Behaviour in a Social Context Flashcards
What is attribution?
The process of explaining the causes of behavior and events.
What is the fundamental attribution error?
The tendency to overemphasize personal traits and underestimate situational factors when explaining others’ behaviors.
What is the self-serving bias?
Attributing one’s successes to internal factors and failures to external factors.
What is social cognition?
How people process, store, and apply information about others and social situations.
What are the components of an attitude?
Cognitive (beliefs), affective (emotions), and behavioral (actions).
What is cognitive dissonance?
The discomfort experienced when holding conflicting thoughts or beliefs, leading to attitude change.
What is the elaboration likelihood model?
A theory explaining two routes to persuasion: central (logical) and peripheral (superficial cues).
What is conformity?
Adjusting behaviors or beliefs to align with group norms.
What is obedience?
Following direct commands, usually from an authority figure
What is compliance?
Agreeing to a request from someone with no authority over you.
What is social facilitation?
Improved performance on tasks in the presence of others.
What is social loafing?
The tendency to exert less effort when working in a group.
What is groupthink?
A mode of thinking where the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides realistic appraisal of alternatives.
What is prejudice?
A negative attitude toward a group and its members.
What is discrimination?
Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members.
What is the contact hypothesis?
The theory that under appropriate conditions, interpersonal contact is one of the most effective ways to reduce prejudice between majority and minority group members.
What is aggression?
Behavior intended to harm another individual
What is the frustration-aggression hypothesis?
The theory that frustration leads to aggressive behavior
What is prosocial behavior?
Voluntary behavior intended to benefit others.
What is the bystander effect?
The tendency for individuals to be less likely to help a victim when other people are present.
What is social identity theory?
A person’s sense of who they are based on their group memberships.
What is in-group bias?
The tendency to favor one’s own group over others.
What is realistic conflict theory?
The idea that competition over limited resources leads to intergroup conflict
What are the 3 components of Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love?
Intimacy, passion, and commitment.
What is passionate love?
An intense emotional and physical attraction, often early in relationships.
What is companionate love?
Deep affection, trust, and commitment — typically found in long-term relationships
What predicts lasting relationships according to research?
Commitment, communication, similarity, and satisfaction with equity in the relationship
What is deindividuation?
A psychological state where individuals lose self-awareness and personal accountability in groups.
What can deindividuation lead to?
Increased impulsive, aggressive, or deviant behavior (e.g., riots, mob actions)
What factors contribute to deindividuation?
Anonymity, group size, arousal, and diffused responsibility
What is impression formation?
The process by which we form an opinion or perception of someone
What is the primacy effect in impression formation?
The tendency to be more influenced by initial information than later info
What is confirmation bias in social perception?
The tendency to seek or interpret information in a way that confirms existing beliefs
What is self-fulfilling prophecy?
Expectations about someone lead them to behave in ways that confirm those expectations
What was the purpose of Milgram’s experiment?
To study obedience to authority — specifically, how far people would go in obeying orders that involved harming others
What happened in the experiment?
Participants (“teachers”) were instructed to deliver electric shocks to a “learner” (confederate) for wrong answers
What were the results of Milgram’s study?
65% of participants delivered the maximum shock of 450 volts, despite hearing the learner’s screams
What factors increased obedience?
Authority figure’s presence, prestige of Yale, physical separation from the learner, and no dissenting peers
What did the study conclude about human behavior?
Ordinary people are likely to follow orders from authority, even to the extent of harming others
