Psych Unit I/Ch. 18 vocab

bystander-effect

a phenomenon in which the chances that someone will help in an emergency decrease as the number of people present increases

social facilitation

a phenomenon in which the presence of other's improves a person's performance

minority influence

a phenomenon whereby members of a numerical minority in a group alter the view of the majority

frustration-aggression hypothesis

a proposition that frustration always leads to some form of aggressive behavior

deindividuation

a psychological state occurring in group members that results in loss of individuality and a tendency to do things not normally done when alone

social impairment

a reduction in performance due to the presence of other people

prisoner's dilemma

a social dilemma in which mutual cooperation guarantees the best mutual outcome

arousal: cost-reward theory

a theory attributing people's helping behavior to their efforts to reduce the unpleasant arousal they feel in the face of someone's need or suffering

empathy-altruism theory

a theory suggesting that people help others because of empathy with their needs

compliance

adjusting one's behavior because of an explicit or implicit request

aggression

an act that is intended to cause harm to another person

altruism

an unselfish concern for another's welfare

helping behavior

any act that is intended to benefit another person

cooperation

any type of behavior in which people work together to attain a goal

competition

behavior in which individuals try to attain a goal for themselves while denying that goal for others

obedience

changing behavior in a response to a demand from an authority figure

conformity

changing one's behavior or beliefs to match those of others, generally as a result of real or imagined, though unspoken, group pressure

social loafing

exerting less effort when performing a group task than when performing the task alone

pluralistic ignorance

people look to others as to how to behave in an emergency

social dilemmas

situations in which actions that produce rewards for one individual will produce negative consequences if adopted by everyone

norms

socially based rules that prescribe what people should or should not do in various situations

social influence

the process whereby one person's behavior is affected by the words or actions of others

conflict

the result of a person's or group's belief that another person or group stands in the way of their achieving a value or goal

environmental psychology

the study of the relationship between behavior and the physical environment