04. Social Psychology Flashcards
actor-observer bias
the tendency to attribute one’s own behaviour to external or situational factors, while attributing others’ behaviour to internal or personal factors
anti-conformity
the deliberate refusal to comply with accepted standards in a society, it is often accompanied by the expression of ideas, beliefs, or judgments that challenge those standards
affect heuristic
making a judgment that is influenced by the emotion being experienced at the time
Affective component of an attitude
in the tricomponent model, the emotional reaction or feeling an individual has towards an object, person, group, event or issue
Aggregation
a collection of people in one location who have no obvious social structure or organisation, and who have minimal shared purpose
anchoring bias
cognitive bias influencing the tendency to rely heavily on the very first piece of information received (called the anchor) when making a decision and to not modify this anchor sufficiently in light of later information
attentional bias
cognitive bias influencing the tendency to prioritise attention to certain information (or other stimuli) over other information
attitude
an evaluation a person makes about an object, person, group, event or issue
Behavioural component of an attitude
in the tricomponent model of attitudes, the way in which an attitude is expressed through our actions (or how we might behave should the opportunity arise)
Body language
non-verbal communication involving expression of feelings and thoughts through facial expressions, eye gaze, posture, gestures or other movements
Cognitive bias
a mistaken way of thinking that leads to systematic errors of judgment and faulty decision-making
Cognitive component
our thoughts and beliefs towards something p. 346
Cognitive dissonance
an unpleasant psychological state that occurs when people become aware that there is inconsistency among their various beliefs, attitudes or other ‘cognitions’, or that their behaviour conflicts with their cognitions
Cognitive intervention- reducing prejudice
in relation to reducing prejudice, changing the way someone thinks about prejudice
Conformity
the alignment of one’s thoughts, feelings, or behaviour to match those of others or societal expectations p. 393
Compliance
changing one’s behaviour in response to a request to do so, even if not made by an authority figure
Constructive obedience
when there is compliance with the orders of an authority that results in a positive outcome
Attribution
the process by which we explain the cause of our own or another person’s behaviour; also used to refer to the explanation we come up with
Availability heuristic
making a judgment based on how easy or difficult it is to bring specific examples to mind
Deindividuation
reduced self-awareness, inhibition, feelings of personal responsibility and inner restraint that can occur when in a group or crowd
Destructive obedience
when there is compliance with the orders of an authority that results in a negative outcome
direct discrimination
when someone treats another person unfavourably because of a personal characteristic protected by the law; compare with indirect discrimination
Discrimination
the unjust treatment of people due to their membership within a certain social category p. 355
Dunning-Kruger effect
cognitive bias whereby people overestimate their knowledge or ability, particularly in areas with which they have little to no knowledge or experience
External attribution
a judgement of the causes of a behaviour as resulting from forces outside the individual performing the behaviour p. 360
Explicit prejudice
consciously held and usually deliberately thought about
Expressive behaviour
in relation to emotion, an overt expression of behaviour which communicates an emotion
False- consensus bias
cognitive bias influencing the tendency to overestimate the extent to which other people are like them in terms of sharing beliefs, personal characteristics or behaviours
Fundamental Attribution Error
the tendency to overemphasise personal characteristics and ignore situational factors when judging the behaviour of others.
Group
two or more people who interact and influence each other and share a common objective p. 374
Groupthink
a way of thinking by individual members of a group characterised by a strong tendency to seek agreement when decision-making or problem-solving
Halo Effect
the tendency to allow an overall positive impression of a person or a specific quality to influence beliefs and expectations about the person in other qualities
Heuristic
a strategy for solving a problem or making a decision that is based on experience with similar types of problems but cannot guarantee a correct outcome
Hindsight Bias
cognitive bias influencing the tendency, only after an event has occurred, to overestimate the extent to which the outcome could have been foreseen
Informational influence
the influence of observable behaviours and information on an individual, influencing their behaviour in certain situations or environments p. 398
Internal attribution
a judgement of the causes of a behaviour as resulting from features of the individual performing the behaviour p. 360
Implicit prejudice
prejudice that is unconsciously held so the individual is usually unaware of it; compare with explicit prejudice
Ingroup
any group to which an individual belongs or with which an individual identifies; compare with outgroup
Indirect discrimination
unreasonable requirement, condition or practice that disadvantages a person, or a group of people, because of a personal characteristic; compare with direct discrimination
Just-world belief
the belief that the world is a just place in which people generally get what they deserve and deserve what they get; also called just-world fallacy or just-world hypothesis
Media
the form in which information is spread throughout society p. 419
Misinformation effect
cognitive bias influencing the tendency for information acquired after an event to influence the accuracy of the memory of the original event
Modern prejudice
a form of prejudice which tends to be subtle, hidden and expressed in ways more likely to be accepted within the majority group; compare with old-fashioned prejudice
Normative influence
the influence of social norms on an individual, influencing a person to act in certain ways which align with social norms p. 397
Obedience
adhering to the instructions of authority figures or the rules or laws of society p. 383
Overt bullying
visible forms of bullying, such as causing physical harm or name calling p. 413
Old-fashioned prejudice
a form of prejudice in which members of the majority group openly reject minority group members and their views towards the minority group are obvious and recognisable to others; compare with modern prejudice
Optimism bias
cognitive bias influencing the tendency to overestimate the likelihood of experiencing positive events and underestimate the likelihood of experiencing negative events in the future
Outgroup
any group to which an individual does not belong or identify; compare with ingroup
Personal factors
influences on helping that stem from within the individual who is or is not going to help p. 406
Person perception
the mental processes used to think about and evaluate other people
Physical cue
in person perception, information gained from the way people look and act
Power
the extent to which an individual can influence or control another individual’s thoughts, feelings and behaviour p. 375
Prejudice
a negative feeling held against people within a certain group or social category p. 355
Prosocial behaviour
behaviour that is intentionally and voluntarily performed in order to help another person or society p. 403
Role
the behaviour adopted by an individual or assigned to them that influences the way in which they functio
Salience
in relation to person perception, any personal characteristic that is distinctive, prominent, conspicuous or noticeable and therefore attracts attention
Self-serving bias
when judging ourselves, the tendency to take the credit for our successes (internal factors) and attribute failures to external situational factors
Social categorisation
the process of classifying people into different groups on the basis of common characteristics
Situational factors
elements of the environment or context a person is in that influences whether they help p. 404
The horn effect
The horn effect involves an incorrect assumption that a negative characteristic indicates the presence of one or more other negative characteristics.
Social behaviour
any action that is influenced, directly or indirectly, by the actual, imagined, expected, or implied presence of others
Social cognition
how individuals perceive, think about and use information to understand and make judgments about themselves and others in different social situations
social comparison
the process of evaluating our attitudes and abilities by comparing ourselves to others
Social factors (on helping)
influences on helping that stem from other people and societal expectations p. 408
Social loafing
the tendency to put in less effort when in a group than a person would when alone p. 398
Social media
types of media that allow people to interact with others p. 419
Social norms
society’s unofficial rules and expectations regarding how we ought to act that most people follow without thinking p. 394, 408
Status
an individual’s position within a group as perceived by other members of that group p. 375
Stereotype
a widely held belief and generalisation about a group of people p. 354
Superordinate goal
a goal that cannot be achieved by any one group alone and overrides other existing goals which each group might have
The bystander effect
the social psychological phenomenon which suggests that the presence (or imagined presence) of other people in an emergency situation reduces the likelihood that someone will provide help p. 405
Tri-component model of attitudes
a model which illustrates the relationship between the affective, behavioural and cognitive components of our attitudes p. 346
Unanimity
complete agreement among two or more individuals p. 397
