ap psych vocab modules 74-80

Vocabulary flashcards generated from lecture notes on Social Psychology, covering topics like attribution, persuasion, prejudice, aggression, and group behavior.

Social psychology

The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and one another.

Attribution theory

The theory that we explain someone's behavior by crediting the situation or the person's disposition.

Fundamental attribution error

The tendency for observers, when analyzing others' behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition.

Attitude

Feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events.

Central route persuasion

Occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts.

Peripheral route persuasion

Occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker's attractiveness.

Outgroup

The 'them' - those perceived as different or outside one's group.

Ingroup bias

The tendency to favor one's own group.

Other-race effect

The tendency to more easily recognize faces of one's own race compared to faces of other races.

Scapegoat theory

Prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame (i.e. the scapegoat).

Aggression

Any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy.

Frustration-Aggression Principle

The principle that frustration (the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal) creates anger, which can generate aggression.

Social script

Culturally provided mental instructions for how to act in various situations (influencing aggression in media or culture).

Prejudice

An unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members, typically involving stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action.

Stereotype

A generalized belief (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) about a group of people.

Discrimination

Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members.

Ingroup

The 'us' - people with whom one shares a common identity (versus outgroup).

Informational social influence

Influence resulting from one's willingness to accept others' opinions about reality.

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 efforts toward a common goal than when individually accountable.

Deindividuation

The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity.

Group polarization

Discussions among group members tend to strengthen prevailing beliefs and attitudes (the 'extreming' of the dominant view).

Foot-in-the-door phenomenon

The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request.

Role

A set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in that position ought to behave.

Cognitive dissonance theory

The theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent; for example, changing attitudes to align with actions.

Conformity

Adjusting one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.

Normative social influence

Influence resulting from a person's desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval.