4.1 psych

	*Term*	*Definition*	*Real-Life Example*
1	Social psychology	The scientific study of how we think about, influence, & relate to one another
2	Person perception	How we form impressions of ourselves & others, including attributions of behavior
3	Attribution theory	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)
4	Fundamental attribution error	Tendency for observers, when analyzing others’ behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation & to overestimate the impact of personal disposition
5	Actor-observer bias	Tendency for those acting in a situation to attribute their behavior to external causes, but for observers to attribute others’ behavior to internal causes; contributes to the fundamental attribution error (which focuses on our explanations for others’ behavior)
6	Mere exposure effect	The tendency for repeated exposure to novel stimuli to increase our liking of them
7	Prejudice	An unjustifiable & usually negative attitude toward a group & its members; prejudice generally involves negative emotions, stereotyped beliefs, & a predisposition to discriminatory action
8	Stereotype	Generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people
9	Discrimination	Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members
10	Just-world phenomenon	Tendency for people to believe the world is just & that people therefore get what they deserve & deserve what they get
11	Social identity	The “we” aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to “Who am I?” that comes from our group memberships
12	Ingroup	“Us” - people with whom we share a common identity
13	Outgroup	“Them” - those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup
14	Ingroup bias	The tendency to favor our own group
15	Scapegoat theory	The theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame
16	Other-race effect	The tendency to recall faces of one’s own race more accurately than faces of other races; also called cross-race effect & own-race bias
17	Attitudes	Feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, & events
18	Foot-in-the-door phenomenon	The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request
19	Door-in-the-face phenomenon	The tendency for people who deny a large request to comply later with a smaller request
20	Role	A set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave
21	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 & our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes
22	Persuasion	Changing people’s attitudes, potentially influence their actions
23	Peripheral route persuasion	Occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker’s attractiveness
24	Central route persuasion	Occurs when interested people’s thinking is influenced by considering evidence & arguments
25	Norms	A society’s understood rules for accepted & expected behavior; norms prescribe “proper” behavior in individual & social situations
26	Conformity	Adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard
27	Normative social influence	Influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval
28	Informational social influence	Influence resulting from a person’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality
29	Obedience	Complying with an order or command
30	Social facilitation	In the presence of others, improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks, & worsened performance on difficult tasks
31	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
32	Deindividuation	The loss of self-awareness & self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal & anonymity
33	Group polarization	The enhancement of a group’s prevailing inclinations through discussion with the group
34	Groupthink	The mode thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives
35	Culture	The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, & traditions shared by a group of people & transmitted from one generation to the next
36	Tight culture	A place with clearly defined & reliably imposed norms
37	Loose culture	A place with flexible & informal norms
38	Industrial-organizational (I/O) psychology	The application of psychological concepts & methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces
39	Altruism	Unselfish regard for the welfare of others
40	Bystander effect	The tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present; when more people share responsibility (diffusion of responsibility), we are less likely to help
41	Social exchange theory	Theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits & minimize costs
42	Reciprocity norm	An expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them
43	Social-responsibility norm	An expectation that people will help those needing their help
44	Conflict	A perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas
45	Social trap	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
46	Mirror-image perceptions	Mutual views often held by conflicting parties, as when each side sees itself as ethical & peaceful & views the other side as evil & aggressive
47	Self-fulfilling prophecy	A belief that leads to its own fulfillment due to the person’s own actions
48	Superordinate goals	Shared goals that override differences among people & require their cooperation	[]p