chapter 10: social thinking

interpersonal attraction

what makes ppl like each other and is influenced by multiple foctors

golden ratio

physical attractiveness, increased with symmetry and proportions close to

self-disclosure

sharing fears, thoughts, and goals with another person and being met with empathy and nonjudgments

reciprocity

we like ppl who think like us

proximity

physically close to ppl

aggression

physical, verbal or nonverbal behavior with intentions to cause harm or inc. social dominance

attachment

emotional bond to another person

secure attachment

• child can go out and explore

• knows secure base for return

• strong preference to caregiver

avoidant attachment

• no response to distressed, crying child

• child shows not preference for caregiver

ambivalent attachment

• inconsistence response to child distress

• child distressed when caregiver leaves

• ambivalent when caregiver returns

disorganized attachment

• caregiver is erratic or abusive

• child shows no clear pattern of behavior in response

social support

perception or reality that one is cared for by a social network

emotional support

listening to, affirming, and empathizing with someone’s feelings

esteem support

qualities and skills of the person

material support

physical or monetary resources to aid a person

informational support

provides useful information to a person

network support

providing sense of belonging to a person

foraging

searching for and exploiting food resources

mating system

way in which groups is organized in terms of sexual behavior

monogamy

exclusive mating relationships

polygamy

multiple expulsive relationships

• polygyny = multiple females

• polyandry = multiple males

promiscuity

mating without exlusivity

mate choice (intersexual selection)

selection of a mate based on attraction and traits

altrusim

form of helping behavior in which people’s intent is to benefit someone else at some cost to themselves

game theory

explains decision making btwn individuals as if they are participating in a game

inclusive fitness

organisms’s success in the population

social perception/cognition

way by which we generate impression abt ppl in our social environment (perceiver, target, situation)

implicit personality theory

ppl make assumptions abt how different types of ppl, their traits, and their behavior are related

primacy effect

first impressions are most important thatn subsequen impressions

recency effect

most recent information we have abt an indivudal is most important informing impressions

reliance on central traits

organize the perception of others based on traits and personal characteristics that matter to the perceiver

halo effect

judgements of an individual’s character can be affected by the overall impression of the individual

just-world hypothesis

tendency to believe that good things happen to good ppl and bad things happen to bad ppl

self-serving bias

individuals will view their own successes as being based on internal factors, while viewing failures as being based on external factors

attribution theory

tendency to infer the causes of other ppl’s behavior

dispositional (internal)

causes are those that relate to features of the person whose behavior is being considered

situational (external)

causes are related to features of the surrounding or social context

correspondent inference theory

attributions made by observing the internal (especially unexpected) behaviors performed by another person

fundamental attribution error

bias towards making dispositional attributions rather than situational attributions in regard to the actions of others

attribution substitution

individuals must make judgments that are complex but instead substitute a simpler solution or heuristic

stereotypes

attitudes and impressions are made based on limited and superficial information

stereotypes can lead to expectations of certain groups, which can create conditions that lead to confirmation of the stereotype

self-fulfilling prophecy

stereotype threat

anxiety abt confirming a negative stereotype abt one’s social group

prejudice

irrational positive or negative attitude toward a person, group, or thing prior to an actual experience

ethnocentrism

practice of making judgments abt other cultures based on the values and beliefs of one’s own culture

cultural relativism

recognition that social groups and cultures should be studies on their own terms

discrimination

prejudicial attitudes cause individuals of a particular group to be treated differently from others

individual discrimination

one person discriminating against a particular person or group

institutional discrimination

discrimination against a particular person or group by an entire institution