Social Psychology (Myers) Ch 5
androgynous
From andro (man) + gyn (woman) - thus mixing both masculine and feminine characteristics
gender
in psychology, the characteristics, whether biological or socially influenced, by which people define male and female
personal space
the buffer zone we like to maintain around our bodies. its size depends on our familiarity with whoever is near us
culture
the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next
natural selection
the evolutionary process by which heritable traits that best enable organisms to survive and reproduce in particular environments are passed to ensuing generations
evolutionary psychology
the study of the evolution of cognition and behavior using principles of natural selection
interaction
a relationship in which the effect of one factor (such as biology) depends on another factor (such as environment)
gender role
a set of behavior expectations (norms) for males and females
aggression
physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone. in laboratory experiments, this might mean delivering electric shocks or saying something likely to hurt another's feelings.
norms
standards for accepted and expected behavior. Norms prescribe "proper" behavior. (In a different sense of the word, norms also describe what most others do - what is normal).
empathy
the vicarious experience of another's feelings; putting oneself in another's shoes