social psychology Flashcards
social psychology
the subfield of psychology that explores the effects of the social world on the behavior and mental processes of individuals and groups
social cognition
mental processes associated with people’s perceptions of and reactions to other people
self-concept
the way one thinks of oneself
self-esteem
the evaluations people make about their worth as human beings
social comparison
using other people as a basis of comparison for evaluating oneself
reference groups
categories of people with whom individuals compare themselves
social identity
the beliefs we hold about groups to which we belong
social perception
the processes through which people interpret information about others, draw inferences about them, and develop mental representations of them
schemas
generalizations about categories of objects, places, events and people
self-fulfilling prophecy
a process in which an initial impression causes us to bring out the behavior in another that confirms the impression
attribution
the process of explaining the causes of people’s behavior including our own
fundamental attribution error
a bias toward attributing the behavior or others to internal factors
actor-observer effect
the tendency to attribute other people’s behavior to internal causes whilde attributing one’s own behavior to external causes
self-serving bias
the tendency to attribute one’s successes to internal characteristics while blaming one’s failures on external causes
attitude
a tendency toward a particular cognitive, emotional, or behavioral reaction to objects in one’s environment
elaboration likelihood model
a model of attitude change suggesting that people can change their attitudes through a central route or through a peripheral route
cognitive dissonance theory
a theory that attitude change is driven by efforts to reduce tension caused by inconsistencies between attitudes and behaviors
stereotypes
false assumptions that all members of some group share the same characteristics
prejudice
a positive of negative attitude toward people in certain groups
social discrimination
differential treatment of people in certain groups; the behavioral component of prejudice
contact hypothesis
the idea that stereotypes and prejudice toward a group will diminish as contact with the group increases
matching hypothesis
the notion that people are most likely to form commited relationships with those who are similar to themselves in physical attractiveness
social norms
learned, socially based rules that prescribe what people should of should not do in various situations
deindividuation
a psychological state occuring in group members that result in loss of individuality and a tendency to do things not normally done when alone
conformity
changing one’s behavior of beliefs to match those of others, generally as a result of real or imagined group pressure
compliance
adjusting one’s behavior of a direct request
obedience
changing behavior in response to a demand from an authority figure
aggresive behavior
an act that is intended to harm another person
frustration-agression hypothesis
a proposition stating that frustration always lead to some form of aggresive behavior
environmental psychology
the study of the effects of the physical and environmental on people’s behavior and mental processes
prosocial behavior
any act that is intended to benefit another person
altruism
an unselfish concern for another’s welfare
arousal: cost-reward theory
a theory attributing people’s prosocial behavior to their efforts to reduce unpleasant arousal in the face of someone’s need or suffering, while also considering the costs involved
bystander effect
a phenomenon in which the chances that someone will help in an emergency decrease as the number of people present increases
empathy-altruism helping theory
a theory suggestig that people help others because they feel empathy toward them
cooperation
any type of behavior in which people work together to attain a goal
competition
any type of behavior in which individuals try to attain a goal while denying others access to that goal
conflict
what occurs when a person or group believes that another person or group interferes with the attainment of a goal
conflict
what occurs when a person or group believes that another person or group interferes with the attainment of a goal
social dillemmas
situations in which actions that produce rewards for one individual will produce negative consequences for all if they are adopted by everyone
prisoner’s dilemma game
a social dilemma scenario in which mutual cooperation guarantees the best mutual outcome
social facilitation
a phenomenon in which the presence of others improve a person’s performance
social interference
a reduction in performance due to the presence of other people
social loafing
exerting less effort when performing a group task than when performing the same task alone
task-motivated leaders
leaders who provide close supervision, lead by giving directions, and generally discourage group discussion
relationship-motivated leaders
leaders who provide loose supervision, ask for group members’ ideas, and are generally concerned with subordinates’ feelings
social neuroscience
a specialty that focuses on the influence of social processes on biological processes and on the influence of biological processes on social psychological phenomena
