TTM)
F. Why (and When) Attitudes Do Matter

III. When Does Engaging in a Behaviour Lead to Attitude Change?

A. Cognitive Dissonance Theory
1. Insufficient Justification
2. Insufficient Deterrence/Punishment
3. Effort Justification
4. Justifying Decisions/Post-Decision Dissonance
B. Revisions to Dissonance Theory
1. The New Look.
2. Self-Standards Model

IV. What Alternatives are there to Cognitive Dissonance Theory?

A. Self-Perception Theory
B. Impression Management Theory
C. Self-Affirmation Theory
D. Which Theory is Right?

V. How Does Culture Impact Attitude Formation and Change?

A. Attitudes
1. Factors Predicting Attitudes
2. Attitude Behaviour Consistency
B. Cognitive Dissonance
Learning Objectives

After studying the chapter, students should be able to:

Define attitudes
Discuss the role parents have in the formation of attitudes
Explain the reasoning behind the existence of the negativity bias
Explain the relationship between mere exposure and attitude formation
Discuss situations in which subliminal exposure to stimuli can affect attitudes
Generate an example of operant conditioning of an attitude
Define observational learning
Discuss factors that make observational learning more effective
Discuss the relationship between attitude strength and the attitude-behaviour
relationship
Discuss why attitudes formed as a result of direct experience are considered
stronger
Describe the relationship between amount of knowledge on a topic and attitudes
regarding that same topic
Explain why level of self-awareness is associated with attitude accessibility
Describe how cognitive impairment affects the attitude-behaviour relationship
Explain the functioning of the theory of planned behaviour
Discuss the limitations of the theory of planned behaviour in terms of predicting
behaviour
Define prototype
Explain the prototype/willingness model
Describe the five stages of the trans-theoretical model of behaviour change
Define dissonance
Discuss how individuals try to avoid cognitive dissonance
Generate an example of changing behaviours to maintain consistency with
attitudes
Generate an example of reducing dissonance via trivialization
Generate an example of changing attitudes to maintain consistency with
behaviours
Describe how insufficient justification leads to attitude change
Explain how insufficient deterrence affects attitudes
Generate an example of attitude change as a result of effort justification
Explain the utility of post-decision dissonance
Explain the New Look theory of cognitive dissonance
Discuss the evidence against the New Look at cognitive dissonance
Describe the self-standards model
Explain vicarious dissonance
Discuss how self-perception theory differs from classic cognitive dissonance
theory
Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of impression management theory as
applies to cognitive dissonance
 Discuss how Steeles self-affirmation theory stacks up against Festingers, Bems
and Baumeisters theories
Discuss the difference between collectivist and individualistic cultures in terms of
attitude-behaviour consistency
Discuss the different concerns that lead to dissonance in individualistic and
collectivist cultures
 Chapter 7 Persuasion
Chapter Outline

I. How Do We Process Persuasive Messages?

A. Routes to Persuasion
B. Factors That Influence Type of Processing Used
1. Ability to Focus
2. Motivation to Focus
C. Which Route if More Effective?

II. What Factors Influence Persuasion?

A. Source: Who Delivers the Message?
1. Attractiveness
2. Similarity
3. Credibility
B. Content of the Message
1. Length
2. Discrepancy
C. Audience
1. Demographic Factors
2. Personality
D. Six Principles of Persuasion

III. How Can Subtle Factors Influence Persuasion

A. The Impact of Emotional Appeals
1. Fear-based Appeals
B. The Power of Positive Emotion
C. The Impact of Subliminal Messages

IV. How Can You Resist Persuasion

A. Forewarning
B. Reactance
C. Inoculation
D. Attitude Importance

V. How Does Culture Influence Persuasion

A. Types of Persuasive Messages Used
B. The Effectiveness of Different Persuasive Messages
Learning Objectives
After studying the chapter, students should be able to:
Describe how the Elaboration Likelihood Model functions
Define the characteristics of the central route to persuasion
Define the characteristics of the peripheral route to persuasion
Explain how the ability to focus on the persuasive message affects route to
persuasion
Explain how the motivation to focus on the persuasive message affects route to
persuasion
Describe the situations in which each route to persuasion is most effective
Describe the relationship of source attractiveness to persuasion
Explain why persuasive attempts are more effective coming from attractive
sources
Describe the relationship of the source similarity to recipient on persuasion
Describe what factors contribute to source credibility
Explain how source self-interest affects perceived credibility
Explain why a previous persuader affects the persuasiveness of a subsequent one
Define the sleeper effect
Describe the conditions under which long messages are persuasive
Describe the conditions under which long messages are non-persuasive
Explain when short messages are likely to be more persuasive than longer ones
Explain why rejecting discrepant messages leads to more extreme attitudes
Describe the effect gender has on the likelihood of being persuaded
Describe the relationship between age and likelihood of being persuaded
Describe the effect self-monitoring has on the likelihood of being persuaded
Describe how the need for cognition affects the likelihood of being persuaded
Explain conditions under which fear-based messages have persuasive impact
Explain how positive emotional states affect the likelihood of being persuaded
Define priming
Describe the limitations of subliminal effects
Explain how forewarning reduces the likelihood of being persuaded
Define reactance
Define attitude inoculation
Explain the relationship between attitude importance and the reduced likelihood
of being persuaded
Describe what types of persuasive messages are more effective in different
cultural contexts
Describe the different types of persuasive messages used in different cultural
contexts
 Chapter 8 Social Influence: Norms, Conformity,
Compliance, and Obedience
Chapter Outline

I. How Do Social Norms Influence Behaviour?

A. The Power of Social Norms
B. Errors in Perceiving Social Norms
C. The Pressure to Conform to Social Norms

II. What Factors Lead to Conformity

A. Why We Conform?
1. Informational Influence
2. Normative Influence
B. Factors That Increase Conformity
1. Group Size
2. Standing Alone
3. Demographic Variables
4. Motivation
C. The Power of Minority Influence
D. The Benefits of Conformity

III. What Factors Lead to Compliance

A. Reciprocity
1. The Door-in-the-Face Technique
2. The Thats-Not-All Technique
B. Consistency and Commitment
1. Foot-in-the-Door
2. Lowballing
C. Scarcity
1. Deadline
2. Hard to Get
D. The Serious Consequences of Compliance

IV. What Factors Lead to Obedience?

A. Factors That Increase Obedience
1. Person Factors
2. Authority Factors
3. Procedure Factors
B. Ethical Issues
C. Replications of Milgrams Study
D. Real-World Examples of Obedience
E. Strategies for Resisting Obedience
V. How Does Culture Affect Social Influence?
A. Conformity
B. Compliance
C. Obedience

Learning Objectives

After studying the chapter, students should be able to:

Define conformity
Define compliance
Define obedience
Explain the difference between descriptive norms and injunctive norms
Describe some of the factors that relate to the acquisition of norms
Explain why people seem unaware of the power of normative influence
Define pluralistic ignorance
Describe two factors that exert pressure one individuals to conform to social
norms
Define informational influence
Explain the relationship between informational influence and private conformity
Define normative influence
Explain the relationship between normative influence and public conformity
Describe the relationship between group size and conformity
Explain social impact theorys association with group size as a factor that
increases conformity
Explain the effect being a lone deviant has on conformity
Describe demographic variables that have an impact on conformity
Explain how task importance affects conformity
Explain the ways in which minorities can influence majorities
Describe the possible benefits of conformity
Define reciprocity
Explain the foot-in-the-door technique of gaining compliance
Explain the thats not all technique of gaining compliance
Explain the door-in-the-face technique of gaining compliance
Explain the lowballing technique of gaining compliance
Explain how perceptions of scarcity affect compliance
Explain how deadlines affect compliance
Explain the procedure of the Milgram study
Describe person factors affecting obedience to authority
Describe the role type of authority has in affecting obedience to authority
Describe particular procedural (i.e.; experimental) factors that can affect
obedience to authority
Explain the ethical reservations psychologists have expressed with Milgrams
methodology
 Describe how individuals can be made to be more resistant to authority
Explain how collectivistic and individualistic cultures differ with regards to
conformity
Explain how collectivistic and individualistic cultures differ with regards to
compliance
Explain how collectivistic and individualistic cultures differ with regards to
obedience