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Locus of Control

A person's belief system regarding how much control they have over the events in their life.

Mere Exposure Effect

The phenomenon where repeated exposure to a novel stimulus increases our liking of it.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency for observers to underestimate situational factors and overestimate personal disposition when analyzing others.

Explanatory Styles

A person's habitual way of explaining events, categorized as optimistic or pessimistic.

Belief Perseverance

Clinging to one's initial beliefs even after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited.

Cognitive Dissonance

The mental discomfort experienced when holding contradictory beliefs, often leading to an attitude change to reduce tension.

Ethnocentrism

The belief that one's own culture or ethnic group is superior to others.

In-group Bias

The tendency to favor our own group over "others."

Out-group Homogeneity Bias

The perception that members of an out-group are more similar to each other than they actually are.

Prejudice

An unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members.

Altruism

Unselfish regard for the welfare of others.

Bystander Effect

The tendency for a person to be less likely to help if other people are present due to diffusion of responsibility.

Central Route

A persuasion method that focuses on the actual content, facts, and logic of the message.

Conformity

Adjusting one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.

Deindividuation

The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster anonymity.

False Consensus Effect

The tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors.

Foot-in-the-door Approach

Getting a person to agree to a large request by first having them agree to a modest one.

Door-in-the-face Approach

Starting with a large, unreasonable request that is turned down, followed by a smaller, reasonable request.

Group Polarization

The enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group.

Groupthink

When the desire for harmony in a group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives.

Halo Effect

A bias where our overall impression of a person influences how we feel about their specific character traits.

Peripheral Route

A persuasion method using incidental cues, like attractiveness or celebrity, rather than the message content.

Prosocial Behavior

Positive, constructive, and helpful social behavior.

Social Norms

Understood rules for accepted and expected behavior within a group.

Social Loafing

The tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling efforts toward a common goal.

Social Situation

The people and environmental factors surrounding an individual that influence behavior.

Stereotyping

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

Social Responsibility Norm

An expectation that people will help those who are dependent upon them or in need.

Correlational study

A research method used to examine the relationship between two or more variables without the researcher controlling them.

Meta-analysis

A statistical technique that combines the results of multiple independent studies to determine an overall trend or effect.

Naturalistic observation

A research method that involves observing subjects in their natural environment without interference.

Longitudinal study

A research design that involves repeated observations of the same variables over a long period of time.

Case study

An in-depth investigation of a single individual, group, or event to reveal universal principles.

Experiment

A research method where an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on behavior or mental processes.

Cross-sectional study

A research design that compares individuals of different ages or groups at one specific point in time.