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Social Psychology |
The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another. |
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Attribution Theory |
Suggests how we explain someone’s behavior—by crediting either the situation or the persons’ disposition. |
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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. |
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Attitude |
Feelings, often based on our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people and events. |
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Foot-In-The-Door Phenomenon |
The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request. |
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Cognitive Dissonance Theory |
The theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent. For example, when our awareness of our attitudes and of our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes. |
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Conformity |
Adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard. |
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Normative Social Influence |
Influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval. |
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Informational Social Influence |
Influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality. |
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Social Facilitation |
Stronger responses on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others. |
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Social Loafing |
The tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable. |
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Deindividuation |
The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity. |
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Group Polarization |
The enhancement of a group’s prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group. |
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Groupthink |
The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives. |
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Prejudice |
An unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members. Prejudice generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action. |
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Stereotype |
A generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people. |
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Discrimination |
Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members. |
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Ingroup |
"Us"—people with whom one shares a common identity. |
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Outgroup |
"Them"—those perceived as different or apart from one’s ingroup. |
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Ingroup Bias |
The tendency to favor one’s own group. |
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Scapegoat Theory |
The theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame. |
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Just-World Phenomenon |
The tendency of people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get. |
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Aggression |
Any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy. |
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Frustration-Aggression Principle |
The principle that frustration—the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal—creates anger, which can generate aggression. |
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Conflict |
A perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas. |
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Social Trap |
A situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing their self-interest, become caught in mutually destructive behavior. |
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Mere Exposure Effect |
The phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them. |
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Passionate Love |
An aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a love relationship. |
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Companionate Love |
The deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined. |
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Equity |
A condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it. |
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Self-Disclosure |
Revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others. |
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Altruism |
Unselfish regard for the welfare of others. |
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Bystander Effect |
The tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present. |
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Social Exchange Theory |
The theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs. |
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Reciprocity Norm |
An expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them. |
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Social-Responsibility Norm |
An expectation that people will help those dependent upon them. |
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Superordinate Goals |
Shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation. |
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GRIT |
Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-Reduction—a strategy designed to decrease international tensions. |
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