SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY EXAM 2

attitude/evaluative belief

An inner tendency to judge or evaluate something or someone either positively or negatively.

attitude object

The object, person, place, or idea an individual explicitly or implicitly evaluates and directs his or

her attitude toward.

informational belief

A fact-based belief that includes no positive or negative judgment.

dual attitude

When an individual holds contrasting positive and negative beliefs about the same attitude object

model of dual attitude

A model for understanding attitudes that proposes that new attitudes override, rather than

replace, old attitudes.

implicit attitude

Attitudes based on automatic, unconscious beliefs about an attitude object.

explicit attitude

Attitudes that are the product of controlled, conscious beliefs about an attitude object.

univalenced decision

A decision based on an attitude about an attitude object that is either good or bad but not both.

specificity principle

Proposes that the link between attitudes and behaviors is strong when the attitude and the

behavior are measured at the same level of specificity.

cover story

believable but incorrect story a researcher tells participants in an experiment to mask the true

nature of the researcher's hypothesis (see deception ).

facial feedback hypothesis

The idea that individuals infer their own emotions based on the facial expression they are makin

self affirmation theory

The idea that individuals try to impress themselves to preserve their sense of worth and integrity;

they focus their thoughts and attitudes on what makes them feel good about themselves.

theory of planned behavior

The idea that attitudes are only one of three categories of belief—attitudes, subjective norms, and

perceived control—that together predict behavioral intentions, which then predict behavior.

perceived control

The amount of control individuals believe they have over themselves and their environment,

which, in combination with attitudes and social norms, predicts intended behavior.

social norms

Rules that indicate how people are expected to behave in particular social situations, which, in

combination with attitudes and perceived control, often predict intended behavior.

social learning theory

The idea that individuals observe what others do and copy them, especially when those behaviors

lead to success or rewards.

assortative mating

The process by which organisms that are similar tend to mate with each other, meaning an

individual is more likely to mate with someone who shares his or her features and interests

twin studies

A study in which sets of twins are compared to each other, which can help quantify the interacting

influences of nature and nurture.

political orientation

An attitude held by an individual concerning matters of politics and government often

characterized by the possession of liberal or conservative ideas.

classical conditioning

A process that occurs when individuals learn to associate one thing in their environment with

another due to personal experience.

operant conditioning

A process that occurs when individuals learn to predict the outcomes of given behaviors based on

the outcomes they've experienced for those same behaviors in the past

bogus pipeline

A fake lie detector machine used to circumvent social desirability bias.

confederate

An individual who assists a researcher by pretending to be a participant in an experiment.

sufficient justification

Occurs when individuals are able to rationalize a behavior that does not match with their

attitudes, which leads to a low level of cognitive dissonance.

insufficient justification

Occurs when individuals engage in a behavior that does not match their attitudes or self-concept

and cannot rationalize the behavior; this discrepancy creates cognitive dissonance.

cherry picking data

Occurs when people select only the data that support what they want to believe and ignore

contradicting data.

rationalization trap

Progressively larger self-justifications that lead to harmful, stupid, and immoral outcomes.

self justification

The desire to explain one's actions in a way that preserves or enhances a positive view of the

self.

cognitive dissonance

A state of psychological discomfort that occurs when an individual tries to maintain conflicting

beliefs and behaviors.

Heuristic systematic Model

A model for understanding how an individual can be persuaded, which proposes that there are

two paths to persuasion: a direct, systematic path and an indirect, heuristic path (see elaboration

likelihood model ).

central path

A type of persuasion in which appeals are direct, elaborate, and systematic; requires close

attention and careful evaluation of alternatives by the individual being persuaded.

communication persuasion matrix

A model for understanding persuasion that proposes that there are six steps in the persuasion

process—attention, comprehension, learning, acceptance, retention, and conclusion—which build

on each other due to exposure to the four elements of persuasion—the source, the message, the

recipient, and the context—resulting in attitude change.

peripheral path

A type of persuasion in which appeals are indirect, implicit, and emotion based; requires littleeffort by the individual being persuaded, leading to quick and easy conclusions.

message learning approach

The idea that there are four elements to the persuasion process: the source (who is doing the

persuading), the message (the persuasive information), the recipient (who they are persuading),

and the context

source variables

Characteristics of individuals that make their message more or less persuasive, including theirlevel of credibility, their attractiveness, and their social power.

credibility

How believable or trustworthy a source or person is.

message variables

Characteristics of a message that can make it more or less persuasive, including whether the

listener personally cares about the topic and how the message is presented.

personal importance

Individuals' tendency to put more effort into processing persuasive messages when they think the

issue is important or personally relevant.

framing

The process of changing the way information is presented to make it more persuasive, especially

concerning individuals' tendency to be persuaded more by positively worded messages than

negatively worded messages.

attitude inoculation

The process of building up resistance to attempts at persuasion.

recipient variables

Characteristics of the people receiving a persuasive message that make them more or less likely

to be persuaded, such as their attitude strength, intelligence, personality, self-esteem, and need

for cognition.

context variables

Characteristics concerning how a persuasive message is delivered that can make it more or less

persuasive, including distraction, forewarning, and repetition.

elaboration likelihood model

A model for understanding how an individual can be persuaded that proposes that there are two

paths to persuasion: a direct, explicit, "central" route that requires deliberate, logical thinking and

an indirect, implicit, "peripheral" route that relies on emotional appeals (see heuristic-systematic

model ).

norm of reciprocity

The idea that individuals respond in kind to courtesies and concessions from others.

lowball technique

A persuasion technique where an incentive is offered at the beginning of a deal, such as a low

price, but then is later removed due to the terms of the agreement being changed. Despite the

change, cognitive and emotional commitment to the item from the original deal often leads to

acceptance of the new, less attractive deal

door in the face

A persuasion technique that occurs when compliance is gained by first making a large request,

which is usually refused, and then following it with a smaller request, which is usually accepted

foot in the door

A persuasion technique that occurs when agreeing to a small, initial request makes an individual

more likely to later agree to a much larger request.

social influence

How an individual's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors respond to their social world, including

tendencies to conform to others, follow social rules, and obey authority figures.

social roles

A type of implicit social influence regarding how certain people are supposed to look and behave.

explicit expectations

Clearly and formally stated expectations for social behavior.

compliance

A type of implicit social influence where individuals voluntarily change their behavior to imitate the

behavior of others.

obedience

A type of explicit social influence where individuals behave in a particular way because someone of

higher status ordered them to do so.

social norm/group norms

Rules that indicate how people are expected to behave in particular social situations, which, in

combination with attitudes and perceived control, often predict intended behavior.

herd mentality

The tendency to blindly follow the direction your group is moving toward; when group norms

encourage individuals to conform to those around them, especially when it comes to their beliefs.

social contagion

The spontaneous distribution of ideas, attitudes, and behaviors among larger groups of people.

mass psychogenic illness

A form of social contagion where physical symptoms of an illness appear within a cohesive

conformity

A type of implicit social influence where individuals voluntarily change their behavior to imitate the

behavior of others.

informational social influence

When individuals voluntarily conform to group standards because they are uncertain

about the correct answer or behavior.

auto kinetic effect

The idea that there are two ways that social norms cause conformity

private conformity

Conforming thoughts or behaviors that are kept to oneself and are felt genuinely by the individual

generational influence

A cultural belief or norm that transcends the replacement of people; when individuals

continue to conform even when the originator of the behavior is no longer present.

description norms

What an individual perceives to be the behavior of most people in a specific situation; what most

people do, or what is commonly done.

injunctive norms

What an individual perceives to be the socially acceptable behavior in a specific situation; what is

socially sanctioned, or what society says people are supposed to do.

theory of informational and normative influence

The idea that there are two ways that social norms cause conformity

normative influence: When individuals publicly conform to gain social acceptance and avoid rejection.

public conformity

Conforming thoughts or behaviors shared with others; these actions may not be genuinely

Research Paradigm

A method of or approach for doing research.

quantitative data

Results in numerical form, such as scores on self-report measures or the percentage of people

who act a certain way.

qualitative data

Results in subjective forms such as the content of essays or interviews.

good subject bias

A type of social desirability bias that occurs when participants respond in the way they think the

researcher wants them to respond to support the hypothesis.

Deindividuation

A psychological process that occurs when self-awareness is replaced by a social role or group

identity, resulting in the loss of individuality.

lowball technique

A persuasion technique where an incentive is offered at the beginning of a deal, such as a low

price, but then is later removed due to the terms of the agreement being changed. Despite the change, cognitive and

emotional commitment to the item from the original deal often leads to acceptance of the new, less attractive deal.

group

when two or more individuals interact with one another or are joined together by a common fate.

functional distance

The tendency for people who are in close proximity due to the geographic and architectural

design of an environment to be more likely to develop a cohesive group, such as a friendship or a romantic

relationship.

participant observer

A type of qualitative data collection method where the researcher acts as a participant in a study

while observing the actions of the true participants.

sense of individual identity

How individuals perceive themselves to uniquely fit into a larger group. Such social

comparisons and group role development contribute to individuals' self-concept.

group cohesiveness

The degree to which members of a group feel connected to one another.

effort justification/ initiation effect

The tendency for individuals to convince themselves that a group they belong to is wonderful if

they have gone through embarrassing, difficult, or expensive efforts to gain membership in the group.

escalation trap/ sunken cost fallacy

When individuals increase their commitment to a failing situation to justify previous investments of

time, effort, or resources.

hazing

Whenever members of a group establish arbitrary rituals for new members that may cause physical or

emotional harm, which can be a type of escalation trap for aspiring members

maltreatment effects

When hazing elicits social dependency that promotes allegiance to the group.

Stockholm syndrome

When hostages develop affection for their captors.

rejection sensitivity

The fear of social rejection and ostracism.

optimal distinctiveness theory

The idea that individuals can simultaneously achieve the advantages of being seen

as a unique and important individual and of being in a group by being an identifiable member of a small and elite

group.

social facilitation

When individuals exhibit improved effort and individual performance in the presence of others.

comparative social psychology

: Species-level comparisons of social behavior usually used to determine the

uniqueness of human behavior.

evaluation apprehension hypothesis

The idea that individuals' anxiety about being judged by others is what causes

physiological arousal and consequential changes in behavior, accounting for the tendency to improve on simple

tasks in the presence of others, but flounder on difficult or new tasks.

mere presence hypothesis

The idea that being in the presence of others, even if they aren't watching, will increase

an individual's physiological arousal, and this arousal will help performance on easy tasks and hinder performance on

difficult tasks.

free riders

People who gain more benefits from the group than they contribute to the group; social loafers or

"slackers."

social loafing

When people working in a group reduce their individual level of effort.

conscientiousness

a personality trait that includes striving for achievement, attention to detail, and a sense of

responsibility; people high in this trait are also less likely to be social loafers.

agreeableness

A personality trait that includes the willingness to be flexible, to cooperate, and to try to please other

people; people high in this trait are also less likely to be social loafers.

Protestant work ethic

A set of personality traits that includes valuing discipline, honoring commitments, and doing a

good job in any setting; people high in this trait are also less likely to be social loafers.

process loss

The reduction of effort—and thus productivity—in group settings that comes from a lack of motivation,

often due to social loafing.

coordination loss

When a lack of cooperation and communication weakens a group's effectiveness, leading to a

loss of productivity.

diffusion of responsibility

When an individual feels less responsible for an outcome due to the presence of others.

contingency theory of leadership

The idea that there is no one best leadership style; different types of people,

environments, and situations call for different kinds of leaders.

task leader

: A type of leader who focuses on completing assignments, achieving goals, and meeting deadlines.

social leader

A type of leader who focuses on the people involved and invests time in building teamwork, facilitating

interactions, and providing support.

transactional leader

A type of leader who uses rewards and punishments to motivate group members; these leaders

help to maintain the status quo.

transformational leader

A type of leader who uses inspiration and group cohesiveness to motivate group members;

these leaders are useful for challenging established rules or procedures.