Key Psychology Concepts: Social Influence, Learning, and Behavior

Lucifer Effect

Evil things come from inherently bad people; good or ordinary people can make evil decisions in corrupting situations.

Bystander Effect

Individuals are less likely to help someone in distress when alone rather than in a populated area.

False Consensus

People assume their answers are normal and that everyone else thinks like them.

Obedience to Authority

High probability that a person will listen to authority figures, even if it involves harm.

Conformity

A person will likely conform to a group's incorrect beliefs when influenced by others.

Halo Effect

Cognitive bias where a positive impression of one trait leads to assumptions of other positive traits.

Cognitive Dissonance

People convince themselves of something to believe it, even when it's wrong.

Bobo Doll Experiment

Children imitate aggressive behavior after witnessing adults' actions.

Classical Conditioning

A second stimulus becomes an automatic response to the first, even if unrelated.

Learned Helplessness

Individuals adapt to helplessness after experiencing uncontrollable negative treatment.

Harlow's Monkeys

Infants driven by comfort, nourishment, and love rather than just food.

Little Albert

Fear can be classically conditioned by pairing a neutral object with something that causes fear.