ap psych - unit 9 vocab (social psych)

koch - 22-23, social psych

Attribution theory

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the theory that we explain someone’s behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition

Attitude

feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events

Altruism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others

Aggression

any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy

bystander effect

the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present

Central route persuasion

occurs when interested people focus in the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts

Cognitive dissonance theory

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the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent. For example, when we become aware that our attitudes and our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes 

Conformity

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 adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard 

Culture

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

Conflict

a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas

companionate love

the deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined

Deindividuation

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity

Discrimination

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(1) in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus. (2) in social psychology, unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members 

Equity

 a condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it

Fundamental attribution error

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the tendency for observers, when analyzing others’ behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal distribution 

Foot-in-the-door phenomenon

the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request

frustration-aggression principle

the principle that frustration- the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal- creates anger, which can create aggression

GRIT

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graduated and reciprocated initiatives in tension-reduction-- a strategy designed to decrease international tensions 

Group polarization

the enhancement of a group’s prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group

Groupthink

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

ingroup bias

 the tendency to favor our own group

Informational social influence

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influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality 

Ingroup

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 “us”- people with whom we share a common identity

just-world phenomenon

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the tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefor get what they deserve and deserve what they get

mirror-image perceptions

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mutual views often held by conflicting people, as when each side sees itself as ethical and peaceful and views the other side as evil and aggressive 

mere exposure effect 

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 the phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them 

Normative social influence

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influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval

Norm

an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior. Norms prescribe “proper” behavior

Outgroup

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“them”- those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup

other-race effect

the tendency to recall faces of one’s own race more accurately than the faces of other races (aka the cross-race effect and the own-race bias)

Peripheral route persuasion

occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker’s attractiveness

Prejudice

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an unjustifiable and usually negative attitude toward a group and its members. Prejudice generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action 

passionate love

an aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a love relationship 

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Role

a set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave

reciprocity norm

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an expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them 

Social psychology

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

Stereotype

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a generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people 

scapegoat theory

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the theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame 

social script

culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations

Social facilitation

improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others 

Social loafing

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

Self-disclosure

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revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others

social exchange theory

the theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs

social trap

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a situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing their self-interest rather than the good of the group, become caught in mutually destructive behavior

social-responsibility norm

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 an expectation that people will help those needing their help

self-fulfilling prophecy

a belief that leads to its own fulfillment

superordinate goals

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shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation 

Philip Zimbardo

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created the stanford prison experiment which assessed role playing and how it affects attitudes 

Leon Festinger

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created the cognitive dissonance theory

Solomon Asch

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created the line test for conformity 

Stanley Miligram

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created an experiment wherein students were administered “shocks” if they got a vocab question wrong. Tested how people reacted to authority figures.