Groupthink: Groupthink is a phenomenon that occurs when a group of people are highly cohesive and have a strong desire for consensus.
This can lead to the suppression of dissenting opinions and a lack of critical thinking.
Groupthink can have negative consequences, such as poor decision-making and unethical behavior.
Cognitive Dissonance: Cognitive dissonance is the uncomfortable state that people experience when they hold two or more contradictory beliefs.
This discomfort motivates people to reduce dissonance by changing their attitudes or behaviors.
For example, if someone smokes but knows that smoking is bad for their health, they may experience cognitive dissonance. They may reduce this dissonance by quitting smoking or by rationalizing their behavior (e.g., "I only smoke a few cigarettes a day").
Discrimination: Discrimination is a form of prejudice that involves treating someone negatively based on their perceived membership in a category.
Discrimination can be overt (e.g., refusing to hire someone because of their race) or subtle (e.g., microaggressions).
Discrimination can have negative consequences for both the individual and society.
Other Key Ideas:
Social influence: How people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by others.
Conformity: The tendency to change one's behavior or beliefs in order to fit in with a group.
Obedience: The tendency to follow the orders of an authority figure, even when those orders are unethical.
Aggression: The intentional infliction of harm on another person.
Altruism: The selfless concern for the welfare of others.
Best Quotes:
"Social psychology is the study of how individuals think, feel, and behave in a social context."
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"Attribution theory is concerned with how people explain the causes of their own and others' behavior."
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"Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable state that motivates people to change their attitudes or behaviors."
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"Discrimination is a serious problem that can have negative consequences for both the individual and society."
Criticism:
Some critics argue that Aronson's focus on individual behavior ignores the role of social structures and power dynamics.
Others criticize his use of laboratory experiments, claiming they fail to capture the complexity of real-world social interactions.