AP Psychology Social Psychology Vocab

Social Psychology

The study of how we think about, influence, and relate to others.

Person Perception

How we form impressions of ourselves and others, including attributions of behavior.

Attributions

Inferences that people draw about the causes of events, others’ behavior, and their own behavior.

Attribution Theory

The idea that we give a causal explanation for someone's behavior.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overemphasize personal traits while minimizing situational influences.

Actor-observer Bias

The tendency for those acting in a situation to attribute their behavior to external causes, but for observers to attribute others’ behaviors to internal causes (which contributes to the fundamental attribution error).

Just-world Phenomenon

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

Self-serving Bias

Attributing one’s successes to personal factors and one’s failures to situational factors. (Double standard)

Self-fulfilling Prophecy

A belief that leads to its own fulfillment.

False Consensus Effect

Tendency of people to overestimate the level to which other people share their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors.

Spotlight Effect

The phenomenon where people tend to overestimate how much others notice aspects of one’s appearance or behavior.

Halo Effect

Overall impression of a person influences how we feel and think about his or her character.

Confirmation Bias

Type of cognitive bias that involves favoring information that confirms your previously existing beliefs or biases.

Prejudice

Having negative thoughts, emotions, attitudes or feelings towards an individual solely based on his membership in a particular group.

Stereotype

A generalized (sometimes accurate, but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people.

Discrimination

A negative action taken against a person because of his membership in a group.

Ethnocentrism

Tendency to consider other cultures, customs, and values as inferior to one’s own.

In-group Bias

Tendency to favor one’s own group.

Outgroup Bias

Those perceived as different or apart from one’s ingroup.

Out-group Homogeneity Bias

The tendency for members of a group to see themselves as more diverse than they are seen by an outgroup.

Attitudes

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

Central Route of Persuasion

Occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts.

Peripheral Route of Persuasion

Occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues such as a speaker’s attractiveness.

Foot-in-the-Door

Tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request.

Door-in-the-face

A person asks for a large request that is turned down. Then asks for a more reasonable request that is accepted.

Cognitive Dissonance

A highly motivating state in which people have conflicting cognitions (thoughts), especially when their voluntary actions conflict with their attitudes.

Reciprocity

Giving something to someone hoping you will get something back.