Psych Ch. 13

frustration-aggression hypothesis

states that frustration always leads to aggression, though some individuals who experience frustration become passive and non aggressive.

social identity theory

states that individuals' social identity is a crucial part of their self-image and a valuable source of positive feelings about themselves. In order for individuals to feel good about themselves, they need to feel good about the group to which they belong.

mere exposure effect

states that the more individuals come in contact with something, the more likely they are to start liking it.

self-perception theory

stresses that individuals make inferences about their attitudes by perceiving their behavior.

door-in-the-face

technique in which the communicator makes the important point up front (which the listeners will probably reject) and then makes a weaker point at the end.

foot-in-the-door

technique states that the strongest point or demand should be made in the beginning, or makes a small request at the beginning to get them to listen and comply and then asks for something more at the end.

attribution theory

views individuals as motivated to discover the underlying causes of behavior as part of their effort to make sense of the behavior.

Age and attitude

what are two characteristics of the audience that can determine whether or not a message will be effective.

limbic system and amygdala

what have been both associated with emotions, have caused aggression when electrically stimulated.

Proximity

what is a good predictor of attraction.

agreeableness

what is the personality trait most strongly associated with pro-social behaviors.

jigsaw classroom

works by having all of the individuals in a classroom pull together to get the big picture.

seretonin

The neurotransmitter ______ has also been associated with aggressive behavior.

lower

Those of ______ socioeconomic status tend to be more likely to help than those who have more.

Heuristics

are cognitive shortcuts that allow individuals to make decisions rapidly.

Attributions

are explanations of the causes of behavior

Stereotypes

are generalizations about a group's characteristics, though those traits may vary from one individual to the next.

attitudes

are how individuals feel about things. It's their opinions and beliefs.

stable/unstable

cause includes all causes internal and external to the person.

controllable/uncontrollable

cause is whether a cause is perceived as controllable or uncontrollable.

investment model

examines the ways that commitment, investment, and the availability of attractive alternative partners predict satisfaction and stability in relationships.

elaboration likelihood model

explains the relationship between the rational and emotional aspects of appeals. It describes two ways to persuade: one is a central route, which engages someone thoughtfully and the other is a peripheral route, which involves non message factors, such as the credibility and attractiveness.

Inoculation

giving people weaker arguments, allows people to resist persuasive techniques.

Romantic love

has strong components of sexuality and infatuation, and it often occurs early in a relationship.

self-fulfilling prophecy

individuals' expectations cause them to act in ways that serve to make those expectations come true.

Egoism

involves giving to another individual to ensure reciprocity, gain self-esteem, present oneself as powerful, competent, or caring, and avoid social and self-censure for failing to live up to society's expectations

obedience

is a behavior that complies with explicit demands of the individual in authority.

stereotype

is a generalization about a group. Stereotypes may lead to prejudice when they contain negative information.

positive illusion

is a positive view that an individual has about him- or herself that is not necessarily rooted in reality. Most people tend to think of themselves as above average in a variety of positive characteristics.

Social cognition

is an area of psychology that examines how people select, interpret, remember, and use social information.

stereotype threat

is an individual's fast-acting, self-fulfilling fear about being judged on the basis of a negative stereotype about his or her group.

false consensus effect

is an overestimation of the degree to which everyone else thinks or acts the way an individual does, and it is the result of the individual using his or her own outlook to predict that of others.

discrimination

is an unjustified negative or harmful action toward a member of a group just because the individual belongs to that group.

Stanford Prison experiment

is another controversial demonstration of the power of obedience, conducted by Philip Zimbardo in 1971. Zimbardo concluded that situational factors powerfully affect human behavior.

social exchange theory

is based on the notion of an exchange of goods. The objective is to minimize costs and maximize benefits.

Effort justification

is explained in the following way: Goals that require a lot of effort are the ones that are valued the most. If a great deal of effort is put forth, yet the goal is still not reached, then cognitive dissonance occurs.

Consensual validation

is explained when an individual's attitudes and behavior are supported and when another individual's attitudes and behavior are similar.

prejudice

is having an unjustified negative attitude toward an individual based on the individual's membership in a group.

Social contagion

is imitative behavior that involves the spreading of behavior, emotions, and ideas.

social support

is information and feedback from others indicating that an individual is loved and cared for, esteemed and valued, and included in a network of communication and mutual obligation.

in-group

is the group to which the individual belongs.

out-group

is the other group to which he or she does not belong

Social comparison

is the process by which individuals evaluate their thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and abilities in relation to other people.

Group polarization

is the solidification and further strengthening of a position as a consequence of a group discussion.

Social psychology

is the study of how people think about, influence, and relate to other people.

bystander effect

is the tendency for an individual to observe an emergency and to help less when there are other people present than when the observer is alone.

primacy effect

is the tendency to attend to and remember what we learned first.

Ethnocentrism

is the tendency to favor one's own ethnic group over other groups.

Affectionate love

is the type of love that occurs when individuals desire to have the other person near and have a deep, caring affection for that person.

conformity

is when a person's behavior coincides more closely with a group standard.

confederates

meaning they were in on the experiment, but the volunteer participant does not know this.

altruistic

means giving to another person with the ultimate goal of benefiting that person even if it incurs a cost to oneself.

Social loafing

occurs when an individual exerts less effort when in a group, because the individual feels less accountable for his or her individual effort.

Empathy

occurs when an individual feels a oneness with the emotional state of another. The individual truly feels what the other person is feeling and going through because he or she has been there.

Social facilitation

occurs when an individual's performance improves because of the presence of others. The presence of others arouses individuals and that arousal produces energy.

Deindividuation

occurs when being part of a group reduces personal identity and erodes the sense of personal responsibility.

Reciprocity

occurs when individuals do to others as they have had done to them. This can bring about negative feelings, such as guilt if you do not return a favor or anger if someone else does not return a favor.

Persuasion

occurs when individuals try to change another person's attitudes.

Cognitive dissonance

occurs when individuals' psychological discomfort is caused by two inconsistent thoughts. What individuals do and what they say they believe are inconsistent. The individuals can either change their attitude or change their actions. They will try to justify their actions or change their attitudes before changing their behavior.

risky shift

occurs when there is a tendency for a group decision to be riskier than the average decision made by the individual group members.

Groupthink

refers to a group's impaired decision making and avoidance of realistic appraisal in order to maintain group harmony. Instead of rocking the boat, group members place the highest value on conformity and unanimity.

medium

refers to how the message is presented; meaning what type of technology is used.

informational social influence

refers to the influence that other people have on individuals because the individual wants to be right.

normative social influence

refers to the influence that others have on an individual because the individual wants others to like them or approve of them.

Reactance

refers to the motivation to reject attempts to control us. It occurs when a person feels that someone or something is taking away his or her choices.

Self-objectification

refers to the tendency for people to see themselves primarily as an object in the eyes of others. Can also interfere with task performance.

fundamental attribution error

refers to the tendency of observers to overestimate the importance of internal traits and underestimate the importance of external factors when explaining a person's behavior.

self-serving bias

refers to the tendency to take credit for success and to deny responsibility for failures.

Social identity

refers to the way individuals define themselves in terms of their group membership.