social psych

Question 1

Social Psychology

Answer 1

Study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions are affected by others

Question 2

Attribution Theory -

Answer 2

how we decide, on the basis of samples of an individual’s behavior, what the specific causes of that person’s behaviors

Question 3

Situational Causes -

Answer 3

Situational Causes - a cause of behavior that is based on environmental factors

Question 4

Dispositional Causes -

Answer 4

a cause of behavior that is based on internal traits or personality factors

Question 5

Fundamental attribution error

Answer 5

A tendency to attribute others’ behavior to dispositional causes and the tendency to minimize the importance of situational causes

Question 6

Self Serving Bias -

Answer 6

When judging our own behavior, we give ourselves credit (disposition) for positive behavior, but blame others (situation) for negative behavior/experiences

Question 7

Self fulfilling prophecy-

Answer 7

behaving according to expectations of others or fulfilling their prophecy

Question 8

Spotlight Effect-

Answer 8

Overestimating how much others notice things about us and our appearance, mistakes we make, etc.

Question 9

Just World Phenomenon-

Answer 9

people believe the world is “just” and others will end up getting what they deserve, good or bad (Karma)

Question 10

False Consensus Effect-

Answer 10

The tendency to overestimate how much others share our beliefs and behaviors

Question 11

Central-route processing

Answer 11

(mindful) facts, figures, time and effort

Question 12

Peripheral-route processing

Answer 12

(mindless) superficial cues, flashy slogans and attractive models

Question 13

Foot in the Door Phenomenon-

Answer 13

the tendency for people who agree to a smaller request to continue to agree to larger requests

Question 14

Door in the Face Phenomenon-

Answer 14

the tendency for people to turn down an outrageous large request but the agree to a smaller, reasonable request

Question 15

Cognitive Dissonance

Answer 15

the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts are inconsistent or clash.

Question 16

Milgram’s Obedience Study

Answer 16

subjects were obedient because they felt the experimenter would beresponsible (diffusion of responsibility)

Question 17

Zimbardo’s Prison Study

Answer 17

Done in 1971, reaction to prison riots in Attica, NY .
*Simulated a prison 24 men chosen randomly. 12 guards/12 prisoners at Stanford U.

Question 18

Social Role-

Answer 18

as set of norms about a social
position that define how those in that position should behave

Question 19

Conformity and Solomon Asch

Answer 19

adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard to gain approval or avoid disapproval.

Question 20

deindividuation -

Answer 20

increased tendency to behave irrationally or perform antisocial behaviors when there is less chance of being personally identified

Question 21

group polarization -

Answer 21

tendency of a group to make more extreme decisions than the members would make individually

Question 22

groupthink-

Answer 22

group members are so anxious to achieve a consensus, they do not think critically

Question 23

Social facilitation-

Answer 23

stronger responses or performances on a task or activity in the presence of others

Question 24

Social inhibition-

Answer 24

weaker response of performance on a task of activity in the presence of others

Question 25

Social loafing-

Answer 25

tendency for an individual(s) in a group to exert less effort when there is a common goal or product because there is little individual accountability

Question 26

diffusion of responsibility -

Answer 26

the tendency for people to feel that responsibility is shared, or diffused, among those present.

Question 27

Bystander effect-

Answer 27

the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present. Studied following the Kitty Genovese case in 1964.

Question 28

Reciprocity norm-

Answer 28

an expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them.

Question 29

Altruism-

Answer 29

complete unselfish regard for the welfare of others

Question 30

Norms-

Answer 30

understood rules for accepted and expected behavior

Question 31

Social trap-

Answer 31

a situation in which conflicting parties, by each pursuing their own self interests rather than the good of the group, become caught in mutually destructive behavior. An example is the Prisoner’s Dilemma

Question 32

Superordinate Goals-

Answer 32

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation.

Question 33

Stereotype-

Answer 33

an overgeneralized belief about a group of people

Question 34

Prejudice-

Answer 34

an unjustifiable often negative attitude toward a group and its members.

Question 35

Discrimination-

Answer 35

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members

Question 36

Ingroup bias-

Answer 36

the tendency to favor your own group or those you share an identity with

Question 37

Outgroup bias-

Answer 37

the tendency to perceive others not in your group as different or inferior.

Question 38

Outgroup homogenity bias

Answer 38

where you label all outsiders as the same and different and inferior.

Question 39

Scapegoat Theory-

Answer 39

we look for an outlet to blame others especially those who are in our outgroup for problems

Question 40

Ethnocentrism-

Answer 40

evaluating others based on your own standards, the idea that your ethnicity is superior

Question 41

Aggression-

Answer 41

Any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone or destroy or cause harm to a person physically or emotionally

Question 42

Frustration Aggression Hypothesis

Answer 42

frustration-the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal-creates anger and hostility which can generate aggression

Question 43

3 Factors in Attraction

Answer 43

Proximity- mere exposure effect- the more you are exposed to something the more you will like it.
Similarity- the psychological degree of identity of two mental representations.
Physical Attractiveness- Halo effect- when we perceive someone has one desirable trait, we then assume they have others.

Question 44

Passionate love-

Answer 44

an excited absorption usually seen at the beginning of a relationship with lots of physical affection

Question 45

Companionate love-

Answer 45

the deep affection we feel for those who we are very close to and have intertwined lives.