Ch. 11 Flashcards
The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another
Social psychology
The tendency, when analyzing others’ behavior, to overestimate the influence of personal traits and underestimate the effects of the situation
Fundamental attribution error
Feelings, often based on our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events
Attitude
Occurs when people are influenced by unimportant cues, such as a speaker’s attractiveness
Peripheral route persuasion
Occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts
Central route persuasion
The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request
Foot-in-the-door phenomenon
A set of expectations about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave
Role
The theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) clash. Ex: when we become aware that our attitudes and our actions don’t match, we may change our attitudes so that we feel more comfortable
Cognitive dissonance theory
Adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard
Conformity
Influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval
Normative social influence
Influence resulting from a person’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality
Informational social influence
Improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others
Social facilitation
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 loafing
The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity
Deindividuation
Strengthening of a group’s preexisting attitudes through discussions within the group
Group polarization
The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives
Groupthink
An unfair and usually negative attitude toward a group and its members
Prejudice
A generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people
Stereotype
Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members
Discrimination
The tendency to believe that the world is just and people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get
Just-world phenomenon
“Us” - people with whom we share a common identity
In group
“Them” - those perceived as different or apart from our group
Out group
The tendency to favor our own group
In group bias
The theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame
Scapegoat theory
The tendency to recall faces of one’s own race more accurately than faces of other races
Other-race effect
Any act intended to harm someone physically or emotionally
Aggression
The principle that frustration- the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal- creates anger, which can generate aggression
Frustration-aggression principle
A culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations
Social script
The phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them
Mere exposure effect
An aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of romantic love
Passionate love
The deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined
Companionate love
A condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it
Equity
Revealing intimate aspects of ourselves to others
Self-disclosure
Unselfish concern for the welfare of others
Altruism
The tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present
Bystander effect
An expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them
Reciprocity norm
An expectation that people will help those dependent upon them
Social-responsibility norm
A perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas
Conflict
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
Mirror-image perceptions
A belief that leads to its own fulfillment
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation
Superordinate goals
