chapter 14

social facilitation

the process by which a persons performance is increased when other members of the group engage in similar behaviors

fear appeal

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

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 inner most feelings

evaluation apprehension

concern that others are evaluating our behavior

selective exposure

deliberately seeking and attending to information that is consistent with ones attitude

elaboration likelihood model

describes the ways in which people respond to persuasive messages

selective avoidance

diverting ones attention from information that is inconsistent with ones attitude

social psychology

field of psychology that studies the nature and cause of behavior and mental processes in social situations

discrimination

hostile behavior that results is directed against groups toward whom one is prejudice

romantic love

passion and intimacy

cognitive dissonance theory

people are thinking creatures who seek consistency in their behaviors and their attitudes- their views of the world

social decision schemes

rules for predicting the final outcome of group decision making on the basis of the members initial positions

social influence

studies the ways in which people influence thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in others

triangular model of love

Sternberg's view that love involves combinations of three compounds: Intimacy, passion, and commitment

attribution

a belief concerning why people behave in a certain way

social perception

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

situational attribution

an assumption that a persons behavior is determined by external circumstances such as the social pressure found in a situation

dispositional attribution

an assumption that a persons behavior is determined by internal causes such as personal traits

attitude

enduring behavioral and cognitive tendencies that are expressed by evaluating particular people, place or things with favor or disfavor

stereotyping

erroneous assumptions that all members of a group share the same traits or characteristics

deindividuation

group members adopt to group norms even if they don't like them

consummate love

passion, intimacy, and commitment

passion

strong romantic and sexual feelings

fundamental attribution error

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

actor-observer effect

the combination of the tendency to attribute other peoples behavior to dispositional factors and our own behavior to situational influences

commitment

the decision to maintain a relationship

altruism

unselfish concern for the welfare of others

foot in the door

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

attraction

an attitude of liking or disliking (negative attraction)

prejudice

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

groupthink

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

A-B problem

the issues of how well we can predict behavior on the basis of attitude

diffusion of responsibility

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

bystander effect

the tendency to avoid helping other people in emergencies when other people are also present and apparently capable of helping

recency effort

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

effort justification

the tendency to seek justification (acceptable reasons) for strenuous efforts

self serving bias

the tendency to view ones successes as stemming from internal factors and ones failures as stemming from external factors

primary effect

the tendendcy to evaluate other in terms of first impression