Social 4.1-4.3

attribution theory

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

explanatory style

an individual's unique way of describing and explaining some phenomenon, event, or personal history.

actor-observer bias

the tendency for those acting in a situation to attribute their behavior to external causes, but for observers to attribute others' behavior to internal causes.

fundamental attribution error

the tendency for observers, when analyzing another's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition

self-serving bias

a readiness to perceive oneself favorably

internal locus of control

the perception that you control your own fate

external locus of control

the perception that outside forces beyond our personal control determine our fate

mere exposure effect

the tendency for repeated exposure to novel stimuli to increase our liking of them

self-fulfilling prophecy

a belief that leads to its own fulfillment

relative deprivation

the perception that we are worse off relative to those with whom we compare ourselves

stereotype

A generalized belief about a group of people

prejudice

an unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members.

discrimination

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members

belief perserverance

the persistence of one's initial conceptions even after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

implicit attitude

a relatively enduring and general evaluative response of which a person has little or no conscious awareness.

just-world phenomenon

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

outgroup homogeneity bias

the tendency to assume that the members of other groups are very similar to each other

ingroup bias

the tendency to favor our own group

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

cognitive dissonance

the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort we feel when two of our thoughts are inconsistent

normative social influence

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

informative social influence

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

elaboration likelihood model

a theory of persuasion postulating that attitude change occurs on a continuum of elaboration and thus, under certain conditions, may be a result of relatively extensive or relatively little scrutiny of attitude-relevant information.

central route of persuasion

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

peripheral route persuasion

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

halo effect

a rating bias in which a general evaluation (usually positive) of a person, or an evaluation of a person on a specific dimension, influences judgments of that person on other specific dimensions.

foot-in-the-door phenomenon

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

door-in-the-face phenomenon

A persuasion method in which the individual begins by making a large request that most likely will be turned down. After this large initial request is denied, the person makes a more reasonable request that is now more likely to be granted.

conformity

adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard

obedience

complying with an order or a command.

social trap

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

social facilitation

in the presence of others, improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks, and worsened performance on difficult tasks