Social Psychology
The study of how living among others influences thought, feelings, and behavior.
Social Facilitation
Occurs when the presence of others improves our performance.
Social Loafing
Occurs when the presence of others cause individuals to relax their standards and slack off.
Social Norms
Rules about acceptable behavior imposed by the cultural context/society in which we leave.
Conformity
Tendency of people to adjust their behavior to what others are doing or to adhere to the norms of their culture.
Information Social Influence
Occurs when people conform to the behavior of others because they view them as a source of knowledge about what they're supposed to do.
Normative Social Influence
Occurs when people go along with the behavior of others in order to be accepted by them.
Groupthink
Occurs when the thinking of the group takes over, so much that group members forgo logic or critical analysis in the service of reaching a decision.
Obedience
A kind of conformity in which people yield to the social pressure of an authority figure.
Social Perception
The way in which we make sense of our social world.
Attributions
The inferences we make about the causes of other peoples behavior.
Dispositional Attribution
Ascribe other peoples behavior to something within them
Situational Attribution
When they think that something outside the person is the cause of their behavior.
Self-Serving Bias
The tendency to make situational attributions for our failures but dispositional attributions for our success.
Fundamental Attribution Error
The tendency to explain others behavior in dispositional rather than situational terms.
Schemas
Ways of knowing that affect how we view our social world. (lenses through which one filters perceptions)
In-group/Out-group Bias
Tendency to show positive feelings toward people who belong to the same gourd as we do and negative feelings toward those in other groups.
Out-Group Homogeneity
The tendency to see all members of an out-group as the same.
Prejudice
A biased attitude toward a group of people or an individual member based on unfair generalizations about what members of that group are like.
Discrimination
Preferential treatment of certain people.
Attitude
A persons favorable or unfavorable feelings, beliefs or actions toward an object, idea or person.
Affective
Feelings or emotions associated with the belief.
Cognitive
Rational thoughts and beliefs that make up attitude.
Behavioral
Motive to act in a particular way toward the person or object of the attitude.
Cognitive Dissonance
Feeling of discomfort caused by information that is at odds with ones conception of oneself as a reasonable and sensible person.
1. Change our behavior
2. Justify the behavior
3. Add new cognitions
Persuasion
An attempt by a person or group to change our opinions, beliefs or choices of others by explanation or argument.
Aggression
Violent behavior that is intended to cause psychological or physical harm or both to another being.
Hostile Aggression
Anger.
Instrumental Aggression
Achieving a Goal.
Prosocial Behavior
Action that is beneficial to others.
Bystander Effect
Greater the number of bystanders who witness an emergency the less likely any one of them is to help.
Diffusion of Responsibility
When there are many people around, an individuals responsibility to act seems decreased.
Altruism
Selfless concern for and giving of aid to others
Kin Selection
The evolutionary theory favoring of genes that prompts individuals to help their relatives or kin.
Reciprocal Altruism
Helping others in the hope that they will help you in the future.
Social Exchange Theory
The idea that we help others when we understand that the benefits to ourselves are likely to outweigh the costs.
Empathy
The ability to share the feelings of others and understand their situations.
Empathize-Altruism Hypothesis
The idea that people help others selflessly only when they feel empathy for them.
Egoistic Motivation
Reduction of Stress.
Empathic Motivation
Reduce stress of other individual.
Assortative Mating
Be attracted to and partner with people of similar level of attractiveness
Sexual-Strategies Theory
The idea that men and women often approach relationships differently.
Triangular Theory of Love
Explains all forms of human love.
Intimacy
Close, connected, bonding feelings in loving relationships.
Passion
Drive that lead to romance, attraction, sexual things. (Lust is characterized by a lot of passion)
Commitment
Decision to love someone and commit to love for long term. (High and Low Passion)
Priming
Showed that prior exposure to a word or image will lead to better recall.