Social Behavior

Question 1

social psychology

Answer 1

the study of how living among others influences thought, feeling, and behavior.

Question 2

social facilitation

Answer 2

phenomenon in which the presence of others improves one’s performance.

Question 3

social loafing

Answer 3

phenomenon in which the presence of others causes one to relax one’s standards and slack off.

Question 4

social norms

Answer 4

rules about acceptable behavior imposed by the cultural context in which one lives.

Question 5

conformity

Answer 5

tendency of people to adjust their behavior to what others are doing or to adhere to the norms of their culture

Question 6

informational social influence

Answer 6

conformity to the behavior of others because one views them as a source of knowledge about what one is supposed to do.

Question 7

normative social influence

Answer 7

conformity to the behavior of others in order to be accepted by them.

Question 8

groupthink

Answer 8

situation in which the thinking of the group takes over, so much so that group members forgo logic or critical analysis in the service of reaching a decision.

Question 9

obedience

Answer 9

a type of conformity in which a person yields to the will of another person.

Question 10

attributions

Answer 10

inferences made about the causes of other people’s behavior.

Question 11

self-serving bias

Answer 11

the tendency to make situational attributions for our failures but dispositional attributions for our successes.

Question 12

fundamental attribution error

Answer 12

the tendency to explain others’ behavior in dispositional rather than situational terms.

Question 13

stereotypes

Answer 13

schemas of how people are likely to behave based simply on groups to which they belong.

Question 14

in-group/out-group bias

Answer 14

tendency to show positive feelings toward people who belong to the same group as we do, and negative feelings toward those in other groups.

Question 15

out-group homogeneity

Answer 15

the tendency to see all members of an out-group as the same.

Question 16

prejudice

Answer 16

a biased attitude toward a group of people or an individual member of a group based on unfair generalizations about what members of that group are like.

Question 17

discrimination

Answer 17

preferential treatment of certain people, usually driven by prejudicial attitudes.

Question 18

attitudes

Answer 18

an individual’s favorable or unfavorable beliefs, feelings, or actions toward an object, idea, or person.

Question 19

cognitive dissonance

Answer 19

the feeling of discomfort caused by information that is different from a person’s conception of himself or herself as a reasonable and sensible person.

Question 20

persuasion

Answer 20

the act of attempting to change the opinions, beliefs, or choices of others by explanation or argument.

Question 21

aggression

Answer 21

violent behavior that is intended to cause psychological or physical harm, or both, to another being.

Question 22

prosocial behavior

Answer 22

action that is beneficial to others.

Question 23

bystander effect

Answer 23

phenomenon in which the greater the number of bystanders who witness an emergency, the less likely any one of them is to help.

Question 24

altruism

Answer 24

selfless attitudes and behavior toward others.

Question 25

kin selection

Answer 25

the evolutionary favoring of genes that prompt individuals to help their relatives or kin.

Question 26

reciprocal altruism

Answer 26

the act of helping others in the hope that they will help us in the future.

Question 27

social exchange theory

Answer 27

the idea that we help others when we understand that the benefits to ourselves are likely to outweigh the costs.

Question 28

empathy

Answer 28

the ability to share the feelings of others and understand their situations.

Question 29

empathy–altruism hypothesis

Answer 29

the idea that people help others selflessly only when they feel empathy for them.

Question 30

sexual strategies theory

Answer 30

the idea that men and women face different problems when they seek out mates, and so they often approach relationships in very different ways.

Question 31

triangular theory of love

Answer 31

Sternberg’s idea that three components (intimacy, passion, and commitment), in various combinations, can explain all the forms of human love.

Question 32

cult

Answer 32

an extremist group led by a charismatic, totalitarian leader in which coercive methods are used to prevent members from leaving the group.

Question 33

situational causes

Answer 33

causes of behavior are associated with external, environmental factors.

Question 34

Mere Exposure

Answer 34

The idea that direct exposure with an, object, person, or idea increases our overall preferences for it.

Question 35

Solomon asch

Answer 35

study conformity

Question 36

Confederates

Answer 36

People in on the experiment.