Module 4.1, 4.2

person perception

how we form impressions of ourselves and others, including attributions of behavior

attribution theory

the theory that we explain someone’s behavior by crediting either the situation (a situational attribution) or the person’s stable, enduring traits (a dispositional attribution)

fundamental attribution error

the tendency for observers, when analyzing others’ behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition

actor-observer bias

the tendency for those acting in a situation to attribute their behavior to external causes, but for observers to attribute others’ behavior to internal causes; this contributes to the fundamental attribution error (which focuses on our explanations for others’ behavior)

prejudice

an unjustifiable and usually negative attitude toward a group and its members; prejudice generally involves negative emotions, stereotyped beliefs, and a predisposition to discriminatory action

stereotypes

a generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people

discriminate

1) in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that have not been associated with a conditioned stimulus (in operant conditioning, the ability to distinguish responses that are reinforced from similar responses that are not reinforced) 2) in social psychology, unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members

just-world phenomenon

the tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get

social identity

the “we” aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to “Who am I” that comes from our group memberships

ingroup

“us” - the people with whom we share a common identity

outgroup

“them” - those perceived as a different or apart from our ingroup

ingroup bias

the tendency to favor our own group

scapegoat theory

the theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to balme

other-race effect

the tendency to recall faces of one’s own race more accurately than faces of other races; also called the cross-race effect and the own-race bias

attitudes

feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events

foot-in-the-door phenomenon

the tendency for people who have agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request

role

a set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave

cognitive dissonance theory

the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent; for example, when we become aware that our attitudes and our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes

persuasion

changing people'‘s attitudes, potentially influencing their actions

peripheral route persuasion

occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker’s attractiveness

central route persuasion

occurs when interested people’s thinking is influenced by considering evidence and arguments