Mod. 76/77: Group Behavior/Prejudice & Discrimination

Myer's Psychology (2nd Edition)

Social Facilitation

improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others

Social Loafing

the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable

Deindividualization

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occuring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity

Group Polarization

the enhancement of a group’s prevailing inclinations through group discussion within the group

Groupthink

the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternates

Culture

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people

Norm

an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior

Prejudice

an unjustifiable and usually negative attitude toward a group and its members

Sterotype

a generalized belief about a group of people

Discrimination

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group of people and its members

Just-World Phenonmenon

the tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get

Ingroup

“us”-people with thom we share a common identity

Outgroup

“them”-those perceived as different or apart from out ingroup

Ingroup Bias

the tendency to favour our own group

Scapegoat Theory

the theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame

Otherrace Effect

the tendency to recall faces of one’s own race more accurately than faces of other races.