Social Psychology and Behavioral Attributions

These flashcards cover key concepts from social psychology, focusing on behavioral attributions and various social phenomena.

Situational Attributions

Explaining behavior by factors external to the person, such as the environment, expectations, or circumstances.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overestimate dispositional factors and underestimate situational factors when explaining others’ behavior.

Just World Hypothesis

The belief that the world is just, and people get what they deserve, which can lead to victim blaming.

Implicit Theories of Personality

Assumptions or beliefs about how people's personalities are organized, often based on limited information.

Stereotyping

The act of applying generalized beliefs or assumptions to people based on their membership in a particular group.

Outgroup Homogeneity Effect

The tendency to perceive members of an outgroup as being more similar to each other than they actually are.

Self-Serving Bias

The tendency to attribute positive outcomes to oneself and negative outcomes to external factors.

Actor-Observer Bias

The tendency to attribute others' actions to their personality but to attribute our own actions to external factors.

De-individuation

A psychological state where individuals in a group lose self-awareness and personal responsibility, often leading to impulsive behavior.

Diffusion of Responsibility

The reduction in individual responsibility when others are present, leading to a decreased likelihood of helping in an emergency.

Implicit Association Test (IAT)

A test used to measure unconscious associations between different concepts, such as race and positive or negative traits.

Causal Attribution

The process of explaining the causes of behavior or events, focusing on how people explain why something happened.

Conformity

Adjusting one's behavior to align with the group's norms or expectations.

Obedience

The act of following orders or instructions from an authority figure.

Dehumanization

The process of depriving a person or group of human qualities, often used to justify harmful actions.

Pluralistic Ignorance

When individuals in a group mistakenly believe their own thoughts or behaviors are different from the rest of the group, leading to inaction.