AP Psych: Social Psychology

Social Psychology

subfield in psychology that deals with how our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by our social interactions with others

Social Perception

processes by which we form impressions, make judgements, and develop attitudes about the people and events that constitute our social world

Impression Formation

process of developing an opinion or impression of another person

Social Schema

mental image or representation that we use to understand our social environment

Stereotypes

oversimplified generalizations about the characteristics, attitudes, and behaviors of members of a particular group

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

exception that helps bring about the outcome that is expected

Attribution

assumption about the causes of behavior or events

Dispositional Causes

causes relating to the internal characteristics or traits of individuals

Situational Causes

causes relating to external or environmental events

Fundamental Attribution Error

tendency to attribute behavior to internal caues without regard to situational influences

Actor-Observer Effect

tendency to attribute the causes of one's own behavior to situational factors while attributing the causes of other people's behavior to internal factors or dispositions

Self-Serving Bias

tendency to take credit for our accomplishments and to explain away our failures or disappointments

Attitude

positive or negative evaluation of persons, objects, or issues

Elaboration Likelihood Model

theoretical model that posits two channels by which persuasive appeals lead to attitude change: a central route and a peripheral route

Attraction

feelings of liking for others, together with having positive thoughts about them and inclinations to act toward them in positive ways

Matching Hypothesis

belief that people tend to pair off with others who are similar to themselves in physical attractiveness and other characteristics

Proximity

nearness or propinquity

Reciprocity

principle that people tend to like others who like them back

Prosocial Behavior

behavior that benefits others

Bystander Intervention

helping a stranger in distress

Social Norms

standards that define what is socially acceptable in a given situation

Prejudice

preconceived opinion or attitude about an issue, person, or group

Discrimination

unfair or biased treatment of people based on their membership in a particular group or category

In-Groups

social, religious, ethnic, or national groups with which one identifies

Out-Groups

groups other than those with which one identifies

Out-Group Negativism

cognitive bias involving the predisposition to attribute more negative characteristics to members of out-groups than to those of in-groups

In-Group Favoritism

cognitive bias involving the predisposition to attribute more positive characteristics to membes of in-groups than to those of out-groups

Out-Group Homogeneity

cognitive bias describing the tendency to preceive members of out-groups as more alike than members of in-groups

Authoritarian Personality

personality type characterized by rigidity, prejudice, and excessive concerns with obedience and respect for authority

Contact Hypothesis

Allport's belief that under certain conditions, increased intergroup contact helps reduce prejudice and intergroup tension

Frustration

negative emotional state experienced when one's efforts to perceived social pressures

Compliance

tendency to accede to the requests or demands of others

Social Validation

tendency to use other people's behavior as a standard for judging the appropriateness of one's own behavior

Foot-In-The-Door Technique

compliance technique based on securing compliance with a smaller request as a prelude to making a larger request

Bait-And-Switch Technique

compliance technique based on "baiting" an individual by making an inrealistically attractive offer and then replacing it with a less attractive offer

Low-Ball Technique

compliance technique based on obtaining a person's initial agreement to purchase an item at a lower price before revealing hidden costs that raise the ultimate price

Door-In-The-Face Technique

compliance technique in which refusal of a large technique in which refusal of a large unreasonable request is followed by a smaller, more reasonable request

Obedience

compliance with commands or orders issued by others, usually persons in a position of authority

Legitimization Of Authority

tendency to grant legitimacy to the orders or commands of persons in authority

Racism

negative bias held toward others based on their ethnicity or racial identification

Stereotype Threat

sense of threat evoked in members of stereotyped groups when they believed they may be judged or treated stereotypically

Personal Identity

part of our psychological identity that involves our sense of ourselves as unique individuals

Social Identity

part of our psychological identity that involves our sense of ourselves as members of particular groups

Conformity

tendency to adjust one's behavior to actual or perceived social pressures

Social Facilitation

tendency to work better or harder in the presence of others than when alone

Social Loafing

tendency to expend less effort when working as a member of a group than when working alone

Deindividuation

loss of self awareness that may occur when one acts in concert with the actions of a crowd

Group Polarization

tendency for members of decision-making groups to shift toward more extreme views in whatever direction they were initially learning

Risky-Shift Phenomenon

type of group polarization effect in which a group discussion leads to the adoption of a riskier course of action than the members would have endorsed initially

Groupthink

Janis's term for the tendency of members of a decision-making group to be more focused on reaching a consensus than on critically examing the issues at hand

Telecommuting

form of working at home in which people communicate with their home office and clients via computer or telecommunication

Organizational Culture

system of shared values and norms within and organization