Unit 14

Question 1

social psychology

Answer 1

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

Question 2

attribution theory

Answer 2

suggests how 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 another’s behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition.

Question 4

attitude

Answer 4

feelings often based on our beliefs, which predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events.

Question 5

foot-in-the-door phenomenon

Answer 5

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

Question 6

cognitive dissonance theory

Answer 6

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

Question 7

conformity

Answer 7

adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.

Question 8

informational social influence

Answer 8

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

Question 9

normative social influence

Answer 9

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

Question 10

social facilitation

Answer 10

stronger responses on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others.

Question 11

social loafing

Answer 11

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 12

deindividuation

Answer 12

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity.

Question 13

group polarization

Answer 13

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

Question 14

groupthink

Answer 14

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

Question 15

discrimination

Answer 15

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members.

Question 16

prejudice

Answer 16

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

Question 17

stereotype

Answer 17

a generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people.

Question 18

ingroup

Answer 18

“us”—people with whom one shares a common identity.

Question 19

ingroup bias

Answer 19

the tendency to favor one’s own group.

Question 20

outgroup

Answer 20

“them”—those perceived as different or apart from one’s ingroup.

Question 21

scapegoat theory

Answer 21

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

Question 22

just-world phenomenon

Answer 22

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

Question 23

aggression

Answer 23

any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy.

Question 24

frustration-aggression principle

Answer 24

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

Question 25

conflict

Answer 25

a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas.

Question 26

social trap

Answer 26

a situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing their self-interest, become caught in mutually destructive behavior.

Question 27

mere exposure effect

Answer 27

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

Question 28

companionate love

Answer 28

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

Question 29

passionate love

Answer 29

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

Question 30

equity

Answer 30

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

Question 31

self-disclosure

Answer 31

revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others.

Question 32

altruism

Answer 32

unselfish regard for the welfare of others.

Question 33

bystander effect

Answer 33

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

Question 34

reciprocity norm

Answer 34

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

Question 35

social exchange theory

Answer 35

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

Question 36

social-responsibility norm

Answer 36

an expectation that people will help those dependent upon them.

Question 37

superordinate goals

Answer 37

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation.

Question 38

GRIT

Answer 38

Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-Reduction, strategy designed to decrease international tensions.

Question 39

Philip Zimbardo

Answer 39

social psychologist, conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment, criticized for unethical study

Question 40

Solomon Asch

Answer 40

social psychologist (also cognitive), conducted conformity study

Question 41

John Darley

Answer 41

social psychologist, studied diffusion of responsibility and bystander effect

Question 42

Leon Festinger

Answer 42

social psychologist, responsible for Theory of Cognitive Dissonance

Question 43

Bibb Latane

Answer 43

social psychologist, worked with John Darley, focused on social loafing and diffusion of responsibility

Question 44

Stanley Milgram

Answer 44

social psychologist, conducted the Milgram Experiment on Obedience, criticized for unethical study

Question 45

central route persuasion

Answer 45

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

Question 46

peripheral route persuasion

Answer 46

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

Question 47

role

Answer 47

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

Question 48

social phobia

Answer 48

marked fear of social or performance situations.

Question 49

Culture

Answer 49

the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.

Question 50

Norm

Answer 50

a standard, model, or pattern.

Question 51

Personal Space

Answer 51

the variable and subjective distance at which one person feels comfortable talking to another.

Question 52

Discrimination

Answer 52

in social psychology, unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members

Question 53

Other-race-effect

Answer 53

the greater difficulty people have in distinguishing between members of a different race compared to one’s own race

Question 54

Diffusion of Responsibility

Answer 54

a social phenomenon which tends to occur in groups of people above a certain critical size when responsibility is not explicitly assigned.

Question 55

Mirror-image Perceptions

Answer 55

refer to the reciprocal views of one another often held by parties in conflict; for example, each may view itself as moral and peace-loving and the other as evil and aggressive.

Question 56

Self-fulfilling Prophecy

Answer 56

prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself, due to positive feedback between belief and behavior.

Question 57

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

Answer 57

dstates that facial movement can influence emotional experience.

Question 58

social script

Answer 58

culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations