Chapter 11- Social Psychology Flashcards
Social psychology
The scientific study of how a persons thoughts, feelings, and behavior influence and are influenced by social groups; area of psychology in which psychologists focus on how human behavior is affected by the presence of other people
Social influence
The process through which the real or implied presence of others can directly or indirectly influence the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of an individual
Conformity
Changing one’s own behavior to match that of other people
Groupthink
Kind of thinking that occurs when people place more importance on maintaining group cohesiveness than on assessing the facts of the problem with which the group is concerned
Group polarization
The tendency for members involved in a group discussion to take somewhat more extreme positions and suggest riskier actions when compared to individuals who have not participated in a group discussion
Social facilitation
The tendency for the presence of other people to have a positive impact on the performance of an easy task
Social loafing
The tendency for people to put less effort into a simple task when working with others on that task
Deindividuation
The lessening of personal identity, self restraint, and the sense of personal responsibility that can occur within a group
Compliance
Changing ones behavior as a result of other people directing or asking for the change
Foot in the door technique
Asking for a small commitment and after gaining compliance asking for a bigger commitment
Door in the face technique
Asking for a large commitment and begging refused and then asking for a smaller commitment
Lowball technique
Getting a commitment from a person and then reading the cost of that commitment
Obedience
Changing ones behavior at the command of an authority figure
Attitude
The tendency to respond positively or negatively towards a certain person, object, idea, or situation
Persuasion
The process by which one person tries to change the belief, opinion, position, or course of action of another person through argument, pleading, or explanation
Cognitive dissonance
Sense of discomfort or distress that occurs when a persons behavior does not correspond to that persons attitudes
Impression formation
The forming of the first knowledge that a person has concerning another person
Central route processing
Type of information processing that involves attending to the content of the message itself
Peripheral route processing
Type of information processing that involves attending to factors not involved in the message, such as the appearance of the source of the message, the length of the message, and other noncontent factors
Attribution theory
The theory of how people make attributions
Situational cause
Cause it behavior attributed to external factors, such as delays, the action of others, or some other aspect of the situation
Dispositional cause
Cause of behavior attributed to internal factors such as personality or character
Fundamental attribution error
The tendency to overestimate the influence of internal factors in determining behavior while underestimating situational factors
Actor-observer bias
The tendency to attribute to ones own biases to external causes while attributing other people’s behavior to internal causes
