Behavior

Bystander affect

A social psychological phenomenon where individuals are less likely to offer help to a person in distress when other people are present

Social loafing

Tendency for individuals to put in less effort when put in a group

Theory of social facilitation

When an individual performs in front of an audience, a task they find easy has a better performance and a task they find difficult is impaired

Deindividuation

Atypical behavior exhibited when and individual feel anonymous in a group

Groupthink

Desire for conformity/harmony in a group results in a irrational or dysfunctional decision

Group polarization

When individuals in a group adapt a more extreme position after a discussion with others

Informational conformity

Yielding to a group due to a lack of the individual’s own knowledge

Normative conformity

Yeilding to a group to fit in or out of fear of rejection

Internalization

Publicly and privately agreeing with group norms

Compliance

Changing behavior to fit in, but privately disagreeing with the behavior

Internal locus of control

Belief that personal actions/decisions significantly influence outcomes instead of external influences or luck

Central route to persuasion

Using careful and thoughtful consideration of an argument

• critical thought/processing of information

• relevance

• validity

Peripheral route to persuasion

Using superficial cues or associations (instead of the argument itself)

• low information

• surface-level information; who the speaker is and visuals of presentation

Social desirability

Tendency to answer questions in a way that is socially acceptable

Changing answer based on the audience for approval

Genetic altruism

Behaviors aim to increase the genes of others at the cost of the alleles possed by the altruistic individual

Psychological altruism

Behaviors enhance pleasure or meet another individual’s psychological needs at the expense of the individual’s pelasure/psychological well being

Reciprocal altruism

Behaviors involve short-term sacrifices with the purpose of enhancing one’s own long-term fitness

Biological altruism

Behaviors of an individual enhance another individual’s or group’s fitness at the cost of the individual’s fitness

Self efficacy

The sense a person has about what they can acomplish

Self concept

A person’s belief or thoughts about themselves

Self awareness

The extent to which a person fixes their attention on their own self concept

Self esteem

A person’s judgment/appraisals about themselves, both positive and negative

Deindividuation

Psychological state in which a person loses their sense of identity → might not be in touch with their true feelings/beliefs about a certain situation (associated with a loss of self awareness)

External locus of control

Individual believes their fate is determined or influenced by their external environment

Internal locus of control

Individual believes that their fate and success is determined by their own ability/have control over their circumstances

Freud’s theory of psychosexual development

Personality develops during childhood in psychosexual stages (related to parts of the body) with a focus on tension/conflict and pleasure

Fixation

Conflict during a Freud stage leads to poor adult personalities

Oedipus complex

Conflict where boys view their fathers as rivals for their mother’s affection

Electra complex

Conflict where girls view their mothers as rivals for their father’s affection

Erikson’s theory of psychosexual development

Personalities develop through life with a focus on culture and society

• Conflicts between an individual and the needs of society

Vygotsky theory of socialcultural development

Development of cognition based on children and their social interactions with others

Features of elementary mental function

Attention, sensation, perception, memory

MKO

More knowledgeable other

Zone of proximal development

Theological area where the most sensitive instruction or guidance should begin

Link between what a child can and can’t do allowing development of existing skills into what they can’t do

Oral stage

First stage of development where the focus is on the mouth and feeding to develop dependency

Adult fixation of the oral stage

Smoking, nail biting, over eating

Behaviors with negative connotations dealing with dependent behaviors on the mouth

Anal stage

Second stage of development with a focus on the anus and toilet training to develop control

Adult fixation of the anal stage

Messiness

Phallic stage

Third stage of development with a focus on the genitalia where children learn the difference between sexes

Adult fixation of the phallic stage

Sexual dysfunction (oedipus and electra complexes)

Latent statge

Fourth stage of development where children learn social skills

No associated libido or adult fixation

Genital stage

Last stage of development with a focus on genitalia and sexual maturity

Assume successful development in the earlier stages and develoment of mental stability

Erikson’s 1st stage of development (During the 1st year of life)

Crisis of trust vs mistrust

Virtue: hope

Negative outcome: fear and suspicion

Erikson’s 2st stage of development (During the 2nd year of life)

Crisis of autonomy vs doubt

Virtue: independence

Negative outcome: shame

Erikson’s 3rd stage of development (During ages 3-5)

Crisis of initiative vs guilt

Virtue: purpose

Negative outcome: inadequacy

Erikson’s 4th stage of development (During ages 6-12)

Crisis of industry vs inferiority

Virtue: competence/pride

Negative outcome: doubt/inferiority

Erikson’s 5th stage of development (During adolescence, ages12-18)

Crisis of identity vs role confusion

Virtue: fidelity/uniqueness

Negative outcome: rebellion

Erikson’s 6th stage of development (During ages 18-40)

Crisis of intimacy vs isolation

Virtue: love

Negative outcome: isolation/unhappiness

Erikson’s 7th stage of development (During ages 40-65)

Crisis of generatively vs stagnation

Virtue: care

Negative outcome: unproductive

Erikson’s 8th stage of development (From 65 years old till the end of life)

Crisisof integrity vs despair

Virtue: wisdom

Negative outcome: dissatisfaction

Attribution theory

How individuals explain the causes of events/behaviors of themselves and others

• personality traits vs situational influences

Internal attribution/dispositional attribution

The tendency to explain someone’s behavior by their personality, character or inherent traits

Actions are due to who they are rather than the circumstances they’re in

External attribution

The tendency to explain someone's behavior to external factors, such as the situation, environment, or circumstances

Seeing a person’s actions as a result of the context

Cultural attribution

The tendency to explain behavior, characteristics, or situations by attributing them to cultural factors

• making assumptions on cultural dimensions

Attribution bias

Systematic errors when assessing the reasons for behaviors → affects how actions are perceived

Attribution error (fundamental attribution error)

The tendency to overemphasize personality traits and underestimate situational factors when explaining other peoples behavior

Assumption that someones actions are due to their character rather than the circumstances they’re in

Covarian model

The perceiver uses multiple observations to determine the cause of another’s behavior

Self-fulfilling prophecy

A prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true

Symbolic interaction

The labels we learn affect the ways we perceive people (creates selective perception)

Social stigma

Prejudiced attitudes towards labeled individuals

Stereotyping

The act of making generalizations about a group of people based on limited or inaccurate information

• often results in biased treatment

Cognitive bias

A systematic pattern of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment → influence perceptions, judgments, and decisions

Halo effect

A person’s positive impression of something/someone influences their overall perception, even if unrelated

Just-world hypothesis

The assumption that a person’s action are inherently inclined to bring morally fair and fitting consequences to that person

• all good actions are rewarded and all bad actions are punished

Social interactionism

A sociological perspective that emphasizes how individuals develop meaning through social interactions and how these interactions shape their understanding of themselves and the world around them

• giving meaning to symbols/events and interact with others based on their interpretations

Achieved status

A chosen or earned status

Ascribed status

A status given at birth that does not change during their lifetime

Role conflict

Conflict between 2 or more social statuses

Role tension

The difficulties individuals face when juggling the expectations and demands of their social status

Role strain

Conflicts within one role status

Role stress

The stress/strain experienced by an individual when incompatible behavior, expectations, or obligations are associated with a single social role

Reference group

Group that sets guidelines for behavior and decision making

• tertiary group

Primary group

Cooperation among close, intimate relationships

Secondary group

Large and task oriented group; impersonal, temporary, business-like relationships

Structuram functionalism

Perspective that views society as a complex system with interconnected parts working together to promote stability and meet the needs of individuals

• structures and patterns influence behavior and maintain social order

• social stability and harmony

Conflict theory

Society is characterized by competition for limited resources and power, leading to social inequality and conflict between different groups

• order maintained through domination and power, not consensus

Prejudice

A preconceived judgment or opinion about a person or a group based on insufficient/biased information

Discrimination

The unfair treatment of an individual or group based on certain characteristics

Sexism

Antagonism directed against someone based on their sex or gender

Glass ceiling

An invisible barrier that prevents minorities from advancing to higher-level positions in organizations, despite their qualifications and achievements

Dramaturgical approach

When sociologist look at life as a play on a stage and people as actors and the audience

Backstage

A private place where people get to be themselves

Where people can “rehearse” for going on stage by making themselves presentable for the audience

Front stage

The public stage where individuals perform for an audience, consciously managing their behavior and expressions to convey a desired image

Socialization

The lifelong process of learning to become a member of the social world

Impression management

How we attempt to control what others think of us by putting our best self forward in social situations

Culture universal

Trait or pattern that is common in all cultures world wide

Diffusion

The spread of an invention or discovery from one place to another across the globe

Values

Shared judgments about what is right and wrong

Culture lag

Culture takes time to catch up with technological inventions

Biological altrusim

When an organism behaves in a way that benefits others at a cost to itself

Non-evolutionary game theory

Evolutionary game theory

Reciprocal altruism

When an organism behaves in a way that reduces its fitness while increasing others fitness with the expectation that the other organism will act in a similar way later on

Reproductive fitness

An organism’s ability to survive and reproduce to pass on its genes to the next generation

Social reproduction

The replacement of people or structures similar to the original in order for the exisiting social system to continue

• “rich breed rich, poor breed poor”

Survival of the fittest

Idea that certain individuals/groups are inherently superior and destined to succeed in society due to their “fitness”

Cost-benefit analysis

Examines the costs and benefits associated with social actions, behaviors, or policies to understand how individuals and groups make decision and how those descisions impact social-structure and well being

Social exchange theory

Social behavior is a result of an exchange process where individuals try to maximize their benefits and minimize their cost in social interactions

Optimal foraging

Strategy that seeks the lowest spent energy for the highest energy yeild

Social foraging

When organisms forage together using strategies to increase success and reduce predation risk