Social Psychology Terms

Fundemental Attribution Error

The tendency to overemphasize personality traits and underestimate situational factors when explaining others' behaviors.

Social Loafing

The phenomenon where individuals exert less effort when working in a group compared to working alone.

Deindividuation

A psychological state characterized by reduced self-awareness and decreased concern for social evaluation, often leading to impulsive or deviant behavior in group settings.

Group polarization

the tendency for group discussion to enhance the group's prevailing attitudes or opinions, leading to more extreme decisions.

Group think

a psychological phenomenon where the desire for harmony or conformity in a group results in irrational or dysfunctional decision-making.

Self-serving bias

the tendency to attribute positive outcomes to oneself and negative outcomes to external factors, often to maintain self-esteem.

Ingroup bias

the tendency to favor one's own group over others, often leading to preferential treatment and positive evaluations of ingroup members.

Outgroup homogeneity bias

the perception that members of an outgroup are more similar to each other than they actually are, leading to stereotyping and generalizations about them.

Scapegoat

a person or group blamed for the faults or problems of others, often to deflect responsibility.

Prejudice

a preconceived opinion or judgment about an individual or group, often based on stereotypes.

Discrimination

the unjust treatment of different categories of people, often based on race, age, or gender.

Steryotype

a widely held but oversimplified and generalized belief about a particular group of people.

Steryotype Threat

the risk of confirming negative stereotypes about one's group, which can hinder performance and lead to anxiety.

Social Trap

a situation where individuals or groups act in their own self-interest, leading to negative outcomes for the collective.

Error

in thinking or judgment that leads to incorrect conclusions or beliefs.

Self-fulfilling prophecy

a belief or expectation that influences a person's behavior in a way that causes the belief to come true.

Superordinate goals

goals that require the cooperation of two or more groups to achieve, promoting unity and reducing conflict.

Mere-exposure effect

the tendency to develop a preference for things merely because they are familiar.