Social Psychology

Question 1

Social Psychology

Answer 1

The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.

Question 2

Attributing Theory

Answer 2

The theory that we explain someone’s behavior by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition.

Question 3

Fundamental Attribution Error

Answer 3

The tendency for observers, when analyzing others’ behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition.

Question 4

Dispositional Attribution

Answer 4

Dispositional attribution is a phrase in personality psychology that refers to the tendency to assign responsibility for others’ behaviors due to their inherent characteristics, such as their motives, beliefs or personality, rather than the external influences, such as the individual’s environment or culture.

Question 5

Situational Attribution

Answer 5

Situational attributions, also known as external attributions, occur when we infer that a behavior or event is caused by some factor relative to the situation. When we blame things on the weather, traffic, or alcohol, among others, we are using situational attribution.

Question 6

Attitude

Answer 6

Feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events.

Question 7

Peripheral Route Persuasion

Answer 7

Occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as speaker’s attractiveness.

Question 8

Central Route Persuasion

Answer 8

Occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts.

Question 9

Foot-In-The-Door Phenomenon

Answer 9

The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request.

Question 10

Door-In-The-Face Phenomenon

Answer 10

The Door-in-the-Face Technique (DITF) is a psychological tactic through which one person may be able to secure another person’s agreement to take on a significant responsibility.

Question 11

Role

Answer 11

A set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave.

Question 12

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Answer 12

The theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent. For example, when we become aware that our attitudes and our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes.

Question 13

Norms

Answer 13

Understood rules for accepted and expected behavior. Norms prescribe “proper” behavior.

Question 14

Conformity

Answer 14

Adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.

Question 15

Normative Social Influence

Answer 15

Influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval.

Question 16

Informational Social Influence

Answer 16

Influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality.

Question 17

Social Facilitation

Answer 17

Improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others.

Question 18

Social Loafing

Answer 18

The tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable.

Question 19

Deindividuation

Answer 19

The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occuring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity.

Question 20

Group Polarization

Answer 20

The enhancement of a group’s prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group.

Question 21

Groupthink

Answer 21

The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives.

Question 22

Culture

Answer 22

The values, beliefs, language, rituals, traditions, and other behaviors that are passed from one generation to another within any social group.

Question 23

Prejudice

Answer 23

An unjustifiable attitude toward a group and its members. Prejudice generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action.

Question 24

Stereotype

Answer 24

A generalized belief about a group of people

Question 25

Discrimination

Answer 25

Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members

Question 26

Just-World Phenomenon

Answer 26

The tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get.

Question 27

Ingroup

Answer 27

“Us” - People with whom we share a common identity

Question 28

Outgroup

Answer 28

“Them” - Those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup.

Question 29

Ingroup Bias

Answer 29

The tendency to favor our own group.

Question 30

Scapegoat Theory

Answer 30

The theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame.

Question 31

Other-Race Effect

Answer 31

The tendency to recall faces of one’s own race more accurately than faces of other races. Also called the cross-race effect and the own-race bias.

Question 32

Aggression

Answer 32

Any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone physically or emotionally.

Question 33

Frustration-Aggression Principle

Answer 33

The principle that frustration - the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal - creates anger, which can generate aggression.

Question 34

Social Script

Answer 34

A culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations

Question 35

Mere Exposure Effect

Answer 35

The phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them.

Question 36

Passionate Love

Answer 36

An aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a romantic relationship.

Question 37

Compassionate Love

Answer 37

The deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined.

Question 38

Equity

Answer 38

A condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it.

Question 39

Self Disclosure

Answer 39

The act of revealing intimate aspects of ourselves to others.

Question 40

Altruism

Answer 40

Unselfish regard for the welfare of others

Question 41

Bystander Effect

Answer 41

The tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present.

Question 42

Social Exchange Theory

Answer 42

The theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs.

Question 43

Reciprocity Norm

Answer 43

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

Question 44

Social-Responsibility Norm

Answer 44

An expectation that people will help those needing their help

Question 45

Conflict

Answer 45

A perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas.

Question 46

Social Traps

Answer 46

A situation in which the conflicting parties, by each pursuing their self-interest rather than the good of the group, become caught in mutually destructive behavior.

Question 47

Mirror-Image Perceptions

Answer 47

Mutual views often held by conflicting people, as when each side sees itself as ethical and peaceful and views the other side as evil and aggressive.

Question 48

Self-Fulflling Prophecy

Answer 48

A belief that leads to its own fulfillment

Question 49

Superordinate Goals

Answer 49

Shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation

Question 50

Philip Zimardo

Answer 50

Philip Zimbardo conducted the infamous Stanford prison experiment, where participants were randomly assigned roles as prisoners or guards, demonstrating the power of situational factors in influencing behavior. He also contributed to our understanding of social influence and conformity through his research on the psychology of evil.

Question 51

Soloman Asch

Answer 51

Solomon Asch is renowned for his conformity experiments, where participants were asked to match line lengths, revealing the extent to which people yield to group pressure even when it contradicts their own perceptions.

Question 52

Stanley Milgram

Answer 52

Stanley Milgram conducted the obedience experiments, demonstrating the startling willingness of ordinary individuals to obey authority figures, even to the extent of administering what they believed to be lethal electric shocks to others.

Question 53

Leon Festinger

Answer 53

Leon Festinger proposed the theory of cognitive dissonance, which explains how individuals strive for consistency between their beliefs and behaviors, leading to discomfort when they are in conflict, and driving them to alleviate this discomfort through various means, such as changing their beliefs or justifying their actions.