Social Psychology

Question 1

social psychology

Answer 1

the scientific study of how a person’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior are influenced by the real, imagined, or implied presence of others

Question 2

social influence

Answer 2

the process through which the real or implied presence of others can directly or indirectly influence the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of an individual

Question 3

conformity

Answer 3

changing one’s own behavior to match that of other people

Question 4

groupthink

Answer 4

kind of thinking that occurs when people place importance on maintaining group cohesiveness than on assessing the facts of the problem with which the group is concerned

Question 5

consumer psychology

Answer 5

branch of psychology that studies the habits of consumers in the marketplace

Question 6

compliance

Answer 6

changing one’s behavior as a result of other people directing or asking for the change

Question 7

foot-in-the-door technique

Answer 7

asking for a small commitment and, after gaining compliance, asking for a bigger commitment

Question 8

door-in-the-face technique

Answer 8

asking for a large commitment and being refused and then asking for a smaller commitment

Question 9

norm of reciprocity

Answer 9

assumption that if someone does something for a person, that person should do something for the other in return

Question 10

lowball technique

Answer 10

getting a commitment from a person then raising the cost of that commitment

Question 11

that’s-not-all technique

Answer 11

a sales technique in which the persuader makes an offer then adds something extra to make the offer look better before the target person can make a decision

Question 12

obedience

Answer 12

changing one’s behavior at the command of an authority figure

Question 13

norm of reciprocity

Answer 13

if someone does something for a person, the person should do something in return

Question 14

group polarization

Answer 14

the tendency for members involved in a group discussion to take somewhat more extreme positions and suggest riskier actions when compared to individuals who have not participated in a group discussion

Question 15

social facilitation

Answer 15

the tendency for the presence of other people to have a positive impact on the performance of an easy task

Question 16

social impairment

Answer 16

the tendency for the presence of other people to have a negative impact on the performance of a difficult task

Question 17

social loafing

Answer 17

the tendency for people to put less effort into a simple task when working with others on that task

Question 18

attitude

Answer 18

a tendency to respond positively or negatively toward a certain person, object, idea, or situation

Question 19

affective component

Answer 19

the way a person feels toward the object (emotional), poor predictors of behavior unless this is very strong/specific

Question 20

behavior component

Answer 20

the action that a person takes in regard to the person, object, or situation

Question 21

cognitive component

Answer 21

the way a person thinks about himself, an object, or a situation

Question 22

milgram study

Answer 22

“teacher” administered what they thought were real shocks to the “learner”

Question 23

characteristics of groupthink

Answer 23

invulnerability, rationalization, lack of introspection, stereotyping, pressure, lack of disagreement, self-deception, insularity

Question 24

vicarious conditioning

Answer 24

watching the actions and reactions of others to ideas, people, objects, and situations.

Question 25

Persuasion

Answer 25

the process by which one person tries to change the belief, opinion, position, or course of action of another person through argument, pleading, or explanation.

Question 26

elaboration likelihood model

Answer 26

model of persuasion stating that people will either elaborate on the persuasive message or fail to elaborate on it and that the future actions of those who do elaborate are more predictable than those who do not

Question 27

central-route processing

Answer 27

type of information processing that involves attending to the content of the message itself

Question 28

peripheral-route processing

Answer 28

type of information processing that involves attending to factors not involved in the message, such as the appearance of the source of the message, the length of the message, and other noncontent factors

Question 29

cognitive dissonance

Answer 29

sense of discomfort or distress that occurs when a person's behavior does not correspond to that person's attitudes

Question 30

social cognition

Answer 30

the mental processes that people use to make sense of the social world around them

Question 31

impression formation

Answer 31

forming of the first knowledge that a person has concerning another person

Question 32

social categorization

Answer 32

the assignment of a person one has just met to a category based on characteristics the new person has in common with other people with whom one has had experience in the past

Question 33

stereotype

Answer 33

a set of characteristics that people believe is shared by all members of a particular social category

Question 34

implicit personality theory

Answer 34

sets of assumptions about how different types of people, personality traits, and actions are related to each other

Question 35

Schemas

Answer 35

-mental patterns that represent what a person believes about certain types of people. Schemas can become stereotypes

Question 36

attribution

Answer 36

the process of explaining one's own behavior and the behavior of others

Question 37

attribution theory

Answer 37

the theory of how people make attributions

Question 38

situational cause

Answer 38

cause of behavior attributed to external factors, suchas delays. the actions of others, or some other aspect of the situation

Question 39

dispositional cause

Answer 39

cause of behavior attributed to internal factors such as personality or character

Question 40

fundamental attribution error

Answer 40

the tendency to overestimate the influence of internal factors in determining behavior while underestimating situational factors

Question 41

prejudice

Answer 41

negative attitude held by a person about the members of a particular social group

Question 42

discrimination

Answer 42

treating people differently because of prejudice toward the social group to which they belong

Question 43

in-groups

Answer 43

social groups with whom a person identifies; "us

Question 44

out-groups

Answer 44

social groups with whom a person does not identify; "them"

Question 45

realistic conflict theory

Answer 45

theory stating that prejudice and discrimination will be increased between groups that are in conflict over a limited resource

Question 46

social cognitive theory

Answer 46

referring to the use of cognitive processes in relation to understanding the social world

Question 47

social identity theory

Answer 47

theory in which the formation of a person's identity within a particular social group is explained by social categorization, social identity, and social comparison

Question 48

social identity

Answer 48

part of the self-concept including one's view of self as a member of a particular social category

Question 49

social comparison

Answer 49

the comparison of oneself to others in ways that raise one's self-esteem

Question 50

stereotype vulnerability

Answer 50

the effect that people's awareness of the stereotypes associated with their social group has on their behavior

Question 51

self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 51

the tendency of one's expectations to affect one's behavior in such a way as to make the expectations more likely to occur

Question 52

equal status contact

Answer 52

contact between groups in which the groups have equal status with neither group having power over the other

Question 53

interpersonal attraction

Answer 53

linking or having the desire for a relationship with another person

Question 54

reciprocity of liking

Answer 54

the tendency of people to like other people who like them in return

Question 55

social role

Answer 55

pattern of behavior that is expected of a person who is in a particular social position

Question 56

prosocial behavior

Answer 56

socially desirable behavior that benefits others

Question 57

altruism

Answer 57

prosocial behavior that is done with no expectation of reward and may involve the risk of harm to oneself

Question 58

diffusion of responsibility

Answer 58

occurring when a person fails to take responsibility for actions or for inaction because of the presence of other people who are seen to share the responsibility

Question 59

bystander effect

Answer 59

referring to the effect that the presence of other people has on the decision to help or not to help, with help becoming less likely as the number of bystanders increases