Chapter 12 Social Psychology: Definitions
Cognitive dissonance
sense of discomfort or distress that occurs when a person's behavior does not correspond to that person's impression
Implicit personality theory
sets of assumptions about how different types of people, personality traits, and actions are related to each other
Out-groups
social groups with whom a person does not identify; "them"
In-groups
social groups with whom a person identifies; "us"
Prosocial behavior
socially desirable behavior that benefits others
Reciprocity of liking
tendency of people to like other people who like them in return
Scapegoating
tendency to direct prejudice and discrimination at out-group members who have little social power or influence
Social categorization
the assignment of a person one has just met to a category based on characteristics the new person has in common with other people with whom one has had experience in the past
Norm of Reciprocity
the assumption that if someone does something for a person, that person should do something for the other in return
social comparison
the comparison of oneself to others in ways that raise one's self-esteem
Diffusion of responsibility
a person fails to take responsibility for actions or for inaction because of the presence of other people who are seen to share the responsibility
That's-not-all technique
a sales technique in which the persuader makes an offer and then adds something extra to make the offer look better before the target person can make a decision
stereotype
a set of characteristics that people believe is shared by all members of a particular social category
Love
a strong affection for another person due to kinship, personal ties, sexual attraction, admiration, or common interests
Attitude
a tendency to respond positively or negatively toward a certain person, object, idea, or situation
Door-in-the-face technique
asking for a large commitment and being refused, and then asking for a smaller commitment
Foot-in-the-door technique
asking for a small commitment and, after gaining compliance, asking for a bigger commitment
Equal status contact
contact between groups in which the groups have equal status, with neither group having power over the other
Impression formation
forming of the first knowledge a person has about another person
Lowball technique
getting a commitment from a person and then raising the cost of that commitment
Groupthink
kind of thinking that occurs when people place more importance on maintaining group cohesiveness than on assessing the facts of the problem with which the group is concerned
Interpersonal attraction
liking or having the desire for a relationship with another person
Schemas
mental patterns that represent what a person believes about certain types of people; can become stereotypes
Elaboration Likelihood Model
model of persuasion stating that people will either elaborate on the persuasive message or fail to elaborate on it, and that the future actions of those who do elaborate are more predictable than those who do not
Prejudice
negative attitude held by a person about the members of a particular social group
Altruism
prosocial behavior that is done with no expectation of reward and may involve the risk of harm to oneself
Stereotype vulnerability
the effect that people's awareness of the stereotypes associated with their social group has on their behavior
Bystander effect
the effect that the presence of other people has on the decision to help or not help; help becomes less likely as the number of bystanders increases
Social cognition
the mental processes that people use to make sense of the social world around them
social identity
the part of the self-concept including one's view of self as a member of a particular social category
Social role
the pattern of behavior that is expected of a person who is in a particular social position
Persuasion
the process by which one person tries to change the belief, opinion, position, or course of action of another person through argument, pleading, or explanation
Attribution
the process of explaining one's own behavior and the behavior of others
Social influence
the process through which the real or implied presence of others can directly or indirectly influence the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of an individual
Social Psychology
the scientific study of how a person's thoughts, feelings, and behavior are influenced by the real, imagined, or implied presence of others
Group Polarization
the tendency for members involved in a group discussion to take somewhat more extreme positions and suggest riskier actions when compared to individuals who have not participated in a group discussion
Social loafing
the tendency for people to put less effort into a simple task when working with others on that task
Social facilitation
the tendency for the presence of other people to have a positive impact on the performance of an easy task
Self-fulfilling prophecy
the tendency of one's expectations to affect one's behavior in such a way as to make the expectation more likely to occur
Fundamental attribution error (actor-observer bias)
the tendency to overestimate the influence of internal factors in determining behavior while underestimating situational factors
Attribution theory
the theory of how people make attributions
primacy effect
the very first impression one has about a person tends to persist even in the face of evidence to the contrary
Social identity theory
theory in which the formation of a person's identity within a particular social group is explained by social categorization, social identity, and social comparison
Discrimination
treating people differently because of prejudice toward the social group to which they belong
Peripheral-route processing
type of information processing that involves attending to factors not involved in the message, such as the appearance of the source of the message, the length of the message, and other noncontent factors
central-route processing
type of information processing that involves attending to the content of the message itself
Companionate love
type of love consisting of intimacy and commitment
Romantic love
type of love consisting of intimacy and passion
Social cognitive theory
views prejudice as an attitude acquired through direct instruction, modeling, and other social influences
Vicarious conditioning
watching the actions and reactions of others to ideas, people, objects, and situations
Milgram Study
"teacher" administered what he or she thought were real shocks to a "learner"
Aggression
behavior intended to hurt or destroy another person
Consumer psychology
branch of psychology that studies the habits of consumers in the marketplace, including compliance
situational cause
cause of behavior attributed to external factors, such as delays, the action of others, or some other aspect of the situation
dispositional cause
cause of behavior attributed to internal factors such as personality or character
Compliance
changing one's behavior as a result of other people directing or asking for the change
Obedience
changing one's behavior at the command of an authority figure
Conformity
changing one's own behavior to match that of other people
Realistic conflict theory
conflict between groups increases prejudice and discrimination
"Jigsaw classroom"
educational technique in which each individual is given only part of the information needed to solve a problem, forcing the separate individuals to work together to find the solution
Proximity
physical or geographical nearness