Chapter 11: Social Psychology

Social psychology

The study of how people think about, influence, and relate to other people

Person perception

Refers to the process by which we use social stimuli to form impressions of others

Social cognition

The area of social psychology that explores how people select, interpret, remember, and use social information

Stereotype

a generalization about a group characteristics that does not consider any variations from one individual to another

Self fulfilling prophecy

Phenomenon where Expectations cause individuals to act in ways that serve to make the expectations come true

Attribution theory

Theory that views people as motivated to discover the underlying causes of behavior as part of their effort to make sense of the behavior

Actor ( attribution theory)

The person in the attribution theory view who produces the behavior to be explained

Observer ( attribution theory)

The person who offered a causal explanation of the actors behavior in attribution theory

False consensus effect

Observers overestimation of the degree to which everybody else thinks or acts the way they do

Positive illusions

Favorable views of the self that are not necessarily rooted in reality

Self serving bias

Refers to the tendency to take credit for one's own successes and to deny responsibility for one's own failures

Stereotype threat

An individual fast acting, self fulfilling fear of being judged based on a negative stereotype about his or her group

Social comparison

The process by which individuals evaluate their thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and abilities in relation to others

Attitudes

An individual's opinions and beliefs about people, objects, and ideas; how the person feels about the world

Cognitive dissonance

An individuals psychological discomfort caused by two inconsistent thoughts

self perception theory

Bem's theory on how behavior influence attitudes, stating that individuals make inferences about their attitudes by perceiving their behavior

Effort justification

One type of dissonance reduction, means rationalizing the amount of effort you put into something . It explains strong feelings of loyalty towards a group based on the effort it takes to gain admission into that group

Elaboration likelihood model

This model identifies 2 ways to persuade ;a central route and the peripheral route

inoculation

a way to resist persuasion by Giving people a weak version of a persuasive message and allowing them time to argue against it can help people avoid persuasion

the peripheral route

The route of persuasion involved in non message factors such as the sources credibility and attractiveness or emotional appeals

Foot in the door technique

A strategy in successful persuasion which involves making a smaller request at the beginning and saving the biggest demand for last

Door in the face technique

A successful persuasion techniques that involves making the biggest picture of the beginning which the customer probably will reject, and then making a smaller, concessionary demand

inoculation

a way to resist persuasion by Giving people a weak version of a persuasive message and allowing them time to argue against it can help people avoid persuasion

Altruism

Unselfish interests and helping another person. Also called prosocial behavior

Egoism

Giving to another person to ensure reciprocity. To gain self esteem. To present oneself as powerful, competent, or caring. Or to avoid social and self censure for failing to live up to society's expectations

Empathy

A feeling of oneness with the emotional state of another person

Market economy

A decentralized system featuring the free exchange of products and services between producers and consumers

bystander effect

The tendency for an individual who observes an emergency to help less when other people are present then when the observer is alone

Aggression

Social behavior whose objective is to harm someone, either physically or verbally

Frustration aggression hypothesis

Joe Dollard proposed this hypothesis which states that frustration is the blocking of an individual attempts to reach a goal

 culture of Honor

A culture in which a man's reputation is thought to be an essential aspect of his economic survival

Overt aggression

Physical or verbal behavior that directly harms another

Relational aggression

Behavior that is meant to harm the social standing of another person

Conduct disorder

A pattern of offensive behavior that violates the basic rights of others; it's three times more likely to be boys than girls

Rape myth

The false belief that women desire coercive sex

Conformity

a change in a person's behavior to coincide more closely with a group standard

Informational social influence

The influence other people have on us because we want to be right

Normative social influence

The influence other people have on us because we want them to like us

Obedience

Behavior that complies with the explicit demands of the individual in authority

Social contagion

Imitative behavior involving the spread of behavior, emotions, and ideas

deindividuation

The reduction of personal identity and erosion of the sense of personal responsibility when one is part of a group

Social facilitation

Improvement in an individual's performance because of the presence of others

Social loafing

Persons tendency to exert less effort in a group because of reduced accountability for individual

Risky shift

The tendency for a group decision to be riskier than the average decision made by the individual group members

Group polarization effect

The solidification and further strengthening of an individual's position as a consequence of a group discussion or interaction

Groupthink

The impaired group decision-making that occurs when making the right decision is less important than maintaining a group harmony

Social identity

The way an individual defines themselves in terms of their group membership

Social identity theory

The view that social identity is a crucial part of self image and a valuable source of positive feelings about oneself

ethnocentrism

The tendency to favor one's own group over other groups

Prejudice

An unjustified negative attitude toward an individual based on the individual's membership in a group

Implicit racism

Refers to racial attitudes that exist on a deeper level.

Explicit racism

A persons conscious, and openly share racist attitudes, which might be measured using a questionnaire

Discrimination

An unjustified negative or harmful action toward a member of a group simply because the person belongs to that group

Sexual harassment

Unwelcome behavior or conduct of a sexual nature that offends, humiliates, or intimidate another person

Attribution

The process by which we come to understand the cause of others' behavior and form and impression of them as individuals

Mere exposure effect

The phenomenon that the more individuals encounter someone or something, the more probable it is that they will start liking the person or thing even if they do not realize they have seen it before

Consensual validation

A concept that explains why people are attracted to others who are similar to them

Social role view of gender

Alice Eagly coined this phrase that states that social, not evolutionary, experiences have led to differences and gender behavior

Anxious attachment style

An attachment style that describes adults who demand closeness, are less trusting, and are more emotional, jealous, and possessive

Secure attachment style

An attachment style that describes adults that have positive views of relationships, find it easy to get close to others, and they're not overly concerned or stress out about their romantic relationships

Avoidant attachment style

An attachment style that describes an adult who is hesitant about getting involved in romantic relationships and once in a relationship tend to distance themselves from their partners

Romantic love

Love with a strong component of sexuality and infatuation, often predominant in the early part of love relationship and is also called passionate love

Affectionate love

Love that occurs when an individual has a deep, caring affection for another person and desires to have that person near. Also called companionate love

Social exchange theory

View of social relationships as involving an exchange of goods, the objective of which is to minimize costs and maximize benefits

Investment model

A model of long-term relationships that examines the ways that commitment, investment, and the availability of attractive alternative partners predict satisfaction and stability in relationships