Chapter 8

Question 1

norms

Answer 1

Rules that regulate social life, including explicit laws and implicit cultural conventions.

Question 2

culture

Answer 2

A program of shared rules that govern the behavior of people in a community or society, and a set of values, beliefs, and customs shared by most members of that community.

Question 3

entrapment

Answer 3

A gradual process in which individuals escalate their commitment to a course of action to justify their investment of time, money, or effort.

Question 4

attribution theory

Answer 4

The theory that people are motivated to explain their own and other people’s behavior by attributing causes of that behavior to a situation or disposition.

Question 5

fundamental attribution error

Answer 5

The tendency, in explaining other people’s behavior, to overestimate personality factors and underestimate the influence of the situation.

Question 6

just-world hypothesis

Answer 6

The notion that many people need to believe that the world is fair and that justice is served, that bad people are punished and good people are rewarded.

Question 7

cognitive dissonance

Answer 7

A state of tension that occurs when a person simultaneously holds two cognitions that psychologically inconsistent or when a person’s belief is incongruent with his or her behavior.

Question 8

familiarity effect

Answer 8

The tendency of people to feel more positive toward a person, item, product, or other stimulus the more familiar they are with it.

Question 9

validity effect

Answer 9

The tendency of people to believe that a statement is true or valid simply because it has been repeated many times.

Question 10

groupthink

Answer 10

The tendency for all members of a group to think alike for the sake of harmony and to suppress disagreement.

Question 11

diffusion of responsibility

Answer 11

In groups, the tendency of members to avoid taking action because they assume others will.

Question 12

deindividuation

Answer 12

In groups or crowds, the loss of awareness of one’s own individuality.

Question 13

social identity

Answer 13

The part of a person’s self-concept that is based on his or her identification with a nation, religious or political group, occupation or other social affiliation.

Question 14

ethnic identity

Answer 14

A person’s identification with a racial or ethnic group.

Question 15

acculturation

Answer 15

The process by which members of minority groups come to identify with and feel part of the mainstream culture.

Question 16

ethnocentrism

Answer 16

The belief that one’s own ethnic group, nation, or religion is superior to all others.

Question 17

stereotype

Answer 17

A summary impression of a group, in which a person believes that all members of the group share a common trait or traits (positive, negative, or neutral).

Question 18

prejudice

Answer 18

A strong, unreasonable dislike or hatred of a group, based on negative stereotype.