AP Psychology Unit 4

Person Perception

How we form impression of ourselves and others, including attributions of behaviors.

Attribution Theory

Theory describing how we explain people’s behavior by crediting either the situation or their traits.

Fundamental Attribution Error

Tendency for observers to underestimate the impact of situational factors and overestimate dispositional factors.

Actor-Observer Bias

Bias where those in a situation attribute their behavior to external causes, while observers attribute behavior to internal causes.

Dispositional Attribution

Attributing people’s behavior to their stable/enduring traits.

Situational Attribution

Attributing people’s behavior to their environment.

Prejudice

Unjustifiable and mostly negative attitude towards a group and its members.

Stereotype

A generalized (often overgeneralized) belief about a group.

Discrimination

Unjustifiable negative behavior towards a group.

Just World Phenomenon

Tendency to believe that the world is just and that therefore people get what they deserve.

Ingroup

People with whom we share a common identity.

Outgroup

Those percieved as different or apart from the ingroup.

Ingroup Bias

Tendency to favor our group over others.

Scapegoat Theory

Theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame.

Ethnocentrism

Tendency to view our racial/ethnic group as superior.

Other Race Effect

Effect where people tend to recall faces of one’s own race better than others.

Attitudes

Feelings, often influenced by our beliefs that predispose us to respond to events in a certain way.

Foot in the Door Phenomenon

Tendency for people who first agree to a small request to then comply with a larger one.

Role

Set of expectations around a social position.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Theory stating that we act to reduce discomfort (dissonance) when we feel that two thoughts are inconsistent.

Peripheral Route Persuasion

Persuasion that occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues e.g. speaker’s attractiveness.

Central Route Persuasion

Persuasion that occurs when people’s thinking is influenced through evidence and arguments.

Halo Effect

Effect where we believe attractive or famous people to be more smart, trustworthy, etc.

Norms

Society’s understood rules for accepted and expected behavior.

Social Contagion

Spontaneous spread of behavior which creates the “chameleon effect.”

Mood Linkage

Sharing of moods.

Positive Herding

When positive evaluations of a thing lead to more positive evaluations.

Conformity

Adjusting behavior to coincide with a group standard.

Normative Social Influence

Social influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval.

Informational Social Influence

Social influence resulting from a person’s willingness to accept other’s opinions of reality.

Minority Influence

When 1-2 people influence a majority.

Social Facilitation

Concept that individuals are better at performing easy tasks around others, but worse at performing difficult ones.

Social Loafing

Tendency for people in groups to exert less effort towards a goal than when individually accountable.

Deindividuation

Loss of self awareness and restraint occurring in group situations when anonymous and aroused.

Group Polarization

Enhancement of a group’s prevailing inclinations via discussion.

Groupthink

Thinking where the dersire for harmony outweighs realistic appraisals of situations.

Tight Cultures

Cultures that have strict norms.

Loose Cultures

Cultures with lax and flexible norms.

Aggression

Any physical or verbal behavior intending harm.

Frustration-Aggression Principle

Principle that frustration — the blocking of achieving a goal — creates anger which generates aggression.

Social Scripts

Culturally modeled guide for how to act.

Mere Exposure Effect

Tendency for repeated exposure to a stimulus to increase our liking of it.

Reward Theory of Attraction

Theory that we like the people whose behavior is rewarding to us.

Passionate Love

Love where individuals are in an aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present towards the beginning of a relationship.

Two Factor Theory of Emotion

Theory that emotion is based on two components, physical arousal and cognitive appraisal.

Companionate Love

Love where individuals possess a deep and affectionate attachment for people who their lives are intertwined with.

Equity

When people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it.

Self-Disclosure

Act of revealing intimate aspects of ourselves to others.

Altruism

Unselfish regard for other’s welfare.

Bystander Effect

Tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to aid when other bystanders are present.

Reciprocity Norm

Expectation that people will help those who have helped them.

Social Responsibility Norm

Expectation that people will help those needing their help.

Conflict

A perceived incompatibility between someone’s actions, goals, or ideas.

Social Trap

A situation in which two parties, each pursuing their self interest instead of the common good, become put in mutually destructive behavior.

Mirror-Image Perceptions

Mutual views held by conflicting parties where each side views themselves as better than the other.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

A belief that leads to its own fulfillment.

Superordinate Goals

Shared goals that override differences and require cooperation between differing groups.

GRIT

Tension reduction strategy.