Final Flashcards
Altruism
helping others in need without receiving or expecting reward for doing so
attitude inoculation
a strategy for strengthening attitudes and making them more resistant to change by first exposing people to a weak counter-argument and then refuting that argument
bystander effect
the observation that an individual is less likely to help when they perceive that others are not helping
central route to persuasion
focuses on facts, logic, and the content of a message in order to persuade
cognitive dissonance theory
when we hold inconsistent beliefs, it creates a kind of aversive inner tension, or “dissonance”; we are then motivated to reduce this tension in whatever way we can
construal-level theory
describes how information affects us differently depending on our psychological distance from the information
contact hypothesis
predicts that social contact between members of different groups is extremely important to overcoming prejudice
diffusion of responsibility
the reduced personal responsibility that a person feels when more people are present in a situation
door-in-the-face technique
involves asking for something relatively big, then following with a request for something relatively small
dual-process models
models of behaviour that account for both implicit and explicit processes
elaboration likelihood model
(ELM) a dual-process model of persuasion that predicts whether factual information or other types of information will be most influential
explicit processes
correspond roughly to “conscious” thought: deliberative, effortful, relatively slow, and generally under our intentional control
external attribution
the observer explains the actor’s behaviour as the result of the situation
false consensus effect
tendency to project the self-concept onto the social world
foot-in-the-door technique
involves making a simple request followed by a more substantial request
fundamental attribution error
(FAE) the tendency to over-emphasize internal (dispositional) attributions and under-emphasize external (situational) factors when explaining other people’s behaviour
groupthink
a decision-making problem in which group members avoid arguments and strive for agreement
identifiable victim effect
people are more powerfully moved to action by the story of a single suffering person than by information about a whole group of people
implicit associations test
(IAT) measures how fast people can respond to images or words flashed on a computer screen
implicit processes
correspond to “unconscious” thought: intuitive, automatic, effortless, very fast, and operate largely outside of our intentional control
informational influence
occurs when people feel the group is giving them useful information
in-group bias
positive biases toward the self get extended to include one’s ingroups and people become motivated to see their ingroups as superior to their outgroups
in-groups
groups we feel positively toward and identify with
internal attribution
the observer explains the behaviour of an actor in terms of some innate quality of that person
mimicry
taking on for ourselves the behaviours, emotional displays, and facial expressions of others
naïve realism
the assumption that our perceptions of reality are accurate, that we see things the way that they are
normative influence
the result of a social pressure to adopt a group’s perspective in order to be accepted, rather than rejected, by a group
ostracism
being ignored or excluded from social contact
outgroups
those “other” groups that we don’t identify with
peripheral route to persuasion
focuses on features of the issue or presentation that are not factual
person perception
the processes by which individuals categorize and form judgments about other people
prejudice
affective, emotionally laden responses to members of outgroups, including holding negative attitudes and making critical judgments of other groups
self-fulfilling prophecies
a first impression (or an expectation) affects one’s behaviour, and then that affects other people’s behaviour, leading one to “confirm” the initial impression or expectation
self-serving biases
biased ways of processing self-relevant information to enhance our positive self-evaluation
social facilitation
occurs when one’s performance is affected by the presence of others
social loafing
occurs when an individual puts less effort into working on a task with others
social norms
the (usually unwritten) guidelines for how to behave in social contexts
social roles
guidelines that apply to specific positions within the group
stereotype
a cognitive structure, a set of beliefs about the characteristics that are held by members of a specific social group; these beliefs function as schemas, serving to guide how we process information about our social world
thin slices of behaviour
very small samples of a person’s behaviour
appraisal
the cognitive act of assessing and evaluating the potential threat and demands of an event
body mass index
(BMI) a statistic commonly used for estimating a healthy body weight given an individual’s height
brain-derived neurotrophic factor
(BDNF) a protein in the nervous system that promotes survival, growth, and formation of new synapses
compensatory control
psychological strategies people use to preserve a sense of non-random order when personal control is compromised
coping
the processes used to manage demands, stress, and conflict
coronary heart disease
a condition in which plaques form in the blood vessels that supply the heart with blood and oxygen, resulting in restricted blood flow
cortisol
a hormone secreted by the adrenal cortex (the outer part of the adrenal gland) that prepares the body to respond to stressful circumstances
fight-or-flight response
a set of physiological changes that occur in response to psychological or physical threats
general adaptation syndrome
(GAS) a theory of stress responses involving stages of alarm, resistance, and exhaustion
hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis
(HPA) a neural and endocrine circuit that provides communication between the nervous system (the hypothalamus) and the endocrine system (pituitary and adrenal glands)
individual zone of optimal functioning
(IZOF) a range of emotional intensity in which an individual is most likely to perform at their best
learned helplessness
an acquired suppression of avoidance or escape behaviour in response to unpleasant, uncontrollable circumstances
meditation
any procedure that involves a shift in consciousness to a state in which an individual is highly focused, aware, and in control of mental processes
mindfulness-based stress reduction
(MBSR) a structured relaxation program based on elements of mindfulness meditation
negative affectivity
the tendency to respond to problems with a pattern of anxiety, hostility, anger, guilt, or nervousness
optimism
the tendency to have a favourable, constructive view on situations and to expect positive outcomes
pessimism
the tendency to have a negative perception of life and expect negative outcomes
pessimistic explanatory style
the tendency to interpret and explain negative events as internally based (i.e., as being due to that person rather than to an external situation) and as a constant, stable quality
positive psychology
uses scientific methods to study human strengths and potential
post-traumatic growth
the capacity to grow and experience long-term positive effects in response to negative events
psychoneuroimmunology
the study of the relationship between immune system and nervous system functioning
resilience
the ability to effectively recover from illness or adversity
set point
a hypothesized mechanism that serves to maintain body weight around a physiologically programmed level
social contagion
the often subtle, unintentional spreading of a behaviour as a result of social interactions
