Social Psych Exam 2

Intersectionality

The theory that people's social identities (such as race, gender, class, and sexuality) are interconnected and create overlapping systems of advantage or disadvantage.

Self-esteem

A person's subjective evaluation of their own worth, encompassing feelings of self-respect, pride, and value.

Self-Discrepancy Theory

The theory that emotional discomfort arises from discrepancies between the actual self and the ideal or ought self.

Ideal Self

The person you aspire to be based on personal desires and goals.

Ought Self

The person you believe you should be based on societal norms, obligations, and expectations.

Looking Glass Self Theory

The theory that our self-concept is shaped by how we believe others perceive us, involving three components: perception of others' views, evaluation, and feelings about ourselves.

Upward Comparison

Comparing oneself to someone who is perceived as better off, possibly motivating improvement or leading to feelings of inadequacy.

Downward Comparison

Comparing oneself to someone perceived as worse off, which can boost self-esteem but may hinder personal growth.

Cognitive Dissonance

The psychological discomfort that arises from holding two or more conflicting beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors.

Locus of Control

The extent to which individuals believe they can control the events that affect their lives, distinguishing between internal and external locus.

Extrinsic Motivation

Motivation driven by external rewards or outcomes, such as money, praise, or recognition.

Intrinsic Motivation

Motivation driven by internal factors, such as personal satisfaction, enjoyment, or the inherent value of the activity.

Social Learning Theory

Albert Bandura's theory emphasizing that people learn new behaviors by observing others, particularly when behaviors are modeled and reinforced.

Bobo doll experiment

An experiment by Albert Bandura demonstrating observational learning, where children imitated aggressive behavior after observing adults.

Milgram's Experiment

A study that explored obedience to authority, showing that individuals would administer painful shocks when instructed by an authority figure.

Obedience vs. Conformity

Obedience involves following commands from authority, while conformity involves changing behavior to match group influences.

Foot in the Door Technique

A persuasion technique involving making a small request first to increase compliance with a larger request later.

Door in the Face Technique

A persuasion technique that involves making a large, unreasonable request first, followed by a smaller, more reasonable one.

Persuasion

The process of attempting to change someone's beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors through communication.

Persuadability

The likelihood of being influenced by persuasive messages, affected by individual differences, message strength, and source credibility.

Sleeper Effect

A phenomenon where people initially reject a persuasive message but may accept it over time if they forget the source.