Social Psychology Vocabulary Flashcards

A collection of vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts and terms in social psychology.

Accessibility

The extent to which schemas and concepts are at the forefront of people’s minds when making judgments about the social world.

Affect Blends

Facial expressions in which one part of the face registers one emotion while another part registers a different emotion.

Affective Forecasting

The extent to which people can predict the intensity and duration of their emotional reactions to future events.

Aggression

Intentional behavior aimed at causing physical harm or psychological pain to another person.

Altruism

The desire to help another person even if it involves a cost to the helper.

Attachment Styles

Expectations people develop about relationships based on their primary caregiver during infancy.

Cognitive Dissonance

Discomfort experienced when two cognitions conflict or when behavior is inconsistent with one’s self-concept.

Companionate Love

Feelings of intimacy and affection for someone that lack passion and physiological arousal.

Bystander Effect

The finding that the greater the number of bystanders who witness an emergency, the less likely any one is to help.

Deindividuation

The loosening of normal constraints on behavior when people cannot be identified.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overestimate internal factors and underestimate situational factors when explaining others' behavior.

Obedience

A change in behavior due to the direct influence of an authority figure.

Social Loafing

The tendency to exert less effort when working in a group than when working alone.

Stereotype

A generalization about a group of people in which certain traits are assigned to virtually all members of the group.

Primacy Effect

The tendency for the first traits we perceive in others to heavily influence how we view additional information about them.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

An expectation about what another person is like that causes that person to behave in ways consistent with the expectation.

Social Influence

The effect that the presence or actions of others have on our thoughts, feelings, attitudes, or behavior.

Utilitarian Thinkers

People who believe the most moral decision is the one that does the greatest good for the greatest number.

Empathy

The ability to understand and share the feelings of another person.

Instinct Theory

The idea that behaviors are driven by innate biological instincts.

Judgmental Heuristics

Mental shortcuts that people use to make judgments quickly and efficiently.

Evolutionary Psychology

The attempt to explain social behavior in terms of genetic factors that have evolved over time.