Chapter 14

Question 1

social psychology

Answer 1

how people influence others’ behaviour, beliefs and attitudes

Question 2

social facilitation

Answer 2

enhancement of performance brought about by the presence of others

Question 3

attribution

Answer 3

process of assigning causes to behaviour

Question 4

fundamental attribution error

Answer 4

tendency to overestimate the impact of dispositional influences on other people’s behaviour

Question 5

social comparison theory

Answer 5

seeking to evaluate our beliefs, attitudes and abilities by comparing our reactions with others

Question 6

mass hysteria

Answer 6

outbreak of irrational behaviour that is spread by social contagion

Question 7

conformity

Answer 7

altering behaviour as a result of group pressure

Question 8

parametric studies

Answer 8

experimenter systematically manipulates the independent variable to observe its effects on the dependent variable

Question 9

deindividuation

Answer 9

tendency of people to engage in uncharacteristic behaviour when they are stripped of their usual identities

Question 10

groupthink

Answer 10

emphasis on group unanimity at the expense of critical thinking and sound decision making

Question 11

group polarisation

Answer 11

tendency of group discussion to strengthen the dominant positions held by individual group members

Question 12

cults

Answer 12

groups of individuals who exhibit intense and unquestioning devotion to a single cause

Question 13

inoculation effect

Answer 13

convincing people to change their minds about something by first introducing reasons why the perspective might be correct and then debunking it

Question 14

obedience

Answer 14

adherence to instructions from those of higher authority

Question 15

pluralistic ignorance

Answer 15

error of assuming that no one in a group perceives things as we do

Question 16

diffusion of responsibility

Answer 16

reductions in feelings of personal responsibility in the presence of others

Question 17

social loafing

Answer 17

phenomenon whereby individuals become less productive in groups

Question 18

altruism

Answer 18

helping others for unselfish reasons

Question 19

enlightenment effect

Answer 19

learning about psychological research can change real-world behaviour for the better

Question 20

aggression

Answer 20

behaviour intended to harm others, either verbally or physically

Question 21

relational aggression

Answer 21

form of indirect aggression, prevalent in girls, involving spreading rumours, gossiping and nonverbal putdowns for the purpose of social manipulation

Question 22

belief

Answer 22

conclusion regarding factual evidence

Question 23

attitude

Answer 23

belief that includes an emotional component

Question 24

self-monitoring

Answer 24

personality trait that assesses the extent to which people’s behaviour reflects their true feelings and attitudes

Question 25

cognitive dissonance

Answer 25

unpleasant mental experience of tension resulting from two conflicting thoughts or beliefs

Question 26

self-perception theory

Answer 26

we acquire our attitudes by observing our behaviours

Question 27

impression management theory

Answer 27

we do not really change our attitudes, but report that we have so that our behaviours appear consistent with our attitudes

Question 28

foot-in-the-door technique

Answer 28

persuasive technique involving making a small request before making a bigger one

Question 29

door-in-the-face technique

Answer 29

persuasive technique involving making an unreasonably large request before making the small request we are hoping to have granted

Question 30

low-ball technique

Answer 30

persuasive technique in which the seller of a product starts by quoting a low sales price, and then mentions all of the ‘add-on’ costs once the customer has agreed to purchase the product

Question 31

prejudice

Answer 31

drawing conclusions about a person, group or situation prior to evaluating the evidence

Question 32

adaptive conservatism

Answer 32

evolutionary principle that creates a predisposition towards distrusting anything or anyone unfamiliar or different

Question 33

in-group bias

Answer 33

tendency to favour individuals within our group over those from outside our group

Question 34

out-group homogeneity

Answer 34

tendency to view all individuals outside our group as highly similar

Question 35

discrimination

Answer 35

negative behaviour towards members of out-groups

Question 36

stereotype

Answer 36

belief, positive or negative, about the characteristics of members of a group that is applied generally to most members of the group

Question 37

implicit or explicit stereotypes

Answer 37

beliefs about the characteristics of an out-group about which we are either unaware (implicit) or aware (explicit)

Question 38

ultimate attribution error

Answer 38

assumption that behaviours among individual members of a group are due to their internal dispositions

Question 39

scapegoat hypothesis

Answer 39

claim that prejudice arises from a need to blame other groups for our misfortunes

Question 40

just-world hypothesis

Answer 40

claim that our attributions and behaviours are shaped by a deep-seated assumption that the world is fair and all things happen for a reason

Question 41

jigsaw classrooms

Answer 41

educational approach designed to minimise prejudice by requiring all children to make independent contributions to a shared project