Social Psychology Flashcards

Flashcards based on lecture notes for social psychology.

What is attribution in social psychology?

An inference regarding the cause of a person’s behavior or an interpersonal event.

What is dispositional attribution?

Assigning the cause of behavior to some internal characteristic of someone rather than outside forces.

What is situational attribution?

Assigning the cause of behavior to some situation or event outside a person’s control rather than to internal characteristics.

What is the central route to persuasion?

A logic-driven approach, using data and facts to convince people of an argument or product’s worthiness.

What is the peripheral route to persuasion?

An indirect route that uses peripheral cues to associate positivity with the message.

What is the fundamental attribution error?

A cognitive bias where individuals tend to overemphasize personality traits when explaining someone else's behavior, while downplaying the influence of situational factors.

What is social comparison?

The idea that people evaluate their own abilities and behaviors in relation to others' abilities and behaviors.

What is upward comparison?

Comparing oneself to someone that’s judged to be better than oneself.

What is downward comparison?

Comparing oneself to someone that’s judged to be lesser than oneself.

What is cognitive dissonance?

The psychological discomfort experienced when holding conflicting beliefs, values, or when engaging in behaviors that go against one’s beliefs.

What is altruism?

A selfless concern for the well-being of others, often involving helping behavior without expectation of personal gain or reward.

What is the halo effect?

An unconscious cognitive bias where one’s overall impression of a person, brand, or product in one area positively influences their perception of other, unrelated aspects.

What is the false consensus effect?

A cognitive bias where individuals overestimate how much their beliefs, opinions, and behaviors are shared by others.

What is Groupthink?

When people attempt to avoid disagreements or debates within a group in which it interferes with effective group decision making

What is self-fulfilling prophecy?

A belief or expectation that causes itself to become true because the person holding the belief acts in ways that bring it about.

What is the mere exposure effect?

A cognitive bias where individuals show a liking to things they are familiar with.

What is social facilitation?

A circumstance where the presence of others enhances a person's performance in a simple or familiar/rehearsed task.

What is social loafing?

The tendency for individuals to exert less effort when working in a group than compared to working alone.

What is self-serving bias?

The tendency to attribute internal, personal factors to positive outcomes but external, situational factors to negative outcomes.

What is group polarization?

The tendency for a group to make decisions that are more extreme than the initial inclination of its members.

What is belief perseverance?

The tendency to maintain a belief even when confronted with strong evidence that contradicts it.

What is the foot-in-the-door phenomenon?

A psychological compliance strategy where a person is asked to agree to a small request, making them more likely to comply with a larger request later on.

What is the bystander effect?

A phenomenon in which people fail to offer needed help in emergencies, especially when other people are present in the same setting.

What is diffusion of responsibility?

The diminished sense of responsibility often experienced by individuals in groups and social collectives.

What is compliance?

A change in a person’s behavior in response to a direct request.

What is obedience?

A form of social influence in which a person acts on orders given by an authority figure.

What is locus of control?

The degree to which you feel the things that happen to you are in your control verses being controlled by external circumstances.