cueprepAP Psychology Unit 9: Social Psychology — Complete Review
Unit 9 examines how people think about, influence, and relate to one another. Social psychology consistently appears on the AP exam through scenario-based questions that ask you to identify social phenomena in everyday situations. It's a unit where understanding the classic experiments is essential.
Attribution theory opens the unit: the fundamental attribution error (overattributing others' behavior to disposition rather than situation), self-serving bias, and the actor-observer bias. From there, you'll study attitudes and attitude change (cognitive dissonance, foot-in-the-door, door-in-the-face), conformity (Asch's line experiment), obedience (Milgram's shock experiment), and group dynamics (groupthink, social facilitation, social loafing, group polarization, deindividuation).
The unit also covers prosocial and antisocial behavior — the bystander effect (Darley & Latané), altruism, aggression, and the frustration-aggression hypothesis — as well as prejudice, stereotyping, discrimination, in-group/out-group bias, and strategies for reducing prejudice (contact hypothesis, superordinate goals from Sherif's Robbers Cave experiment). Interpersonal attraction (proximity, similarity, reciprocity, physical attractiveness) rounds out the unit.
Key Concepts
Fundamental Attribution Error
The tendency to overestimate dispositional (personality) factors and underestimate situational factors when explaining others' behavior.
Cognitive Dissonance
Festinger's theory that when our attitudes and behaviors conflict, we experience discomfort and are motivated to reduce it — usually by changing our attitude to match our behavior.
Conformity (Asch)
Asch's line experiments showed people conform to a group's incorrect answer about 37% of the time, even when the correct answer is obvious.
Obedience (Milgram)
Milgram's shock experiment demonstrated that ~65% of participants obeyed an authority figure's orders to deliver seemingly dangerous electric shocks to another person.
Bystander Effect
The more bystanders present in an emergency, the less likely any individual is to help. Caused by diffusion of responsibility and pluralistic ignorance.
Groupthink
When group cohesion leads to poor decision-making because members suppress dissent and fail to consider alternatives (Janis).
Prejudice and Discrimination
Prejudice is an unjustifiable negative attitude toward a group; discrimination is unjustifiable negative behavior. In-group bias, stereotyping, and scapegoating perpetuate them.
Stanford Prison Experiment
Zimbardo's study demonstrated how situational factors (assigned roles of guard vs. prisoner) can powerfully influence behavior, supporting the situationist perspective.
Key Terms & Vocabulary
44 terms you need to know for Unit 9. Use our flashcards to memorize them with spaced repetition.
Study Unit 9 with Flashcards
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is AP Psychology Unit 9 about?
Unit 9 covers social psychology — the study of how people think about, influence, and relate to each other. Key topics include attribution, attitudes and cognitive dissonance, conformity (Asch), obedience (Milgram), group dynamics, the bystander effect, prejudice and discrimination, aggression, and interpersonal attraction.
How much of the AP Psychology exam is Unit 9?
Unit 9: Social Psychology accounts for approximately 8–10% of the AP Psychology exam.
What are the most important social psychology experiments for the AP exam?
The most important experiments are Asch's conformity study (line experiment), Milgram's obedience study (shock experiment), Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment (situational influence on behavior), Darley and Latané's bystander studies, and Sherif's Robbers Cave experiment (intergroup conflict and cooperation).
What is the difference between prejudice and discrimination?
Prejudice is an unjustifiable negative attitude toward a group and its members, involving stereotyped beliefs and negative feelings. Discrimination is unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group — it's prejudice put into action. You can be prejudiced without discriminating, and institutional discrimination can occur without individual prejudice.