Chapter 11: Social Psychology Flashcards
Social psychology
The study of how people think about, influence, and relate to other people
Bystander effect
The tendency of an individual who observes and emergency to be less likely to help when other people are present than when the observer is alone
Social cognition
The area of social psychology exploring how people select, interpret, remember, and use social information
Stereotype
A generalization about a group’s characteristics that doesn’t consider any variation from one individual to another
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Social expectations that cause an individual to act in such a way that the expectations are realized
Stereotype threat
An individual’s fast-acting, self-fulfilling fear of being judged based on a negative stereotype about their group
Attribution theory
The view that people are motivated to discover the underlying causes of behavior as part of their effort to make sense of the behavior
Fundamental attribution error
Observers’ overestimation of the importance of internal traits and underestimation of the importance of external situations when they seek explanations of another persons behavior
Attitudes
An individual’s opinions and beliefs about people, objects, and ideas- how the person feels about the world
Cognitive dissonance
An individual’s psychological discomfort (dissonance) caused by two inconsistent thoughts
Elaboration likelihood model
Theory identifying two ways to persuade: a central route and a peripheral route. The central route works by engaging the audience with a sound, logical argument. The peripheral route involves factors such as the attractiveness of the person presenting the argument, or the level of emotional appeal.
Altruism
Giving to another person with the ultimate goal of benefiting that person, even if it incurs a cost to oneself
Egoism
Giving to another person to ensure reciprocity; to gain self esteem; to present oneself as powerful, competent or caring; or to avoid social and self-censure for failing to live up to society’s expectations
Empathy
A feeling of oneness with the emotional state of another person
Aggression
Social behavior whose objective is to harm someone, either physically or verbally
Overt aggression
Physical or verbal behavior that directly harms another person
Relational aggression
Behavior that is meant to harm the social standing of another person
Mere exposure effect
The phenomenon that the more individuals encounter someone or something, the more probable it is that they will start liking the person or thing even if they do not they have seen it before
Social exchange theory
The view of social relationships as involving the exchange of good, the objective of which is to minimize cost and maximize benefits
Conformity
A change in a person’s behavior to coincide more closely with a group standard
Informational social influence
The influence other people have on us because we want to be right
Normative social influence
The influence other people have on us because we want them to like us
Obedience
Behavior that complies with the explicit demands of the individual in authority
Milgram’s obedience experiment
Experiment where shocks are administered to a subject when answers are incorrect. The shocks are fake but the subject administering the shock’s is unaware. The subject being shocked complains of pain and eventually becomes unresponsive, but the designer of the experiment tells you that the experiment must go on. Most people deliver the highest intensity of shocks.
Deindividualization
The reduction in personal identity and erosion of the sense of personal responsibility when one is part of a group
Social contagion
Imitative behavior involving the spread of behavior, emotion, and ideas
Social facilitation
Improvement in an individual’s performance because of the presence of others
Social loafing
Each person’s tendency to exert less effort in a group because of reduced accountability for an individual effort
Groupthink
The impaired group decision making that occurs when making the right decision is less important than maintaining group harmony
Prejudice
An unjustified negative attitude towards an individual based on the individual’s membership in a group
Systemic racism
Systems, structures, and procedures in a society that disadvantage a racial group and privilege another
Microaggression
Everyday, subtle, and potentially unintentional acts that communicate bias to members of a marginalized group
Discrimination
An unjustified negative or harmful action toward a member of a group simply because the person belongs to that group
