Psychology Module 37: Antisocial Relations

Prejudice

An unjustifiable and usually negative attitude toward a group and its members - who often are people of a particular racial or ethnic group, gender, or sexual orientation

Stereotype

Generalized beliefs about a group of people

Discrimination

To act in negative and unjustifiable ways toward members of a group

Just-world phenomenon

The idea that good is rewarded and evil is punished; sometimes leads to the automatic leap to assume that those who succeed must be good and those who suffer must be bad

Ingroup

A group that a person identifies with and feels a sense of belonging to

Outgroup

A group that person does not identify with or belong to; anyone who does not belong to your group

Ingroup bias

The tendency for people to favor and who preferential treatment to individuals who belong to the same group as them

Scapegoat theory

Proposes that when things go wrong, finding someone to blame can provide a target for out negative emotions

Other-race effect

Our greater recognition for individual own-race faces

Aggression

Any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone, whether done out of hostility or as a calculated means to an end

Frustration-aggression principle

Frustration creates anger, which can spark aggression; demonstrates the phenomenon that aversive stimuli can evoke hostility

Social script

Culturally provided mental files for how to act in certain situations