social psychology and personality

review set focused on the social aspect of behaviors as well as how people are unique through behaviors

conformity

individuals adjust their thoughts, feelings or behavior to align with those of the group; result of real or imagined group pressure (suppressing the desire to watch a documentary instead of a popular movie within a high school group)

normative social influence

influence to conform to the positive expectation of others, driven by the desire to be liked or accepted by the group (student skipping school with friends even though it goes against their own preferences)

social norms

unwritten rules that dictate acceptable behavior within a society or group, influencing how individuals act and interact (girls and boys wearing formal attire even to conform socially even though there was no dress code)

relative deprivation

feeling of dissatisfaction or injustice experienced when individuals compare themselves to others and perceive that they are worse off (student comparing themselves to others who have "more", even though all of their stuff is perfectly fine)

upward social comparison

comparing oneself to others who are perceived to be better off or more skilled, which can motivate self-improvement but may also decrease self-esteem (student compares themself to another student who has perfect A's and feels inferior)

downward social comparison

comparing oneself to others who are perceived to be worse off or less skilled, which can boost self-esteem but may also foster complacency (comparing grades to someone academically struggling, feeling a boost in self-esteem and confidence because they did "better")

informational social influence

influence to accept information from others as evidence about reality, often occurring in situations where the correct action or belief is uncertain (new student deciding to sit with a group of kids that aligns with their interests because they don't know lunch norms)

obedience

act of following direct commands, usually from an authority figure, even if they contradict personal beliefs or morals (student complies with a teacher saying to put phone's up on her desk during the test, even though they disagree and feel it is "too much")

social facilitation

the tendency for people to perform differently when in the presence of others, typically showing improved performance on simple or well practiced tasks and worse performance on complex or new tasks (the presence of the audience allowing the athlete to achieve a personal best when they are usually moderate)

group polarization

when people in a group talk about an idea, they often end up agreeing even more strongly with each other, making their group opinion more extreme (high school debate club discussing their stance on school uniforms and by the end, the group advocating for uniforms noticed they feel much more strong about it)

groupthink

the desire for harmony or conformity in a group leads to irrational or dysfunctional decision making outcomes; members dissent opinions, leading to a loss of individual creativity/responsibility (student council members talking about a singe, expensive school-wide event, and some are very influential/vocal, so the rest of the group doesn't say anything so as not to disrupt the unity)

bystander effect

the finding that a person is less likely to provide help when there are other bystanders (a car accident where no one has called 911 due to the fact that so many people have witnessed it, someone must've already called so I don't need to)

diffusion of responsibility

tendency for individuals to feel less responsible for taking action or helping in a situation when others are present, leading to a decrease in the likelihood of intervention (bystander in a cafeteria who has watched a student fall feels this diffusion of responsibility since many others have seen it, so they won't go and help)

social loafing

tendency for individuals to exert less effort when working in a group than working alone (group project where people feel they don't need to do as much because the work can be split; the "logs" of the group)

deindividuation

psychological state where individuals lose their self awareness and sense of individuality in group settings, often leading to impulsive and deviant behavior (students who usually do not participate in events, are shouting chants and helping with mild pranks at the high school pep rally)

attribution theory

explains how people decide whether someone's behavior is caused by their personality or their situation; inference about the cause of behavior (student who always arrives late, so their peers are attributing this behavior to their personality or their situation)

dispositional attributions

assuming a person's actions are due to their personality, not their situation (making assumptions about the late student through saying they are lazy or lack responsibility)

situational attributions

assuming a person's actions are due to their circumstances, or situation, not their personality (peers assuming about the late student taking into consideration external factors, like traffic or family issues—things they can't control)

explanatory style

how a person usually explains the reasons behind events—whether they blame themselves our outside factors (student facing several challenges starting the year, and how they explain them, which says much about how they perceive life events)

optimistic explanatory style

habit of explaining good things as likely to happen again and bad things as one-time events (a student who has failed a test saying that they did not pass this time, but they can better prepare for the next test)

pessimistic explanatory style

habit of explaining bad things as likely to happen again and good things as one-time events (student failing test and saying that they are just bad at the subject and that it will never change)

fundamental attribution error

tendency to blame people's actions more on their personality and less on their situation (driver cutting off a student, so the student immediately thinks they are reckless, attributing the behavior to the personality)

actor observer bias

habit of blaming our own actions on the situation but blaming other people's actions on their personality (student doesn't contribute much to a group project due to many other assignments and personal issues, yet another student does the same and the original student says they are lazy)

self serving bias

tendency to attribute one's successes to personal characteristics and failures to external factors, enhancing one's self esteem (student who scored well attributes their high grade to their intelligence and hard work, but when they performed poorly on another test, they blame the low score on the teacher's unclear instructions)

internal locus of control

the belief that one's own actions and decisions directly influence the outcomes and events in their life (high school athlete winning a championship, and they say to because of their dedication, discipline, and hard work [internal factors])

external locus of control

the belief that outcomes and events are determined by external forces or fate, rather than one's own actions (the football team losing but attributes it to the bad weather, poor refereeing, and the other team being lucky rather than taking responsibility)

altruism

selfless concern for the well being of others, leading to behavior that benefits others at a personal cost (student noticing that a classmate has dropped their wallet in the crowded stands, so they pick it up and find the student, even though they want to go watch the game with their friends)

social responsibility norm

societal expectation that people should help others who need assistance, without regard to future exchanges (student inviting the new student, who is quiet and shy, over to sit with them for a group project because they were taught to always be kind and invite new people in their lives)

stereotype

generalized belief about a particular category of people, often oversimplified and not based on direct experience; help reduce a cognitive load (girls with blonde hair being seen as "dumb blondes")

confirmation bias

tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypothesis (a football player who is struggling with a math problem, which confirms the bias that John has that athletes are not academically inclined)

belief perseverance

tendency to hold on to one's initial beliefs even after they have been shown to be false, often ignoring contradictory evidence presented (student holds the belief that students from a particular neighborhood are not academically motivated, despite meeting multiple students from there that have honor roll)

self-fulfilling prophecy

when a belief about a situation or a person leads to actions that make the belief come true (a student saying that they will fail a test and will never get a good grade does exactly that, because they have made it happen through lack of studying, not paying attention, etc.)

prejudice

unjustifiable and usually negative attitude toward a group and its members; usually involves negative emotions, stereotyped beliefs, and a predisposition to discriminatory action (avoiding people who appear to be immigrants because they supposedly don't know English well or get bad grades)

discrimination

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members (teacher assigning heavy lifting to a boy, despite a girl's capability and possible better chance of completing the task successfully)

implicit attitudes

unconscious beliefs or feelings that influence a person's behavior and perceptions without their awareness (the unconscious bias that athletes are not academically intelligent in a group project, despite the athletes being actively engaged, so the student decides to just do most of the work themselves)

just world phenomenon

belief that the word is fundamentally fair, leading people to rationalize injustice or misfortune as deserved (student thinks that another student, who was suspended for cheating, deserved it because what's fair is fair)

out group homogeneity bias

tendency to see members of an out group as more similar to each other than they really are, often perceiving them as less varied than members of one's own group (juniors seeing all freshmen as the same, yet students in their own grade, they will say have different personalities/interests)

in group bias

tendency to favor and extend loyalty to members of one's own group over those in other groups, often leading to preferential treatment and judgment (member of the soccer team thinks that his team his superior to the debate team and the drama club)

mere exposure effect

phenomenon where repeated exposure to a stimulus increases an individuals preference for that stimulus (a student seeing a new student repeatedly over the course of the year begins to feel positive about them despite not knowing them)

ethnocentrism

belief in the inherent superiority of one's own ethnic group or culture, often accompanied by a feeling of contempt for other groups (Westerner observes that their colleagues from an Asian country should use forks and knives because its more civilized to eat their food instead of chopsticks)

collectivism

cultural value that emphasizes the importance of the group or community over individual goals and desires, prioritizing group cohesion and interdependence (player says that the entire team want to beat the detroit lions)

multiculturalism

view that promotes the acknowledgment and respect of diverse cultural backgrounds and traditions, encouraging the coexistence and value of various cultural identities within a society (Canada having multiple cultures: Chinese, Indians, Indigenous people, etc.)

superordinate goals

shared goals that require cooperation a,not individuals or groups, typical o erring smaller or individuals conflicts and fostering collaborative efforts (2 neighborhood associations that usually compete against each other come together to help their city with the severe flooding)

social traps

situations in which individuals or groups pursue immediate rewards that later prove to have negative or even catastrophic consequences for the larger community (fishing in a lake for food, but then people begin to overfish and now the lake is dry)

persuasion

the process of influencing others' attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors through communication, often involving appeals to reason, emotions, or authority (a charity organization trying to encourage others to donate because of the emotional appeal)

elaboration likelihood model

theory that describes how people process persuasive messages in two ways: through deep analysis (central route) or based on quick clues like how appealing or trustworthy the speaker seems (peripheral route) (company wanting to persuade customers to buy a product through a brochure that explains in detail and also a colorful ad with an endorsed celebrity)

central route of persuasion

method of persuasion that involves deeply engaging with the content of a message, leading to careful analysis and thoughtful consideration, typically resulting in more durable attitude change (city council persuading the town to vote for a new recycling program through a detailed presentation)

peripheral route of persuasion

method of persuasion that relies on superficial cues such as attractiveness or credibility of the speaker, rather than the actual content of the message, leading to temporary attitude changes (new soft drink using Taylor Swift to help advertise it with upbeat music and being visually appealing)

halo effect

cognitive bias where a positive impression in one area (like attractiveness) leads to positive evaluations in other areas, influencing overall judgments about a person (very attractive model promoting new skincare products so people buy it because it must work—seeing the attractive model proves that)

foot in the door technique

persuasive strategy where agreement to a small, initial request increases the likelihood of compliance with a larger, subsequent request (asking people to sign a petition, then ask a week later to donate for the cause)

door in the face technique

persuasion strategy where a large, initial request is made knowing it will be refused, followed by a smaller, more reasonable request that is more likely to be accepted (club asking for $50 donations, then puts it down to $10 to get more donations)

false consensus effect

cognitive bias where people overestimate how much others agree with their own beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes (a student who supports the republican party believes most of their classmates also support this party because their opinion is "logical and superior", but are surprised when they find that most support the opposite side or don't support either at all)

cognitive dissonance

psychological discomfort experienced when simultaneously holding conflicting beliefs, attitudes, or values, often leading to an alteration in one of the beliefs or behaviors to reduce the discomfort (healthy person eating fast food very often because of time, so they are uncomfortable because it goes against their belief that they should eat healthy)

industrial organizational (I/O) psychologists

psychologists who apply psychological principles and research methods to the workplace to improve productivity, select and promote employees, and enhance organizational culture and structure (comes in to a big company, evaluates that the main cause of stress is unclear roles, and fixes it)