13. Social Psychology Flashcards
social psychology
The branch of psychology that attempts to understand how the behavior and subjective experiences of individuals are influenced by the actual or imagined presence of other people.
attribution
In social cognition, any inference about the cause of a person’s behavioral action or set of actions. More generally, any inference about the cause of any observed action or event.
person bias
The tendency to attribute a person’s behavior too much to the person’s inner characteristics (personality) and not enough to the environmental situation.
fundamental attribution error
The tendency for people to attribute an action to the individual’s personality and to ignore the constraints that the role or situation places on how the person can or must act.
self-concept
The way a person defines himself or herself
self-fulfilling prophecies. Also called Pygmalion effects
The phenomenon by which beliefs and expectations that others have of a person—whether initially true or false—can to some degree create reality by influencing that person’s self-concept and behavior.
self-esteem
A person’s feeling of approval and acceptance of him- or herself
social comparison
Any process in which an individual evaluates his or her own abilities, characteristics, ideas, or achievements by comparing them with those of other people
reference group
A group of people with whom an individual compares him- or herself for the purpose of self-evaluation
self-serving attributional bias
The tendency of people to attribute their successes to their own qualities and their failures to the situation
attitude
Any belief or opinion that has an evaluative component—a belief that something is good or bad, likable or unlikable, attractive or repulsive
explicit attitudes
Conscious attitudes; that is, attitudes that people are aware of holding and can state verbally
implicit attitudes
Attitudes that are manifested in a person’s behavior or automatic mental associations, even though the person may not be conscious of holding those attitudes
implicit association tests
Tests of a person’s automatic, unconscious mental associations, designed to assess implicit stereotypes or other implicit attitudes
cognitive dissonance theory
Festinger’s theory proposing that people seek to relieve the discomfort associated with the awareness of inconsistency between two or more of one’s own cognitions (beliefs or bits of knowledge).
insufficient-justification effect
A change in attitude that serves to justify an action that seems unjustified in the light of the previously held attitude.
personal identity
The portion of the self-concept that pertains to the self as a distinct, separate individual.
social identity
The portion of the self-concept that pertains to the social categories or groups of which the person is a part.
out-groups
Groups to which we do not belong
in-groups
Groups to which we belong
stereotype
A mental concept by which people characterize one or more specific groups or categories of people
explicit stereotypes
Stereotypes that people hold consciously.
implicit stereotypes
Stereotypes that automatically, unconsciously influence people’s judgments and actions toward others
social pressure
The entire set of psychological forces that are exerted on an individual by other people or by the individual’s beliefs about other people.
social facilitation
The tendency to perform a task better in front of others than when alone
social interference
The tendency to perform a task worse in front of others than when alone
stereotype threat
The threatened feeling that occurs, during the taking of a test, when a person is reminded of the fact that he or she belongs to a group that, according to a culturally prominent stereotype, is expected to perform poorly on the test
impression management
The entire set of ways by which people either consciously or unconsciously attempt to influence other people’s impressions (perceptions and judgments) of them.
informational influence
The class of social influence that derives from the use of others’ behavior or opinions as information in forming one’s own judgment about the objective nature of an event or situation
normative influence
The class of social influence that derives from people’s concern about what others will think of them if they behave in a certain way or express a certain belief
group polarization
The tendency for a group of people who already share a particular opinion to hold that opinion more strongly—or in a more extreme form—after discussing the issue among themselves
groupthink
A model of thinking in which members of a group are more concerned with group cohesiveness and unanimity than with realistic appraisal of the actions being considered
low-ball technique
A sales trick in which the salesperson suggests a low price for the item being sold, and then, when the potential customer has agreed to buy it at that price, pretends to discover that the item cannot be sold for that price
foot-in-the-door technique
A technique for gaining compliance in which one first asks for some relatively small contribution or favor before asking for a larger one. Complying with the first request predisposes the person to comply with the second
social dilemma
A situation in which a particular action will (a) benefit the individual who takes it, (b) harm the individuals who don’t, and (c) cause more harm than benefit to everyone if everyone takes it.
superordinate goals
The goals shared by two or more groups, which tend to foster cooperation among the groups
