Chapter 20 Psychology Vocabulary
reciprocity
in interpersonal relationships, the tendency to return feelings and attitudes that are expressed about us
sales resistance
the ability to refuse a request or sales pitch
two-sided argument
a method of discrediting an opponent by presenting his or her argument and then refuting it
cognitive anchor
a persistent belief that develops early in life and shapes the way a person sees and interprets the world
scapegoat
a person or group unfairly blamed for the problems of others
attitude
an enduring belief about people, places, or objects that evokes certain feelings and influences behavior
prejudice
an unjustifiable, and usually negative, attitude toward a person or group
persuasion
the attempt to influence people's attitudes and choices through argument, entreaty, or explanation
self-serving bias
the tendency to view one's successes as stemming from internal factors and one's failures as stemming from external factors
matching hypothesis
the view that people tend to choose other people similar to themselves in attractiveness and attitudes in the formation of interpersonal relationships
social perception
the ways in which people form and modify their impressions of others
central route
a method of persuasion that uses evidence and logical arguments to influence people
commitment
a pledge or promise between two people to share a life together
cognitive evaluation
a process in which a person forms beliefs based on evidence from many sources
emotional appeal
a type of persuasive communication that influences behavior on the basis of feelings rather than on an analysis of the issues
triangular model of love
according to the psychologist Robert J. Sternberg, the components of love, which include passion, intimacy, and commitment
attraction
in social psychology, an attitude of liking (positive attraction) or disliking (negative attraction)
intimacy
feelings of closeness and concern for another person
passion
an aroused state of intense desire for another person
fundamental attribution error
a bias in social perception characterized by the tendency to assume that others generally act on the basis of their dispositions, even when there is evidence suggesting the importance of their situations
peripheral route
a method of persuasion characterized by an emphasis on factors other than the message itself
attribution theory
the suggestion that there is a tendency to explain a person's behavior in terms of the situation or the person's personality
actor-observer bias
the tendency to attribute one's own behavior to situational factors but to attribute the behavior of others to dispositional factors
discrimination
(1) in classical conditioning, the ability to distinguish the conditioned stimulus from other stimuli that are similar (2) unfair treatment of a person or group based on prejudice
primary effect
(1) the tendency to recall the initial item or items in a series; (2) the tendency to form opinions of others based on first impressions
recency effect
(1) the tendency to recall the last item in a series; (2) the tendency for people to change their opinions of others based on recent interactions