Chapter 12 Social Psychology: Definitions

Social Psychology

the scientific study of how a person's thoughts, feelings, and behavior are influenced by the real, imagined, or implied presence of others

Social influence

the process through which the real or implied presence of others can directly or indirectly influence the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of an individual

Conformity

changing one's own behavior to match that of other people

Groupthink

kind of thinking that occurs when people place more importance on maintaining group cohesiveness than on assessing the facts of the problem with which the group is concerned

Consumer psychology

branch of psychology that studies the habits of consumers in the marketplace, including compliance

Compliance

changing one's behavior as a result of other people directing or asking for the change

Foot-in-the-door technique

asking for a small commitment and, after gaining compliance, asking for a bigger commitment

Door-in-the-face technique

asking for a large commitment and being refused, and then asking for a smaller commitment

Norm of Reciprocity

the assumption that if someone does something for a person, that person should do something for the other in return

Lowball technique

getting a commitment from a person and then raising the cost of that commitment

That's-not-all technique

a sales technique in which the persuader makes an offer and then adds something extra to make the offer look better before the target person can make a decision

Obedience

changing one's behavior at the command of an authority figure

Milgram Study

"teacher" administered what he or she thought were real shocks to a "learner"

Group Polarization

the tendency for members involved in a group discussion to take somewhat more extreme positions and suggest riskier actions when compared to individuals who have not participated in a group discussion

Social facilitation

the tendency for the presence of other people to have a positive impact on the performance of an easy task

Social loafing

the tendency for people to put less effort into a simple task when working with others on that task

Attitude

a tendency to respond positively or negatively toward a certain person, object, idea, or situation

Vicarious conditioning

watching the actions and reactions of others to ideas, people, objects, and situations

Persuasion

the process by which one person tries to change the belief, opinion, position, or course of action of another person through argument, pleading, or explanation

Elaboration Likelihood Model

model of persuasion stating that people will either elaborate on the persuasive message or fail to elaborate on it, and that the future actions of those who do elaborate are more predictable than those who do not

central-route processing

type of information processing that involves attending to the content of the message itself

Peripheral-route processing

type of information processing that involves attending to factors not involved in the message, such as the appearance of the source of the message, the length of the message, and other noncontent factors

Cognitive dissonance

sense of discomfort or distress that occurs when a person's behavior does not correspond to that person's impression

Social cognition

the mental processes that people use to make sense of the social world around them

Impression formation

forming of the first knowledge a person has about another person

primacy effect

the very first impression one has about a person tends to persist even in the face of evidence to the contrary

Social categorization

the assignment of a person one has just met to a category based on characteristics the new person has in common with other people with whom one has had experience in the past

stereotype

a set of characteristics that people believe is shared by all members of a particular social category

Implicit personality theory

sets of assumptions about how different types of people, personality traits, and actions are related to each other

Schemas

mental patterns that represent what a person believes about certain types of people; can become stereotypes

Attribution

the process of explaining one's own behavior and the behavior of others

Attribution theory

the theory of how people make attributions

situational cause

cause of behavior attributed to external factors, such as delays, the action of others, or some other aspect of the situation

dispositional cause

cause of behavior attributed to internal factors such as personality or character

Fundamental attribution error (actor-observer bias)

the tendency to overestimate the influence of internal factors in determining behavior while underestimating situational factors

Prejudice

negative attitude held by a person about the members of a particular social group

Discrimination

treating people differently because of prejudice toward the social group to which they belong

In-groups

social groups with whom a person identifies; "us"

Out-groups

social groups with whom a person does not identify; "them"

Realistic conflict theory

conflict between groups increases prejudice and discrimination

Scapegoating

tendency to direct prejudice and discrimination at out-group members who have little social power or influence

Social cognitive theory

views prejudice as an attitude acquired through direct instruction, modeling, and other social influences

Social identity theory

theory in which the formation of a person's identity within a particular social group is explained by social categorization, social identity, and social comparison

social identity

the part of the self-concept including one's view of self as a member of a particular social category

social comparison

the comparison of oneself to others in ways that raise one's self-esteem

Stereotype vulnerability

the effect that people's awareness of the stereotypes associated with their social group has on their behavior

Self-fulfilling prophecy

the tendency of one's expectations to affect one's behavior in such a way as to make the expectation more likely to occur

Equal status contact

contact between groups in which the groups have equal status, with neither group having power over the other

"Jigsaw classroom"

educational technique in which each individual is given only part of the information needed to solve a problem, forcing the separate individuals to work together to find the solution

Interpersonal attraction

liking or having the desire for a relationship with another person

Proximity

physical or geographical nearness

Reciprocity of liking

tendency of people to like other people who like them in return

Love

a strong affection for another person due to kinship, personal ties, sexual attraction, admiration, or common interests

Romantic love

type of love consisting of intimacy and passion

Companionate love

type of love consisting of intimacy and commitment

Aggression

behavior intended to hurt or destroy another person

Social role

the pattern of behavior that is expected of a person who is in a particular social position

Prosocial behavior

socially desirable behavior that benefits others

Altruism

prosocial behavior that is done with no expectation of reward and may involve the risk of harm to oneself

Bystander effect

the effect that the presence of other people has on the decision to help or not help; help becomes less likely as the number of bystanders increases

Diffusion of responsibility

a person fails to take responsibility for actions or for inaction because of the presence of other people who are seen to share the responsibility