AP psych mod 4.1-4.3

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.

stereotypes

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

discriminate

(1) in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that have not been associated with a conditioned stimulus. (In operant conditioning, the ability to distinguish responses that are reinforced from similar responses that are not reinforced.) (2) in social psychology, unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members.

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.

social identity

the “we” aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to “Who am I?” that comes from our group memberships.

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 and the own-race bias.

attitudes

feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to 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.

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. For example, when we become aware that our attitudes and our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes.

Persuasion

changing people’s attitudes, potentially influencing their actions.

Peripheral route persuasion

occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker’s attractiveness.

Central route persuasion

occurs when interested people’s thinking is influenced by considering evidence and arguments.

norms

a society’s understood rules for accepted and expected behavior. Norms prescribe “proper” behavior in individual and social situations.

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 a person’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality.

obedience

complying with an order or a command.

social facilitation

in the presence of others, improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks, and worsened performance on difficult tasks.

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.

tight cultures

a place with clearly defined and reliably imposed norms.

Loose cultures

a place with flexible and informal norms.

altruism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others.

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.

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 needing their help.

conflict

a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas.

social traps.

a situation in which two 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 parties, as when each side sees itself as ethical and peaceful and views the other side as evil and aggressive.

fulfilling prophecies

a belief that leads to its own fulfillment.

superordinate goals

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation.

GRIT

Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-Reduction — a strategy designed to decrease international tensions.

Attribution

How we explain someone’s behavior by either crediting the situation or their traits/disposition.

Explanatory Style

Finding predictable patterns of attributions. Like how people explain good and bad events in their lives and in the lives of others - optimistic or pessimistic.

Social comparison

We compare ourselves to others, which often allows us to judge whether we are succeeding or failing, if we are good or bad. Very self-esteem based.

Dispositional attribution

the process of explaining someone's behavior or an event by attributing it to internal factors like personality traits, abilities, or attitudes, rather than external or situational factors

Situational attribution

an explanation for a person's behavior that attributes it to external factors or the situation they are in, rather than their personality or character

fundamental attribution error.

The tendency to overestimate the impact of personal disposition and underestimate the impact of the situations in analyzing the behaviors of others

Actor-observer bias

a cognitive bias where individuals attribute their own actions to external circumstances (situational attribution) while attributing others' actions to internal factors (dispositional attribution)

Self-serving bias

a psychological phenomenon where individuals tend to attribute their successes to internal factors (like their own abilities) and their failures to external factors (like bad luck or circumstances).

Mere exposure effect

the tendency for repeated exposure increases our liking of something.

Implicit attitudes

evaluations that occur without conscious awareness towards an attitude object or the self

Ethnocentrism

the tendency to view our own ethnic or racial group as superior.

Social influence theory

explores how individuals' attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are shaped by interactions with others, encompassing various mechanisms like conformity, compliance, and internalization.

Halo effect

occurs when our positive impressions of people, brands, and products in one area lead us to have positive feelings in another area

Diffusion of responsibility

Tendency of any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present.