Psychology Lecture Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from psychology related to social behavior and influence.

Prosocial Behavior

Behavior that benefits and brings us closer to the community.

Social Influence Theory

The way people feel and act is affected by the people around them.

Attribution Theory

Explaining the causes of behaviors and events, whether our own or those of others.

Self Fulfilling Prophesy

Belief or expectation about someone or something leads to actions that make that belief come true.

Fundamental Attribution Error

Tendency to overemphasize dispositional explanations for others' behaviors while underestimating situational factors.

Compliance Strategy

Techniques used to persuade someone to agree to a request.

Social Reciprocity Norm

Norms of reciprocity where we are more likely to return a favor after someone does something nice for us.

Ethnocentrism

Belief that one's group or culture is superior to others.

Implicit Attitude

Beliefs that are beneath our consciousness, like prejudices we are not aware of.

Individualistic Culture

Culture that focuses mainly on the individual rather than the community.

Collectivist Culture

Culture that sees the community as more important than the individual.

Stereotype

Generalizations about how certain people are.

Prejudice

Undeserved negative attitudes towards people.

Discrimination

Treating others poorly due to prejudice.

Out Group Bias

The perception that those outside our group are less diverse and unique.

In Group Bias

The tendency to view those in our group more favorably.

Superordinate Goals

Goals that require cooperation between conflicting groups, reducing differences.

Self Serving Bias

Attributing positive outcomes to internal factors and negative outcomes to external factors.

Actor Observer Bias

Attributing one's own actions to external factors while attributing others' actions to internal factors.

False Consensus Effect

Overestimating how many people share our beliefs or opinions.

Just World Phenomenon

Belief that the world is fair, leading to victim blaming.

Mere Exposure Effect

The tendency to prefer things merely because they are familiar.

Central Route Persuasion

Deeply processing information to persuade.

Peripheral Route Persuasion

Using superficial cues to persuade, such as celebrity endorsements.

Cognitive Dissonance

Feeling discomfort when behavior contradicts one's attitudes.

Upward Social Comparison

Comparing yourself to those who are doing better than you.

Downward Social Comparison

Comparing yourself to those who are doing worse than you.

Normative Social influence

Adjusting behavior to fit in with social norms.

Informational Social Influence

Following others who we believe know best.

Social Loafing

Putting in less effort when part of a group than when alone.

Group Polarization

When group opinions become more extreme than individual opinions.

Echo Chamber

A group where beliefs are amplified and reinforced.

Group Think

When group members suppress dissenting viewpoints for consensus.

Deindividuation

Losing individuality in groups, often resulting in uncharacteristic behavior.

Attraction

Factors influencing attraction include physical attractiveness, proximity, similarity, and reciprocity.

Frustration-aggression principle

The idea that frustration often leads to aggressive behavior.

Social Facilitation

The tendency to perform better on simple tasks when others are present.

Bystander Effect

When individuals are less likely to help in an emergency when others are present.

LCU (life changing unit)

A numerical score assigned to a specific life event, reflecting the perceived amount of readjustment required

SRRS (social readjustment rating scale)

uses LCS to assign a numerical value to various life events. Higher scores indicate a greater perceived need for readjustment.

GAS (General adaptive syndrome)

psychological responses to stress

Stages of GAS

alarm, resistance, exhaustion