PSY 120 Chapter 12 (Social Psychology)

Created by Jenet Leyva

actor-observer bias
phenomenon of explaining other people’s behaviors are due to internal factors and our own behaviors are due to situational forces

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TermDefinition
actor-observer biasphenomenon of explaining other people’s behaviors are due to internal factors and our own behaviors are due to situational forces
ageismprejudice and discrimination toward individuals based solely on their age
aggressionseeking to cause harm or pain to another person
altruismhumans’ desire to help others even if the costs outweigh the benefits of helping
Asch effectgroup majority influences an individual’s judgment, even when that judgment is inaccurate
attitudeevaluations of or feelings toward a person, idea, or object that are typically positive or negative
attributionexplanation for the behavior of other people
bullyinga person, often an adolescent, being treated negatively repeatedly and over time
bystander effectsituation in which a witness or bystander does not volunteer to help a victim or person in distress
central route persuasionlogic-driven arguments using data and facts to convince people of an argument’s worthiness
cognitive dissonancepsychological discomfort that arises from a conflict in a person’s behaviors, attitudes, or beliefs that runs counter to one’s positive self-perception
collectivist cultureculture that focuses on communal relationships with others such as family, friends, and community
companionate lovetype of love consisting of intimacy and commitment, but not passion; associated with close friendships and family relationships
confederateperson who works for a researcher and is aware of the experiment, but who acts as a participant; used to manipulate social situations as part of the research design
confirmation biasseeking out information that supports our stereotypes while ignoring information that is inconsistent with our stereotypes
conformitywhen individuals change their behavior to go along with the group even if they do not agree with the group
consummate lovetype of love occurring when intimacy, passion, and commitment are all present
cyberbullyingrepeated behavior that is intended to cause psychological or emotional harm to another person and that takes place online
diffusion of responsibilitytendency for no one in a group to help because the responsibility to help is spread throughout the group
discriminationnegative actions toward individuals as a result of their membership in a particular group
dispositionismdescribes a perspective common to personality psychologists, which asserts that our behavior is determined by internal factors, such as personality traits and temperament
empathycapacity to understand another person’s perspective—to feel what they feel
foot-in-the-door techniquepersuasion of one person by another person, encouraging a person to agree to a small favor, or to buy a small item, only to later request a larger favor or purchase of a larger item
fundamental attribution errortendency to overemphasize internal factors as attributions for behavior and underestimate the power of the situation
group polarizationstrengthening of the original group attitude after discussing views within the group
groupthinkgroup members modify their opinions to match what they believe is the group consensus
homophilytendency for people to form social networks, including friendships, marriage, business relationships, and many other types of relationships, with others who are similar
homophobiaprejudice and discrimination against individuals based solely on their sexual orientation
hostile aggressionaggression motivated by feelings of anger with intent to cause pain
in-groupgroup that we identify with or see ourselves as belonging to
in-group biaspreference for our own group over other groups
individualistic cultureculture that focuses on individual achievement and autonomy
informational social influenceconformity to a group norm prompted by the belief that the group is competent and has the correct information
instrumental aggressionaggression motivated by achieving a goal and does not necessarily involve intent to cause pain
internal factorinternal attribute of a person, such as personality traits or temperament
just-world hypothesisideology common in the United States that people get the outcomes they deserve
justification of efforttheory that people value goals and achievements more when they have put more effort into them
normative social influenceconformity to a group norm to fit in, feel good, and be accepted by the group
obediencechange of behavior to please an authority figure or to avoid aversive consequences
out-groupgroup that we don’t belong to—one that we view as fundamentally different from us
peripheral route persuasionone person persuades another person; an indirect route that relies on association of peripheral cues (such as positive emotions and celebrity endorsement) to associate positivity with a message
persuasionprocess of changing our attitude toward something based on some form of communication
prejudicenegative attitudes and feelings toward individuals based solely on their membership in a particular group
prosocial behaviorvoluntary behavior with the intent to help other people
racismprejudice and discrimination toward individuals based solely on their race
reciprocitygive and take in relationships
romantic lovetype of love consisting of intimacy and passion, but no commitment
scapegoatingact of blaming an out-group when the in-group experiences frustration or is blocked from obtaining a goal
scriptperson’s knowledge about the sequence of events in a specific setting
self-disclosuresharing personal information in relationships
self-fulfilling prophecytreating stereotyped group members according to our biased expectations only to have this treatment influence the individual to act according to our stereotypic expectations, thus confirming our stereotypic beliefs
self-serving biastendency for individuals to take credit by making dispositional or internal attributions for positive outcomes and situational or external attributions for negative outcomes
sexismprejudice and discrimination toward individuals based on their sex
situationismdescribes a perspective that behavior and actions are determined by the immediate environment and surroundings; a view promoted by social psychologists
social exchange theoryhumans act as naïve economists in keeping a tally of the ratio of costs and benefits of forming and maintain a relationship, with the goal to maximize benefits and minimize costs
social loafingexertion of less effort by a person working in a group because individual performance cannot be evaluated separately from the group, thus causing performance decline on easy tasks
social normgroup’s expectations regarding what is appropriate and acceptable for the thoughts and behavior of its members
social psychologyfield of psychology that examines how people impact or affect each other, with particular focus on the power of the situation
social rolesocially defined pattern of behavior that is expected of a person in a given setting or group
stanford prison experimentStanford University conducted an experiment in a mock prison that demonstrated the power of social roles, social norms, and scripts
stereotypespecific beliefs or assumptions about individuals based solely on their membership in a group, regardless of their individual characteristics
triangular theory of lovemodel of love based on three components: intimacy, passion, and commitment; several types of love exist, depending on the presence or absence of each of these components