Exam 2 Flashcards
Natural Selection
the evolutionary process by which heritable traits that best enable organisms to survive and reproduce in particular environments are passed to ensuing environments
Evolutionary psychology
the study of the
evolution of cognition and behavior using
principles of natural selection.
Sex
the two biological categories of male and female.
Gender
in psychology, the characteristics, whether biological or socially
influenced, that we associate with males and females.
Transgender
someone whose psychological sense of being male or
female differs from their birth sex.
what is one way that biology influences sex differences?
hormones
Testosterone
a hormone more prevalent in males than females that is linked to dominance and aggression.
androgynous
the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics.
Culture
the enduring behaviors,
ideas, attitudes, and traditions
shared by a large group of people
and transmitted from one
generation to the next.
Norms
standards for accepted and expected behavior.
Persuasion
the process by which a message induces
change in beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors.
Central route to persuasion
occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts.
-system 2
Peripheral route to persuasion
occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker’s attractiveness.
- system 1
Sleeper effect
a delayed impact of a message that occurs
when an initially discounted message becomes effective, such as we remember the message but forget the reason for
discounting it.
- While Yara tells Sophie that she intends to buy the product, Sophie, who is a
dermatologist, warns her that the shampoo has harsh chemicals that could be harmful
to the scalp and hair. After hearing this, Yara decides not to buy the shampoo. Over
the next few months, the advertisement is often played on TV. Yara forgets Sophie’s
warning and buys the shampoo.
Foot-in-the-door phenomenon
the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request.
-get your friend to drive you to the store today before asking them to help you move
Lowball technique
people who agree to an initial request will
often still comply when the requester ups the ante. People who receive only the costly request are less likely to comply.
-for only 200 dollars… sorry that excludes taxes
Door-in-the-face technique
after someone first turns down a
large request (the door-in-the-face), the same requester counteroffers with a more reasonable request.
Primacy effect
other things being equal, information
presented first usually has the most influence.
Recency effect
information presented last sometimes has the most influence.
Channel
the way the message is delivered—whether
face-to-face, in writing, on film, or in some other way.
Two-step flow of communication
from the media to certain individuals (i.e., the opinion leaders) and from them to the public.
What are two audience characteristics
age and thoughtfulness.
Need for cognition
the motivation to think and analyze
Conformity
a change in behavior or belief as the result
of real or imagined group pressure.
-ordering dessert because everyone else had
