Psych Chapter 14: Social Psychology
Polarization
Taking an extreme position on an issue
Fundamental attribution error
The assumption that others act predominantly on the basis of their dispositions
Social facilitation
The process by which a person's performance is increased when other members of a group engage in similar behavior
Deindividuation
The process by which group members may discontinue self-evaluation and adopt group norms and attitudes
Attribution process
The process by which people draw inferences about the motives and traits of others
Diffusion of responsibility
The spreading or sharing of responsibility for a decision or behavior within a group
Actor-observer effect
The tendency to attribute our own behavior to situational factors but to attribute the behavior of others to dispositional factors
Primacy effect
The tendency to evaluate others in terms of first impressions
Recency effect
The tendency to evaluate others in terms of most recent impressions
Matching hypothesis
The theory that people tend to choose persons similar to themselves in attractiveness and attitudes in the formation of interpersonal relationships
Elaboration likelihood model
The view that persuasive messages evaluated (elaborated) on the basis of central and peripheral cues
Situationist perspective
The view that social influence can goad people into doing things that are inconsistent with their usual behavior
Cognitive-dissonance theory
The view that we are motivated to make our conditions or beliefs consistent
Altruism
Unselfish concern for well-being of others
Attribution
A belief concerning why people behave in a certain way
Situational attribution
An assumption that a person's behavior is determined by external circumstances
Dispositional attribution
An assumption that a person's behavior is determined by internal causes such as personal attitudes or goals
Attitude-discrepant behavior
Behavior inconsistent with an attitude that may have the effect of modifying an attitude
Evaluation apprehension
Concern that others are evaluating our behavior
Selective avoidance
Diverting one's attention from information that inconsistent with one's attitudes
Central route of persuasion
Inspires thoughtful consideration of evidence and arguments
Social decision schemes
Rules for predicting the final outcome of group decision-making on the basis of members' initial positions
Confederate
Someone who acts as though they are a participant in an experiment, but are actually researchers
Triangular model of love
Sternberg's view that love involves combinations of three components: intimacy, passion, and commitment
Distinctiveness
The extent to which a person responds differently in different situations
Social Loafing
The feeling that in a large group you won't be noticed and therefore can get away with things that you couldn't in a small setting
Social psychology
The field of psychology that studies the nature and causes of people's thoughts and behavior in social situations
Consummate love
The ideal form of love within Sternberg's model
A-B problem
The issue of how well we can predict behavior on the basis of attitudes
Risky shift
The tendency to make riskier decisions as a member of a group than as an individual
Effort justification
The tendency to seek justification for strenuous efforts
Self-serving bias
The tendency to view one's successes as stemming from internal factors and one's failures as stemming from external factors
Groupthink
A process by which members of a group are influenced by cohesiveness and a dynamic leader to ignore external realities as they make decisions (think Hitler or Mao)
Fear appeal
A type of persuasive communication that influences behavior on the basis of arousing fear instead of rational analysis of the issues
Foot-in-the-door technique
A method for inducing compliance in which a small request is followed by a larger request
Oxytocin
A pituitary hormone that stimulates labor in pregnant women and is connected with maternal behaviors such as cuddling
Consistency
Acting the same in different situations
Peripheral route of persuasion
Associate with positive or negative cues
Selective exposure
Deliberately seeking and attending to information that is consistent with one's attitudes