Psych Chapter 13: Social Psychology

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group polarization effect

solidification and further strengthening of an individual's position as a consequence of a group discussion or interaction

social identity theory

states that our social identities are a crucial part of our self-image and a valuable source of positive feelings about ourselves

social psychology

study of how people think about, influence, and relate to other people

ethnocentrism

tendency to favor one's own ethnic group over other groups

risky shift

the tendency for a group decision to be riskier than the average decision made by the individual group members

prejudice

unjustified negative attitude toward an individual based on the individual's membership in a particular group

attribution theory

views people as motivated to discover the underlying causes of behavior as part of their effort to make sense of the behavior

stereotype threat

an individual's fast-acting, self-fulfilling fear of being judged based on a negative stereotype of his or her group

social exchange theory

based on the notion of social relationships as involving an exchange of goods, the objective of which is to minimize costs and maximize benefits

obedience

behavior that complies with the explicit demands of the individual in authority

conformity

change in a person's behavior to coincide more closely with a group standard

cognitive dissonance theory

concept developed by Festinger. an individuals discomfort (discomfort) caused by two inconsistent thoughts

investment model

examines the ways that commitment, investment, and the availability of attractive alternative partners predict satisfaction and stability in relationships

self-fulfilling prophecy

expectations cause individuals to act in ways that serve to make the expectations come true

frustration-aggression hypothesis

frustration leads to aggression

stereotype

generalization about a group's characteristics that does not consider any variations from one individual to another

social contagion

imitative behavior involving the spread of actions, emotions, and ideas

self-perception theory

individuals make inferences about their attitudes by perceiving their behavior. behaviors can cause attitudes b/c when we are questioned about our attitudes, we think back on our behaviors for information

informational social influence

influence other people have on us because we want to be right

normative social influence

influence others have on us because we want them to like us

fundamental attribution error

observers overestimate the importance of internal traits and underestimate the importance of external situations when they seek explanations of an actor's behavior

social facilitation

occurs when an individual's performance improves because of the presence of others

false consensus effect

overestimation of the degree to which everybody else thinks or acts the way we do

mere exposure effect

phenomenon that the more we encounter someone or something, the more probable it is that we will start liking the person or thing even if we do not realize we have seen it before

attribution

process by which we come to understand the causes of others' behavior and form an impression of them as individuals

social comparison

process by which we evaluate our thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and abilities in relation to other people

social loafing

refers to each person's tendency to exert less effort in a group because of reduced accountability for individual effort

groupthink

refers to the impaired group decision making that occurs when making the right decision is less important than maintaining group harmony. can occur whenever groups value conformity over accuracy.

self-serving bias

refers to the tendency to see oneself primarily as an object in others' eyes

social identity

refers to the way we define ourselves in terms of our group membership. ethnicity and religion, political affiliation, vocations and avocations, personal relationships, and stigmatized groups

positive illusions

rosy views of themselves that are not necessarily rooted in reality


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