Unit 4 Social Psychology & Personality Ap Psych

conformity

process when individuals adjust their thoughts, feelings, or behavior to align with those of a group as a result of real or imagined peer pressure

normative social influence

influence to conform to positive expectation of others driven by the desire to be liked or accepted

social norms

unwritten rules that dictate acceptable behavior within a society

relative deprivation

feeling of dissatisfaction when individuals compare themselves to others and perceive that they are worse

upward social comparison

comparing oneself to someone better (can be motivation or can decrease self-esteem)

downward social comparison

comparing oneself to someone less skilled (increase self-esteem)

informational social influence

influence to accept information from others as evidence about reality

obedience

act of following direct commands usually from an authority figure

social facilitation

tendency for people to perform differently when being watched

group polarization

when people in a group talk about an idea often ending up agreeing more strongly because in the group

groupthink

desire for conformity in a group leads to dysfunctional decision-making outcomes

bystander effect

individuals are less likely to offer help if more people are around

diffusion of responsibility

tendency for individuals to feel less responsible to help when others are present

social loafing

tendency to exert less effort when working together in a group than when working alone

deindividuation

psychological state where individuals lose their self awareness and sense of individuality in group settings often leading to impulsive behavior

Attribution theory

explains how people decide whether someones behavior is caused by their personality or their situations

dispositional attributions

assuming a persons actions are due to their personality

situational attributions

assuming a persons actions are due to their circumstances

explanatory style

how a person usually explains the reasons behind events (their fault or not)

optimistic explanatory style

habit of explaining good things as likely to happen again but bad things are a one-time event (+)

pessimistic explanatory style

habit of explaining bad things as likely to happen again but good things are a one-time event (-)

fundamental attribution error

tendency to blame actions on personality and less on situation

actor-observer bias

habit of blaming own actions on situation but blaming other peoples actions on personality

self-serving bias

tendency to attribute ones success to personal characteristics and failures to external factor (enhances self-esteem) good on test-studied… bad on test- teacher hates me

internal locus of control

belief that ones own actions directly influence outcomes in their life

external locus of control

belief that outcomes are determined by external factors rather than ones actions

altruism

selfless concern for well-being of others, leads to behavior that benefits others at a personal cost

social responsibility norm

societal expectation that people should help others with no future reward, depends who it is more likely to help elderly than a buff man

reciprocity

tendency to help those who have helped us in the past

stereotype

generalized belief about particular category of people often not based on direct experience

confirmation bias

tendency to search or recall info that matches preexisting beliefs

belief perseverance

tendency to hold on to ones initial beliefs even after shown to be false

self-fulfilling prophecy

belief about a situation or person leads to actions that make the belief come true

prejudice

usually negative attitude toward a group negative emotions, stereotype beliefs

discrimination

unjustifiable negative behavior toward group

implicit attitudes

unconscious beliefs/feelings that influence persons behavior and perceptions

just-world phenomenon

belief that the world is fair, leading people to misfortune as deserved

out-group homogeneity bias

tendency to see members of a group to be more similar than they really are

in-group bias

tendency to favor members of own group leading to judgement