Unit 4 AP Psychology Vocab

social psychology

the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.

sterotypes

a set of characteristics believed to be shared by all members of a social category by which we infer things about individuals, ignoring the facts about their individual traits.

person perception

how we form impression of ourselves and others

attribution theory

we explain someone’s behavior b crediting either the situation or the person’s stable, enduring traits

situational (external) attribution

the test was unfair, so I did bad. the sun was in my eyes, so I didn't catch the ball

Dispositional (internal) attribution

i am a hard worker, so I do well in school. I am athletic so I caught the ball.

Fundamental attribution error

our tendency to categorize others behaviors, putting their personality in front of the situation.

actor-observer bias

if we are the actors, we make attributes on the situation. If we are the observer, then we use their personality to determine what happened.

social comparison theory

Upward: compare to someone you see as superior. Can lead to relative deprivation,. Downward: comparing yourself or someone we see as inferior.

Scapegoat theory

the theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame (ex: 9/11, Covid)

Ethnocentrism

Judging other cultures according to the preconceptions of our own cultures.

Outgroup homogeneity

“they’re all like that” thinking; leads to other-race effect: the tendency to recall faces of one’s own race more accurately than faces of other races (aka cross-race effect or own-race bias)

Ingroup (us) vs. Outgroup (them) bias

we favor our “group” more than other groups!

Belief perserverance

occurs when a belief persists even if evident suggest it is not accurate

Cognitive Dissonance

inner drive to hold attitudes/beliefs in harmony and to avoid disharmony.

social norm

expectations and roles a society may have for its members in individual and social situations.

conformity

adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.

social facilitation

In the presence of others, improved performance on simple or well learned tasks, and worsen performance on difficult tasks

social loafing

The tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts towards attaining a common goal than one individually accountable 

deindividualization

The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in a group situations that Foster arousal and anonymity

group polarization

The enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations through discussion within a group 

groupthink

The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for Harmony and in decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives 

culture

The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next 

tight culture

a place with clearly defined and reliability imposed norms

loose culture

a place with flexible and informal norms

normative social influence

to avoid rejection and gain social approval. we are very sensitive to social norms 

informational social influence

because we want to be accurate (and accept others’ opinions about reality).

persuasion

the techniques applied to convince the self of others of particular ideas, actions, beliefs. 

halo effect

generalize positive qualities to other aspects, even if there is no direct evidence to support it. or, the opposite.

foot in the door technique

get someone to comply with something small, might be easier to get them to comply with something much bigger. 

door in the face technique

ask for a big thing that seems atrocious, then ask for something smaller or your real goal.

aggression

any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone

social scripts

a culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations.

frustration-aggression principle

frustration leads to anger, which can lead to aggression.

prejudice

unjustifiable and usually negative attitude towards a group and its members.