Unit 8 Social Psychology Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering key psychological concepts and theories.

Attributional Theory

A framework for understanding how individuals explain the causes of behavior and events.

Actor-Observer Bias

The tendency to attribute one's own actions to external factors while attributing others' actions to internal factors.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The inclination to overemphasize personal characteristics and ignore situational factors in judging others' behaviors.

Internal Locus of Control

The belief that one has control over their own life and outcomes.

External Locus of Control

The belief that outside forces, such as luck or fate, determine outcomes.

Self-Serving Bias

The tendency to attribute positive outcomes to oneself and negative outcomes to external factors.

Explanatory Style

A person's habitual way of interpreting events, particularly regarding success and failure.

Foot-in-the-door

A compliance strategy that involves asking for a small request followed by a larger request.

Door-In-the-face

A compliance strategy where a large request is followed by a smaller, more reasonable request.

Elaboration Likelihood Model

A theory explaining the processes by which persuasive messages lead to attitude changes.

Central Route of Persuasion

A method of persuasion that involves a person's careful and thoughtful consideration of the persuasive argument.

Peripheral Route of Persuasion

A method of persuasion that relies on superficial cues, rather than the quality of the argument.

Cognitive Dissonance

The mental discomfort experienced when holding two conflicting beliefs or when behavior contradicts beliefs.

Asch’s Line Study

An experiment demonstrating the influence of group pressure on conformity.

Normative Social Influence

The influence of others that leads us to conform in order to be liked and accepted.

Informational Social Influence

The influence of others that leads us to conform because we see them as a source of information.

Milgram’s Study

An experiment on obedience that tested how far individuals would go to obey an authority figure.

Obedience

The act of following orders or directions from an authority figure.

Social Facilitation

The tendency for people to perform better on tasks when in the presence of others.

Social Inhibition

The tendency for people to perform worse on tasks in the presence of others.

Social Loafing

The phenomenon where individuals exert less effort when working in a group than when working alone.

Deindividuation

A state in which individuals lose self-awareness and feel less accountable in groups.

Risky Shift

The phenomenon where groups make riskier decisions than individuals would alone.

Group Polarization

The tendency for group discussion to enhance the group's initial attitudes.

Groupthink

A mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives.

Implicit attitudes

Attitudes that are automatic and unconscious.

Stereotype

A generalized belief or assumption about a particular group of people.

Prejudice

A negative attitude toward a group and its members.

Discrimination

The unjust treatment of different categories of people, usually based on race, age, or gender.

In-group Bias

The tendency to favor one's own group over others.

Out-Group Bias

The tendency to view out-group members as more similar to each other than they really are.

Other Race Effect/Outgroup Homogeneity Bias

The tendency to see members of one's own race as individuals and members of other races as more similar.

Ethnocentrism

The belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic group.

Just World Phenomenon

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

Physical Attractiveness

The degree to which a person's physical features are considered pleasing or beautiful.

Proximity

Geographical closeness, which increases the likelihood of attraction.

Similarity

The tendency to be attracted to others who are similar in attitudes, beliefs, and interests.

Mere Exposure Effect

The phenomenon that repeated exposure to stimuli increases liking of them.

Halo Effect

The tendency for an impression created in one area to influence opinions in another area.

Altruism

Selfless concern for the well-being of others.

Bystander Effect

The phenomenon where individuals are less likely to help a victim when other people are present.

Diffusion of Responsibility

The reduction in feelings of personal responsibility in the presence of others.

Reciprocity Norm

The expectation that people will respond favorably to each other by returning benefits for benefits.

Social Responsibility Norm

The expectation that people will help those needing help.

Self-fulfilling prophecies

Beliefs that lead to their own fulfillment.

Social Trap

A situation in which individuals or groups are drawn into mutually destructive behaviors.

Superordinate Goals

Goals that benefit all and necessitate the participation of all, promoting cooperation.

Industrial-Organization Psychologists (I/O)

Psychologists who study human behavior in workplace settings.

Individualistic Culture

A culture that emphasizes individual achievement and rights over group goals.

Collectivistic Culture

A culture that prioritizes group goals and social harmony over individual achievements.