ap psych unit 7 study guide

3 min read 01-02-2025

This comprehensive study guide covers the key concepts of Unit 7 in AP Psychology: Social Psychology. We'll delve into the fascinating ways individuals think, feel, and behave in social contexts. Mastering this unit requires understanding both theoretical frameworks and real-world applications.

Social Thinking: Understanding How We Perceive and Interpret Others

This section explores how we form impressions of others and make attributions about their behavior.

Attribution Theory: Internal vs. External Causes

Attribution theory: The process of explaining one's own behavior and the behavior of others. We attribute behavior to either internal dispositions (personality traits) or external situations.
Fundamental attribution error: Overestimating the influence of personality traits and underestimating the impact of situations when explaining others' behavior. This is particularly prevalent in Western cultures.
Actor-observer bias: Attributing our own actions to external factors while attributing others' actions to internal factors.
Self-serving bias: Taking credit for our successes (internal attribution) and blaming external factors for our failures (external attribution).

Attitudes and Their Impact

Attitudes: Evaluative reactions (positive or negative) towards objects, people, and ideas. These are comprised of cognitive (beliefs), affective (feelings), and behavioral (actions) components.
Cognitive dissonance: The discomfort experienced when holding conflicting beliefs or engaging in behaviors inconsistent with one's attitudes. We often reduce this dissonance by changing our attitudes to match our behaviors.
Persuasion: The process of changing attitudes. Key factors include the communicator (credibility, attractiveness), the message (reason vs. emotion), and the audience (intelligence, self-esteem). The elaboration likelihood model outlines central and peripheral routes to persuasion.

Social Influence: Conformity, Obedience, and Group Dynamics

This section examines how social pressures shape our behavior.

Conformity and Obedience

Conformity: Adjusting one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard. Asch's conformity experiments demonstrated the powerful influence of group pressure, even when the group is clearly wrong.
Obedience: Compliance with a direct command. Milgram's obedience experiments revealed the surprising willingness of individuals to obey authority figures, even when it involves harming others.
Factors influencing conformity and obedience: Group size, unanimity, status, culture, and the presence of an authority figure all play significant roles.

Group Dynamics

Social facilitation: Improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others. However, complex tasks may suffer from social inhibition.
Social loafing: The tendency for individuals to exert less effort when working collectively than when working alone.
Deindividuation: Loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in group situations that foster anonymity.
Group polarization: The enhancement of a group's prevailing attitudes through discussion within the group.
Groupthink: A mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides realistic appraisal of alternatives.

Prejudice, Discrimination, and Aggression

This section explores the negative aspects of social interaction.

Prejudice and Discrimination

Prejudice: A negative attitude toward a group and its members. This involves stereotypes (cognitive component), emotional prejudice (affective component), and discriminatory behavior (behavioral component).
Discrimination: Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members.
Roots of prejudice: Social inequalities, in-group bias, out-group homogeneity, scapegoating, and cognitive biases all contribute to prejudice.

Aggression

Aggression: Physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy.
Biological influences on aggression: Genetics, neural influences (amygdala), and biochemical influences (testosterone) all play a role.
Psychological and social-cultural influences on aggression: Frustration, reinforcement, observational learning, and social scripts all contribute to aggressive behavior.

Prosocial Behavior and Altruism

This final section explores the positive side of social interaction.

Helping Behavior and Altruism

Altruism: Selfless concern for the well-being of others. This involves acting to benefit someone else without expecting reward or recognition.
Bystander effect: The tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present.
Factors influencing helping behavior: Mood, empathy, responsibility, and the characteristics of the victim all impact our willingness to help.

This study guide provides a framework for your AP Psychology Unit 7 review. Remember to consult your textbook, class notes, and practice questions to thoroughly prepare for the exam. Good luck!