Social Psychology
The study of how we influence and relate to one another.
Attribution Theory
Our tendency to explain someone’s behavior by either crediting the situation or the person’s disposition rather than a nuanced interaction between the two.
Fundamental Attribution Error
Most people tend to overestimate the impact of one’s disposition or personality, giving little or no credit to the situation.
Self-Serving Bias
When something goes well, we tend to give our personality, intellect, character, etc., credit for accomplishment. Conversely, when things go poorly, we tend to blame external factors.
Attitudes
Feelings that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events.
Peripheral Route
Occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as the speaker’s attractiveness or charisma.
Central Route
Functions on a deeper level, and occurs when interested people have positive or sympathetic emotions triggers that may alter their iRolentuition/attitude; one is then able to focus on presenting the rational, data-driven arguments when a positive attitude and favorable thoughts have been instilled in the listener.
Foot-in-the-door tendency
Tendency of people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request
Roles
Sets of expectations about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave.
Zimbardo and his experiment
Conducted the prison study for 5 days. Mock prison actions had been very clearly determined by one’s expectation or fulfillment of the role.
Cognitive Dissonance Theory
idea that we act to reduce the conflict (dissonance) between our thoughts and actions.
Automatic Mimicry
Automatic mimicry is when our moods, behaviors, roles, etc., are mimicked unconsciously.
Conformity
While we automatically and unconsciously mimic others, consciously adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with the group standard
Asch Experiment
Five of the six subjects in each group were intentionally instructed to give the same wrong answer, leaving the experimental subject (the lone person) to decide to go with their answer, or conform to the obviously-incorrect group answer.
Many subjects succumbed to group pressure and either answered incorrectly with the group each time, or answered with the group after experiencing a negative reaction. When provided with a partner to go against the group, people were much more likely to resist the group answer.
Normative Social Influence
Compelled to conform due to a desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval.
Informational Social Influence
The willingness to accept others’ reality because they felt there was no way five people could be wrong about something so obvious.
Milgram Obedience Experiment
A person is far more likely to be obedient than they perceived themselves to be when instructed by an authority figure.
Group Polarization
The enhancement of a group’s prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group. What essentially develops is an eco-chamber of similar ideas and sentiments. Since most or all members agree with the opinions and ideas of their peers, there is little in the way of opposition to ideas or divergent thinking.
Groupthink
The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in the decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives.
Social Facilitation
We preform better or more intensely in the presence of others on simple or well-learned tasks.
Social Loafing
We tend to perform worse—or at least with less effort—when sharing the load with others.
Deindividuation
The lose of one’s self control and identity in the anonymity of a group setting.
Prejudice
An unjustifiable and usually negative attitude or pre-judgement towards a group and its members.
Stereotype
Generalized beliefs about a group and the individuals
Ethnocentric
A view that their race or ethnicity is superior to others.
Attraction
Feeling or desire towards some but not others.
Proximity
geographical nearness, is the biggest determinant in friendship and developing romantic attractions
Mere exposure effect
The idea that repeated exposures to stimuli breed a liking of said stimuli.
Physical Attraction
Attraction to someone’s appearance and what they look like from the outside.
Similarity
The more things you share in common, the more enduring the liking will be.
Two-factor theory
Intense set of feelings is a combination of our physiological arousal (serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, heart rate, etc.) when around or thinking about our new lover, as well as the cognitive label we attach to those feelings.
Companionate love
Deep affection and attachment that we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined.
Oxytocin
Trust, calmness, and bonding hormone. Â This can allow the attraction and sexual desire to endure, minus the early passionate-love obsession.
Altruism
Unselfish concern for others.
Bystander Effect
The phenomenon that makes one LESS likely to help when others are around.
Social Exchange Theory
Social exchange theory is the idea that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs
Reciprocity
The expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them.
Social-responsibility norm
Social expectation that one should help people in need of helping—people that are perceivably less able to help themselves.
Conflict
A perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas with others.
Social Trap
A situation in which the conflicting party’s pursuit of their own self-interest leads to destructive behavior
Mirror-image Perceptions
Mutual views held by conflicting people in which each side sees itself as ethical and peaceful and views the other side s evil and aggressive.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
a belief that leads to its own fulfillment
Superordinate goal
A common goal or enemy two conflict parties can come together to fix or face.
Subtle Racism
Discomfort and slight prejudice in attitudes towards other groups.
In-group bias
We then often develop prejudiced beliefs against the outgroup, and preferential views, treatment, and favoritism to those in our own group
Other Race Effect
Just-world theory
the idea that the world is just and you get what you deserve, be it good or bad
Scapegoat Theory
The theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger