Chapter 14 Terms

Deindividualization

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity

Groupthink

the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives

selective avoidance

A tendency to direct attention away from information that challenges existing attitudes. Such avoidance increases resistance to persuasion.

selective exposure

The process by which individuals screen out messages that do not conform to their own biases.

romantic love

an intense, positive emotion that involves sexual attraction, feelings of caring, and the belief that one is in love

dispositional attribution

attributing behavior to the person's disposition and traits

attitude-discrepant behavior

behavior inconsistent with an attitude that may have the effect of modifying an attitude

evaluation apprehension

concern for how others are evaluating us

Stereotyping

creating an oversimplified image of a particular group of people, usually by assuming that all members of the group are alike

Psychodynamic

expert based subconscious

Discrimination

in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus

triangular model of love

intimacy, passion, commitment

prejudice

preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience

social decision schemes

simple rules used to determine final group decisions

social facilitation

stronger responses on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others

fear appeals

suggest to the consumer that he or she can avoid some negative experience through the purchase and use of a product or service, a change in behavior, or a reduction in the use of a product

self-serving bias

a readiness to perceive oneself favorably

attraction

feeling of being drawn toward another and desiring the company of a person

attitude

feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events

intimacy

partners share innermost feelings

passion

strong feeling or emotion

primacy effect

tendency to remember words at the beginning of a list especially well

recency effect

tendency to remember words at the end of a list especially well

commitment

the decision to maintain a relationship

social influence

the effect that the words, actions, or mere presence of other people have on our thoughts, feelings, attitudes, or behavior

social psychology

the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

altruism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others

foot-in-the-door technique

asking for a small commitment and, after gaining compliance, asking for a bigger commitment

Diffusion of responsibility

assuming someone else will take care of the problem when others are present

A-B problem

the issue of how well we can predict behavior on the basis of attitudes

consummate love

the ideal form of love within Sternberg's model, which combines passion, intimacy, and commitment

attribution

the process of explaining one's own behavior and the behavior of others

social perception

the study of how we form impressions of and make inferences about other people

bystander effect

the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present

fundamental attribution error

the tendency for observers, when analyzing another's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition

actor-observer effect

the tendency to make situational attributions for our own behaviors while making dispositional attributions for the identical behavior of others

effort justification

the tendency to reduce dissonance by justifying the time, effort, or money devoted to something that turned out to be unpleasant or disappointing

cognitive dissonance theory

the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort we feel when two of our thoughts are inconsistent

elaboration likelihood model

theory identifying two ways to persuade: a central route and a peripheral route