AP Psych Social Psychology

Social Psychology

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

Attribution Theory

The theory the we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's dispositions

Fundamental Attribution error

The tendency for observers, when analyzing another's behaviors, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal dispostion

Attitude

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

Foot-In-The-Door Phenomenon

Tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request

Role

A set of exceptions (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave

Cognitive Dissonance

The theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent. For example, when out awareness of our attitudes and of our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes

Conformity

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

Social Facilitation

Stronger responses 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

Deindividuation

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

Group Polarization

The enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations through 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 alternatives

Culture

The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people transmitted from one generation to the next

Norm (social norm)

An understood rule for accepted and expected behavior. Norms prescribe " proper" behavior

Prejudice

An unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members. Prejudice generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative to discriminatory action

Stereotype

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

Discrimination

Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members

Ingroup

"Us"- People with whom we share a common identiy

Outgroup

"Them"- Those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup

Ingroup Bias

The tendency to favor our own group

Scapegoat

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

Just-World Phenomenon

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

Aggression

Any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy

Mere Exposure Effect

The phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking to them

Passionate Love

An Aroused state of intense positive absorptions in another, usually present at the beginning of a love relationship

Companionate Love

The deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined

Equity

A condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it

Self-Disclosure

Revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others

Altruism

Unselfish regard for the welfare of others

situational disposition

attributing someone's actions to the various factors in the situation (not their personality)

dispositional attribution

attributing someone's actions to their personality (disposition) instead of the situation

Solomon Asch

psychologist who studied conformity by giving subjects the "line test"

Stanley Milgram

psychologist who, in an effort to understand the Holocaust, studied conformity and obedience to authority by having " teachers" shock learners"

Irving Janis

psychologist who proposed the theory of "Groupthink:" that people would go along with the group, even if they disagreed

self-fulfilling prophecy

when you become what you think about yourself ("I can't do math.")

bystander effect

theory that people less likely to help someone if other people are around

categories

tendency to group similar objects/people

superordinate goals

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation

Birkenhead Drill

to calm passengers, soldiers obeyed orders to line up on deck as their ship sank ("women and children first")

social cognition

the processes by which people come to understand others

hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it

self-serving bias

the tendency to perceive oneself favorably

collectivist cultures

cultures in which people subordinate their personal goals to those of a stable community

individualistic culture

A culture in which people believe that their primary responsibility is to themselves.

elaboration likelihood model

theory identifying two ways to persuade: a central route and a peripheral route

halo effect

the tendency to draw a general impression about an individual on the basis of a single characteristic (such as beauty or attractiveness)

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

belief bias

a tendency to draw conclusions based on what one already believes rather than sound logic

belief perseverance

tendency to cling to initial beliefs even after they have been discredited

status quo bias

the preference to keep things the way they are rather than change

anchoring bias

a tendency to fixate on initial information, from which one then fails to adequately adjust for subsequent information

Backfire effect

When we're faced with evidence against our beliefs, we reject the evidence and believe even more strongly.

Dunning-Kruger Effect

The tendency for unskilled individuals to overestimate their own ability and the tendency for experts to underestimate their own ability.

central route of persuasion

when the listener decides whether to agree with the message based on other cues besides the strength of the arguments or ideas in the message.

peripheral route of persuasion

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

door-in-the-face technique

asking for a large commitment and being refused and then asking for a smaller commitment

minority influence

the power of one or two individuals to sway majorities

Reciprocity

the obligation to return in kind what another has done for us

chameleon effect

Natural (unconscious) tendency to imitate other peoples speech, inflections & physical movements

mood linkage

sharing ups and downs with the type of people around them

normative social influence

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

informational social influence

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

social inhibition/impairment

performing difficult tasks worse when we are in front of a crowd

social control

attempts by society to regulate people's thoughts and behavior

implicit prejudice

unconsciously held prejudicial attitudes

Ethnocentrism

Belief in the superiority of one's nation or ethnic group.

Dehumanization

the process of depriving a person or group of positive human qualities.

blame-the-victim syndrome

when the victim of a crime or any wrongful act is held entirely or partially at fault for the harm that befell them

social indentity

the "we" aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to "Who am I?" that comes from our group memberships

in-group bias

the tendency to favor one's own group

illusory correlation

the perception of a relationship where none exists

outgroup homogeneity

tendency to see members of your own group as more diverse than members of other groups

other-race effect

tendency to recognize your own race more accurately (also called cross-race effect or own-race bias)

frustration-aggression principle

the principle that frustration creates anger, which can generate aggression

social script

culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations

reciprocal liking

people like others better when they believe the other person likes them

proximity effect

the theory that the closer you are to another person in geographical distance, the greater the probability that you will grow to like or even love the person

reward theory of attraction

the theory that we like those whose behavior is rewarding to us or whom we associate with rewarding events

diffusion of responsibility

the tendency for individuals to feel diminished responsibility for their actions when they are surrounded by others who are acting the same way

social exchange theory

our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs

reciprocity norm

an expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them

social-responsibility norm

an expectation that people will help those needing their help

Conflict Theory

a theory that looks at society as a competition for limited resources

social trap

a situation in which the conflicting parties, by each pursuing their self-interest rather than the good of the group, become caught in mutually destructive behavior

false consensus effect

the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors

mirror-image perceptions

mutual views often held by conflicting people, as when each side sees itself as ethical and peaceful and views the other side as evil and aggressive

Harold Kelley

put forth a theory that explains the kind of attributions people make based on three kinds of information: consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus

Philip Zimbardo

proved that peoples behavior depends to a large extent on the roles they are asked to play; Stanford Prison Study-studied power of social roles to influence people's behavior

Leon Festinger and James Carlsmith

cognitive dissonance

Hawthorne Studies

A series of studies during the 1920s and 1930s that provided new insights into individual and group behavior

Hawthorne effect

A change in a subject's behavior caused simply by the awareness of being studied (based on Hawthorne factory studies in 1930s--whether lighting affected worker output)

Pygmalion effect

a type of self-fulfilling prophecy where if you think something will happen, you may unconsciously make it happen through your actions or inaction (Rosenthal)

Bloomer Study

Rosenthal, 1968: study that showed the psychological phenomenon wherein high expectations lead to improved performance in a given area (pygmalion or Rosenthal effect)

Shedding of responsibility

People behave in ways they would normally oppose if a legitimate authority accepts responsibility for the consequences of that behavior

pluralistic ignorance

the case in which people think that everyone else is interpreting a situation in a certain way, when in fact they are not