Unit 1 - Set 1: Attitudes and Person Perception

Vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes covering social psychology, attribution theory, self-serving bias, fundamental attribution error, and explanatory styles.

Social Psychology

The scientific study of how individuals' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others.

Attribution Theory

A psychological concept explaining how individuals explain the causes of behavior or events, relative to their own frame of reference.

Situational Attribution

Explaining behavior by attributing it to external factors, such as the environment, circumstances, or social context.

Dispositional Attribution

Explaining the cause of behavior as stemming from a person's internal traits, such as their personality or character.

Self-Serving Bias

The tendency to give yourself credit if you do well at something, but attribute it to an external cause if you do poorly.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overestimate the influence of internal or dispositional factors and underestimate situational factors when evaluating others' behavior, while having a higher awareness of situational factors for one's own behavior.

Explanatory Style

The way a person explains or perceives a specific event in life, which can be categorized as positive (optimistic) or negative (pessimistic).