Chapter 1 Flashcards
An Invitation to Social Psychology
Social psychology
The scientific study of the feelings, thoughts, and behaviors of individuals in social situations
Dispositions
Internal factors that guide a person’s behavior (beliefs, values, personality traits, abilities)
Fundamental attribution error
The failure to recognize the importance of situational influences on behavior, along with the corresponding tendency to overemphasize the importance of dispositions on behavior
Gestalt psychology
An approach that stresses the fact that people’s perception of objects involves active, usually nonconscious interpretation of what the object represents as a whole
Construal
One’s interpretation of or inference about the stimuli or situations that one confronts
Schema
A knowledge structure consisting of any organized body of stored information that is used to help in understanding events
Stereotypes
A belief that certain attributes are characteristic of members of a particular group
Natural selection
An evolutionary process that molds animals and plants so that traits that enhance the probability of survival and reproduction are passed on to subsequent generations
Naturalistic fallacy
The claim that the way things are is the way they should be
Independent (individualistic) culture
A culture in which people tend to think of themselves as distinct social entities, tied to each other by voluntary bonds of affection and organizational memberships but essentially separate from other people and having attributes that exist in the absence of any connection to others
Interdependent (collectivistic) culture
A culture in which people tend to define themselves as part of a collective, inextricably tied to others in their group and placing less importance on individual freedom or personal control over their lives
