AP Psychology Social Psychology Flashcards

Attribution Theory

The idea that we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation (situational attribution) or the person's disposition (dispositional attribution).

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency for observers, when analyzing someone else's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and overestimate the impact of personal disposition.

Actor-Observer Bias

The tendency to attribute our own behavior to the situation while attributing others' behavior to their disposition.

Prejudice

An unjustifiable, usually negative, attitude toward a group and its members; typically involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action.

Implicit Prejudice

Prejudice where people cause discrimination without even thinking they are being discriminatory.

Stereotype

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

Discrimination

Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members; the behavioral component of prejudice.

Just-World Phenomenon

The tendency to believe the world is fair and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get.

Person Perception

The mental processes we use to form impressions of other people, including judgments about their traits, motives, and intentions.

Social Comparison

Comparing others to ourselves to judge if we are winning or losing, which can impact self-concept and self-esteem.

Personality Psychology

The study of individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving; explores how personality develops and how it's organized.

Social Psychology

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

Social Identity

The "we" aspect of our self-concept; the part of our identity that comes from our group memberships.

Ingroup

"Us" — the group of people with whom we share a common identity.

Outgroup

"Them" — those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup.

Ingroup Bias

The tendency to favor our own group over outgroups, often unfairly.

Scapegoat Theory

The theory that prejudice provides an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame; frustration often gets displaced onto a scapegoat group.

Other-Race Effect

The tendency to more accurately recognize faces of one's own race than faces of other races (also called own-race bias/cross-race effect).

Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon

The tendency for people to agree to something small, but then comply later with a larger request.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

The theory that we act to reduce the discomfort we feel when two of our thoughts are inconsistent.