Unit 10 - Social Psychology

Actor/Observer Bias

we attribute others’ behavior to disposition but our own to the situation

Altruism

helping others with no expectation of reward; norm of social responsibility; those who can take care if themselves have an obligation to help those who can’t

Attitude

a feeling, influenced by our beliefs, that predisposes our reactions to objects, people, or events

Attraction

explained by matching hypothesis and proximity

Attributions

explanations for why people behave as they do

Belief Perserverance

clinging to beliefs despite contradictory evidence

Biased Perceptions

when we interpret information to fit our stereotypes

Burnout

emotional exhaustion from chronic stress

Bystander Effect

people are less likely to help when in large groups due to diffusion of responsibility

Central Route to Persuasion

route of persuasion based on logical arguments; high-effort and has a lasting change in attitudes

Chameleon Effect

our natural tendency to unconsciously mimic others' postures, gestures, facial expressions, and behaviors within social contexts

Cognitive Dissonance

psychological discomfort from holding conflicting beliefs → motivates attitude change; we act to reduce discomfort when conflicted

Cognitive Load

under stress, we rely more on stereotypes to make quick judgements

Collectivism

prioritizing group harmony over personal goals

Companionate Love

deep commitment and affection between people, built with trust; lasting

Confirmation Bias

seeking information that supports existing beliefs

Conformity

adjusting behavior to fit group norms

Culture

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

Deindividuation

loss of self-awareness in groups, leading to impulsive behavior

Diffusion of Responsibility

assuming others will take action, reducing personal responsibility

Discrimination

the unfair or prejudicial treatment of individuals based on their perceived membership in a certain group, often stemming from stereotypes and prejudices

Discriminatory Behaviors

actions based on prejudice

Dispositional Attribution

behavior is caused by internal traits (eg. personality, intelligence)

Door-in-the-Face Technique

asking a large request first (that is likely rejected), and following it by a smaller request

Downward Social Comparison

comparing oneself to someone worse → boosts self-esteem

Elaboration Likelihood Model

model including two routes to persuasion

Ethnocentrism

believing one’s culture is superior

Explanatory Style

indicates how people explain to themselves why we experience a certain event

Explicit Prejudice

prejudice that we are aware of

External Locus of Control

belief that outcomes are due to luck or external forces → linked to learned helplessness; leads to passivity and anxiety

False Consensus Effect

overestimating how much others share our beliefs

Foot-in-the-Door Technique

small request followed by a larger request; pave the way for compliance with the larger request

Frustration-Aggression Principle

frustration (the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal) creates anger, which can generate aggression

Fundamental Attribution Error

overestimating personality and underestimating the situation when judging other people’s behavior

GRIT

perseverance and passion for long-term goals

Group Polarization

when groups discussion strengthen extreme views or enhance versions of original views

Groupthink

desire for harmony leads to poor decision-making by examining few alternatives, having a selective gathering of info, having pressure to conform in groups and pressure to withhold criticism, and having collective rationalization

Halo Effect

cognitive bias that occurs when a person’s overall impression of someone is based on a single trait

Implicit Attitudes

unconscious biases that shape behavior

Implicit Prejudice

prejudice that is unthinking and that we are unaware of

Individualism

prioritizing personal goals over group goals

Industrial-Organizational (I/O) Psychologists

study workplace behavior and group dynamics

Informational Social Influence

conforming because we believe others are correct

In-Group Bias

favoring one’s own group → “us”

Internal Locus of Control

belief that personal actions influence outcome → linked to higher motivation and resilience; leads to proactive behavior and better mental health

Just-World Penomenon

belief that the world is fair, leading to victim-blaming

Matching Hypothesis

express liking for people whose level of physical attractiveness roughly equals their own

Mere Exposure Effect

repeated exposure to something increases our liking of it

Minority Influence

the process by which a smaller group or individual within a larger group can affect the beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors of the majority

Mirror-Image Perceptions

mutual views often held by conflicting people, as when side each sees itself as ethical and peaceful and views the other side as evil and aggressive

Multiculturalism

emphasizing coexistence of diverse cultures

Negative Evaluations

tendency to judge out-group members more harshly

Normative Social Influence

conforming to gain approval or avoid rejection

Obedience

following authority, even against personal beliefs

Optimistic Explanatory Style

attributes failures to external, unstable, or specific factors

Other-Race Effect

the tendency to recall faces of one’s own race more accurately than faces of other races; emerges during infancy (between 3 and 9 months of age)

Out-Group Homogeneity Bias

seeing out-group member as all the same → “them”

Passionate Love

romantic love, intense emotions, strong sexual attraction, and a consuming feeling of desire

Peripheral Route to Persuasion

based on emotions, attractiveness, or credibility; low-effort and has a temporary change in attitudes

Persuasion

the act of actively attempting to change someone's attitude, belief, or emotion regarding something, often through the use of communication and influencing techniques

Pessimistic Explanatory Style

attributes failures to internal, stable, or global factors

Philip Zimbardo

an American social psychologist who conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment

Prejudice

a preconceived opinion or bias against someone or something, often not based on reason or actual experience

Prejudiced Attitudes

preconceived, negative beliefs about a group

Prosocial Behavior

actions that benefit others or society

Relative Deprivation

feeling deprived compared to others → leads to frustration and resentment

Role

a set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave

Scapegoat Theory

when prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame

Self-Disclosure

the act of revealing intimate aspects of ourselves to others

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

expectations about a person lead to behaviors that make those expectations come true

Self-Serving Bias

taking credit for successes (dispositional), but blaming failure on external factors (situational)

Situational Attributions

behaviors caused by external factors (eg. environment, stress)

Social Comparison Theory

the idea that individuals determine their own social and personal worth based on how they compare to others

Social Debt

feeling obligated to return a favor

Social Facilitation

performing better on easy tasks in front of others; if person is skilled or task is easy, the perform better; if person is not skilled or task is hard, they perform worse

Social Loafing

putting in less effort in group tasks, especially when individual contributions are hard to separate from the whole

Social Norms

expected behaviors in society

Social Reciprocity Norm

expectation to help those who help us

Social Responsibility Norm

expectation to help those in need

Social Script

a culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations

Social Traps

pursing self-interest harms that group (eg. overusing resources)

Stanley Milgram

an American social psychologist who conducted controversial experiments on obedience, showing how people will obey authority even when it involves harming others

Stereotype

generalized belief about a group

Superordinate Goals

shared goals that require cooperation and reducing conflict

Upward Social Comparison

comparing oneself to someone better → can cause either motivation or insecurity (depression, mental health issues)