Group Influence and Aggression

Flashcards covering group influence, prejudice, and aggression.

Social Facilitation

The tendency to perform differently when in the presence of others; can either enhance or diminish performance depending on the task.

Social Loafing

The tendency for people to exert less effort when they pool their efforts toward a common goal than when they are individually accountable.

Deindividuation

Loss of self-awareness and evaluation apprehension in group situations that foster responsiveness to group norms, good or bad.

Group Polarization

Group-produced enhancement of members’ preexisting tendencies; a strengthening of the members’ average tendency, not a split within the group.

Informational Influence

Group discussion elicits a pooling of ideas, most of which favor the dominant viewpoint.

Normative Influence

The tendency to conform to the opinions and behaviors of others to be liked and accepted.

Groupthink

The mode of thinking that persons engage in when concurrence-seeking becomes so dominant in a cohesive in-group that it tends to override realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action.

Minority Influence: Consistency

A minority is more influential when it sticks to its position consistently.

Task Leadership

A directive style of leadership that focuses on goal achievement.

Social Leadership

A democratic style of leadership that delegates authority, welcomes input, and helps prevent groupthink.

Transformational Leadership

Leadership that motivates others to identify with and commit to the group's mission, inspiring them to share a vision and offering personal attention.

Prejudice

A preconceived negative judgment of a group and its individual members.

Stereotypes

Beliefs about the personal attributes of a group of people.

Racism

Institutional practices that discriminate, even when there is no prejudicial intent.

Implicit Prejudice

Automatic, unconscious biases and preferences.

Social Inequalities

Unequal status breeds prejudice, where those in power may justify their dominance through biased beliefs.

Authoritarian Personality

A personality that is disposed to favor obedience to authority and intolerance of outgroups and those lower in status.

Scapegoat Theory

The theory that frustration triggers a readiness to aggress, often redirecting hostility to safer targets.

Social Identity Theory

Theory that we categorize, identify with our ingroups, and compare our groups with outgroups, leading to ingroup bias.

Ingroup Bias

The tendency to favor one's own group.

Need for Status

The motivation to maintain or improve one's social standing, which can contribute to prejudice.

Illusory Correlation

Overestimating the association between two events that are relatively rare.

Just-World Belief

The belief that the world is fair and individuals get what they deserve.

Attributional Biases

The tendency to attribute behavior to internal factors rather than external circumstances.

Gender Prejudice

Negative attitudes, beliefs, and stereotypes about individuals based on their gender.

Hostile Sexism

Blatant and overt hostility towards women, including derogatory attitudes and beliefs.

Benevolent Sexism

A more subtle form of sexism that involves attitudes and behaviors that appear positive towards women but reinforce traditional gender roles.

Stereotype Threat

A self-confirming apprehension that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype.

Aggression

Physical or verbal behavior intended to cause harm.

Hostile Aggression

Aggression that springs from anger; its goal is to injure.

Instrumental Aggression

Aggression that aims to injure, but only as a means to some other end.

Instinct Theory

Aggressive energy is instinctive (innate, unlearned, and universal).

Frustration-Aggression Theory

The theory that frustration triggers a readiness to aggress.

Displacement

The redirection of aggression to a target other than the source of the frustration.

Relative Deprivation

The perception that one is less well off than others with whom one compares oneself.

Social Learning Theory

The theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating, and by being rewarded and punished.

Catharsis

Emotional release, often through expressing or reliving emotions.