AP Psych Unit 12

Social Psychology

The study of how people influence other people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Outgroup homogeneity effect

The tendency to view outgroup members as less varied than ingroup members.

Social Identity Theory

The idea that ingroups consist of individuals who perceive themselves of the same social category and feel pride because of their membership.

Ingroup Favoritism

The tendency for people to evaluate favorably the members of the ingroup more than the outgroup.

Social Facilitation

The idea that the presence of others generally enhances performance.

Zajonc’s Model of Social Facilitation

The presence of others will lead to increased arousal, which can be positive or negative.

Deindividuation

A state of reduced individuality, reduced self-awareness, and reduced attention to personal standards.

Group polarization

The process by which initial attitudes of groups become more extreme over time.

Groupthink

The tendency of groups to make poor decisions when under intense pressure, failing to weigh all information correctly.

Social loafing

The tendency for people to not work as hard in a group than when working alone.

Conformity

The altering of one’s behaviors and opinions to match those of other people or their expectations.

Normative influence

The tendency for people to conform to fit in.

Informative influence

Conformity due to the expectation that the behaviors of others are correct behaviors.

Compliance

The tendency to agree to do things that people request.

Foot in the door

The idea that if people agree to a small request, they become more likely to comply with a larger and undesirable request.

Obedience

When a person follows the orders of a person of authority.

Prosocial Behaviors

Actions that tend to benefit others more than they benefit the doer.

Altruism

Providing help when it is needed, without any apparent reward for doing so.

Bystander intervention effect (bystander apathy)

The failure to offer help by those who observe someone in need when other people are present.

4 causes for bystander apathy

1) Diffusion of responsibility-expecting others to help 2) Social Blunders- providing help when help is not necessary 3) Anonymous-If you aren’t recognized, noone will know you didn’t help 4) Harm to you or benefit to others- you may help if you won’t be harmed and if you don’t have anything to lose

Sherif’s Study of Competition & Cooperation

Outgroup bias can be eliminated when heterogeneous groups are created and must work together to achieve superordinate goals.

Attitudes

People’s evaluations of objects, events, or ideas.

mere exposure effect

The idea that greater exposure to a stimulus leads to greater liking for it.

Explicit Attitudes

Attitudes that one is able to report, influencing one’s feelings and behaviors.

Implicit Attitudes

Attitudes that influence one’s feelings and behaviors at an unconscious level.

Cognitive Dissonance

An uncomfortable mental state resulting from a contradiction between two attitudes or between an attitude and behavior.

Persuasion

The active and conscious effort to change an attitude through transmission of a specific message.

Elaboration Likelihood Model

The idea that persuasive messages lead to attitude changes via the Central or Peripheral Route.

Attributions

People’s explanations for why events or actions occur, helping to create order and predict future results.

Personal Attributions

Explanations of behavior that refer to internal characteristics such as abilities, traits, moods, or efforts.

Situational Attributions

Explanations of behavior that refer to external events such as weather, luck, accidents, or actions of others.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overemphasize personality traits in others' behaviors while underestimating situational factors, and doing the opposite for oneself.

subtyping

Identifying outliers rather than altering a stereotype.

Prejudice

Negative feelings, opinions, and beliefs associated with a stereotype.

Discrimination

The inappropriate and unjustified treatment of people as a result of prejudice.

Modern racism

Subtle forms of prejudice that coexist with the rejection of overtly racist beliefs.

Interpersonal Influences

Factors that affect relationships such as proximity, familiarity, similarities, personal characteristics, and physical attractiveness.

Passionate Love

A state of intense longing and desire.

Companionate Love

A strong commitment developed over time based on friendship, trust, respect, and intimacy.