Unit 4

Social Psychology

The study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.

Attribution

The process of explaining the causes of people’s behavior by crediting external situations or internal dispositions.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overestimate the influence of personality and underestimate the influence of situations when relating to others.

Attitudes

Beliefs and feelings that predispose our reactions to objects, people, and events.

Cognitive Component of Attitudes

Set of beliefs about the attributes of an object.

Affective Component of Attitudes

Feelings about the object.

Behavioral Component of Attitudes

The way people act toward the object.

Central Route Persuasion

Attitude change when people are focused on the argument involved in the issue.

Peripheral Route of Persuasion

Attitude change influenced by incidental cues, such as the attractiveness of the speaker.

Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon

The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request.

Door-in-the-Face Phenomenon

A technique where one starts with a large request that is refused, followed by a smaller request that is more likely to be accepted.

Norm of Reciprocity

The expectation that people will respond to each other in kind; if you give something, you expect something in return.

Roles

A set of expectations (norms) regarding how individuals in specific positions should behave.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

The theory that when our attitudes and actions are inconsistent, we experience psychological tension.

Conformity

A change in behavior or belief as a result of real or imagined group pressure.

Normative Social Influence

Conforming to gain approval and avoid disapproval.

Informational Social Influence

Conforming to accept new ideas and gain insights.

Social Facilitation

Improved performance of tasks in the presence of others, typically on simple or well-learned tasks.

Social Loafing

The tendency for individuals in a group to exert less effort toward a common goal than if they were individually accountable.

Deindividuation

The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations.

Group Polarization

The enhancement of a group's already existing attitudes through discussion to become more extreme.

Groupthink

A mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides common sense.

Stereotypes

Generalized thoughts about a group of people.

Prejudice

Judgments or attitudes about groups of people prior to experience with that group.

Discrimination

Negative behaviors toward particular groups based on stereotypes and prejudices.

Aggression

Any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy.

Hostile Aggression

Aggression aimed at causing pain, often driven by anger.

Instrumental Aggression

Aggression aimed at achieving a specific goal.

Frustration-Aggression Principle

Frustration, the blocking of an attempt to achieve a goal, creates anger which can lead to aggression.

Bystander Effect

The phenomenon where individuals are less likely to help a victim when other people are present.

Self-Disclosure

Revealing intimate or personal information about oneself to others.

Self-Esteem

One's sense of self-worth or personal value.

Reciprocal Determinism

The idea that personal behavior, environmental factors, and cognitive factors all influence each other.

Learned Helplessness

The condition in which a person feels unable to control or change a situation after repeated failures.

Optimism vs. Pessimism

Optimism involves a positive outlook and high self-efficacy, while pessimism reflects a negative outlook and low self-efficacy.