Social Psychology - Aggression and Group Dynamics

Flashcards covering definitions and concepts related to aggression, violence, group dynamics, stereotypes and prejudice, based on lecture notes.

Aggression

Behavior intended to harm another person.

Violence

Aggression with extreme physical harm as the goal.

Emotional Aggression

Aggression driven by anger or emotions.

Instrumental Aggression

Goal-oriented and planned aggression.

Amygdala

Brain part that increases aggression.

Prefrontal Cortex

Brain part that helps regulate aggression.

Displaced Aggression

Redirecting aggression to a substitute target.

Catharsis

The idea that releasing aggressive energy reduces future aggression (though research doesn’t strongly support it).

Desensitization

Becoming more accepting of aggression through repeated exposure to violence.

Culture of Honor

Cultures that encourage retaliation.

Entitativity

A factor that creates social groups.

Social Identity

Part of self-concept based on group membership.

Social Facilitation

Occurs for well-learned tasks in the presence of others.

Social Inhibition

Occurs for difficult tasks in the presence of others.

Process Gains

Improvements in performance due to group interaction.

Process Losses

Decreases in performance due to coordination or motivation issues.

Groupthink

A faulty decision-making process where desire for harmony overrides realistic appraisal.

Group Polarization

Tendency for groups to make more extreme decisions than individuals.

Social Categorization

Classifying people into groups, influencing thoughts and behaviors.

Outgroup Homogeneity

Tendency to see outgroup members as more similar than they actually are.

Stereotypes

Generalized beliefs about groups.

Ingroup Favoritism

Preference for one's own group over others.

Ultimate Attribution Error

Attributing outgroup members’ negative behavior to their disposition and positive behavior to external situations.

Black Sheep Effect

Disliking deviant ingroup members more than outgroup members.

Contact Hypothesis

Reducing discrimination through intergroup contact.

Superordinate Goals

Shared goals that necessitate cooperation, reducing intergroup conflict.