Social Psychology

• social psychology


  the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.

  
• attribution theory


  suggests how we explain someone's behavior—by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition.

  
• fundamental attribution error


  the tendency for observers, when analyzing another's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition.

  
• attitude


  feelings often based on our beliefs, which predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events.

  
• foot-in-the-door phenomenon


  the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request.

  
• cognitive dissonance theory


  the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent..
• conformity


  adjusting one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.

  
• informational social influence


  influence resulting from one's willingness to accept others' opinions about reality.
• normative social influence


  influence resulting from a person's desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval.

  
• social facilitation


  stronger responses on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others.

  
• 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.

  
• just-world phenomenon


  the tendency of people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get
• self-serving bias


  the tendency for people to take personal credit for success but blame failure on external factors

  
• prejudice


  an unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members. Prejudice generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action.

  
• ingroup


  "us"—people with whom one shares a common identity.
• ingroup bias


  the tendency to favor one's own group.

  
• outgroup


  "them"—those perceived as different or apart from one's ingroup.

  
• bystander effect


  the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present.

  
• social exchange theory


  the theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs.
• superordinate goals


  shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation.

  
• Muzafer Sherif


  a founder of social psychology, studied social norms, conducted Robber's Cave experiment

  
• Central Route To Persuasion


  Occurs when interested people focus on arguments and respond with favorable thoughts.

  
• Peripheral Route To Persuasion


  Occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker's attractiveness.

  
• ROLE


  A set of explanations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave.

  
• Diffusion of Responsibility


  a social phenomenon which tends to occur in groups of people above a cbertain critical size when responsibility is not explicitly assigned.

  
• Self-fulfilling Prophecy


  prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself, due to positive feedback between belief and behavior.
• Social Psychology


  the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.
• 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 our awareness of our attitudes and of our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting discomfort by changing our attitudes.
• Social Facilitation


  stronger responses on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others.
• 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.

  
• Group Polarization


  the enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group.
• Groupthink


  the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives.
• Norm


  an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior. They prescribe "proper" behavior.
• Discrimination


  (Social) unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members.
• upward comparison


  comparing yourself with a person who ranks higher than you on some dimension
• Bystander Effect


  a person is less likely to offer help to another person when there are more people around who can also provide assistance.

  
• Social Exchange Theory


  the theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs.
• Reciprocity Norm


  an expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them.
• Social Responsibility Norm.


  an expectation that people will help those dependent upon them.
• Social Trap


  a situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing their self-interest, become caught in mutually destructive behavior.