Module 37: Antisocial Relations

Vocabulary terms and definitions covering attribution theory, group behavior, prejudice, and aggression based on social psychology principles.

Social Psychology

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

Attribution Theory

The theory that we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition.

Fundamental Attribution Error

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

Attitude

Feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events.

Peripheral Route Persuasion

Occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker's attractiveness or celebrity endorsements.

Central Route Persuasion

Occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts.

Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon

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

Role

A set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

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

Norms

Understood rules for accepted and expected behavior.

Conformity

Adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.

Normative Social Influence

Influence resulting from a person's desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval.

Informational Social Influence

Influence resulting from one's willingness to accept others' opinions about reality.

Social Facilitation

Improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others, while performance on difficult tasks may decrease.

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.

Deindividuation

The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity.

Group Polarization

The enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group.

Groupthink

The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives.

Culture

The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.

Prejudice

An unjustifiable and usually negative attitude toward a group and its members, involving negative emotions, stereotypes, and a predisposition to discrimination.

Stereotype

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

Discrimination

Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members.

Implicit Prejudice

Unconscious prejudices that operate below the radar of awareness, influencing behavior without conscious intent.

Just-World Phenomenon

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

Ingroup

"Us"—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.

Scapegoat Theory

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

Other-Race Effect

The tendency to recall faces of one's own race more accurately than faces of other races, also called the cross-race effect or own-race bias.

Aggression

Any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone physically or emotionally.

Monoamine Oxidase A (MAOA) Gene

The "warrior gene" involved in breaking down neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin; low expression is linked to aggressive behavior when provoked.

Testosterone

A hormone that circulates in the bloodstream and influences the neural systems that control aggression.

Disinhibitor

A substance, such as alcohol, that slows brain activity that controls judgment and inhibitions, increasing aggressive responses to frustration.

Frustration-Aggression Principle

The principle that frustration—the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal—creates anger, which can generate aggression.

Social Script

A culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations.

System Justification

The human tendency to see the way things are as the way they ought to be and deserve to be, which preserves current social systems.