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Social Psychology

The study of human cognition, emotion, and behavior in relation to others.

Sociology

Examines the groups themselves, including their societies, cultures, behaviours, and subcultures.

Social Cognition

The way people think about others and use social information in their lives.

Attribution

Interpreting the behavior of others to understand why they do what they do.

Controllable-Unconctrollable dimension of attribution

Refers to the perception of whether a person's behavior is a result of factors they can control (controllable) or factors beyond their control (uncontrollable).

Stable-Unstable dimension of attribution

Refers to whether a person's behavior is seen as a result of stable (unchanging over time) or unstable (changeable) factors.

Internal-external dimension of attribution

Refers to whether a person's behavior is attributed to internal factors (such as personality traits or motivations) or external factors (such as situational influences or environmental conditions).

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overestimate individual characteristics and underestimate situational factors as causes of events.

Dispositional Attribution

Attributing behavior to internal factors such as personality traits, motives, or attitudes.

Situational Attribution

Attributing behavior to external factors such as environmental conditions, situational influences, or social pressures.

Just-World Hypothesis

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

False Consensus Effect

The tendency to overestimate the degree to which others think or act like us.

Self-Serving Bias

The tendency to attribute successes to personal characteristics and failures to environmental factors.

Attitudes

The relatively stable thoughts, feelings, and responses one has toward people, situations, ideas, and things

Cognitive component of attitudes

The beliefs or thoughts that constitute the cognitive aspect of an individual's attitude towards an object, person, or situation.

Affective component of attitudes

The emotional response or feelings a person has towards an object, person, or situation.

Behavioural component of attitudes

The way in which a person's attitudes are expressed through their actions or behaviors.

Cognitive Dissonance

A state of tension that results when behaviors are inconsistent with attitudes. Ex: Wanting to study hard but partying instead

Social Influence

How a person is affected by others as evidenced in behaviors, emotions, and cognition

Persuasion

Intentionally trying to make people change their attitudes and beliefs.

Source Persuasion

Refers to the characteristics and credibility of the person or organization delivering the persuasive message, which can significantly affect how the message is received.

Message Persuasion

Refers to the content, structure, and delivery of the persuasive message itself, which can influence how effectively it persuades the audience.

Audience Persuasion

Refers to the characteristics, beliefs, attitudes, and motivations of the audience that can impact how a persuasive message is received and processed.

Elaboration Likelihood Model

Proposes that people are persuaded in different ways through central and peripheral routes.

compliance

Changes in behavior at the request or direction of another person or group, who in general does not have any true authority

Foot-in-the-door technique

Making a small request followed by a larger request

Door-in-the-face technique

Making a large, sometimes unreasonable request followed by a smaller request

Conformity

The tendency to modify behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, and opinions to match those of others.

Asch’s conformity study

A famous experiment conducted by Solomon Asch in the 1950s to investigate the extent to which social pressure from a majority group could influence a person to conform. The study involved participants comparing line lengths in a group setting where confederates intentionally gave wrong answers.

Normative social influence

The influence of other people that leads us to conform in order to be liked and accepted by them.

Informational Social Influence

The influence of others that leads us to conform because we believe that they have accurate information and we want to be correct.

Reference Group

A social group that serves as a point of reference in forming attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Individuals compare themselves to reference groups in assessing their own values and social identity.

Obedience

Changing behavior because we have been ordered to do so by an authority figure.

Milgram’s obedience study

A famous psychological experiment conducted by Stanley Milgram in the 1960s to investigate the extent to which individuals would obey an authority figure, even when their orders conflicted with personal conscience. The study involved participants administering what they believed were painful electric shocks to others under the direction of an experimenter.

Social Facilitation

The tendency for the presence of others to enhance personal performance on simple tasks.

Social Loafing

The tendency for group members to exert less effort when individual contributions can't be measured.

Diffusion of Responsibility

The sharing of duties and responsibilities among all group members that can lead to feelings of decreased accountability and motivation

Deindividuation

The loss of self-awareness and individual accountability in groups, which can lead to atypical behavior, often resulting from anonymity or the presence of a large number of people.

Group Polarization

The tendency for group discussions to amplify the opinions of group members, leading to more extreme positions than those held prior to discussion.

Groupthink

A psychological phenomenon where the desire for harmony and conformity in a group results in irrational decision-making.

Bystander Effect

The tendency for individuals to avoid getting involved in an emergency because they assume others will help.

Aggression

Intimidating or threatening behavior or attitudes intended to hurt someone

Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis

Suggests that aggression may occur in response to frustration

Epigenetic changes

Modifications in gene expression or cellular phenotype that do not involve changes to the underlying DNA sequence

Stereotypes

Conclusions or inferences we make about people who are different from us based on their group membership, such as race, religion, age, or gender

Discrimination

Showing favoritism or hostility to others because of their affiliation with a group. Results from ethnocentrism

Prejudice

Holding hostile or negative attitudes toward an individual or group

Social Roles

The positions we hold in social groups, and the responsibilities and expectations associated with these roles

Stanford Prison Experiment

A psychological experiment conducted by Philip Zimbardo in 1971 that studied the psychological effects of perceived power by assigning participants to the roles of guards and prisoners in a simulated prison environment. The study found that individuals quickly assumed their assigned roles, leading to abusive behavior by the guards and emotional distress among prisoners.

Altruism

Helping others with no expectation of something in return.

Interpersonal Attraction

Factors that lead us to form friendships or romantic relationships with others.

Halo effect

The tendency to assign excessive importance to one dimension of a person

Sternberg’s Theory of Love

Describes different kinds of love based on combinations of passion, intimacy, and commitment.

Investment Model of Commitment

Decisions to stay in a relationship based on happiness, alternatives, and personal investment.