Social Psychology Vocab

Social Psychology

branch of psychology concerned with the way individuals' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by others

person perception

how we form impressions of ourselves and others, including attributions of behavior.

attribution theory

the theory that we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation (a situational attribution) or the person's stable, enduring traits (a dispositional attribution).

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.

actor-observer bias

the tendency for those acting in a situation to attribute their behavior to external causes, but for observers to attribute others' behavior to internal causes.

social comparison

By comparing ourselves to others, we judge whether we're succeeding or failing.

prejudice

an unjustifiable and usually negative attitude toward a group and its members.

stereotypes

a generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people.

discriminate

to act in negative and unjustifiable ways toward members of the group

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.

social identity

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

ingroup

"us" — people with whom we share a common identity.

outgroup

"them" — those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup.

ingroup bias

"them" — those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup.

Scapegoat theory

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

ethnocentrism

the tendency to view our own ethnic or racial group as superior.

outgroup homogeneity

uniformity of attitudes, personality, and appearance

other-race effect

the tendency to recall faces of one's own race more accurately than faces of other races.

attitudes

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

the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request.

role

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

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.

persuation

changing people's attitudes, potentially influencing their actions.

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

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

central route persuasion

occurs when interested people's thinking is influenced by considering evidence and arguments.

norms

a society's understood rules for accepted and expected behavior.

social contagion

the spontaneous spread of behaviors.

empathize

the spontaneous spread of behaviors.

mood linkage

the sharing of moods

conformity

adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.

normative social influence

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

informational social influence

influence resulting from a person's willingness to accept others' opinions about reality.

obedience

complying with an order or a command.

social facilitation

in the presence of others, improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks, and worsened performance on difficult tasks.

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 and transmitted from one generation to the next.

tight cultures

a place with clearly defined and reliably imposed norms.

loose cultures

a place with flexible and informal norms.

Agression

any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone physically or emotionally

frustration-aggression principle

the principle that frustration — the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal — creates anger, which can generate aggression.

social scripts

a culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations.

mere exposure effect

a culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations.

passionate love

an aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a romantic 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

the act of revealing intimate aspects of ourselves to others.

altruism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others.

bystander effect

the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present.

social exchange theory

the theory that 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

a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas.

social traps

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

mirror-image perceptions

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

self-fulfilling prophecies

a belief that leads to its own fulfillment.

superordinate goals

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation.

GRIT

Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-Reduction — a strategy designed to decrease international tensions.

attribute

a quality or feature regarded as a characteristic or inherent part of someone or something.

door-in-the-face phenomenon

the tendency for people to comply to a smaller request after rejecting an initially larger request.

Philip Zimbardo & the Stanford Prison Experiment

College-age males who were deemed physically and psychologically fit were asked to participate in a prison simulation in which half would be guards and the other half prisoners. The purpose of the experiment was to see how well participants assimilated to their assigned roles. Unfortunately, they took on these roles too well, to the point the "guards" were abusive and the "prisoners" got depressed or rebelled. Originally planned for two weeks, it was cut short after six days.

cognitive dissonance

our attitudes and our behaviors don't line up

Chameleon Effect

In an experiment, a confederate/collaborator of the experimenter intentionally rubbed his/her face or shook a foot; this seemed to lead to a greater likelihood of the study participant doing the same behavior.

Normative

Going along with others in pursuit of social approval or belonging (and to avoid disapproval/rejection).

Informative

Going along with others because their ideas and behavior make sense, the evidence in our social environment changes our minds.

Personal control

our sense of controlling our environment rather than feeling helpless

internal locus of control

the perception that we control our own fate

external locus of control

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond our personal control determine our fate

Self-control

the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long-term rewards

Social Impairment

reduced performance on difficult or unpracticed tasks in the presence of others

Self-disclosure

revealing the intimate aspects to oneself to others (a.k.a. honesty)

Social exchange theory

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

Conflict

an incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas.

industrial-organizational (I/O) psychologists

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