Chapter 14

Social Psychology

the field of psychology that studies the nature and causes of behavior and mental processes in social situaations

Consummate love

the ideal form of love within Sternberg's model, which combines passion, intimacy, and commitment

A-B problem

the issue of how well we can predict behavior on the basis of attitudes

Social loafing

the process by which a person's performance decrease when other members of a group engage in similar behavior, apparently because the person believes that strenuous effort is unnecessary

Social facilitation

the process by which a person's performance increase when other members of a group engage in similar behavior

Deindividuation

the process by which group members may discontinue self-evaluation and adopt group norms and attitudes

Attribution process

the process by which people draw inferences about the motives and traits of thers

Cognitive-dissonance theory

the view that we are motivated to make our cognitions, or beliefs, consistent with each other and with our behavior

Attribution

a belief concerning why people behave in a certain way

Romantic love

an intense, positive emotion that involves sexual attraction, feelingso f caring, and the believe that one is in love

Triangular model of love

Sternberg's view that love involves combinations of three components: intimacy, passion, and commitment

Stereotype

a fixed, conventional idea about a group

Foot-in-the-door technique

a method for inducing compliance in which a small request is followed by a larger request

Commitment

a pledge or obligation

Groupthink

a process in which group members are influenced by cohesiveness and a dynamic leader to ignore external realities as they make decisions

Social perception

a subfield of social psychology that studies the ways in which we form and modify impressions of others

Fear appeal

a type of persuasive communication that influences behavior on the basis of arousing fear instead of rational analysis of the issues

Dispositional attribution

an assumption that a person's behavior is determined by internal causes such as personal traits

Prejudice

an attitude toward a group that leads people to evaluate members of that group negatively

Attitude

an enduring mental representation of a person, place, or thing that evokes an emotional response and related behavior

Situational attribution

as assumption that a person's behavior is determined by external circumstances such as the social pressure found in a situation

Attitude-discrepant behavior

behavior inconsistent with an attitude that may have the effect of modifying an attitude

Intimacy

close acquaintance and familiarity; a characteristic of a relationship in which partners share their inmost feelings

Evaluation apprehension

concern that others evaluating our behavior

Selective exposure

deliberately seeking and attending to information that is consistent with one's attitudes

Social norms

explicit and implicit rules that reflect social expectations and influence the ways people behave in social situations

Discrimination

hostile behavior that is directed against groups toward whom one is prejudiced

Effort-justification

in cognitive dissonance theory, the tendency to seek justification for strenuous efforts

Peripheral route

in persuasive arguments, associating viewpoints with tangential issues, such as endorsement, rather than the quality of the product itself

Central route

in persuasive arguments, providing substantive information about the issues involved

Attraction

in social psychology, an attitude of liking or disliking (negative attraction)

Polarization

in social psychology, taking an extreme position or attitude on an issue

Reciprocity

interpersonal attraction, the tendency to return feelings and attitudes that are expressed about us

Social decision schemes

rules for predicting the final outcome of group decision making

Passion

strong romantic and sexual feelings

Social influence

the area of social psychology that studies the way which people influence the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of others

Fundamental attribution error

the assumption that others act predominantly on the basis of their dispositions, even where there is evidence suggesting the importance of their circumstances

Diffusion of responsibility

the spreading or sharing of responsibility for a decision or behavior within a group

Actor-observer effect

the tendency to attribute our own behavior to situational factors but to attribute the behavior of others to dispositional factors

Primacy effect

the tendency to evaluate others in terms of first impressions

Recency effect

the tendency to evaluate others in terms of the most recent impression

Risky shift

the tendency to make riskier decisions as a member of a group than as an individual acting independently

Self-serving bias

the tendency to view one's success as stemming from internal factors and ones's failures as stemming from external factors

Affective shift hypothesis

the view that men and women tend to experience different shifts in the emotions following initiation of sexual activity, such that women feel more love commitment, and men experience less love and commitment

Attraction-similarity hypothesis

the view that people tend to choose persons similar to themselves in attractiveness and attitudes in the formation of interpersonal relationships

Elaboration likelihood model

the view that persuasive messages are evaluated on the basis of central peripheral cues

Conform

to change one's attitudes or overt behavior to adhere to social norms

Selective avoidance

turning one's attention from information that is inconsistent with one's attitudes

Altruism

unselfish concern for the welfare of others