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