Soc Psych Chapter 13

distributive fairness

Judgments about whether or not a party is receiving a fair share of the available rewards.

negotiation

A reciprocal communication process in which two or more parties to a dispute examine specific issues, explain their positions, and exchange offers and counteroffers in an attempt to identify a solution or outcome that is acceptable to all parties.

public goods

A benefit that is shared by a community at large and that everyone in the group has access to, regardless of whether or not they have personally contributed to the creation of the good.

competition

Any performance situation structured in such a way that success depends on performing better than others.

social fairness norms

Beliefs about how people should be treated fairly.

social dilemma

A situation that creates a conflict between the individual’s interests and the collective’s interests, such that the individual obtains better outcomes following strategies that over time will lead to suboptimal outcomes for the collective.

tit-for-tat strategy

A bargaining method in which a party initially cooperates with another party but thereafter imitates the other party’s behavior: Cooperation is met with cooperation, competition with competition.

prisoner’s dilemma game

A laboratory simulation that models a social dilemma in which the goals of the individual compete with the goals of another individual (or sometimes with a group of other individuals).

cooperation

A process whereby two or more individuals work together toward the attainment of a mutual goal or complementary goals.

blaming the victim

Interpreting the negative outcomes that occur to others internally so that it seems that they deserved them.

social creativity

The use of strategies that allow members of low-status groups to perceive their group as better than other groups.

conflict

A situation in which the parties involved engage in violence and hostility.

arbitration

A method of settling controversies in which the parties involved present their arguments and supporting information to an impartial agent, such as a judge or, in a labor dispute, an arbitrator or arbitration board. By mutual agreement, the arbiter’s decision is final.

dual-concern theory of cooperation and competition

Individuals will relate to social dilemmas or other forms of conflict in different ways, depending on their underlying personal orientations.

false consciousness

The acceptance of one’s own low status as part of the proper and normal functioning of society.

realistic group conflict

A situation in which groups are in actual competition for scarce resources.

procedural fairness

Beliefs about the fairness of the decision-making process.

public goods dilemma

A social dilemma that occurs when the short-term costs of a behavior lead individuals to avoid performing it, and this lack of performance may prevent the long-term benefits that would have occurred otherwise.

mediation

The use of a neutral outside person—the mediator—to help the contending parties communicate and reach a compromise.

tragedy of the commons

A social dilemma that leads people to overuse an existing public good.

collective action

Attempts on the part of one group to change the social status hierarchy by improving the status of their own group relative to others.

zero-sum game

A situation in which a gain for one side in a conflict necessarily means a loss for the other side or sides.

non-zero-sum game

A potential solution that benefits all the parties involved in a conflict.