social psychology
the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 723)
attribution theory
suggests how we explain someone's behavior�by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 724)
fundamental attribution error
the tendency for observers, when analyzing another's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 724)
attitude
feelings often based on our beliefs, which predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 726)
foot-in-the-door phenomenon
the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 727)
cognitive dissonance theory
the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent. For example, when our awareness of our attitudes and of our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 728)
conformity
adjusting one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 732)
informational social influence
influence resulting from one's willingness to accept others' opinions about reality. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 733)
normative social influence
influence resulting from a person's desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 733)
social facilitation
stronger responses on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 738)
social loafing
the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 739)
deindividuation
the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 739)
group polarization
the enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 740)
groupthink
the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 740)
discrimination
unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 743)
prejudice
an unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members. Prejudice generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 743)
stereotype
a generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 743)
ingroup
us"�people with whom one shares a common identity. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 746)
ingroup bias
the tendency to favor one's own group. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 746)
outgroup
them"�those perceived as different or apart from one's ingroup. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 746)
scapegoat theory
the theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 747)
just-world phenomenon
the tendency of people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 748)
aggression
any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 749)
frustration-aggression principle
the principle that frustration�the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal�creates anger, which can generate aggression. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 751)
social trap
a situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing their self-interest, become caught in mutually destructive behavior. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 756)
mere exposure effect
the phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 759)
companionate love
the deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 763)
passionate love
an aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a love relationship. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 763)
equity
a condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 764)
self-disclosure
revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 764)
altruism
unselfish regard for the welfare of others. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 765)
bystander effect
the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 766)
reciprocity norm
an expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 766)
social exchange theory
the theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 766)
social-responsibility norm
an expectation that people will help those dependent upon them. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 767)
superordinate goals
shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 767)
norms
rules within a group indicating how members should or should not behave
self-serving bias
tendency often in individualistic cultures to attribute our own successes to dispositional factors and our own failures to situational factors
injunctive norms
Norms that define what behaviors are typically approved or disapproved.
descriptive norms
People adjust their behavior to match the rest of the group.
robber cave sherrif
Sherif's study at a summer camp, 2 groups were pitted against one another. They grew to despise the other group. Sherif then intermixed groups. When presented with goals in which they had to work together the new groups then worked together.
situational or internal attribution
belief that an individual's behavior is based on events in the environment rather than long-lasting personality characteristics.
dispositional or external attribution
belief that one's behavior is due to long-lasting personality traits rather than the current environment.
Weiner's attribution model
stability of a given action (stable/unstable) often leads to explaining it in terms of an internal or external attribution.
self-fullfilling prohecy
Process in which initial impression of someone or ourselves leads that person or ourselves to behave in accordance with that impression.
defensive attribution
also called blaming the victim - blaming victim for their misfortune so one feels less likely to be victimized in a similar way
chameleon effect
Natural (unconscious) tendency to imitate other peoples speech, inflections & physical movements
self-handicapping strategies
Doing things that contribute to you failing (knowingly or unknowingly) and then using these very things as excuses for failing.
spotlight effect
assumption that others pay more attention to our behavior & appearance than they actually do
actor-observor bias
tendency to attribute the behavior of others to dispositional factors and our own behavior to situational ones in a comparison
self-perception theory
Attitudes can change as people consider their behavior in given situations, and from this deduce what their attitude must be. (high and low self monitors)
high self-monitors
change behavior to match the group and gain approval - respond best to peripheral routes of persuasion
low self-monitors
behavior stays the same regardless of who they are with and what is happening - respond best to central routes of persuasion
central route to persuasion
persuasion method that focuses on individuals who have to make a decision take time and effort necessary to gather all info & and make well determined choice.
peripheral route to persuasion
persuasion method that focuses on individuals that need to make a decision take into account random and inconsequential factors in order to arrive at a decision. usually, topic is of little importance to them
sleeper effect
After previously rejecting a choice, delayed reaction of persuasion convinces an individual to change their mind.
door-in-face strategy
tendency for an individual who denies an outrageous request to agree to a lesser one.
halo effect
term for how we think beautiful people are more vivacious, socially skilled, intelligent, & well adjusted
matching hypothesis
we seek individuals most like ourselves (attractive wise).
romantic ideals
expect partner to fit ideals about loyalty, status, attractiveness, humor, etc. and the closer they match these the more attractive they are
Sternberg's Love Theory
combinations of passion, intimacy, and committment result if various types of love
contact theory
idea that prejudice can be reduced by increasing contact with those that are different
aggression
physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy
social impairment
lowering of performance on a given task in the pressence of others - usually a task that is not well reshearsed
conformity
changing behavior or beliefs to match other members of group.
compliance
adjusting behavior because of a request.
reciprocity norm
Tendency to respond to others as they have acted towards you
confederates
fake subjects" that look & behave like real subjects in study.
Asch
researcher famous for line study of conformity
Milgram
researcher famous for teacher-learner study on obedience to authority
Festinger
experimenter famous for $1 or $20 experiment on cognitive dissonance
Zimbardo
experimentor famous for research on how roles influence behavior and the power of the situation in a mock prison
negative state relief model
Helping others aids in eliminating negative moods and unpleasant feelings.
empathy-altruism model
Unselfish behavior can occur as a result of empathy with another person.
commons dilemma
People who share a common resource tend to overuse it and therefore make it unavailable in the long run.
prisoner's dilemma
situation in which an individual must choose between a cooperative act and an act that will help them but hurt others.
individualist culture
cultural perspective which places the individual, independence and autonomy over the group.
collectivist culture
cultural perspective which places interdependence, cooperation and social harmony take precedence over personal goals.
schema
cognitive structures that guides information processing.
social schema
organized cluster of ideas about categories of social events and people.
injunctive norms
norms that define what behaviors are typically approved or disapproved.
hindsight bias
tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it.
confirmation bias
tendency to search for information that confirms one's preconceptions.
self-handicapping strategy
when an individual intentionally places one's self at a disadvantage to provide an excuse for failure.
bystander effect
any particular witness is less likely to get involved if more witnesses are present
diffusion of responsibility
theory for why bystander effect occurs - each individual bystander thinks someone else will get involved
Kitty Genovese
woman whose murder in front of witnesses led to research on bystander effect
devil's advocate
main tool in preventing groupthink - designate 1 person to take unpopular role of constantly challenging groups emerging consensus & offer additional alternatives - forces group to see other ways and face reality
compassionate love
intimate, non-passionate love, which includes committment
false consensus effect
tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors
cognition
thinking