Social Psych Midterm 3

communal relationships

a relationship in which the individuals feel a special responsibility for one another and give and receive according to the principle of need, often long term

exchange relationship

a relationship in which individuals feel little responsibility toward one another: giving and receiving are governed by concerns about equity and reciprocity, usually short term

social exchange theory

based on the idea that how people feel about a relationship depends on their assessments of its cost and rewards

comparison level

expectations people have about what they should get out of a relationship

comparison level for alternatives

expectations people have about what they can get out of available alternative relationships

equity theory

the idea that people are motivated to pursue fairness, or equity, in their relationships. a relationship is considered equitable when the ration of rewards to costs is similar for both partners

attachment theory

the idea that early attachments with parents and other caregivers can shape relationships for a person’s whole life

anxiety dimension of attachment

captures the degree to which a person is worried about rejection and abandonment by relationship partners

avoidant dimension of attachment

captures the degree to which a person is comfortable with intimacy and dependence on relationship partners

functional distance

the influence of physical layout that encourages or inhibits certain activities, including contact between people

mere exposure effect

the idea that repeated exposure to a stimulus, such as an object or a person, leads to greater liking of the stimulus

complementarity

the tendency for people to seek out others with characteristics that are different from, and that complement, their own

halo effect

the common belief that attractive individuals possess a host of positive qualities beyond their physical appearance

reproductive fitness

the capacity to pass one’s genes on to subsequent generations

investment model of commitment

a model of interpersonal relationship maintains there are three determinants that make partners more committed to each other: relationship satisfaction, few alternative partners, and investment in the relationship

perceived partner responsiveness

the degree to which people perceive their partners as being understanding, validating, and responsive to their needs

stereotype

a belief that certain attributes are characteristics of members of a particular group

prejudice

an attitude or affective response (positive or negative) toward a group and its individuals

discrimination

favorable or unfavorable treatment of individuals based on their membership in a particular group

modern racism

prejudice directed at racial groups that exists alongside the rejection of explicitly racists beliefs

implicit association test

a technique for revealing unconscious attitudes toward different stimuli, particularly groups of people

affect misattribution procedure

a priming procedure designed to assess people’s implicit associations to different stimuli, including their association to various ethic, racial, gener, and occupational groups

priming

the presentation of information designed to activate a concept and hence make it accessible, a prime is the stimulus presented to activate the concept in question

realistic group conflict theory

a theory that group conflict, prejudice, and discrimination are likely to arise over competition between groups for limited resources

ethnocenrtism

glorifying one’s own group while vilifying other groups

superordinate

a goal that transcends the interests of any group and that can be achieved more readily by two or more groups working together

minimal group paradigm

an experimental paradigm in which researches create groups based on arbitrary and seemingly meaningless criteria and them examine how the members of these “minimal groups” are inclines to behave towards one another

social identity theory

the idea that person’s self-concept and self-esteem drive not only from personal identity and accomplishments but also from the status and accomplishments of the various groups to which the person belongs

basking in reflected glory

taking pride in the accomplishments of other people in one’s group, such as when sports fan identify with a winning team

paired distinctiveness

the pairing of two distinctive events that stand out even more because they occur together

subtyping

explaining away expectations to a given stereotype by creating a subcategory of the stereotyped group that can be expected to differ from he group as a whole

outgroup homogeneity effect

the tendency for people to assume that within-group similarity is much stronger for outgroups than for ingroups

own-race identification bias

the tendency for people to be better able to recognize and distinguish faces from their own race than from other races

contact hypothesis

the proposition that prejudice can be reduced by putting members of different groups in frequent contact with one another

multiculturalism

a diversity ideology that encouraged the acknowledgement and appreciation of people’s unique cultural and ethnic identities

color-blindness

a diversity ideology that encourages treating others as unique individuals and downplaying or ignoring cultural and ethnic group differences

social dominance theory

a theory about the hierarchical nature of societies, how they remain stable, and how more powerful or privileged groups in a society maintain their advantage

social dominance orientation

a personality trait that corresponds to a person’s support for socioeconomic hierarchy and the belief that different groups should occupy higher and lower positions in society

just world hypothesis

the belief that people get what they deserve in life and deserve what they get

dehumanization

the attribution of nonhuman characteristics and denial of human qualities to groups

anthropomorphism

the attribution of human traits, feelings, and intentions to nonhuman entities

stereotype content model

a model that describes the nature of common group stereotypes, positing that they vary along the two prominent dimensions of warmth and competence

systematic inequalities

historical or contemporary laws, policies, practices, and norms that advantage some groups in society and disadvantage others, when it comes to such things as wealth, education, housing, and healthcare

stereotype threat

the fear of confirming the stereotypes that others have about one’s group