Social Psychology Notes

Social Psychology

The study of how individuals interact with one another.

Sociology

The study of how groups interact with each other.

Attribution

The process of explaining the causes of behavior.

Dispositional Internal Attribution

Behavior driven by an individual's personality, feelings, or abilities.

External Attribution

Behavior driven by outside situations.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overemphasize dispositional attribution and underestimate situational factors.

Self-Serving Bias

The tendency to attribute successes to oneself and failures to external factors.

Actor-Observer Bias

The tendency to attribute others' behaviors to their character and one's own behaviors to the situation.

Explanatory Styles

The way individuals explain negative events, either optimistically or pessimistically.

Locus of Control

The extent to which individuals believe their actions influence outcomes (internal vs. external).

Cognitive Dissonance

The mental discomfort experienced when actions and beliefs are not in harmony.

Central Processing

Evaluating a persuasive message logically and analytically, leading to lasting change in attitude.

Peripheral Processing

Being persuaded by cues outside the message, resulting in temporary attitude change.

Halo Effect

The tendency for one positive trait to influence perceptions of other unrelated traits.

Mere Exposure Effect

The phenomenon where repeated exposure to a stimulus increases liking for it.

Foot-in-the-Door Technique

A persuasion strategy where a small request is followed by a larger one.

Door-in-the-Face Technique

A persuasion strategy where a large request is followed by a smaller one.

Conformity

The adjustment of thoughts or behaviors to align with group standards.

Social Norms

The accepted standards of behavior within a society.

Prejudice

An unjustified attitude toward a group, often negative.

Altruism

Unselfish regard for the welfare of others.