Studied by 1 person
social psychology
the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another. (We may act differently in other situations)
attribution theory
how 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 another's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition.
attitude
feelings often based on our beliefs, that make us respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events.
foot-in-the-door phenomenon
the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request.
cognitive dissonance theory
the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent. When our thoughts/actions don’t align, we feel tension, and change one to relieve the tension
conformity
adjusting one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.
informational social influence
influence from one's willingness to accept others' opinions about reality.
normative social influence
influence resulting from a person's desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval.
social facilitation
Better at simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others.
social loafing
the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable.
group polarization
Discussion within a group enhances prevailing ideas
groupthink
desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives.
prejudice
an unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members
3 parts: stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action.
Explicit (overt, obvious) or implicit (unthinking, unintentional)
stereotype
a generalized belief about a group of people.
ingroup
"us"—people with whom one shares a common identity.
ingroup bias
the tendency to favor one's own group.
outgroup
"them"—those perceived as different or apart from one's ingroup.
bystander effect
the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present.
social exchange theory
the theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs.
superordinate goals
shared goals that override differences & require their cooperation.
Muzafer Sherif
a founder of social psychology, studied social norms, conducted Robber's Cave experiment
Central Route To Persuasion
Occurs when people’s thinking is influenced by considering evidence and arguments
Peripheral Route To Persuasion
Occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker's attractiveness.
Role
A set of explanations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave.
Diffusion of Responsibility
a social phenomenon which tends to occur in groups of people above a cbertain critical size when responsibility is not explicitly assigned.
Mirror-image Perceptions
Mutual views between conflicting parties, when each side sees itself as ethical/peaceful and the other as evil
Self-fulfilling Prophecy
prediction that directly or indirectly confirms itself by influencing the other party
Norm
an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior. They prescribe "proper" behavior.
Discrimination
(Social) unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members.
Reciprocity Norm
an expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them.
Social-Responsibility Norm
an expectation that people will help those dependent upon them.
Social Trap
When two selfish parties become caught in a mutually destructive behavior
Superordinate Goals
shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation.
Leon Festinger
American social psychologist known for his work in the proximity effect, cognitive dissonance and social comparison theory.
Stanley Milgram
Shock experiments
American social psychologist, controversial experiment on obedience, interested in the obedience of Nazi soldiers during WWII and if their behaviors could be repeated with American citizens.
Philip Zimbardo
American social scientist most famous for his study, the Stanford Prison Experiment, which studied the psychological effects of being a prisoner or prison guard, which included role playing, obedience, conformity, groupthink, etc.
GRIT
passion and perseverance toward a long-term goal
Graduated and reciprocated initiatives in tension reduction - strategy to decrease international tension
Robert Sternberg's Triangular Theory of Love
The 3 components of love are passion, commitment, and intimacy
Dispositional attribute
the explanation of one's behavior is due to internal characteristics
Situational attribute
the explanation of one's behavior is due to external factors
Compliance
changing one's behavior due to the request or direction of another person
Door-in-the-face phenomenon
persuading someone to comply by making a large request that the person will likely turn down, so that the person will agree to a much smaller request
Lowball technique
style of persuasion that offers products/services at a reduced price, but then additional expenses are added to raise the price
Self-serving bias
tendency to attribute positive outcomes to personal factors and negative outcomes to situational factors
Ethnocentrism
belief that your society, culture or group is superior to all others
Principle of proximity
tendency for people to form relationships with people who are physically closer to them
Similarity principle
tendency to be attracted to others that are similar to themselves
Reward theory on attraction
we like those who we associate with rewarding events
Halo effect
occurs when a general impression of someone influences perception of their character
Self-disclosure
sharing private and intimate secrets about yourself with someone
contact hypothesis
which predicts that social contact between members of different groups is extremely important to overcoming prejudice.
implicit associations test (IAT)
measures of fast people can respond to images or words flashed on a computer screen in relation to good/bad biases
Person perception
The processes by which individuals categorize and form judgements about other people
Naive realism
the tendency to assume that the way we see things is the way they are.
chameleon effect/ social contagion
people mimic others non consciously, automatically copying others behaviors even without realizing it. chartrand and bargh.
Obedience
Complying with an order or command
Deindividuation
Loss of self awareness/restraint in situations with excitement and anonymity
Culture
Enduring behaviors, values, etc shared by a group through generations
Tight culture: clearly defined/reliable norms
Loose culture: place with flexible/informal norms
Aggression
Physical/verbal behavior intended to harm someone emotionally or physically
Frustration/aggression principle
Frustration creates anger, anger creates aggression
Social script
Culturally modeled guide for how to act in situations
Prosocial behavior
Behavior that intends to help or benefit someone
construal level theory
which describes how information affects us differently depending on our psychological distance from the information.
Personality psychology
Scientific study of personality and its development, structure, traits, processes, variations, and disorders
Person perception
How we form impressions of ourselves and others
Actor-observer bias
Person acting in situation blames their behavior on the situation/external, while observers blame actor’s disposition/personality
Social comparison
Compare ourselves to others to know if we are succeeding or failing
Scapegoat theory
Theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame
Other-race effect
Tendency to recall faces of one’s own race better than other races
Heuristics
Mental shortcuts for snap judgements
Proximity
Geographic nearness
mere exposure effect
The tendency for repeated exposure to increase our liking (novelty/new)
Passionate love
Excited state of intense positive absorption in another (Often at the beginning of a romantic relationship)
Reward theory of Attraction
We like those whose behavior is good for us
Companionate love
Deep attachment, we feel for those that our lives are intertwined with
Altruism
Unselfish regard for the welfare of others
Conflict
Perceived in compatibility of actions/goals/ideas
Just-world phenomenon
Belief that the world is fundamentally fair
Leads to rationalizing injustice/misfortune is deserved
Out-group homogeneity bias
Tendency to see other group as all very similar
Relative deprivation
Feeling of dissatisfaction when individuals compare themselves to others
Belief perseverance
Tendency to hold on to initial beliefs even after they are shown as false
Hypotheses
If-then statement about research and variables
Independent variable
Variable manipulated by researcher
Dependent variable
Variable measured by the researchers
Confounding variables
Unintended variables that may impact results (race, age, gender, etc)
Operational definition
Specific definitions of each variable in the context of the experiment
5 Ethical guidelines
Obtain consent
Protect from harm/discomfort
Participants info confidential
Fully debrief subjects afterward
Note 
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