social psych Flashcards
Bystander effect
The tendency for any given person to be less likely to give aid to someone who needs help if other individuals are present
Altruism
Unselfish regard for the wellbeing of others
Superordinate goals
Shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation
Mere exposure effect
The tendency to like or prefer something that is familiar
Victim blaming
Placing the responsibility or blame for a bad outcome on the individual who experiences the bad outcome due to their behavior
Scapegoat theory
The theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame
Cognitive dissonance
An unpleasant state that arises when a person recognizes the inconsistency of his or her actions, attitudes, or beliefs
Group polarization
The tendency for people to hold even more extreme views on topics after a group discussion with like-minded people
Consummate love
Love involving intimacy and commitment
Companionate love
Type of love occurring when intimacy, passion, and commitment are all present
Passionate love
Intense absorption with one another, usually at the beginning of a romantic relationship
Deindividuation
The loss of identity or self-awareness as a result of participation in a larger group; lessons the sense of personal responsibility and can lead to destructive or aggressive behavior (losing yourself in the crowd)
Social facilitation
Improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others
Central route
Persuasion based on evidence and logic
Social inhibition
The tendency to perform complex or difficult tasks more poorly in the presence of others
Peripheral route
Persuasion based on factors such as emotion, popularity, or fame, instead of the facts or argument itself
Just world phenomenon
The tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get
Social loafing
The tendency for people to put less effort into a task when working with others than they would when working alone
Social exchange theory
The theory that human interactions are transactions that aim to maximize one’s rewards and minimize one’s costs
Groupthink
Occurs when the group makes a poor or flawed decision because topics or options that might upset group dynamics are not considered as a solution
Self-serving bias
The tendency to attribute our successes to personal traits and our failures to external circumstances
Hostile aggression
Aggression that springs from anger; its goal is to injure
Instrumental aggression
Aggression as a means to some goal other than causing pain
Foot-in-the-door phenomenon
The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request
Frustration aggression principle
The principle that frustration creates anger, which can generate aggression
Door-in-the-face phenomenon
The tendency for people to comply with a smaller request after first denying a larger request
Prejudice
An unjustifiable and usually negative attitude toward a group and its members
Out-group homogeneity bias
Our tendency to see out-group members as being pretty much all alike
Stereotypes
Widely held beliefs that people have certain characteristics because of their membership in a particular group
Normative social influence
Conforming in order to be accepted or liked by a group
Conformity
Adjusting our behavior and thinking to fit in with a group standard
Chameleon effect
Unconsciously mimicking others’ expressions, postures, and voice tones
Mirror image perceptions
When members of opposing groups have the same negative perceptions of each other
Informational social influence
Conforming to/copying other people’s behavior because you assume they have information you lack
Mood linkage
The tendency to take on the prevailing mood of the people around you
In-group bias
Favoring members of one’s own group over out-group members
Discrimination
Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members
Halo effect
The tendency to draw a general impression about an individual on the basis of a single characteristic
Reciprocity norm
An expectation that people will help those who have helped them
Self-fulfilling prophecy
An expectation that causes you to act in ways that make that expectation come true
Fundamental attribution error
When judging another person’s behavior, the tendency to overestimate the influence of personal qualities and underestimate the influence of external circumstances
Social responsibility norm
An expectation that people will help those needing their help, as it is something we socially ought to do
