Social Psych

Actor/observer bias

the tendency to attribute our own actions to situational factors but attribute other people’s actions to their personality or character

Altruism

unselfish concern for the welfare of others that leads to helping behavior without expecting a reward

Attributions

explanations people give for the causes of behavior or events

Belief perseverance

the tendency to hold onto beliefs even after the evidence supporting them has been disproven

Burnout

a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress

Bystander effect

the tendency for individuals to be less likely to help a victim when other people are present

Central route to persuasion

persuasion that occurs when people carefully think about and evaluate the arguments and evidence presented

Cognitive dissonance

the mental discomfort experienced when a person holds conflicting beliefs or behaves in ways inconsistent with their beliefs

Cognitive load

the amount of mental effort and working memory being used at a given time

Collectivism

a cultural value that prioritizes the goals and well-being of the group over individual goals

Companionate vs passionate love

companionate love is deep affectionate attachment based on trust and commitment while passionate love is intense emotional and physical attraction

Confirmation bias

the tendency to seek out, interpret, and remember information that confirms existing beliefs while ignoring contradictory evidence

Conformity

adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to match the behavior or expectations of a group

Deindividuation

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in group situations that can lead to impulsive or antisocial behavior

Diffusion of responsibility

the reduced feeling of personal responsibility to act when others are present

Discrimination

unjustified negative behavior toward individuals based on their group membership

Dispositional attributions

explaining someone’s behavior based on internal traits such as personality or character

Door-in-the-face technique

a persuasion strategy where a large request is made first and rejected, followed by a smaller request that is more likely to be accepted

Downward social comparison

comparing oneself to people who are worse off in order to feel better about oneself

Elaboration likelihood model

a theory explaining two routes to persuasion, the central route and the peripheral route

Ethnocentrism

the belief that one’s own culture or group is superior to others

Explanatory style (optimistic/pessimistic)

a person’s habitual way of explaining events, with optimistic people attributing negative events to temporary causes and pessimistic people attributing them to permanent causes

External locus of control

the belief that outcomes are determined by external forces such as luck, fate, or other people

False consensus effect

the tendency to overestimate how much others share our beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors

Foot-in-the-door technique

a persuasion strategy where agreeing to a small request increases the likelihood of agreeing to a larger request later

Fundamental attribution error

the tendency to overestimate personality factors and underestimate situational factors when explaining other people’s behavior

GRIT

perseverance and passion for long-term goals despite obstacles or challenges

Group polarization

the tendency for group discussions to strengthen the original opinions of group members

Groupthink

a mode of thinking in which the desire for group harmony leads to poor decision making and suppression of dissenting viewpoints

Halo effect

the tendency for an overall positive impression of a person to influence judgments about their specific traits

Implicit attitudes

unconscious beliefs or feelings toward people, objects, or groups that influence behavior

Individualism

a cultural value that emphasizes personal goals, independence, and individual rights

Industrial-organizational (I/O) psychologists

psychologists who apply psychological principles to workplace issues such as productivity, leadership, and employee well-being

Informational social influence

conformity that occurs because people accept others’ opinions as evidence about reality

In-group bias

the tendency to favor members of one’s own group over members of other groups

Internal locus of control

the belief that one’s own actions and choices determine outcomes

Just-world phenomenon

the belief that people get what they deserve and deserve what they get

Mere exposure effect

the tendency to develop a preference for things simply because they are familiar

Normative social influence

conformity motivated by the desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval from others

Obedience

following the orders or commands of an authority figure

Out-group homogeneity bias

the tendency to see members of an out-group as more similar to each other than members of one’s own group

Peripheral route to persuasion

persuasion that occurs through superficial cues such as attractiveness, emotions, or credibility rather than careful thinking

Philip Zimbardo

a psychologist known for the Stanford Prison Experiment that studied the effects of social roles and power on behavior

Prejudice

an unjustified negative attitude toward a group and its members

Prosocial behavior

positive actions intended to help or benefit others

Relative deprivation

the feeling that one is worse off compared to others

Self-fulfilling prophecy

a belief or expectation that leads people to act in ways that cause the belief to come true

Self-serving bias

the tendency to attribute successes to personal factors and failures to external factors

Situational attributions

explaining behavior based on external circumstances or environmental factors

Social comparison

evaluating one’s abilities or opinions by comparing oneself to others

Social debt

the feeling of obligation to repay someone who has done something for you

Social facilitation

improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks when others are present

Social loafing

the tendency for individuals to put in less effort when working in a group than when working alone

Social norms

the accepted rules and expectations for behavior in a group

Social reciprocity norm

the expectation that people will return favors or kindness they receive

Social responsibility norm

the expectation that people should help those who depend on them or need assistance

Social traps

situations where individuals pursue short-term personal benefits that harm the group in the long term

Stanley Milgram

a psychologist known for experiments on obedience where participants followed authority orders even when it involved harming others

Stereotype

an overgeneralized belief about the characteristics of members of a group

Superordinate goals

shared goals that require cooperation between groups to achieve

Upward social comparison

comparing oneself to people who are better off or more successful to evaluate or motivate oneself