Social Psychology

Attribution

Attribution

The tendency to explain one's own actions or the actions of others according to either internal (dispositional) or external (situational) attributes to explain why events of actions occur.

Altruism

The tendency to help others who are in need without expecting anything in return.

Bystander effect

A phenomenon in which people are less likely to help others in need when others are present because they believe that someone else will take action.

Central route persuasion

The central route to persuasion is a compliance technique which uses evidence and logic to convince others.

Collectivism

Collectivism is a term which refers to those living in cultures where the needs and goals of the group are considered above those of the individual.

Cognitive dissonance

Cognitive dissonance is the tension or guilt that occurs when one’s actions and beliefs do not match.

Companionate love

Companionate love is a type of love characterized by feelings of intimacy created when people share their inner most thoughts and feelings with one another and are committed to a long-term investment in the relationship.

Conformity

Conformity is the tendency to go along with the actions or ideas of others in an effort to "fit in".

Diffusion of responsibility

Diffusion of responsibility occurs when individuals do not take action in an emergency, often because they are in a large group and assume someone else will act.

Discrimination

Discrimination is the behavioral component of prejudice which involves treating individuals differently because of their membership in group about which one has predetermined expectations.

Dispositional attribution (Internal attribution)

A dispositional attribution involves the process in which individuals explain the behavior of themselves or others as being the result of personal characteristics rather than situational events.

Door-in the-face technique

The door-in-the-face technique is a method of persuasion in which an individual first makes a large request that is likely to be denied and then makes a more reasonable request which is more likely to be granted. This occurs because the smaller request seems more reasonable after the presentation of the larger request.

Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's own cultural, religious, or ethnic group is superior to others.

False consensus effect

The false consensus effect involves the tendency for people to overestimate how many others agree with them; assuming everyone has had the same experiences.

Fundamental attribution error

The fundamental attribution error occurs when one overestimates another individual’s personal characteristics and underestimates the situational factors that may contribute to their (generally negative) behavior.

Foot-in-the-door

The foot-in-the-door technique is a method of persuasion in which an individual first makes a small request to which they gain agreement and then makes a larger request to which the receiver is more likely to comply because they have already agreed to the initial request.

Halo effect

The halo effect is the belief that individuals with one positive characteristic have other positive characteristics even if there is no evidence to support this belief.

Individualism

Individualism is a term which refers to those living in cultures which emphasizes the person before the group by focusing on independence and personal interests.

Group polarization

Group polarization occurs when after discussion, members of a group move to a more extreme position than was held prior to discussion.

Ingroup bias

In group bias is the tendency to judge the behavior of those who share similar characteristics more favorably than those who are judged to be different.

Just world phenomenon

The just world phenomenon is the belief that the world is fair and people deserve what they get.

Compliance

Compliance is the tendency to go along with a request which often comes from a figure of authority.

mere exposure effect

The mere exposure effect is the finding that individuals generally like a stimulus more after repeated exposures.

Prejudice

Prejudice involves holding negative feelings, opinions or beliefs which are associated with a stereotype of a specific category of individuals.

peripheral route persuasion

The peripheral route to persuasion is a method of persuasion that is based on superficial factors such as appearance or bright colors to persuade others.

outgroup

An outgroup refers to a group considered different from one's own who often become the "scapegoat" when things go wrong.

Obedience

Obedience involves adherence to a direct request from a person in a position of authority.

Reciprocity norm

The reciprocity norm is a method of persuasion in which one provides a small token or gift in the hopes that the other will return the favor with agreement to a request.

Norm

A norm is a general guideline for expected behavior that may or may not be explicitly stated.

Matching hypothesis

The matching hypothesis is the theory that individuals are more likely to form romantic relationships with others who have a similar level of attractiveness as themselves.

Normative social influence

Normative social influence involves the tendency of individuals to conform to the behavior of a group because of their desire to fit in or be accepted by the group.

Spotlight effect

The spotlight effect involves the tendency for individuals to believe that others notice their behaviors or mistakes more than they actually do.

Stereotype threat

Stereotype threat involves a reduction in performance when an individual is reminded they belong to a group which is known for low performance on a given task.

Social identity theory

Social identity theory involves members of an ingroup who have pride in their membership of that group.

Groupthink

Groupthink involves the tendency for groups to make poor decisions because members are afraid to speak up, they have a leader with strong opinions or they are under pressure to make a quick decision.

informational social influence

The informational social influence involves the tendency for people to conform to the behaviors of others because they assume this is the correct way to respond in social situations.

Scapegoat theory

The scapegoat theory states that when things do not turn out as expected one places blame on those who are different or in the out-group for the error.

Persuasion

Persuasion involves the attempt to influence the attitudes or behaviors of others to align with one's own beliefs or attitudes.

Self-fulfilling prophecy

The self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when one’s own or another expectations impacts and individual's behavior. People often live up or down to the expectations of others or themselves.

Social Norms

Social Norms are guidelines or expectations for "appropriate" behavior in social situations.

Aggression

Aggression involves any behavior that involves either verbal or physical intentions to cause harm to another person.

self-serving bias

The self-serving bias occurs more often in individualistic societies when people take personal credit for their successes and blame others or the situation for their failures.

Situational attribution (External)

Situational attributions occur when people explain the behavior of themselves or others to by using situational factors such as the weather or luck.

Passionate love

Passionate love is characterized by a physical connection to others which is often found early in romantic relationships.

Elaboration likelihood model

The elaboration likelihood model is the idea that persuasive messages lead to changes in attitude based on either using the central or peripheral route to persuasion.

Social psychology

Social psychology is the subfield of psychology focused on studying how people influence others thoughts, feelings and actions.

Stereotype

Stereotypes are cognitive schemas held about people based in their membership to particular groups.

Social loafing

Social loafing involves the tendency for people to work less hard in a group than when working alone because they expect others will step in and do the work.

Social interference

Social interference (inhibition) is the tendency to decrease performance on tasks that are difficult or not well practiced when others are present.

Social facilitation

Social facilitation is the tendency for performance to improve on easy or well-practiced tasks when others are present.

Social dilemma

A situation in which one must make a decision to do what is right themselves or what is right for the group when they do not know the decision the group will make.

Triangular theory of love

The triangular theory of love is Robert Sternberg's theory describing three components which combine to create various types of romantic relationships: passion, intimacy and commitment.

Attitudes

Feelings influenced by beliefs that predispose our reactions

Attribution Theory

Tries to explain how people determine the cause of observed behavior