Social Psychology: The Self, Attitudes, Social Influence, Group Processes, and Aggression

A comprehensive 100-card vocabulary flashcard deck covering core social psychology topics including self-concept, persuasion models, conformity, group dynamics, and aggression.

Self-Concept

The overall set of beliefs that people hold about their personal attributes.

Self-Awareness

The psychological act of thinking about ourselves and evaluating who we are.

Affective Forecasting

The process of predicting the intensity and duration of one's future emotions, which individuals generally struggle to do accurately.

Impact Bias

The cognitive tendency to overestimate the enduring emotional impact of future emotion-causing events (such as HIV test results or tenure decisions).

Intrinsic Motivation

The desire to engage in an activity because one finds it inherently enjoyable or interesting, leading to superior learning outcomes.

Extrinsic Motivation

The desire to engage in an activity driven by external rewards, pleasures, or social pressures.

Overjustification Effect

The tendency for people to view their behavior as driven primarily by extrinsic reasons, underestimating the extent to which intrinsic interest motivated them.

Social Comparison Theory

The theory stating that people evaluate their own abilities and attitudes by comparing themselves to others, especially when an objective standard is absent and uncertainty is high.

Downward Social Comparison

The defensive act of comparing oneself with people who are worse off than we are on a specific trait or ability to enhance self-worth.

Upward Social Comparison

Comparing oneself with people who are better than we are on a specific trait or ability, the emotional outcome of which is mediated by self-confidence.

Self-Schema

Cognitive beliefs about the self that organize and guide the processing of self-relevant information.

Self-Reference Effect

The cognitive tendency to process more efficiently and recall better information that is related to oneself, such as recalling what someone said about us two days after a conversation.

Rosenberg Scale

A standardized psychological measurement scale used to assess an individual's level of self-esteem.

Self-Enhancement

An unrealistically positive self-view (also known as the self-serving bias or above-average effect) in which individuals overestimate their socially desirable traits.

Self-Effacement

A modesty-oriented self-view that is culturally normative in collectivist societies, in contrast to the self-enhancement typical of individualistic cultures.

False Consensus Effect

The cognitive tendency to overestimate the commonality of one's opinions and one's undesirable behaviors or characteristics.

False Uniqueness Effect

The tendency to underestimate the commonality of one's positive abilities and desirable characteristics.

Self-Verification Theory

Swann & Hill's (1982) theory positing that people have a fundamental psychological need to seek confirmation of their self-concept, whether that self-concept is positive or negative.

False Modesty

The self-presentation tactic of displaying an artificially humble image to others while privately maintaining favorable self-evaluations.

Self-Handicapping

The strategy of creating obstacles or convenient excuses for oneself in advance so that a potential failure can be blamed on external factors rather than a lack of ability (Berglas & Jones, 1978).

Self-Monitoring

The process of tuning into how one presents oneself in social settings and adjusting behavior to project a desired impression on others.

Attitude

An enduring evaluation of a person, object, or idea consisting of affective, behavioral, and cognitive components.

Affective Component of Attitudes

The emotional reactions, feelings, and core personal values associated with an attitude object, not rooted in objective logic.

Behavioral Component of Attitudes

The dimension of an attitude derived from observations of one's own past actions and behavior toward an attitude object.

Cognitive Component of Attitudes

The thoughts, beliefs, and 'object appraisal' (evaluating pros and cons) associated with an attitude object.

Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)

Petty & Cacioppo's dual-process model explaining how persuasive communications induce attitude change through two distinct routes: the central route and the peripheral route.

Central Route to Persuasion

The persuasion pathway characterized by deep processing and critical evaluation of argument quality, occurring when audience motivation and ability are high, producing lasting attitude change.

Peripheral Route to Persuasion

The persuasion pathway characterized by superficial processing and reliance on surface cues or heuristics, occurring when motivation or ability is low, producing temporary attitude change.

Petty & Cacioppo (1984) Exam Study

An experiment testing ELM by manipulating argument strength (strong vs. weak), argument count ($3$ vs. $9$), and personal relevance (high vs. low) regarding comprehensive exams.

Mere Exposure Effect

Zajonc's (1968) finding that repeated, unreinforced exposure to a novel or neutral stimulus increases favorable attitudes toward it.

Habituation vs. Boredom Balance

The limiting condition of the mere exposure effect requiring brief presentations of complex stimuli interspersed among other items to foster familiarity without inducing boredom.

Cognitive Dissonance

The uncomfortable state of psychological tension that arises when a person holds two inconsistent cognitions or acts contrary to their personal beliefs (Festinger, 1957).

Effort Justification

A dissonance-reduction phenomenon where people place an exaggerated value on an outcome or group membership that required strenuous effort or suffering to achieve (e.g., hazing).

Counter-Attitudinal Advocacy

Publicly endorsing an opinion contrary to one's genuine beliefs, which leads to internal attitude change when external incentives are insufficient.

Festinger & Carlsmith (1959) Experiment

A classic study where participants paid only $\$1$ to tell someone a boring task was enjoyable experienced high dissonance and rated the task as truly fun, whereas those paid $\$20$ felt minimal dissonance.

Insufficient External Justification

The condition where external incentives (such as receiving only $\$1$) are inadequate to justify counter-attitudinal behavior, compelling internal attitude change to reduce dissonance.

Post-Decision Dissonance

The cognitive tension experienced after choosing between equally attractive alternatives, reduced by enhancing the chosen option and disparaging the unchosen one (Brehm, 1956).

Yale Attitude Change Approach

A framework describing how persuasive communications change attitudes based on 'who says what to whom' (source, communication, and audience characteristics).

Source Expertise

A communicator characteristic in the Yale Approach where speakers perceived as knowledgeable experts exert greater persuasive influence than non-experts.

Source Trustworthiness

The perceived honesty of a communicator, heightened when the speaker argues against their own self-interest or displays favorable facial cues.

Sleeper Effect

A delayed increase in the persuasive impact of a message from a non-credible source, occurring because audiences retain the message content while forgetting the discounted source over time (Hovland et al., 1949).

Discounting Principle

The cognitive mechanism underlying the sleeper effect whereby the initial mental connection between a non-credible source and their message weakens over time.

Two-Sided Messages

A persuasive communication strategy where the communicator presents and acknowledges both sides of an issue, which succeeds only if the opposing arguments are actively refuted.

Fear-Arousing Communication

Persuasive messaging that induces fear; as shown by Leventhal et al. (1967), it is effective in changing behavior only when paired with specific, actionable information to reduce the threat.

Distraction in Persuasion

An audience factor in the Yale Approach wherein distracted audiences are frequently more persuaded than attentive ones because distraction inhibits the generation of counterarguments.

Subliminal Priming

The presentation of non-conscious stimuli that can shape attitudes or behavior only under relevant motivational states, as shown by Strahan et al. (2002) with thirst-related cues and beverages.

Matching Principle in Advertising

The strategic practice of tailoring advertising messages to the basis of the attitude: using rational arguments for cognitively-based attitudes and emotional appeals for affectively-based attitudes.

Continuum of Social Influence

The behavioral spectrum spanning from subtle pressure to overt force: mere presence, conformity, compliance, obedience, and coercion.

Mere Presence

The mildest level of social influence wherein behavior changes simply because another person is physically present (such as increased washroom hand-washing).

Conformity

The tendency to alter one's opinions, perceptions, or behaviors to match group norms due to real or imagined social pressure ('because they all did it').

Social Norms

Implicit or explicit rules and expectations that a group has established for the acceptable behaviors, values, and beliefs of its members.

Social Impact Theory

Latané's theory positing that conformity and social influence depend on group strength, immediacy, and the number of group members.

Strength (Social Impact Theory)

The perceived importance, status, or power of the influencing group to the target individual.

Immediacy (Social Impact Theory)

The physical or temporal closeness of an influencing group to the target individual during the social interaction.

Number (Social Impact Theory)

The quantity of people in an influencing group, which increases influence rapidly up to a point before diminishing returns occur.

Asch Line Study

A classic experiment demonstrating conformity where participants gave clearly incorrect visual judgments to match the unanimous consensus of confederates.

Compliance

A form of social influence where an individual alters their behavior in response to a direct request from another person ('because we were asked to do it').

Foot-in-the-Door Technique

A compliance method that involves securing agreement to a modest, small request first, thereby increasing the likelihood of compliance with a subsequent larger request.

Door-in-the-Face Technique

A compliance procedure where an influencer presents an extreme request expecting refusal, followed immediately by a smaller, more moderate target request.

Low-Ball Technique

A compliance tactic where an attractive initial agreement is secured, after which the costs are raised or hidden drawbacks are revealed.

That's-Not-All Technique

A compliance method where an initial offer is presented at a high price, but before the target can decide, bonus items or discounts are immediately added to sweeten the deal.

Hard-to-Get Technique

A compliance strategy that attempts to increase an item's or opportunity's perceived desirability by creating the impression of strict scarcity or limited availability.

Obedience

A change in behavior produced by the direct command or order of an authority figure ('because we were told to do it').

Milgram Obedience Studies

Foundational experiments showing that $65\%$ of normal participants fully complied with commands to deliver dangerous electric shocks to an innocent person.

Depersonalization of the Victim

A situational factor in obedience studies where removing the victim from sight or stripping them of names/identities dramatically elevates compliance with destructive orders.

Defiant Role Models

Individuals who openly refuse to obey authority; witnessing their disobedience reduced full compliance in Milgram's experiments from $65\%$ down to $10\%$.

Stanford Prison Study

Philip Zimbardo's simulation demonstrating how quickly ordinary students assigned to roles of guards or prisoners adopted extreme cruelty or learned helplessness based on assigned social roles.

Coercion

The most extreme level of social influence, involving involuntary submission through forced physical restraint, severe psychological manipulation, or torture ('because we were forced to do it').

MKUltra

A covert CIA human experimentation initiative using psychiatric drugs like LSD, electroshock therapy, and de-patterning techniques in attempts to achieve mind control.

Stockholm Syndrome

A paradoxical psychological response in which hostages or kidnap victims develop positive feelings and protective bonds toward their captors.

People's Temple (Jonestown)

A cult led by Jim Jones where over $900$ members willingly died in $1978$ by drinking poisoned Flavor-Aid under intense group isolation and loyalty pressures.

NXIVM

A multi-level marketing organization founded by Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman (involving Allison Mack) that functioned as an abusive cult exploiting and trafficking women under the guise of female empowerment.

Group

Two or more people who interact with and influence one another, and who perceive themselves collectively as an unified 'us.'

Group Cohesiveness

The qualities and emotional bonds within a group that bind members together and promote mutual liking and solidarity.

Social Roles

Shared expectations within a group regarding how individuals occupying specific positions or assignments are supposed to behave.

Social Facilitation

The tendency for the presence of others to enhance performance on simple or well-learned tasks, while impairing performance on complex tasks due to heightened physiological arousal.

Dominant Response

The most natural, well-practiced, or habitual behavioral reaction in a given situation, which is heightened when physiological arousal increases.

Alertness / Vigilance Explanation (Zajonc, 1965)

The theoretical explanation stating that the mere presence of others makes us alert and aroused because we must monitor potential interactions and respond to them.

Evaluation Apprehension (Cottrell et al., 1968)

The psychological concern about being judged by observers, identified as a primary driver of social facilitation (eliminated if observers are blindfolded).

Distraction-Conflict Theory

An explanation of social facilitation stating that the presence of others creates attentional conflict between focusing on the task and monitoring others, generating arousal.

Social Loafing

The tendency for people to exert less effort on simple tasks when pooling efforts in a group where individual performance cannot be evaluated, but perform better on complex tasks.

Ingham (1974) Rope-Pulling Study

An empirical demonstration of social loafing in which participants pulled $18\%$ harder on a rope when they believed they were pulling alone compared to pulling in a group.

Deindividuation

A psychological state characterized by diminished self-awareness and weakened self-regulation occurring in crowds or groups, leading to anti-normative behavior.

Anonymity in Deindividuation

A situational condition (such as masks, darkness, or large cities) that diminishes personal accountability and encourages antisocial behavior or norm violations.

Diener (1976) Halloween Candy Study

Field research showing that children in anonymous groups who were not asked for their names took significantly more unauthorized candy than children who were alone and individually identified.

Back of the Class Effect (Shernoff et al., 2017)

A classroom phenomenon where students seated at the back feel less identifiable, display lower engagement, and achieve statistically lower grades compared to students at the front.

Johnson & Downing (1979) Uniform Study

An experiment revealing that deindividuated women dressed in nurse uniforms delivered significantly fewer electric shocks, adopting the prosocial norms of the helping role.

Group Polarization

The tendency for group discussions to shift members' preexisting attitudes toward a more extreme version of the position they initially favored.

Risky Shift

The historical precursor to group polarization denoting the early observation that group decisions often lean toward greater risk-taking than individual choices.

Persuasive Arguments Theory

The mechanism of group polarization driven by cognitive exposure to novel, convincing arguments supporting the group's initial position, predominant on factual issues.

Groupthink

A mode of collective decision-making where the desire to maintain group harmony, solidarity, and cohesiveness overrides realistic and critical appraisal of facts.

Mindguards

Group members who take it upon themselves to protect the group leader and peers from dissenting or adverse external information that might disrupt cohesion.

Minority Influence

The process whereby an individual or numerical minority shifts the prevailing majority view by displaying unwavering consistency and confidence (e.g., Rosa Parks).

Aggression

Any intentional behavior aimed at causing physical injury or psychological pain to another person.

Hostile Aggression

Aggressive behavior driven by intense feelings of anger and performed for the explicit purpose of inflicting pain or injury (e.g., most homicides).

Instrumental Aggression

Aggressive behavior used as an intentional means toward achieving an ultimate goal other than causing pain (e.g., warfare, football tactics, or terrorism).

Frustration-Aggression Theory

Dollard's (1938) theory stating that frustration—the blocking of goal-directed behavior—leads to a readiness to aggress.

Relative Deprivation

The feeling of deprivation and discontent arising from perceiving a gap between what one has and what one expects or feels entitled to have.

Weapons Effect (Aggressive Cues)

The phenomenon (Berkowitz & LePage, 1967) wherein the mere presence of an aggressive cue (such as a gun) primes aggressive thoughts and elevates hostile behavior.

Social Learning Theory of Aggression

Bandura's (1997) theory positing that aggressive behaviors are acquired through observing and imitating social models (such as punitive parents or media violence).