ap psychology - social psychology

social psychology

the study of how groups and cultures shape perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors

dispositional attributions

person’s actions are due to personality, not situation

situational attributions

person’s actions are due to external circumstances, not their personality

actor-observer bias

tendency to attribute our own behavior to situational causes and the behavior of others to personal causes

fundamental attribution error

people tend to overestimate the extent to which others’ actions are due to underlying dispositions/traits and underestimate the “power of the situation”

self-serving bias

we are more likely to attribute successes to personal, stable factors and failures to situational factors

just-world hypothesis

people get what they deserve

attitudes

learned predispositions to respond in a favorable or unfavorable way to a specific person, object, or event

mere exposure effect

we unconsciously adopt the beliefs of our parents, friends, and significant others

relative deprivation

a feeling of dissatisfaction experienced when individuals compare themselves to others and perceive that they are worse off

prejudice

an unjustified negative attitude an indivudla has for another based solely on that person’s different racial or ethnic group

discrimination

when prejudiced attitudes result in unjustified behaviors toward members of that group

normative social influence

conformation to avoid rejection or to gain social approval

informational social influence

to accept others’ opinions about reality

central route of persuasion

using facts, figures, and other information to enable the listener to process info and think about opinions

peripheral route of persuasion

superficial information is used to distract and win favorable appeal and increase sales

halo effect

cognitive bias where a positive impression leads to positive evaluations in other areas, influencing overall judgements

foot in the door phenomenon

tendency to comply with a large request if we have previously complied with a smaller one

door in the face technique

large unreasonable request that is likely to be rejected is followed by a smaller, more reasonable request

norms

implicit or explicit rules that apply to all members of a group and govern acceptable behavior and attitudes

conformity

the adaptation of attitudes and behaviors shared by a group of people

deindividuation

loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in situations that promote high arousal and anonymity in groups

prosocial deindividuation

type of deindividuation intended to benefit others

antisocial deindividuation

type of deindividuation intended to injure others or deprive them of their rights

nonnormative deindividuation

type of deindividuation that clearly violates social norms, but does not directly help or harm others

bystander intervention

the active involvement of a perosn in a situation that appears to require their aid

social reciprocity norm

social rule that maintains that people will return favors and other kindnesses

social exchange theory

people form relationships through cost-benefit analysis. people will choose the option with the highest reward and lowest cost

social facilitation

when people perform better on tasks when others are present

social interference

when people perform worse on tasks when others are present

social loafing

when people put in less effort when working in a group than when working alone

group polarization

decisions made by like-minded people are often more extreme than those made by single individuals

groupthink

when a desire for group harmony results in self-censorship

false consensus effect

people overestimate the extent to which people agree with them

contact theory

conflict is the result of competition among groups for resources. equal status contact should lower tension and increase harmony

aggression

the act of delivering an aversive stimulus to an unwilling victim

instrumental aggression

done for the satisfaction of some goal or benefit

hostile aggression

when a person feels pain, anger, or frustration and tries to strike out against the cause

social trap

situation where conflicting parties, by rationally pursuing their self-interest, become caught in mutually destructive behavior