14 Social Psychology Terms

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.

social facilitation

Stronger responses on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others.

group polarization

The enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group.

groupthink

The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides in a realistic appraisal of alternatives.

culture

The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.

norm

An understood rule for accepted and expected behavior. They prescribe "proper" behavior.

personal space

The buffer zone we like to maintain around our bodies.

ingroup bias

The tendency to favor our own group.

aggression

Any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy against someone.

Frustration-Aggression Principle

The principle that frustration- the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal- creates anger, which can generate aggression.

social scripts

Mental tapes for how to act, provided by our culture

mere exposure effect

Because the human face is not perfectly symmetrical, the face we see in the mirror is not the one our friends see.

Altruism

Unselfish regard for the welfare of others

Bystander effect

The tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present.

reciprocity norm

An expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them.

mirror image perceptions

Mutual views often held by conflicting people, as when each side sees itself as ethical and peaceful and views the other side as evil and aggressive.

Halo effect

A person has one positive characteristic, we assume they have others.

Reverse halo

One negative characteristics, assume they have others.

Social inhibition

Weakened performance in front of a crowd.

Attribution theory

The theory that we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition

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.

spotlight effect

overestimating others' noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders.

self serving bias

a readiness to perceive oneself favorably

central route persuasion

attitude change path in which interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts

peripheral route persuasion

attitude change path in which people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker's attractiveness.

foot in the door phenomenon

the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request

door in the face phenomenon

you start large and overwhelm someone, then go to a realistic request.

cognitive dissonance theory

the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort we feel when two of our thoughts are inconsistent.

conformity

adjusting one's behavior of thinking to coincide with a group standard