Social + Development Psych Review

Situationism

Assumes that the external environment, or the behavioral context, can have both subtle and forceful effects on people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

Dispositionism

Attributes behavior to internal factors, such as genes, personality traits, and character qualities

Attributions

A judgment about the cause of a person’s behavior

Dispositional attribution

A judgment assigning the cause of a person’s behavior to personal qualities or characteristics (ex. person did poorly on exam because they were stressed)

Situational attribution

A judgment assigning the cause of a person’s behavior to the environment (ex. person did poorly on exam because the test was unfair)

Correspondence Bias

a tendency to believe behavior results from a permanent character flaw. It corresponds to who they are as a person.

Fundamental Attribution Error

Tendency to overestimate dispositional factors and underestimate situational factors. (Ex. Saying a kid is just a bad kid because of an action they did, but underestimating the bad environment that kid grew up in)

Just-world belief

Good things happen to you because you’re a good person, and vice versa if you’re a bad person.

Self-Serving Bias

We view our successes differently than our failures. Example: “I received that A because I worked hard.” vs. “I failed that quiz because the test was hard.”

Secure Attachment

Knew their parents were coming back, sought comfort from their caretaker

Avoidant Attachment

Avoided or slow to greet on return, but eventually warmed up

Resistant Attachment

They hit or push away upon return and do not seek comfort from the caretaker

Disorganized Attachment

Confused on what to do and display contradictory behaviors

Central route to persuasion

Occurs when a person considers persuasive arguments carefully and thoughtfully. These attitudes are more enduring.

Peripheral route to persuasion

Occurs when a person responds to situational cues without considering the quality of the argument

Conformity

Matching behavior and appearance to perceived social norms

Compliance

Agreement with a request from a person with no perceived authority, such as a stranger or a friend

Obedience

Compliance with a request from an authority figure

Group polarization

The intensifying of an attitude following discussion with like minded people

Groupthink

Flawed decision-making in which a group does not question its decisions critically