social psychology and personality

passionate love

aroused state of intense positive absorption in another usually present at the beginning of a romantic relationship

compassionate love

The deep, affectionate attachment, we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined

equity

a condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it

altruism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others

bystander effect

The tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present

social exchange theory

The theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize cost

reciprocity norm

an expectation that people will help not hurt those who have helped them

social responsibility norm

an expectation that people will help those needing their help

conflict

A perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas

social trap

A situation in which two parties each pursuing their self interest rather than the good of the group become caught in mutually destructive behavior

mirror - image perceptions

Mutual views often held by conflicting parties as when each side sees itself as ethical and peaceful and views the other side as evil and aggressive

self fulfilling prophecy

a belief that leads to its own fulfillment

superordinate goals

shared goals, that override differences among people and require their cooperation

GRIT

graduated and reciprocated initiatives, in tension reduction a strategy designed to decrease international tensions

person perception

how we form impressions of ourselves and others, including attributions of behavior

attribution theory

The theory that we explained someone’s behavior by crediting either the situation (situational attribution) or the persons stable enduring traits ( a dispositional attribution)

fundamental attribution error

The tendency for observers when analyzing others behavior to underestimate the impact of this situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition

actor observer bias

The tendency for those acting in the situation to attribute their behavior to external causes, but for observers to attribute others behavior to internal causes this contributes to the fundamental attribution error, which focuses on our explanations for others behavior

prejudice

an unjustifiable and usually negative attitude toward a group and its members prejudice, generally involves negative emotions, stereotype, beliefs, and predisposition to discriminatory action

stereotype

A generalized sometimes accurate, but often over generalized belief about a group of people

discrimination

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members

just world phenomenon

The tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore forget what they deserve and deserve what they get

social identity

the we aspect of our self concept the part of our answer to who am i that comes from our group memberships

ingroup

us - the people with whom we share a common identity

outgroup

them- those perceived as different or apart from our in group

ingroup bias

the tendency to favor our own group

scapegoat theory

the theory that prejudice offers an outlet by providing someone to blame

other race effect

the tendency to recall faces of one’s own race more accurately than faces of other races also called the cross race effect and own race bias

attitudes

feelings often influenced by our beliefs that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects people and events

foot in the door phenomenon

the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request

role

a set of expectations norms about a social position defining how these in the position ought to behave

cognitive dissonance theory

the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent for example when we become aware that our attitudes and our actions clash we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes

persuasion

changing peoples attitudes potentially influencing their actions

peripheral route persuasion

occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues such as a speakers attractiveness

central route persuasion

occurs when interested peoples thinking is influenced by considering evidence and arguments

norms

a society’s understood rules for accepted and expected behavior norms prescribe proper behavior in individual and social situations

conformity

adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard

normative social influence

influence resulting from a persons desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval

informational social influence

influence resulting from a persons willingness to accept other opinions about reality

obedience

complying with an order or a command

social facilitation

in the presence of others improved performance on simple or well learned tasks and worsened performance on difficult tasks

social loafing

the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable

deindividuation

the loss of self awareness and self restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity

group polarization

the enhancement of a groups prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group

groupthink

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

culture

the enduring behaviors ideas and attitudes values and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

tight culture

A place with clearly defined and reliably imposed norms

loose culture

A place with flexible and informal norms

aggression

any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone physically or emotionally

frustration aggression principle

The principal that frustration the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal creates anger, which can generate aggression

social script

A culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations

mere exposure effect

tendency for a repeated exposure to novel stimuli to increase our liking of them

personality psychology

The scientific study of personality and its development, structure, traits, processes, variations, and disordered forms

social psychology

The scientific study of how we think about influence and relate to one another