Social Processes, Attitudes, and Behavior Flashcards
actions and behaviors that individuals are conscious of and performing because others are around
social action
people naturally exhibit a performance response when they know they are being watched
social facilitation
being in the presence of others will significantly raise arousal, which enhances the ability to perform tasks one is already good at (simple tasks), and hinders the performance of less familiar tasks (complex tasks)
Yerkes-Dodson law of social facilitation
individual behavior can be dramatically different in social environments
deindividuation
individuals do not intervene to help victims when others are present
bystander effect
tendency of individuals to put in less effort when in group setting than individually
social loafing
when an individual’s state of harmony is disrupted by a threat of social rejection, the individual will often conform to the norms of the group
identity shift effect
simultaneous presence of two opposing thoughts or opinions
cognitive dissonance
tendency for groups to make decisions that are more extreme than the individual ideas and inclinations of the members within the group
group polarization
social phenomenon in which desire for harmony or conformity results in a group of people coming to an incorrect or poor decision
groupthink
creation of optimism and encouragement of risk-taking
illusion of invulnerability
ignoring warnings against the ideas of the group
collective rationalization
the belief that the group’s decisions are morally correct
illusion of morality
the construction of stereotypes against outside opinions
excessive stereotyping
the pressure to put on anyone in the group who expresses opinions against the group, viewing the opposition as disloyal
pressure for conformity
withholding of opposing views
self-censorship
false sense of agreement within the group
illusion of unanimity
appointment of members to the role of protecting against opposing views
mindguards
beliefs, behaviors, actions, and characteristics of a group or society of people
culture
process by which an individual’s or group’s behavior and culture begin to resemble that of another group
assismilation
groups of people within a culture who distinguish themselves from the primary culture to which they belong
subculture
process of developing, inheriting, and spreading norms, customs, and beliefs
socialization
the spread of norms, customs, and beliefs throughout the culture
cultural diffusion
occurs during childhood when we initially learn acceptable actions and attitudes in our society, primarily through observation of our parents and other adults in close proximity
primary socialization
process of learning appropriate behavior within smaller sections of the larger society
secondary socialization
process by which a person prepares for future changes in occupations, living situations, or relationships
anticipatory socialization
one discards old behaviors in favor of new ones to make a life change, and can have positive or negative connotations
resocialization
norms that refer to behavior that is considered polite in particular social interactions
folkways
labels given to people affect not only how others respond to that person, but also the person’s self image
labeling theory
intimate exposure to others who engage in deviant behavior lays the groundwork for one to engage in deviant behavior him or her self
differential association theory
attempts to explain deviance as a natural reaction to the disconnect between social goals and social structure
strain theory
matching one’s attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to societal norms
conformity
desire to fit into a group because of fear of rejection
normative conformity
changing one’s behavior to fit with a group while also privately agreeing with the ideas of the group
internalization
outward acceptance of others’ ideas without personally taking on these ideas
identification
small request is made, and after gaining compliance, a larger request is made
foot-in-the-door technique
large request is made at first and, if refused, a second smaller request is made
door-in-the-face technique
requestor will get an initial commitment from an individual, and then raise the cost of the commitment
lowball technique
an individual is made an offer, but before making a decision, is told the deal is even better than expected
that’s-not-all technique
states that attitudes serve four functions:knowledge, ego expression, adaptation, and ego defense
functional attitudes theory
posits that attitudes are developed through different forms of learning
learning theory
separates individuals on a continuum based on their processing of persuasive information
elaboration likelihood model
elaborate extensively, deep thinking
central route processing
do not elaborate, focus on superficial details
peripheral route processing
postulates that people learn how to behave and shape attitudes by observing the behaviors of others
social cognitive theory
