Psych Chapter 13: Social Psychology
group polarization effect
solidification and further strengthening of an individual's position as a consequence of a group discussion or interaction
social identity theory
states that our social identities are a crucial part of our self-image and a valuable source of positive feelings about ourselves
social psychology
study of how people think about, influence, and relate to other people
ethnocentrism
tendency to favor one's own ethnic group over other groups
risky shift
the tendency for a group decision to be riskier than the average decision made by the individual group members
prejudice
unjustified negative attitude toward an individual based on the individual's membership in a particular group
attribution theory
views people as motivated to discover the underlying causes of behavior as part of their effort to make sense of the behavior
stereotype threat
an individual's fast-acting, self-fulfilling fear of being judged based on a negative stereotype of his or her group
social exchange theory
based on the notion of social relationships as involving an exchange of goods, the objective of which is to minimize costs and maximize benefits
obedience
behavior that complies with the explicit demands of the individual in authority
conformity
change in a person's behavior to coincide more closely with a group standard
cognitive dissonance theory
concept developed by Festinger. an individuals discomfort (discomfort) caused by two inconsistent thoughts
investment model
examines the ways that commitment, investment, and the availability of attractive alternative partners predict satisfaction and stability in relationships
self-fulfilling prophecy
expectations cause individuals to act in ways that serve to make the expectations come true
frustration-aggression hypothesis
frustration leads to aggression
stereotype
generalization about a group's characteristics that does not consider any variations from one individual to another
social contagion
imitative behavior involving the spread of actions, emotions, and ideas
self-perception theory
individuals make inferences about their attitudes by perceiving their behavior. behaviors can cause attitudes b/c when we are questioned about our attitudes, we think back on our behaviors for information
informational social influence
influence other people have on us because we want to be right
normative social influence
influence others have on us because we want them to like us
fundamental attribution error
observers overestimate the importance of internal traits and underestimate the importance of external situations when they seek explanations of an actor's behavior
social facilitation
occurs when an individual's performance improves because of the presence of others
false consensus effect
overestimation of the degree to which everybody else thinks or acts the way we do
mere exposure effect
phenomenon that the more we encounter someone or something, the more probable it is that we will start liking the person or thing even if we do not realize we have seen it before
attribution
process by which we come to understand the causes of others' behavior and form an impression of them as individuals
social comparison
process by which we evaluate our thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and abilities in relation to other people
social loafing
refers to each person's tendency to exert less effort in a group because of reduced accountability for individual effort
groupthink
refers to the impaired group decision making that occurs when making the right decision is less important than maintaining group harmony. can occur whenever groups value conformity over accuracy.
self-serving bias
refers to the tendency to see oneself primarily as an object in others' eyes
social identity
refers to the way we define ourselves in terms of our group membership. ethnicity and religion, political affiliation, vocations and avocations, personal relationships, and stigmatized groups
positive illusions
rosy views of themselves that are not necessarily rooted in reality