AP Psychology Unit 14 Social Psychology (VOCAB)

Norm

An understood rule for accepted and expected behavior. Prescribe "proper" behavior.

Aggression-Replacement Program

Lowered re-arrest rates of of juveniles and gang members by teaching families communication skills, anger control, and encouraging more thoughtful moral reasoning

Implicit Prejudice

Unconsciously holding prejudicial attitudes towards a group.

Conflict

A perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas.

Social Identity

Our sense of ourselves as members of particular groups.

Personal Control

The power of the individual.

Social Script

Culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations. - TV, movies, video games, YouTube

Preservation of Innovation

Culture's accumulated knowledge.

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.

Overt Prejudice

Prejudice that is shown openly and declared as a self-acknowledged belief of the individual.

Companionate Love

The deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined. - Oxytocin; supports feelings of trust, calm, and bonding with partner.

Group Polarization

The enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group. - Talking with like-minded people strengthens one's already held beliefs.

Culture

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

Free Riding

Enjoying the benefits of some good or action while letting others bear the costs.

Outgroup

"Them" - those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup.

Ingroup

"Us" - people with whom one shares a common identity.

Social Norms

Expectations that govern what behavior is acceptable within a group.

Attitude

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

Self-Disclosure

Revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others.

Bystander Effect

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

Positive Support

Compliments, touches, and laughing. Happy couples have a 5 to 1 ratio of positive to negative interactions.

Diffusion of Responsibility

The weakening of each group member's obligation to act when responsibility if perceived to be shared with all group members.

Ethnocentrism

Belief in the superiority of one's nation or ethnic group.

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. - People feel less accountable, individual contributions seem replaceable, free riding.

Actor-Observer Bias

The tendency to attribute one's own behavior to situational factors but to attribute the behavior of others to dispositional factors.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

The theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent. We change our attitudes to match our actions. - Fake it 'til you make it!

Chameleon Effect

Unconsciously mimicking others expressions, postures, and voice tones to help us feel what they are feeling. - Automatic mimicry

Deindividuation

The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity. - Wearing hoods, masks, hiding online.

Groupthink

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

Equity

A condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it. - Core of every relationship.

Prejudice

An unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members. - Attitude

Scapegoat Theory

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

Stereotype

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

Role

A set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave. - When adopting a new role, one strives to follow the social prescriptions.

Social Trap

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

Reward Theory of Attraction

A social-learning view that says we like best those who give us maximum rewards at minimum cost.

Conformity

Adjusting one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard. - Asch line experiment

Rape Myth

The false belief that, deep down, women enjoy forcible sex and find it sexually exciting.

Frustration-Aggression Principle

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

Social Psychology

The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another. - Focuses on the situation, why the same person will act differently in different situations.

Just World Phenomenon

The tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get. - How the rich justify their privileges.

Outgroup Homogeneity

The tendency for people to perceive members of the outgroup as more similar than members of the ingroup.

Foot-in-the-door phenomenom

The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request. - Actions affect attitude.

Altruism

Unselfish regard for the welfare of others. - Genuine acts of kindness.

Blame-the-victim

When people think the victim is partly to blame for their situation.

Milgrim

Obedience. Shock test.

Central Route Persuasion

Occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts. - Attitude affects actions.

Peripheral Route Persuasion

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

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.

Self Fulfilling Prophecies

A belief that leads to its own fulfillment.

Passionate Love

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

Division of Labor

An arrangement in which each worker specializes in a particular task.

Social-Responsibility Norm

An expectation that people will help those needing their help. - We'll help even if the costs outweigh the benefits.

Reciprocity Norm

An expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them. - We give about as much as we receive.

Aggression

Any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy.

Proximity

Geographic nearness.

GRIT

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

Social Facilitation

Improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others. - What one does well, is likely to do better in front of others. What one finds hard, will seem impossible in front of others.

Other-race Effect

The tendency to recall faces of one's own race more accurately than faces of other races. - AKA cross-race or own-race; emerges during infancy between 3-9 months.

Normative Social Influence

Influence resulting from a persons desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval.

Informational Social Influence

Influence resulting from one's willingness to accept others' opinions about reality.

Superordinate Goals

Shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation. - Put the needs of others above yourself.

Mood Linkage

Sharing up and down moods.

Culture Shock

The disorientation that people experience when they come in contact with a fundamentally different culture. - Don't know what's expected or accepted.

Mere Exposure Effect

The phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them. - Familiarity breeds fondness

Minority Influence

The power of one or two individuals to sway majorities by consistently expressing their views and holding firmly to their position.

Social Control

The power of the situation.

Social Exchange Theory

The theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs. - We'll help if the rewards exceed the cost.

Attribution Theory

The theory that we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation (situational attribution) or the person's disposition (dispositional attribution).

Discrimination

Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members. - Action