Test 2 Vocabulary Flashcards
attitude (evaluative)
a favorable or unfavorable evaluative reaction toward something or someone (often rooted in one’s beliefs, and exhibited in one’s feelings and intended behavior).
implicit association test (AIT)
a computer-driven assessment of implicit attitudes. The test uses reaction times to measure people’s automatic associations between attitude objects and evaluative words. Easier pairings and faster responses are taken to indicate stronger unconscious associations.
role
a set of norms that defines how people in a given social position ought to behave.
foot-in-the-door phenomenon
the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request.
low-ball technique
a tactic for getting people to agree to something. People who agree to an initial request often will still comply when the requester ups the ante. People who receive only the costly request are less likely to comply with it.
cognitive dissonance
discomfort caused by inconsistency of information.
insufficient justification (dissonance reduction)
reduction of dissonance by internally justifying one’s behavior when external justification is “insufficient.”
self-perception theory
the theory that when we are unsure of our attitudes, we infer them much as would someone observing us, by looking at our behavior and the circumstances under which it occurs.
over justification effect
the result of bribing people to do what they already like doing; they may then see their actions as externally controlled rather than intrinsically appealing, so their intrinsic motivation to perform the task is decreased.
self-affirmation theory
a theory that people often experience a self-image threat, after engaging in an undesirable behavior; and they can compensate by affirming another aspect of the self. Threaten people’s self-concept in one domain, and they will compensate either by refocusing or by doing good deeds in some other domain.
natural selection
the evolutionary process by which heritable traits that best enable organisms to survive and reproduce in particular environments are passed on to ensuing generations.
evolutionary psychology
the study of evolution of cognition and behavior and using principles of natural selection.
culture
the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.
norms (behavior prescription)
standards for accepted and expected behavior. norms prescribe proper behavior.
personal space
the buffer zone we like to maintain around our bodies. its size depends on our familiarity with whoever is near us.
gender
in psychology, the characteristics, whether biological or socially influenced, by which people define male and female.
empathy
the vicarious experience of another’s feelings; putting oneself in another’s shoes.
aggression
physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone.
gender role
a set of behavior expectations (norms) for males and females.
interaction (biology-environment)
a relationship in which the effect of one factor (such as biology) depends on another factor (such as environment).
conformity
a change in behavior or belief as the result of real or imagined group pressure.
compliance (type of conformity) (tennis team 101)
conformity that involves publicly acting in accord with an implied or explicit request while privately disagreeing.
