Psychology in Our Social Lives

Question 1

social psychology

Answer 1

the scientific study of how we feel about, think about, and behave toward the other people around us, and how those people influence our thoughts, feelings, and behavior

Question 2

social situation

Answer 2

the people with whom we are interacting

Question 3

social cognition

Answer 3

the part of human thinking that helps us understand and predict the behavior of ourselves and others

Question 4

attitudes

Answer 4

our enduring evaluations of people or things

Question 5

social norms

Answer 5

the accepted beliefs about what we do or what we should do in particular social situations

Question 6

stereotyping

Answer 6

tendency to attribute personality characteristics to people on the basis of their external appearance or their social group memberships

Question 7

prejudice

Answer 7

the tendency to dislike people because of their appearance or group memberships

Question 8

discrimination

Answer 8

negative behaviors toward others based on prejudice

Question 9

self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 9

occurs when our expectations about the personality characteristics of others lead us to behave toward those others in ways that make those beliefs come true

Question 10

social identity

Answer 10

the positive emotions that we experience as a result of our group memberships

Question 11

close relationships

Answer 11

the long-term intimate and romantic relationships that we develop with another person—for instance, in a marriage

Question 12

mere exposure

Answer 12

the tendency to prefer stimuli (including but not limited to people) that we have seen more frequently

stimuli tend to produce more positive affect as they become more familiar

Question 13

Commitment

Answer 13

refers to the feelings and actions that keep partners working together to maintain the relationship

Question 14

causal attribution

Answer 14

The process of trying to determine the causes of people’s behavior, with the goal of learning about their personalities

Question 15

person attribution

Answer 15

we may decide that the behavior was caused primarily by the person

Question 16

situation attribution

Answer 16

we may determine that the behavior was caused primarily by the situation

Question 17

fundamental attribution error (or correspondence bias)

Answer 17

the common tendency to overestimate the role of person factors and overlook the impact of situations in judging others

Question 18

self-monitoring

Answer 18

the tendency to regulate behavior to meet the demands of social situations

people w high self monitoring tend to change their behaviors to match the social situation and thus do not always act on their attitudes

Question 19

Self-perception

Answer 19

occurs when we use our own behavior as a guide to help us determine our own thoughts and feelings

eg, shaking your head while reading a newspaper

Question 20

Cognitive dissonance

Answer 20

the discomfort we experience when we choose to behave in ways that we see as inappropriate

If we feel that we have wasted our time or acted against our own moral principles, we experience negative emotions (dissonance) and may change our attitudes about the behavior to reduce the negative feelings.

When we put in effort for something—an initiation, a big purchase price, or even some of our precious time—we will likely end up liking the activity more than we would have if the effort had been less; not doing so would lead us to experience the unpleasant feelings of dissonance.

Question 21

Altruism

Answer 21

any behavior that is designed to increase another person’s welfare, and particularly those actions that do not seem to provide a direct reward to the person who performs them

We are more likely to help when we receive rewards for doing so and less likely to help when helping is costly

Question 22

Reciprocal altruism

Answer 22

the principle that, if we help other people now, those others will return the favor should we need their help in the future

Question 23

responsibility norm

Answer 23

we should try to help others who need assistance, even without any expectation of future paybacks

Question 24

reciprocity norm

Answer 24

we should follow the principles of reciprocal altruism. If someone helps us, then we should help them in the future, and we should help people now with the expectation that they will help us later if we need it.

Question 25

Diffusion of responsibility

Answer 25

occurs when we assume that others will take action and therefore we do not take action ourselves

Question 26

culture of honor

Answer 26

social norm that condones and even encourages responding to insults with aggression

Question 27

minority influence

Answer 27

cases in which a smaller number of individuals is able to influence the opinions or behaviors of the larger group

Question 28

psychological reactance

Answer 28

a strong emotional reaction that leads people to resist pressures to conform

aroused when our ability to choose which behaviors to engage in is eliminated or threatened with elimination

Question 29

social facilitation

Answer 29

The tendency to perform tasks better or faster in the presence of others

Question 30

social inhibition

Answer 30

The tendency to perform tasks more poorly or more slowly in the presence of others

Question 31

dominant response

Answer 31

Robert Zajonc

when we are with others we experience more arousal than we do when we are alone, and this arousal increases the likelihood that we will perform the dominant response, the action that we are most likely to emit in any given situation

Question 32

group process

Answer 32

the events that occur while the group is working on the task

Question 33

group process gain

Answer 33

When the outcome of group performance is better than we would expect given the individuals who form the group

Question 34

group process loss

Answer 34

when the group outcome is worse than we would have expected given the individuals who form the group

Question 35

social loafing

Answer 35

a group process loss that occurs when people do not work as hard in a group as they do when they are working alone

Question 36

Groupthink

Answer 36

a phenomenon that occurs when a group made up of members who may be very competent and thus quite capable of making excellent decisions nevertheless ends up, as a result of a flawed group process and strong conformity pressures, making a poor decision

more likely to occur in groups whose members feel a strong group identity, when there is a strong and directive leader, and when the group needs to make an important decision quickly

Question 37

illusion of group productivity

Answer 37

The tendency for group members to overvalue the productivity of the groups they work in