Unit 14: Social Psychology

study of how groups influence individuals' attitudes and behavior

two or more people sharing common goals and interests interact and influence behavior of the other(s)

either implicit or explicit rules or governs the behaviors of group members

groups of people with which a person identifies

the groups to which we don't belong and toward which we feel a certain amount of negativity to them

social positions and defined behavior expectations in groups

the tendency for people to put less effort into a simple task when working with others on that task

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in situations that promote high arousal and anonymity in groups

improved performance of well-learned tasks in front of others

like-minded people share ideas resulting in a more extreme position for every individual

individuals self-censor beliefs to preserve harmony in the group

the active involvement of a person in a situation that appears to require his or her aid

an explanation of the failure of bystander intervention stating that when several bystanders are present, no one person assumes responsibility for helping

unselfish regard for the welfare of others

the way people gather, use, and interpret information about their social world

a way to understand how people explain others' behaviors

individual personality characteristics that affect a person's behavior

environmental stimuli that affect a person's behavior

tendency when judging others' behaviors to over estimate the role of personal factors and underestimate situational factors

to take personal credit for our own achievements and blame our failures on situational factors

a tendency to let preconceived expectations influence one's behavior, thus evoking those very expectations

the tendency to attribute one's own behavior to situational factors but to attribute the behavior of others to dispositional factors

scheme used to quickly judge others; can be overgeneralized belief about the characteristics of members of a particular group

unjustifiable attitude toward a group and its members

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members based on prejudice

attributes prejudice to frustration; when own self-worth is in doubt or in jeopardy, we find others to blame

belief that our culture or social group is superior to others

the tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get

belief that members of another group are more similar in their attitudes than they actually are

if members of two opposing groups are brought together in an emergency situation, group cooperation will reduce prejudicial thinking.

the adoption of attitudes and behaviors shared by a particular group of people

engaging in a particular behavior at another person's request

agreement to smaller requests leads to agreements to a larger request

small gift makes other feel obligated to agree with later requests

learned predisposition to respond favorably or unfavorably to certain people, objects or request

increased liking for a person or another stimulus resulting from repeated presentation (exposure)

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

relatively stable change by carefully scrutinizing facts, statistics, and other information

pairs superficial positive factors (supermodels and celebrities) with an argument leading to less stable change in attitudes

accepting others' opinions about reality especially under conditions of uncertainty

going along with what other people do in order to be liked and accepted by them; we publicly conform with the group's beliefs and behaviors but do not always privately accept them

intention to do harm to others

aggression motivated by the desire to obtain a concrete goal

aggression that springs from anger; its goal is to injure