AP Psych Unit 9- Social Psych (Myers Psychology for AP 3e)

social psychology

the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e pp. 24, 768)

Industrial-Organizational Psychology

the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces.

attribution theory

the theory that we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 768)

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. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 768)

attitude

feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 770)

peripheral route persuasion

occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker's attractiveness. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 771)

central route persuasion

occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 771)

foot-in-the-door phenomenon

the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 771)

role

a set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e pp. 525, 772)

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, when we become aware that our attitudes and our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 773)

norms

understood rules for accepted and expected behavior. —— prescribe "proper" behavior. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 775)

conformity

adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 776)

normative social influence

influence resulting from a person's desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 777)

informational social influence

influence resulting from one's willingness to accept others' opinions about reality. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 778)

social facilitation

improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 784)

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. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 785)

deindividuation

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 786)

group polarization

the enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 787)

groupthink

the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 788)

culture

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e pp. 15, 789)

prejudice

an unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members. ______ generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 792)

stereotype

a generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 792)

discrimination

(1) in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and similar stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus. (In operant conditioning, the ability to distinguish responses that are reinforced from similar responses that are not reinforced.) (2) in social psychology, unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e pp. 277, 792)

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. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 796)

ingroup

"us"—people with whom we share a common identity. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 796)

outgroup

"them"—those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 796)

ingroup bias

the tendency to favor our own group. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 796)

scapegoat theory

the theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 797)

other-race effect

the tendency to recall faces of one's own race more accurately than faces of other races. Also called the cross-race effect and the own-race bias. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 797)

aggression

any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone physically or emotionally. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e pp. 521, 801)

frustration-aggression principle

the principle that frustration—the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal—creates anger, which can generate aggression. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 803)

social script

a culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e pp. 146, 804)

mere exposure effect

the phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 808)

passionate love

an aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a romantic relationship. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 812)

companionate love

the deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 813)

equity

a condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 813)

self-disclosure

the act of revealing intimate aspects of ourselves to others. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 814)

altruism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 816)

bystander effect

the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 817)

social exchange theory

the theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 818)

reciprocity norm

an expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 818)

social-responsibility norm

an expectation that people will help those needing their help. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 819)

conflict

a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 819)

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. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 819)

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. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 820)

self-fulfilling prophecy

a belief that leads to its own fulfillment. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 820)

superordinate goals

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 821)

belief perseverance

clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 376)

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 371)

Relative deprivation

the perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself

Collectivism

giving priority to the goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly.

Individualism

giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications.

Self-serving bias

The tendency to assign internal attributes to successes and external factors to failures.

Ethnocentrism

the tendency to view one's own culture or ethnic group as superior to others, often judging other cultures based on one's own standards.

Dispositional Attribution

explaining someone's behavior based on their stable, enduring traits

Situational Attribution

explaining someone's behavior based on the situation at hand

False consensus effect

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

Door-in-the-face effect

a compliance tactic where a large, unreasonable request is initially made, followed by a smaller, more reasonable request, which is more likely to be accepted after the initial rejection.

Diffusion of Responsibility

phenomenon where individuals feel less personal responsibility to act or help in a situation when others are present, assuming someone else will take action.

Halo effect

cognitive bias where a positive impression in one area of a person, company, brand, or product positively influences our opinion or feelings about them in other areas.

Elaboration likelihood model

theory in psychology that explains how people process and form attitudes. It suggests that there are two routes to persuasion - the central route, and the peripheral route.

Implicit attitudes

attitudes that influence a person's feelings and behavior at an unconscious level

Actor-observer bias

the tendency to attribute the behavior of others to internal causes, while attributing our own behavior to external causes

Pessimistic explanatory style

when people generally blame themselves for negative events, believe that such events will continue indefinitely, and let such events affect many aspects of their lives.

Optimistic explanatory style

when people generally blame others for negative events, believe that such events will end soon, and do not let such events affect too many aspects of their lives.

Out-group homogeneity bias

the tendency to perceive members of other groups as more similar to each other than members of one's own group, often leading to generalizations and stereotypes.

Social comparison

the tendency of individuals to evaluate their own abilities, achievements, and attributes by comparing themselves with others.