chapter 15

Question 1

aversive event

Answer 1

in inter group relations, a situation or event caused by or attributed to an outside group that produces negative or undesirable outcomes for members of the target group

Question 2

conformity

Answer 2

adherence by an individual to group norms so that behaviour lies within the range of tolerable behaviour

Question 3

discrimination

Answer 3

overt acts, occurring without apparent justification, that treat members of certain out groups in an unfair or disadvantageous manner

Question 4

ethnocentrism

Answer 4

in inter group relations, the tendency to regard one’s own group as the centre of everything and to evaluate other groups in reference to it; the tendency to regard one’s in group as superior to all out groups

Question 5

goal isomorphism

Answer 5

in groups, a state in which group goals and individual goals held by a member are similar in that sense that actions leading to the attainment of group goals also lead simultaneously to the attainment of individual goals

Question 6

group

Answer 6

a social unit that consists of two or more persons and has the following characteristics: shared goal(s), interaction (communication and influence) among members, normative expectations (norms and roles), and identification of members with the unit

Question 7

group cohesion

Answer 7

a property of a group, specifically the degree to which members of a group desire to remain in that group and resists leaving it. a highly cohesive group will maintain a firm hold over its members’ time, energy, loyalty, and commitment

Question 8

group goal

Answer 8

a desirable outcome that group members strike collectively to accomplish or bring about

Question 9

illusion of out-group homogeneity

Answer 9

the tendency among in group members to overestimate the extent to which out group members are homogenous or all alike

Question 10

informational influence

Answer 10

i’m groups, a form of influence that occurs when a group member accepts info from others as valid evidence about reality. influence of this type is particularly likely to occur in situations of uncertainty or where there are no external or “objective” standards of reference

Question 11

inter group conflict

Answer 11

a state of affairs in which groups having opposing interests take antagonistic actions toward one another to control some outcome important to them

Question 12

inter group contact hypothesis

Answer 12

a hypothesis holding that in intergroup relations, increased interpersonal contact between groups will reduce stereotypes and prejudice and, consequently, reduce antagonism between groups

Question 13

majority influence

Answer 13

the process by which a group’s majority pressures an individual to adopt a specific position on some issue

Question 14

minimal group paradigm

Answer 14

placing people into arbitrarily defined groups that have no important meaning is sufficient to trigger in group and out group processes and produce intergroup discrimination

Question 15

norm

Answer 15

in groups, a standard or rule that specifies how members are expected to behave under given circumstances; expectations concerning which behaviours are acceptable and which are unacceptable for specific persons in specific situations

Question 16

normative influence

Answer 16

in groups, a form of influence that occurs when a member conforms to group norms in order to receive the rewards or avoid the punishments that are contingent on adherence to these norms

Question 17

primary group

Answer 17

a group with strong emotional ties and bonds that endure over time. this type of group tends to be more informal and intimate than other groups that individuals belong to.

Question 18

priming

Answer 18

an implicit cognition effect, whereby exposure to one stimulus influences a response to another stimulus

Question 19

realistic group conflict theory

Answer 19

a theory of intergroup conflict that explains the development and the resolution of conflict in terms of that goals of each groups. its central hypothesis is that groups will engage in conflictive behaviour when their goals involve opposition of interest

Question 20

secondary goal

Answer 20

a group that is formal and impersonal, often organized around instrumental goals

Question 21

social identity theory of intergroup behaviour

Answer 21

a theory of intergroup relations based on the premise that people spontaneously categorize the social world into various groups (specifically, in groups and out groups) and experience high self-esteem to the extent that the in groups to which they belong have more status than the out groups

Question 22

superordinate goal

Answer 22

in intergroup conflict, an objective held in common by all conflicting groups that cannot be achieved by any one group without the supportive efforts of the others

Question 23

ultimate attribution error

Answer 23

a perceptual bias occurring in intergroup relations. negative behaviours by out group members are attributed to stable, internal factors such as undesirable personal traits or dispositions, but positive behaviours by out group members are attributed by o unstable, external factors, such as situational pressures or luck. as a result, in group observers will blame the out group for negative outcomes but will not give it credit for positive outcomes