Social Psychology Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards defining key concepts, experiments, and theories from the social psychology lecture.

Social psychology

Study of how people influence each other’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Fundamental attribution error

Blaming someone’s behavior on their personality instead of their situation.

Foot-in-the-door phenomenon

Agreeing to a small request makes you more likely to agree to a bigger request.

Cognitive dissonance theory

Mental discomfort caused by conflicting thoughts, beliefs, or actions.

Conformity

Changing your behavior or beliefs to match a group.

Milgram’s Study on Obedience

Study showing that people may obey an authority figure even when uncomfortable.

Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment

Study showing how social roles and situations can influence behavior.

Asch’s Study on Conformity

Study showing that people may conform to a group even when the group is wrong.

Social loafing

Putting in less effort when working in a group.

Deindividuation

Losing self-awareness and individual identity in a group.

Group polarization

Group discussion makes people's opinions more extreme.

Prejudice

An unfair attitude or feeling toward a group.

Stereotype

An oversimplified belief about a group.

Discrimination

Unfair treatment or actions toward a group.

Scapegoat theory

Blaming another group for problems or frustrations.

Bystander effect

Being less likely to help when other people are present.

Self-fulfilling prophecy

An expectation causes behavior that makes the expectation come true.

Altruism

Helping others without expecting anything in return.

Groupthink

Group members avoid disagreement and make poor decisions to maintain agreement.

Other-race effect

Difficulty recognizing people of races different from your own.

Social exchange theory

Relationships are based partly on rewards and costs.

Social-responsibility norm

Belief that we should help people who need help.

Normative social influence

Conforming to fit in or be accepted.

Ingroup

A group that you belong to.

Attribution theory

How we explain the causes of people’s behavior.

Aggression

Behavior intended to hurt or harm someone.

Social facilitation

Presence of others can improve performance on easy or familiar tasks.

Frustration-aggression principle

Frustration can increase the likelihood of aggression.

Just-world phenomenon

Belief that people get what they deserve.

Attitude

A person's beliefs or feelings about something.

Ingroup bias

Favoring your own group over other groups.

Mere exposure effect

Liking something more because you see it repeatedly.