Chap1 SOCIAL PSYC

Social Psychology

The scientific study of the feelings, thoughts, and behaviors of individuals in social situations.

The Power of the Situation

Refers to the idea that situations often determine behavior, regardless of an individual's attributes.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The failure to recognize or underestimate the impact of situational influences on behavior, while overemphasizing the impact of dispositions.

Schemas

Knowledge structures consisting of organized information used to help understand events, including expectations for behaviors in social contexts.

Automatic Processing

Involuntary and unconscious mental processes that give rise to implicit attitudes and beliefs.

Controlled Processing

Conscious, systematic, and deliberate mental processing that results in explicit attitudes and beliefs.

Nudge

Situational influences that appear unimportant but can strongly affect behavior, aiding or guiding choices.

Construal

An interpretation of or inference about the stimuli or situations that individuals confront.

Cultural Differences

Variations in social relations and self-understanding between independent (individualistic) and interdependent (collectivistic) cultures.

Evolutionary Theory

A framework explaining that certain traits and behaviors are passed down through natural selection to enhance survival and reproductive success.

Naturalistic Fallacy

The misguided belief that the way things are in nature should dictate how things should be.

Theory of Mind

The understanding that other people have beliefs and desires, which may be impaired in certain individuals, such as autistic children.

Gestalt Psychology

An approach emphasizing that people perceive objects as wholes through active interpretation, rather than just by automatic registration.

Stereotypes

Beliefs that certain attributes are characteristic of members of particular groups, influencing interactions with them.

Social Neuroscience

A field examining how changes in brain activity influence social behavior, often using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

WEIRD Societies

A term referring to populations that are Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic, often used in social psychology research findings.