Social Psychology: Group Influence, Aggression, and Conformity

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the core concepts, classic studies, theories, and empirical findings on Group Influence (Chapter 7), Aggression (Chapter 9), and Conformity (Chapter 6).

Group

Two or more people who interact and influence each other for more than a few moments and perceive one another as "us."

Social Facilitation

The strengthening of dominant responses due to the presence of others, enhancing performance on easy tasks and impairing performance on difficult tasks.

Social Loafing

The tendency for people to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward a common goal compared to when they are individually accountable.

Free-riders

People who benefit from a group's efforts but give nothing in return.

Deindividuation

The loss of one's sense of personal identity, self-awareness, and accountability when in a group, crowd, or community.

Evaluation Apprehension

Concern for how others evaluate us, which decreases in a crowd and contributes to deindividuation.

Group Polarization

The phenomenon where group discussions strengthen members' initial views when interacting with like-minded individuals.

Groupthink

A mode of thinking where the desire for group harmony and conformity overrides dissent, realistic appraisal, and consideration of opposing views.

Minority Influence

The capacity of an individual or minority subgroup to influence the majority by being consistent, exhibiting self-confidence, and staying flexible in their approaches.

Aggression

Physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone.

Hostile Aggression

Aggression driven by anger and performed as an end in itself.

Social Aggression

Relational aggression intended to hurt another person's feelings or relationships, such as bullying, gossip, and exclusion.

Instrumental Aggression

Aggression that serves as a means toward achieving another end or goal, such as terrorism or wars.

MAOA-L Gene

A specific genetic variant linked to aggression whose carriers are $13\times$ more likely to be repeat offenders and show increased violence when provoked and exposed to maltreatment.

Frustration-Aggression Theory (Berkowitz's Revision)

The perspective that frustration leads to aggression when another person's actions are perceived as unfair or unjustified.

Displacement

The redirection of aggressive behavior away from the original instigator onto a safer or alternative target, especially one sharing similarities with the instigator.

Honor Cultures

Cultures where retaliating against insults is viewed as justified, correlated with higher rates of domestic violence, sexual assault, and a $3\times$ higher likelihood of school shootings.

Weapons Effect

The tendency for the mere presence of an aggressive cue, such as a gun, to increase aggressive thoughts and behaviors.

Catharsis (in Aggression)

The notion that venting aggressive energy reduces aggression, a view refuted by research demonstrating that venting actually increases anger and retaliation.

Conformity

A change in behavior or belief to connect with others or as a result of real or imagined social pressure.

Compliance

A type of conformity that involves publicly acting in accord with social pressure while privately disagreeing.

Obedience

A form of compliance involving acting in response to a direct order or command, typically to receive social rewards or avoid punishment.

Acceptance

Conformity that involves both acting and genuinely believing in accord with social pressure.

Autokinetic Effect (Sherif's Study)

An optical illusion where a stationary light in a dark room appears to move, used by Muzafer Sherif to study suggestibility and social norm formation in groups.

Chameleon Effect

The nonconscious mimicry of postures, mannerisms, and behaviors (such as face-touching or foot-wagging) of the people with whom one is interacting.

Asch's Conformity Studies

Classic line-judging experiments demonstrating group pressure, in which $77\%$ of participants conformed at least once by agreeing with confederates' clearly wrong answers.

Milgram's Obedience Studies

Experiments assessing obedience to authority in which participants administered electric shocks up to $450\,\text{V}$ to a learner protesting in pain when commanded by an experimenter.

Group Cohesion

The extent to which group members feel bonded together; higher cohesion gives the group greater power and influence over its members.

Normative Influence

Conformity based on a person's desire to fulfill others' expectations, maintain social image, and gain approval or acceptance.

Informational Influence

Conformity occurring when people accept evidence about reality provided by others, driven by a desire to be accurate when situations are unclear.

Reactance

A psychological motive to protect or restore one's sense of personal freedom when it is threatened, leading to a boomerang effect where a person does the opposite of what is requested.

Code-Switching

The contextual behavioral adjustment where individuals of minority status behave differently around members of a majority group compared to when they are with members of their own group.