Social Thinking and Social Influence Flashcards

Flashcards containing vocabulary and definitions related to social thinking and social influence.

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 other’s behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and overestimate the impact of personal disposition.

Attitudes

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.

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 or norms about a social position, defining how those in their 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.

Social Norms

Rules for expected and accepted behavior

Culture

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

Conformity

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

Social Contagion

Behavior and emotions can be contagious

Normative Social Influence

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

Informational Social Influence

Influence resulting from a person’s willingness to accept other’s opinions about reality.

Social Facilitation

Improved performance on 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 held 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 groups’ prevailing inclinations through discussions 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.

Prejudice

An unjustifiable and usually negative attitude toward a group and its members- prejudice generally involves negative emotions, stereotyped beliefs, and a predisposition to discriminatory action.

Stereotype

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

Discrimination

Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or it’s members.

Just World Phenomenon

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

Ingroup and Outgroup Dynamics

The “us” (people with whom we share a common identity) and “them” (those perceived as different or apart from our “ingroup”) dynamics.

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 cross-race effect or own-race bias).

Aggression

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

Frustration-Aggression Principle

Frustration, the blocking of some attempt to achieve a goal, creates anger and can generate aggression.

Mere Exposure Effect

The phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking them.

Passionate Love

An aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a romantic relationship.

Companionate Love

The deep affectionate attachment for those with whom our lives are intertwined.

Equity

A condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it.

Self-disclosure

The act of revealing intimate aspects of ourselves to others.

Altruism

Unselfish regard for the welfare of others.

Social Exchange Theory

The theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs.

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 that need help.

Conflict

A perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas.

Social Traps

A situation in which the conflicting parties, by each pursuing their self-interest rather than the good of the group, become caught in mutually destructive behavior.

Mirror Image Perceptions

Mutual views often held by conflicting people, as when each side sees itself as ethical and peaceful and views the other side as evil and aggressive.

Self-fulfilling Prophecy

A belief that leads to it’s own fulfillment.

Superordinate Goals

Shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation