Social Psychology Vocab

Social Psychology

seeks to explain how our thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and behaviors are influenced by interactions with others

Social Cognition

focuses on how we perceive, store, and retrieve information about social interactions

Physical Proximity

the distance of one person to another person

Stimulation Value

the ability of a person to interest you in or to expose you to new ideas and experiences

Utility Value

the ability of a person to help another achieve his or her goals

Ego-Support Value

the ability of a person to provide another person with sympathy, encouragement, and approval

Complementarity

the attraction that often develops between opposite types of people because of the ability of one to supply what the other lacks

Primacy Effect

the tendency to form opinions on others based on first impressions

Stereotype

a set of assumptions about people in a given category often based on half-truths and nontruths

Attribution Theory

a collection of principles based on our
explanations of the causes of events, other people’s behaviors, and our own behaviors

Fundamental Attribution Error

an inclination to over attribute others’ behavior to
internal causes (dispositional factors) and discount the
situational factors contributing to their behavior

Actor-Observer Bias

tendency to attribute one’s own behavior to outside causes but attribute the behavior of others to internal causes

Self-Serving Bias

a tendency to claim success is due to our efforts, while failure is due to circumstances beyond our control

Nonverbal Communication

the process through which messages are conveyed using
space, body language, and facial expression

Generational Identity

the theory that people of different ages tend to think differently about certain issues because of different formative experiences

Group

a collection of people who have shared goals, a degree of interdependence, and some amount of communication

Task Functions

activities directed toward getting a job done

Social Functions

responses directed toward satisfying the emotional needs of members

Norms

shared standards of behavior accepted by and expected from group members

Ideology

the set of principles, attitudes, and defined objectives for which a group stands

Social Facilitation

an increase in performance in front of a crowd

Social Inhibition

a decrease in performance in front of a crowd

Group Polarization

theory that group discussion reinforces the majority’s point of view and shifts group members’ opinions to a more extreme position

Group Think

poor group decision making that occurs as a result of a group emphasizing unity over critical thinking

Sociogram

a diagram that represents relationships within a group, especially likes and dislikes of members for other members

Conformity

acting in accord with group norms or customs

Obedience

a change in attitude or behavior brought about by social pressure to comply with people perceived to be authorities

Altruism

helping others, often at a cost or risk, for reasons other than rewards

Diffusion of Responsibility

the presence of others lessens an individual’s feelings
of responsibility for his or her actions or failure to act

Bystander Effect

an individual does not take action because of the presence of others

Social Loafing

the tendency to work less hard when sharing the workload with others

Deindividuation

individuals behave irrationally when there is less chance of being personally identified