Social Psychology

Social Script

culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations

Self-disclosure

revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others.

Companionate Love

the deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined.

Social Exchange Theory

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

Self-serving bias

to take personal credit for our own achievements and blame our failures on situational factors

Central route of persuasion

relatively stable change by carefully scrutinizing facts, statistics and other information.

Self-fulfilling prophecy

a tendency to let preconceived expectations influence one's behavior, thus evoking those very expectations.

Passionate Love

an aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a love relationship

Equity

a condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it.

Conformity

adjusting our behavior and thinking to coincide with a group standard.

Social-Responsibility Norm

an expectation that people will help those needing their help

Dispositional Factors

individual personality characteristics that affect a person's behavior.

Normative social influences

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

Peripheral route of persuasion

occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speakers attractiveness

Social Psychology

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

Culture

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.

Group polarization

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

Bystander Effect

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

Fundamental Attribution Error or Actor/Observer Bias

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

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.

Scapegoat Theory

the theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame.

Attribution Theory

the theory that we explain someones' behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition.

Altruism

the unselfish concern of one individual for the welfare of another.

Prejudice

unjustified attitudes we hold toward a group and its members; usually involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action.

GRIT

Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-Reduction; a strategy designed to decrease international tensions.

Stereotype

a generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people.

Role

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

Social Trap

a situation in which the conflicting parties, by pursuing their own self interest rather than the good of the group, become caught in mutually destructive behavior.

Informational social influence

accepting others' opinions about reality, especially under conditions of uncertainty.

Foot-in-the-door

agreement to smaller requests leads to agreement to larger requests later.

Situational Factors

environmental stimuli that affect a person's behavior.

Attitude

feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events.

Mere exposure effect

increased liking for a person or another stimulus resulting from repeated presentation (exposure).

Mirror-Image Perceptions

mutual views often held by conflicting people, as when each side sees itself as ethical and peaceful and views the other side as evil and aggressive.

Just-world phenomenon

the tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get when they deserve and deserve what they get.

Ingroup Bias

the tendency to favor our own group.

Discrimination

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members.

Outgroup

"Them"; those perceived as different or apart from our group

Ingroup

"Us"; people with whom we share a common identity

Outgroup

"them"; people who are perceived as different or apart from out in-group

Conflict

a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas.

Reciprocity Norm

an expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them

Aggression

any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy

Groupthink

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

Other-Race Effect

the tendency to recall faces of one's own race more accurately than faces of other races; own-race bias

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

the theory that we adjust the discomfort we feel when two of our thoughts are inconsistent. When attitudes and actions clash, we often adjust our attitudes.

Frustration-Aggression Principle

the principle that frustration, the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal, creates anger, which can generate aggression

Elaboration likelihood model (ELM)

attitudinal change through two routes: central or peripheral.

Social Group

two or more people sharing common goals and interests interact and influence behavior on the other(s).

Deindividuation

loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in situations that promote high arousal and anonymity in groups.

Norms-

an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior; prescribe "proper" behavior

Social Facilitation

improved performance of well-learned tasks in front of others.

Superordinate Goals

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation