AP Psych Unit 4.1-4.3

Social Psychology

Personality Psychology

The study of personality and how it develops

Social Psychology

The study of how people interact, think influence, and relate to one another

Person Perception

how we create impressions of the people around us

Attribution Theory

The theory that we attribute people’s behavior from the situation, or the person’s traits

Fundamental Attribution Error (FEA)

The tendency for observers to underestimate a situation’s impact and overestimate personal disposition’s impact

Actor-Observer Bias

The tendency for the actors in a situation to credit their behavior to external causes and observers to credit the behavior to internal causes

Prejudice

A negative attitude toward a group often because of their appearance, ethnicity, gender, etc.

Stereotype

A generalized belief about a group of people

Discrimination

unkind, negative, and unjustifiable behavior toward a group of people

Just-World Phenomenon

The tendency for people to believe that people get what they deserve because the world is “just”

Social Identity

Who we are in terms of our groups and people we hang around

Ingroup

people we share a common identity with

Outgroup

those we see as outside or different from our ingroup

Ingroup Bias

The tendency to favor our own group

Scapegoat Theory

The theory that prejudice gives us someone to blame, allowing an outlet for anger

Other-race Effect

The tendency to recognize the faces of our own race more accurately than the faces of other races

Attitudes

Feelings that predispose how we react and respond to events, people or objects

Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon

The tendency for people who followed a small request earlier to follow a larger request later on

Role

A set of expectations for a certain position which outlines how someone in the position should act or behave

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

The theory that we adjust our actions to match our attributes to avoid discomfort from inconsistency

Persuasion

influencing others to change their attributes or actions

Peripheral-Route Persuasion

an influence from someone or something incidentally

Central-Route Persuasion

an influence that affects people’s thinking by presenting arguments and evidence

Norms

The expected behavior and understood rules for a society

Conformity

changing the way, we think or be behaved to fit in with a group standard

Normative Social Influence

conforming to gain approval, or avoid disapproval

Informational Social Influence

conforming based on a willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality

Obedience

following an order or command

Social Facilitation

improved performance while in the presence of others; improved on easy tasks, worsened on difficult tasks

Social Loafing

The tendency for people in a group to slack off while working on a task because they are not individually accountable

Deindividuation

losing self-awareness and self restraint because you feel aroused in an anonymous in a group

Group Polarization

The belief and attitudes of a group being enhanced through group discussion

Groupthink

thinking that occurs when a group has the desire for harmony, so they override realistic alternatives when making a group decision

Culture

The behaviors, ideas, attributes, values, and traditions shared by a group for generations

Tight Culture

A place with defined strict, social norms

Loose Culture

A place with flexible, informal norms

Aggression

any kind of behavior, physical or emotional, that is intended to hurt someone

Frustration-Aggression Principle

The principal that frustration turns into anger which leads to aggression

Social Script

A cultural guide for how to act in situations

Mere Exposure Effect

The more you are exposed to something or someone, the more you like them

Passionate Love

an intense, positive absorption in another, that usually occurs early in a relationship

Compassionate Love

A deep affectionate attachment for people in our lives

Equity

A condition in relationships where people receive in proportion to what they give

Self-Disclosure

revealing intimate aspects of ourselves to others

Altruism

A selfless care for the welfare of others

Bystander Effect

The tendency to be less likely to help if other bystanders are present

Social Exchange Theory

The theory that the way we behave socially is an exchange process; we maximize benefits while minimizing costs

Reciprocity Norm

an expectation that people will help the people who have helped them

Social Responsibility Norm

The expectation that we should help people who need our help

Conflict

A perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas

Social Trap

A situation where two parties become caught in mutually destructive behavior by pursuing their own self interest

Mirror-Image Perceptions

Mutual views between two conflicting parties; both sides believe their party is right and the other part is wrong

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

A belief that leads to its own fulfillment

Superordinate Goals

shared goals that overcome the differences between people, and need cooperation

GRIT

Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives, in Tension-Reduction; a strategy to reduce international tensions by recognizing mutual interests