AP Psych Social Psychology

self-fulfilling prophecy

something operates to bring about its own fulfillment, such as with first impressions

internal attributions

dispositional, personal characteristics in explaining behavior

external attributions

situational factors in explaining behavior

fundamental attribution error

attributing others' behaviors to internal causes and discounting situational factors

actor-observer bias

attributing your own behavior to external factors but others' behavior to internal factors

self-serving bias

taking credit for successes but placing blame elsewhere for failure

just-world bias

believing bad things happen to bad people (blaming the victim for a crime) so we won't fear bad things happening to us

factors in choosing friends

proximity, similarity, equal attractiveness

mere exposure effect

you prefer people and experiences that are familiar to you

halo effect

we consider those with physical beauty (or some other positive trait)to be more responsive, interesting, sociable, kind, intelligent, and outgoing

social facilitation

an increase in performance in front of a crowd

group polarization

group discussion reinforces the majority's point of view and makes opinions more extreme (unless opinions are split beforehand)

groupthink

when groups emphasize unity over critical thinking and make poor decisions

normative social influence

conformity in the sense of wanting to be liked and accepted by others

Asch experiment

showed people will conform to others' ideas of the truth (unless one person dissents and relieves pressure to conform)

Milgram experiment

showed most people follow orders to harm others if coming from a legitimate authority figure

Zimbardo Stanford Prison Experiment

showed that environment people are in and roles they adopt will change behavior

superordinate goal

requires cooperation to get a reward or avoid a bad consequence

altruism

helping others, often at a risk or cost, but not for a reward; declines in a group setting

diffusion of responsibility

the presence of others lessens your feelings of responsibility to act - the more bystanders around, the greater the effect

social loafing

when you work less hard when sharing the workload with others

deindividuation

individuals behave irrationally when there is less chance of being personally identified

collectivist cultures

stress the importance of the group/family/community over the individual (Asia, Africa, Latin America)

individualistic cultures

stress the importance of the individual over the group (Western Europe, US)

cognitive dissonance

the uncomfortable feeling of having conflicting attitudes and behaviors

prejudice

a preconceived attitude toward a person or group not based on sufficient evidence and not easily changed

outgroup homogeneity

assuming that every member of a group other than our own is similar

in-group bias

we know diversity exists within our own groups, but we don't give that same assumption to out-groups

ethnocentrism

believing your culture is naturally superior and judging other cultures by the standards of your own

central route to persuasion

focuses on presenting information with logic, facts, and strong arguments

peripheral route to persuasion

relies on emotional appeals (positive or negative) or attractive spokespeople

foot-in-the-door technique

getting someone to agree to a small request first makes them more likely to agree to a bigger, related request

reciprocity norms

groups soliciting contributions give a small gift in hopes that their request for donations will be more likely to succeed

door-in-the-face technique

asking for a major request likely to be rejected, then following it up with a more moderate request you wanted all along