Unit 14: Social Psychology

Question 1

Social psychology

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Attribution theory (Fritz Heider)

Answer 2

the theory that we explain someone’s behavior by crediting either the situation or the person’s dispositition

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

Question 5

Central route persuasion

Answer 5

attitude change path in which interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favourable thoughts

Question 6

Peripheral route

Answer 6

another type of persuasion or attitude change path in which people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker’s attractiveness

Question 7

Foot-in-the-door phenomenon

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Role

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Cognitive dissonance theory

Answer 9

the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent. If our attitudes and an action clash, we reduce to dissonance by changing our attitude

Question 10

Conformity

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Normative social influence

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Informational social influence

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Social facilitation

Answer 13

stronger responses on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others. What you do well, you are likely to do better in front of an audience.

Question 14

Social loafing

Answer 14

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 15

Deindividuation

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Group polarization

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Group think

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Cultural influence

Answer 18

As social creatures, our human readiness to learn from and adapt to those around us includes the influences of our surrounding culture

Question 19

Culture

Answer 19

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to thenect

Question 20

Norms

Answer 20

an understood rule for accepted and expected behaviors. Norms prescribe “proper” behavior

Question 21

Personal space

Answer 21

the buffer zone we like to maintain around our bodies

Question 22

Social control

Answer 22

the power of the situation

Question 23

Personal control

Answer 23

the power of the individual

Question 24

Minority influence

Answer 24

the power of one or two individuals to sway majorities

Question 25

Prejudice

Answer 25

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 26

Stereotypes

Answer 26

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

Question 27

Discrimination

Answer 27

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its memberss

Question 28

Social inequalitites

Answer 28

When some people have money, power, and prestige and others do not, the “haves” usually develop attitudes that justify things as they are

Question 29

Ingroup

Answer 29

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

Question 30

Outgroup

Answer 30

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

Question 31

Ingroup bias

Answer 31

the tendency to favor our own group

Question 32

Scapegoat theory

Answer 32

finding someone to blame when things wrong to provide a target for ones anger (or prejudice)

Question 33

Other race effect

Answer 33

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 34

Just world phenomenon

Answer 34

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

Question 35

Aggression

Answer 35

any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy

Question 36

Frustration-aggression principle

Answer 36

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

Question 37

Proximity

Answer 37

geographic nearness - is a friendship’s most powerful predictor

Question 38

Mere exposure effect

Answer 38

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

Question 39

Passionate love

Answer 39

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

Question 40

Compassionate love

Answer 40

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

Question 41

Equity

Answer 41

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

Question 42

Self-disclosure

Answer 42

revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others

Question 43

Altruism

Answer 43

unselfish regard for the welfare of others

Question 44

Bystander effect

Answer 44

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

Question 45

Social exchange theory

Answer 45

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

Question 46

Reciprocity norm

Answer 46

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

Question 47

Social-responsibility norm

Answer 47

an expectation that people will help those dependant upon them

Question 48

Conflict

Answer 48

a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals or ideas

Question 49

Social traps

Answer 49

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

Question 50

Mirror-image perceptions

Answer 50

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

Question 51

Self-fulfilling prophecies

Answer 51

a belief that leads to its own fulfillment

Question 52

Subordinate goals

Answer 52

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation

Question 53

GRIT

Answer 53

Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-Reduction
One announces its recognition of mutual interests and makes a small conciliatory act. It opens the door for reciprocity from the other side.