Social Psychology Exam 2 Terms and Definitions

Conformity

A change in behavior or belief as a result of real or imagined group pressure.

Social norms

Implicit or explicit rules a group has for acceptable behaviors, values, and beliefs.

Injunctive norms

Perceptions of which behaviors other people approve or disapprove of.

Descriptive norms

Perceptions of how people actually behave in a situation, regardless of whether the behavior is approved.

Acceptance

Acting and believing in accord with social pressure; the change is both public and private.

Compliance

Publicly acting in accord with a request or expectation while privately disagreeing.

Obedience

Acting in accord with a direct order or command from an authority.

Informational social influence

Using other people as a source of information because their interpretation of the situation seems more correct.

Normative social influence

Conforming because of a desire to be liked, accepted, or avoid rejection, even without privately agreeing.

Autokinetic effect

The apparent movement of a stationary point of light in a dark environment.

Private conformity

A genuine change in belief that occurs after accepting the position taken by others.

Public conformity

A superficial change in behavior caused by group pressure without a corresponding change in private opinion.

Social impact theory

The strength of social influence depends on the importance of the group, its immediacy, and the number of people exerting influence.

Cohesiveness

The extent to which group members feel bound together and experience a sense of 'we.'

Idiosyncrasy credits

Tolerance for deviance that a person earns over time by first conforming to group norms.

Minority influence

Influence exerted by a smaller faction on the beliefs or behavior of the majority, especially when the minority is consistent and confident.

Social roles

Expectations attached to a social position that guide how people are supposed to behave.

Reactance

A motivation to protect or restore freedom when that freedom feels threatened.

Chameleon effect

Automatic, unconscious mimicry of another person's behavior.

Mass hysteria

Suggestibility to symptoms, beliefs, or problems that spreads through a large group.

Individualistic culture

A cultural orientation that emphasizes independence, personal goals, and individual identity.

Collectivistic culture

A cultural orientation that emphasizes interdependence, group goals, harmony, and fitting in.

Independent self

A view of the self centered on uniqueness, personal beliefs, freedom of action, and individual agency.

Interdependent self

A view of the self defined in relation to others and motivated by social harmony, relationships, and social consequences.

Insinuation anxiety

Concern about signaling a negative opinion of another person directly to that person.

Sales pitch effect

Pressure to comply in transactional situations because refusing may make a person feel unhelpful, uncharitable, or uncooperative.

True Yes

A thoroughly considered decision to agree that reflects one's authentic values and is made with capacity, knowledge, understanding, freedom, and authorization.

True No

A thoroughly considered refusal that reflects one's authentic values and is made with capacity, knowledge, understanding, freedom, and authorization.

Informed consent

A decision made with capacity (ability to make a sound decision), knowledge (having the necessary information), understanding (comprehending the information and consequences), freedom (being able to choose without undue pressure), and explicit authorization (actually giving a clear yes or no).

Five stages of defiance

A progression from feeling tension, to acknowledging it, expressing concern, threatening noncompliance, and finally acting in defiance.

False defiance

Apparent resistance that is reactive, crowd-driven, or performative rather than grounded in a person's own considered values.

Moral convictions

Strong beliefs that something is objectively right or wrong, moral or immoral.

Psychological distance

Mental separation from an immediate social pressure that can make independent judgment easier.

Persuasion

The process by which attitudes are changed.

Central route / systematic route

Careful, effortful processing in which a person thinks closely about the quality and logic of the arguments.

Peripheral route / heuristic route

Low-effort processing that relies on surface cues, feelings, or simple rules rather than careful evaluation of arguments.

Primacy effect

The tendency for information presented first to have the strongest influence, especially when competing messages are presented back-to-back.

Recency effect

The tendency for information presented last to have the strongest influence, especially when time separates competing messages.

One-sided message

A persuasive message that presents only one side of an issue; generally more effective with an audience that already agrees.

Two-sided message

A persuasive message that presents both its own position and the opposing position; generally more effective with skeptical or disagreeing audiences.

Mere exposure effect

Repeated exposure to a stimulus tends to increase positive evaluation of that stimulus.

Lowball technique

Getting someone to agree to a request and then making the deal less favorable after commitment has occurred.

Fear appeal

A persuasive message that tries to motivate behavior by creating fear about a threat or danger.

Source credibility

Persuasive power based on the communicator's perceived expertise and trustworthiness.

Sleeper effect

A delayed increase in persuasion that occurs when the message is remembered but the reason for discounting its source is forgotten.

Source attractiveness

Persuasive influence produced by a communicator's physical appeal or other likable qualities, especially when the audience is not highly involved.

Need for cognition

The motivation to think carefully, analyze information, and engage in effortful thought.

Channel of communication

The medium through which a persuasive message is delivered, such as face-to-face, writing, film, or another format.

Two-step flow of communication

A process in which media influence opinion leaders, who then influence other people.

Third-person effect

The belief that persuasive messages influence other people more than they influence oneself.

Reciprocity

The tendency to feel obligated to return favors, gifts, or concessions received from others.

Door-in-the-face technique

Making a very large request that is likely to be rejected and then following it with a smaller request.

That's-not-all technique

Improving an offer before the target has a chance to respond, creating pressure to reciprocate the apparent concession.

Social proof / social validation

Using other people's behavior as evidence for what is correct or appropriate, especially under uncertainty.

Scarcity principle

The tendency to value opportunities or resources more when they appear limited or less available.

Consistency principle

The tendency to act in ways that match previous commitments, statements, or choices.

Four-walls technique

Getting a person to agree with a series of related statements so that refusing the final request would feel inconsistent.

Foot-in-the-door technique

Securing agreement to a small request first, then following with a larger related request.

Bait-and-switch technique

Attracting commitment with a favorable offer that later becomes unavailable, then presenting a less favorable alternative.

Social labeling

Getting someone to label themselves with a trait or identity, then making a request that is consistent with that label.

Liking principle

The tendency to comply more readily with people who are liked, attractive, similar, friendly, or seen as part of one's ingroup.

Authority principle

The tendency to follow the recommendations or requests of people perceived as legitimate authorities.

Unity principle

Influence based on a feeling of shared identity or 'we-ness' with another person.

Attentional bias

Selective attention to information that supports an existing attitude while overlooking conflicting information.

Motivated reasoning

Evaluating information in a biased way so that preferred conclusions receive more support than unwanted conclusions.

Attitude inoculation

Exposure to weak attacks on an attitude so that stronger later attacks are easier to resist.

Counterarguments

Reasons a person generates for why a persuasive message may be wrong.

Mindless persuasion

Influence that occurs with little careful thought, often because a familiar cue automatically triggers compliance.

Mindful persuasion

Influence that involves active attention and deliberate evaluation of the request or message.

Group

Three or more people who interact with and influence one another.

Social facilitation

The presence of others enhances performance on easy or well-learned tasks but impairs performance on difficult or novel tasks.

Dominant response

The response that is most likely to occur in a situation; arousal makes this response more likely.

Evaluation apprehension

Concern about how other people are judging or evaluating one's performance.

Home advantage

The tendency for teams to perform better at home, partly because a home crowd can increase arousal.

Social loafing

The tendency to relax or exert less effort when individual performance cannot be evaluated within a group.

Free rider

A person who benefits from a group's efforts while contributing little in return.

Deindividuation

Loss of a sense of individuality and reduced behavioral restraint when people feel anonymous or less identifiable.

Self-awareness

A self-conscious state in which attention is focused on oneself, increasing sensitivity to one's own attitudes and standards.

Social Identity Model of Deindividuation Effects (SIDE)

A model proposing that anonymity increases reliance on the norms and identity of the surrounding group.

Risky shift

A change from a more cautious individual position to a riskier position after group discussion.

Group polarization

The tendency for group discussion to strengthen and exaggerate the group's initial leanings.

Social comparison

Evaluating one's opinions and abilities by comparing them with those of other people.

Pluralistic ignorance

A false impression of what most other people are thinking, feeling, or doing.

Reference group

A group a person identifies with and uses as a standard for evaluating attitudes or behavior.

Groupthink

A mode of thinking in which pressure for group consensus interferes with realistic appraisal of alternatives and leads to poor decisions.

Leadership

The process by which certain group members motivate and guide the group.

Task leadership

A leadership style focused on organizing work, setting standards, and achieving goals.

Social leadership

A leadership style focused on building teamwork, mediating conflict, and providing support.

Zero-sum interaction

A purely competitive situation in which one side's gain is the other side's loss.

Mixed-motive interaction

A situation containing both cooperative and competitive incentives, so both sides may win, both may lose, or one may win at the other's expense.

Prisoner's dilemma

A mixed-motive situation in which cooperation can benefit both sides, but each side is tempted to compete for a larger individual payoff.

Tit-for-tat strategy

A conflict strategy that begins cooperatively and then responds in the same way the other side behaved on the previous interaction.

Social dilemma

A situation in which the most rewarding choice for each individual produces a harmful outcome for everyone if everyone makes that choice.

Tragedy of the commons

A conflict in which short-term individual gain leads to long-term harm to a shared resource or larger group.

Resource dilemma

A social dilemma involving use of a limited shared resource that can be depleted when individuals overuse it.

Public-goods dilemma

A social dilemma involving whether individuals will contribute to a benefit that is shared by the group.

Need for uniqueness / anticonformity

The tendency to resist or deliberately differ from a group in order to preserve a sense of individuality or freedom.

Mood linkage

The tendency for people in the same group or social network to share and transmit positive or negative moods.

Social contagion

The spread of behaviors, emotions, or ideas through a group as people imitate or take cues from one another.