Ch.12 - Social Psychology

Social psychology

the study of the causes and consequences of sociality

Aggression

behavior whose purpose is to harm another

Frustration-aggression hypothesis

animals aggress when their goals are frustrated

Proactive aggression

aggression that is planned and purposeful

Reactive aggression

aggression that occurs spontaneously in response to a negative affective state

Cooperation

behavior by two or more individuals that leads to mutual benefit

Group

a collection of people who have something in common that distinguishes them from others

In-group favoritism

the tendency to treat people better when they are members of one’s own group than when they are not

Common knowledge effect

the tendency for group discussions to focus on information that all members share

Group polarization

the tendency of groups to make decisions that are more extreme than any member would have made alone

Groupthink

the tendency for groups to reach consensus in order to facilitate interpersonal harmony

Deindividuation

when immersion in a group causes people to become less attentive to their personal values

Diffusion of responsibility

the tendency to feel diminished responsibility for one’s actions when surrounded by others who are acting the same way

Bystander effect

the tendency for people to be less likely to help a stranger in an emergency situation when other bystanders are present

Altruism

intentional behavior that benefits another at a potential cost to oneself

Kin selection

the process by which evolution selects for individuals who cooperate with their relatives

Reciprocal altruism

behavior that benefits another with the expectation that those benefits will be returned in the future; cooperation over time

Mere exposure effect

the tendency for liking of a stimulus to increase with the frequency of exposure to that stimulus

Homophily

the tendency for people to like others who are similar to themselves

Passionate love

an experience involving feelings of euphoria, intimacy, and intense sexual attraction

Companionate love

an experience involving affection, trust, and concern for a partner’s well-being

Social cognition

the processes by which people understand others

Category-based inferences

inferences based on information about the categories to which a person belongs

Target-based inferences

inferences based on information about an individual’s behavior

Stereotyping

the process of drawing inferences about individuals based on their category membership

Prejudice

a negative evaluation of another person based solely on their category membership

Discrimination

negative behavior toward another person based solely on their category membership

Behavioral confirmation

“self-fulfilling prophecy”; the tendency for targets to behave as observers expect them to behave

Stereotype threat

the anxiety associated with the possibility of confirming other people’s stereotypes about one’s group

Perceptual confirmation

the tendency for observers to see what they expect to see

Attribution

an inference about the cause of a person’s behavior

Situational attributions

when we decide that a person’s behavior was caused by some temporary aspect of the situation in which it happened

Dispositional attributions

when we decide that a person’s behavior was caused by a relatively enduring tendency to think, feel, or act a certain way

Fundamental attribution error

the tendency to make a dispositional attribution when we should instead make a situational attribution

Actor-observer effect

the tendency to make situational attributions for our own behaviors while making dispositional attributions for the identical behavior of others

Social influence

the ability to change or direct another person’s behavior

Reactance

an unpleasant feeling that arises when people feel like they are being coerced

Norms

customary standards for behavior that are widely shared by members of a culture

Norm of reciprocity

the unwritten rule that people should benefit those who have benefited them

Normative influence

when another person’s behavior provides information about what is appropriate

Door-in-the-face technique

an influence strategy that involves getting someone to accept a small request by first getting them to refuse a large request

Conformity

the tendency to do what others do

Obedience

the tendency to do what authorities tell us to do

Attitude

an enduring positive or negative evaluation of a stimulus

Belief

an enduring piece of knowledge about a stimulus

Informational influence

when another person’s behavior provides information about what is good or true

Persuasion

when a person’s attitudes or beliefs are influenced by a communication from another person

Central-route persuasion

the process by which attitudes or beliefs are changed by appeals to reason

Peripheral-route persuasion

the process by which attitudes or beliefs are changed by appeals to habit or emotion

Foot-in-the-door technique

making a small request and then following it with a larger request

Cognitive dissonance

an unpleasant state that arises when a person recognizes the inconsistency of their actions, attitudes, or beliefs