AP Psychology: 4.1-4.3 (9)

Person Perception

The process of forming impressions of others using cues like facial expressions, tone, and behavior.

Attribution Theory

A theory that explains how we determine the causes of people’s behavior—either from their personality or the situation.

Dispositional Attributions

Explaining someone’s behavior as caused by their personality or internal traits.

Situational Attributions

Explaining someone’s behavior as caused by external factors like the environment or circumstances.

Explanatory Style

A person’s usual way of explaining events, often as either optimistic (temporary causes) or pessimistic (permanent, personal causes).

Actor-Observer Bias

The tendency to blame our own actions on the situation but blame others’ actions on their personality.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overestimate personality and underestimate the situation when explaining others’ behavior.

Self-Serving Bias

The tendency to take credit for our successes and blame failures on external factors.

Internal Locus of Control

The belief that you control what happens to you through your own actions and choices.

External Locus of Control

The belief that your life is controlled by outside forces like luck or fate.

Mere Exposure Effect

An effect where repeated exposure to something makes you more likely to like it.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

When an expectation causes you to act in a way that makes that expectation come true.

Mirror-Image Perceptions

When two groups see each other in the same negative way, such as both seeing the other as hostile or wrong.

Social Comparison

Evaluating yourself by comparing to others—upward (better than you), downward (worse), or lateral (similar).

Relative Deprivation

Feeling worse off by comparing yourself to others who have more, even if your own situation hasn’t changed.

Attitude

A learned tendency to respond in a certain way toward a person, idea, or object—usually with feelings or beliefs.

Stereotype

A generalized belief about a group of people, often oversimplified and inaccurate.

Social Identity

The part of your self-concept that comes from belonging to groups (like nationality, religion, or school).

Cognitive Load

The amount of mental effort being used at a given time, often affecting how deeply we process information.

Prejudice

A negative attitude toward a group and its members, usually based on stereotypes.

Discrimination

Unfair behavior toward individuals based on their group membership.

Implicit Attitudes

Attitudes that are automatic and unconscious, which can affect behavior without us realizing it.

Just-World Phenomenon

The belief that people get what they deserve and deserve what they get.

Outgroup

A group you don’t belong to and may see as different or separate from your own group.

Out-Group Homogeneity Bias

The tendency to see members of an outgroup as more similar to each other than they really are.

Ingroup

A group you belong to and identify with.

In-Group Bias

The tendency to favor your own group over others.

Ethnocentrism

Judging other cultures by the standards of your own culture, often thinking your own is better.

Scapegoat Theory

A theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by blaming someone else for problems.

Other-Race Effect

The tendency to better recognize faces of your own race than those of other races.

Belief Perseverance

The tendency to stick with your beliefs even after they’ve been proven wrong.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to notice or look for information that supports your beliefs and ignore what contradicts them.

Cognitive Dissonance

The discomfort felt when your actions and beliefs don’t match, often leading to a change in attitude or belief.

Role

A set of expectations about how someone should behave in a certain position or situation.

Social Norms

Accepted rules or expectations for how people should behave in a group or society.

Social Influence Theory

A theory that says we conform, comply, or obey because of the presence or actions of others.

Normative Social Influence

Conforming to be liked or accepted by a group, even if you privately disagree.

Informational Social Influence

Conforming because you believe others are correct or have more information.

Persuasion

The process of changing someone’s attitude or behavior through communication.

Elaboration Likelihood Model

A theory explaining two ways people can be persuaded—central and peripheral routes.

Central Route Persuasion

Persuasion using facts, logic, and strong arguments; works best when people are paying attention.

Peripheral Route Persuasion

Persuasion using superficial cues like attractiveness or emotion instead of facts.

Halo Effect

The tendency to assume someone has many positive traits because they have one good trait, like attractiveness.

Foot-in-the-Door Technique

A persuasion method that starts with a small request to increase the chance of agreement with a bigger request.

Door-in-the-Face Technique

A persuasion method that starts with a large request (that’s usually refused) followed by a smaller one.

Conformity

Adjusting your behavior or thinking to match the group.

Obedience

Following orders or instructions from someone in authority.

Culture

The shared beliefs, behaviors, and values of a group passed down through generations.

Tight Culture

A culture with strict social norms and little tolerance for deviant behavior.

Loose Culture

A culture with more relaxed norms and greater acceptance of differences.

Individualism

A cultural value that emphasizes personal goals and individual rights over group needs.

Collectivism

A cultural value that emphasizes group goals, cooperation, and the needs of the group over the individual.

Multiculturalism

A belief or policy that values and respects different cultural backgrounds within the same society.

Group Polarization

When group discussion strengthens the group’s dominant opinion, leading to more extreme views.

False Consensus Effect

The tendency to overestimate how much others agree with your beliefs or behaviors.

Groupthink

A decision-making problem where the desire for harmony in a group overrides realistic evaluation of options.

Diffusion of Responsibility

The idea that people are less likely to take action when others are present because they assume someone else will.

Social Loafing

The tendency for people to put in less effort when working in a group than when working alone.

Deindividuation

The loss of self-awareness and restraint in group situations that foster anonymity.

Social Facilitation

Performing better on simple or well-practiced tasks when others are watching.

Social Trap

A situation where individual actions for short-term gain lead to long-term group loss.

Superordinate Goals

Shared goals that override individual differences and require cooperation between groups.

Prosocial Behavior

Voluntary behavior intended to help others.

Altruism

Helping others with no expectation of reward, even at a cost to yourself.

Social Responsibility Norm

A rule that says we should help those who need help, especially if they can’t help themselves.

The Bystander Effect

The tendency for people to be less likely to help in an emergency when others are around.

Social Exchange Theory

A theory that helping behavior is based on weighing the costs and benefits of helping.

Reciprocity Norm

A rule that says we should help those who have helped us.