Psych Final Flashcards

Attribution theory

“Definition: We credit (attribute) the behavior of others to either situation or disposition. Dispositional Attribution: The behavior is the result of stable personality traits. Situational Attribution: The behavior is the result of a situation.

Example: If a friend is late to a meeting, you might assume they are disorganized (dispositional) or that there was heavy traffic (situational).”

Fundamental attribution error

“Definition: Tendency of observers, when trying to explain another person’s behavior, to overestimate the role of personality and underestimate the power of situations. Example: Seeing someone trip and thinking they are clumsy (personal trait) instead of considering the sidewalk was uneven (situational factor).”

Peripheral route persuasion

“Definition: Occurs when people are influenced by attention getting cues (other than the message itself). Triggers emotion-based 'snap-judgments' that involve little thought. Example: Choosing a car based on an attractive advertisement featuring a famous celebrity rather than on its features and reliability.”

Central route persuasion

“Definition: Persuasion is based on evidence and arguments that trigger careful thinking. Example: A politician presenting detailed statistics and research on climate change to persuade voters.”

Foot in the door phenomenon

“Definition: When someone has complied with a small request, it is easier to get them to take the next step. Example: Asking a neighbor to water your plants for a week, then later asking them to take care of your dog for a month.”

Cognitive dissonance theory

“Definition: We act to reduce discomfort (dissonance) when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent. When we become aware that our actions are clashing with our attitudes, we change our attitudes to match. Example: A smoker justifies smoking by saying, 'Everyone has to die of something,' reducing the dissonance between knowing it's unhealthy and their habit.”

Normative social influence

“Definition: We desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval. Example: Conforming to the dress code at work even if you prefer casual attire.”

Informational social influence

“Definition: We are willing to accept others’ opinions about reality. Example: Following a crowd during an emergency because everyone seems to be running in a particular direction.”

Social facilitation

“Definition: Individuals experience improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks because of heightened arousal. Example: A professional athlete performs better at a competition with a large audience than during practice alone.”

Social loafing

“Definition: People in a group will exert less effort when pooling their efforts towards a common goal than when being held individually accountable. Example: In a group project, one member does all the work while others contribute little because they think their lack of effort won't be noticed.”

Deindividuation

“Definition: In groups, people experience high arousal and anonymity, resulting in less self-awareness and less self-restraint. Example: People behaving aggressively at a sports event or concert while wearing masks and team colors.”

Group polarization

“Definition: Pre-existing attitudes that we bring to a group grow stronger when we discuss with like-minded individuals. Example: A group of friends discussing politics and becoming more extreme in their views after sharing their opinions.”

Groupthink

“Definition: Desire for harmony/agreement in a decision-making group overrides or prevents a realistic evaluation of alternatives. Example: A company's board making a poor decision because everyone agrees with the CEO without questioning the underlying assumptions.”

Social traps

“Definition: In some situations, pursuing our personal interests also supports collective well-being; in other situations, we harm our collective well-being by pursuing our personal interests. Example: Overfishing in a lake benefits individual fishermen in the short term but depletes the fish population for everyone.”

Prejudice

“Definition: Implicit Prejudice: Unconscious prejudices against a particular group (as measured by IAT). Explicit Prejudice: Conscious feelings of prejudice. Example: An employer unconsciously favoring candidates of a certain race during the hiring process.”

Just-world phenomenon

“Definition: The belief that people get what they deserve and deserve what they get. Example: Believing a homeless person must have made poor choices, rather than considering systemic issues that contributed to their situation.”

Ingroup bias

“Definition: The tendency to favor our own group. Example: A sports fan prefers their home team's players and often criticizes opposing players, regardless of their behavior.”

Frustration-aggression principle

“Definition: The principle that frustration can lead to aggression. Example: A person who is cut off in traffic reacts aggressively towards the other driver out of frustration.”

Mere-exposure effect

“Definition: The phenomenon that repeated exposure to stimuli increases liking of them. Example: Developing a preference for a song after hearing it multiple times on the radio.”

Stereotypes

“Definition: Oversimplified generalizations about groups of people that can lead to bias and discrimination. Example: Assuming a teenager is irresponsible just based on their age.”

Altruism

“Definition: is the unselfish regard for the welfare of others. Example: Donating a significant portion of your salary to a charity that helps the homeless.”

Bystander effect

“Definition: A social psychological phenomenon in which individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim when other people are present. Example: A person collapsing in a park while many people walk by without intervening.”

The chameleon effect

“Definition: The unconscious tendency to mimic the gestures, behaviors, and emotions of those around us. Example: Subtly adopting the accent of your friends while talking with them.”

Reciprocity norm

“Definition: An expectation that we should return help, not harm, to those who have helped us. Example: Feeling the need to bring a gift to a friend after they hosted you at their home.”

Social responsibility norm

“Definition: Expectation that we should help those who need our help, even if the costs outweigh the benefits. Example: Volunteering to care for a sick neighbor even when it requires a lot of your time.”

Self-fulfilling prophecy

“Definition: An expectation that causes itself to become true. Example: A student believing they will fail a test and consequently not studying, leading to poor performance.”

Explicit vs implicit attitudes

“Definition: Explicit attitudes are conscious beliefs that can be measured through self-report, while implicit attitudes are unconscious beliefs that often influence behavior unconsciously. Example: A person verbally expressing support for diversity (explicit) while subconsciously harboring biases against certain groups (implicit).”

Phillip Zimbardo

“Definition: Psychologist known for his Stanford prison experiment, which studied the psychological effects of perceived power. Example: The experiment demonstrated how ordinary people could take on abusive roles when given power in a simulated prison setting.”

Fritz Heider

“Definition: Psychologist known for his work on attribution theory and the concept of the 'naive scientist.' Example: Heider theorized that people analyze behavior using a cause-and-effect rationale.”

Solomon Asch

“Definition: Psychologist known for his studies on conformity, particularly the Asch conformity experiments. Example: Participants in Asch's study conformed to a group's incorrect answer about line lengths despite knowing the correct answer.”

Stanley Milgram

“Definition: Psychologist known for his controversial experiments on obedience to authority. Example: Milgram's study showed how people would administer seemingly harmful electric shocks to others if instructed by an authority figure”