question

social psychology

answer

the scientific study of the way in which people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people.

question

social influence

answer

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

question

individual differences

answer

the aspects of people's personalities that make them different from other people.

question

fundamental attribution error

answer

the tendency to overestimate the extent to which people's behavior is due to internal, dispositional factors and to underestimate the role of situational factors.

question

behaviorism

answer

a school of psychology maintaining that to understand human behavior, one need only consider the reinforcing properties of the environment.

question

construal

answer

the way in which people perceive, comprehend, and interpret the social world.

question

gestalt psychology

answer

a school of psychology stressing the importance of studying the subjective way in which an object appears in people's minds rather than the objective, physical attributes of the object.

question

self-esteem

answer

people's evaluations of their own self-worth -- that is, the extent to which they view themselves as good, competent, and decent.

question

social cognition

answer

how people think about themselves and the social world; more specifically, how people select, interpret, remember, and use the social information to make judgments and decisions.

question

hindsight bias

answer

the tendency for people to exaggerate how much they could have predicted an outcome after knowing that it occurred.

question

observational method

answer

the technique whereby a researcher observes people and systematically records measurements or impressions of their behavior.

question

ethnography

answer

the method by which researchers attempt to understand a group or culture by observing it from the inside, without imposing any preconceived notions they might have.

question

interjudge reliability

answer

the level of agreement between two or more people who independently observe and code a set of data; by showing that two or more judges independently come up with the same observations, researchers ensure that the observations are not the subjective, distorted impressions of one individual.

question

archival analysis

answer

a form of the observational method in which the researcher examines the accumulated documents, or archives, of a culture (e.g., diaries, novels, magazines, and newspapers).

question

correlational method

answer

the technique whereby two or more variables are systematically measured and the relationship between them is assessed.

question

correlation coefficient

answer

a statistical technique that assesses how well you can predict one variable from another -- for example, how well you can predict people's weight from their height.

question

surveys

answer

research in which a representative sample of people are asked (often anonymously) questions about their attitudes or behavior.

question

random selection

answer

a way of ensuring that a sample of people is representative of a population by giving everyone in the population an equal chance or being selected for the sample.

question

experimental method

answer

the method in which the researcher randomly assigns participants to different conditions and ensures that these conditions are identical except for the independent variable (the one thought to have a causal effect on people's responses).

question

independent variable

answer

the variable a researcher changes or varies to see if it has an effect on some other variable.

question

dependent variable

answer

the variable a researcher measures to see if it is influenced by the independent variable; the researcher hypothesizes that the dependent variable will depend on the level of the independent variable.

question

random assignment to condition

answer

a process ensuring that all participants have an equal chance of taking part in any condition of an experiment; through random assignment, researchers can be relatively certain that differences in the participants' personalities or backgrounds are distributed evenly across conditions.

question

probability level

answer

a number calculated with statistical techniques that tells researchers how likely it is that the results of their experiment occurred by chance and not because of the independent variable or variables; the convention in science, including social psychology, is to consider results significant if the probability level is less than 5 in 100 that the results might be due to chance factors and not the independent variables studied.

question

internal validity

answer

making sure that nothing besides the independent variable can affect the dependent variable; this is accomplished by controlling all extraneous variables and by randomly assigning people to different experimental conditions.

question

external validity

answer

the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other situations and to other people.

question

psychological realism

answer

the extent to which the psychological processes triggered in an experiment are similar to psychological processes that occur in everyday life.

question

cover story

answer

a description of the purpose of a study, given to participants, that is different from its true purpose and is used to maintain psychological realism.

question

field experiments

answer

experiments conducted in natural settings rather than in the laboratory.

question

replications

answer

repeating a study, often with different subject populations or in different settings.

question

meta-analysis

answer

a statistical technique that averages the results of two or more studies to see if the effect of an independent variable is reliable.

question

basic research

answer

studies that are designed to find the best answer to the question of why people behave as they do and that are conducted purely for reasons of intellectual curiosity.

question

applied research

answer

studies designed to solve a particular social problem.

question

cross-cultural research

answer

research conducted with members of different cultures, to see whether the psychological processes of interest are present in both cultures or whether they are specific to the culture in which people were raised.

question

evolutionary theory

answer

a concept developed by Charles Darwin to explain the ways in which animals adapt to their environments.

question

natural selection

answer

the process by which heritable traits that promote survival in a particular environment are passed along to future generations; organisms with those traits are more likely to produce offspring.

question

evolutionary psychology

answer

the attempt to explain social behavior in terms of genetic factors that have evolved over time according to the principles of natural selection.

question

informed consent

answer

agreement to participate in an experiment, granted in full awareness of the nature of the experiment, which has been explained in advance.

question

deception

answer

misleading participants about the true purpose of a study or the events that will actually transpire.

question

institutional review board

answer

a group made up of at least one scientist, one nonscientist, and one member not affiliated with the institution that reviews all psychological research at that institution and decides whether it meets ethical guidelines; all research must be approved by the IRB before it is conducted.

question

debriefing

answer

explaining to participants, at the end of an experiment, the true purpose of the study and exactly what transpired.

question

automatic thinking

answer

thinking that is nonconscious, unintentional, involuntary, and effortless.

question

schemas

answer

mental structures people use to organize their knowledge about the social world around themes or subjects and that influence the information people notice, think about, and remember.

question

accessibility

answer

the extent to which schemas and concepts are at the forefront of people's minds and are therefore likely to be used when making judgments about the social world.

question

priming

answer

the process by which recent experiences increase the accessibility of a schema, trait, or concept.

question

self-fulfilling prophecy

answer

the case wherein people have an expectation about what another person is like, which influences how they act toward that person, which causes that person to behave consistently with people's original expectations, making the expectations come true.

question

judgmental heuristics

answer

mental shortcuts people use to make judgments quickly and efficiently.

question

availability heuristic

answer

a mental rule of thumb whereby people base a judgment on the ease with which they can bring something to mind.

question

representativeness heuristic

answer

a mental shortcut whereby people classify something according to how similar it is to a typical case.

question

base rate information

answer

information about the frequency of members of different categories in the population.

question

analytic thinking style

answer

a type of thinking in which people focus on the properties of objects without considering their surrounding context; this type of thinking is common in Western cultures.

question

holistic thinking style

answer

a type of thinking in which people focus on the overall context, particularly the ways in which objects relate to each other; this type of thinking is common in East Asian cultures.

question

controlled thinking

answer

thinking that is conscious, intentional, voluntary, and effortful.

question

counterfactual thinking

answer

mentally changing some aspect of the past as a way of imagining what might have been.

question

overconfidence barrier

answer

the fact that people usually have too much confidence in the accuracy of their judgments.

question

social perception

answer

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

question

nonverbal communication

answer

the way in which people communicate, intentionally or unintentionally, without words; nonverbal cues include facial expressions, tone of voice, gestures, body position and movement, the use of touch, and gaze.

question

encode

answer

to express or emit nonverbal behavior, such as smiling or patting someone on the back.

question

decode

answer

to interpret the meaning of nonverbal behavior other people express, such as deciding that a pat on the back was an expression of condescension and not kindness.

question

affect blend

answer

a facial expression in which one part of the face registers one emotion while another part of the face registers a different emotion.

question

display rules

answer

culturally determined rules about which nonverbal behaviors are appropriate to display.

question

emblems

answer

nonverbal gestures that have well-understood definitions within a given culture; they usually have direct verbal translations -- such as the OK sign.

question

implicit personality theory

answer

a type of schema people use to group various kinds of personality traits together; for example, many people believe that someone who is kind is generous as well.

question

attribution theory

answer

a description of the way in which people explain the causes of their own and other people's behavior.

question

internal attribution

answer

the inference that a person is behaving in a certain way because of something about that person, such as attitude, character, or personality.

question

external attribution

answer

the inference that a person is behaving a certain way because of something about the situation he or she is in; the assumption is that most people would respond the same way in that situation.

question

covariation model

answer

a theory that states that to form an attribution about what caused a person's behavior, we systematically note the pattern between the presence or absence of possible causal factors and whether or not the behavior occurs.

question

consensus information

answer

information about the extent to which other people behave the same way toward the same stimulus as the actor does.

question

distinctiveness information

answer

information about the extent to which one particular actor behaves in the same way to different stimuli.

question

consistency information

answer

information about the extent to which the behavior between one actor and one stimulus is the same across time and circumstances.

question

two-step process of attribution

answer

analyzing another person's behavior first by making an automatic internal attribution and only then thinking about possible situational reasons for the behavior, after which one may adjust the original internal attribution.

question

self-serving attributions

answer

explanations for one's successes that credit internal, dispositional factors and explanations for one's failures that blame external, situational factors.

question

defensive attributions

answer

explanations for behavior that avoid feelings of vulnerability and mortality.

question

bias blind spot

answer

the tendency to think that other people are more susceptible to attributional biases in their thinking than we are

question

belief in a just world

answer

a form of defensive attribution wherein people assume that bad things happen to bad people and that good things happen to good people.

question

independent view of the self

answer

a way of defining oneself in terms of one's own internal thoughts, feelings, and actions and not in terms of the thoughts, feelings, and actions of other people.

question

interdependent view of the self

answer

a way of defining oneself in terms of one's relationships to other people, recognizing that one's behavior is often determined by the thoughts, feelings, and actions of others.

question

introspection

answer

the process whereby people look inward and examine their own thoughts, feelings, and motives.

question

self-awareness theory

answer

the idea that when people focus their attention on themselves, they evaluate and compare their behavior to their internal standards and values.

question

causal theories

answer

theories about the causes of one's own feelings and behaviors; often we learn such theories from our culture.

question

reasons-generated attitude change

answer

attitude change resulting from thinking about the reasons for one's attitudes; people assume that their attitudes match the reasons that are plausible and easy to verbalize.

question

self-perception theory

answer

the theory that when our attitudes and feelings are uncertain or ambiguous, we infer these states by observing our behavior and the situation in which it occurs.

question

intrinsic motivation

answer

the desire to engage in an activity because we enjoy it or find it interesting, not because of external rewards or pressures.

question

extrinsic motivation

answer

the desire to engage in an activity because of external rewards or pressures, not because we enjoy the task or find it interesting.

question

overjustification effect

answer

the tendency for people to view their behavior as caused by compelling extrinsic reasons, making them underestimate the extent to which it was caused by intrinsic reasons.

question

task-contingent rewards

answer

rewards that are given for performing a task, regardless of how well the task is done.

question

performance-contingent rewards

answer

rewards that are based on how well we perform a task.

question

two-factor theory of emotion

answer

the idea that emotional experience is the result of a two-step self-perception process in which people first experience physiological arousal and then seek an appropriate explanation for it.

question

misattribution of arousal

answer

the process whereby people make mistaken inferences about what is causing them to feel the way they do.

question

fixed mindset

answer

the idea that we have a set amount of an ability that cannot change.

question

growth mindset

answer

the idea that our abilities are malleable qualities that we can cultivate and grow.

question

social comparison theory

answer

the idea that we learn about our own abilities and attitudes by comparing ourselves to other people.

question

upward social comparison

answer

comparing ourselves to people who are better than we are with regard to a particular trait or ability.

question

downward social comparison

answer

comparing ourselves to people who are worse than we are with regard to a particular trait or ability.

question

social tuning

answer

the process whereby people adopt another person's attitudes.

question

impression management

answer

the attempt by people to get others to see them as they want to be seen.

question

ingratiation

answer

the process whereby people flatter, praise, and generally try to make themselves likeable to another person, often of higher status.

question

self-handicapping

answer

the strategy whereby people create obstacles and excuses for themselves so that if they do poorly on a task, they can avoid blaming themselves.

question

terror management theory

answer

the theory that holds that self-esteem serves as a buffer, protecting people from terrifying thoughts about their own mortality.

question

narcissism

answer

the combination of excessive self-love and a lack of empathy toward others.

question

cognitive dissonance

answer

a drive or feeling of discomfort, originally defined as being caused by holding two or more inconsistent cognitions and subsequently defined as being caused by performing an action that is discrepant from one's customary, typically positive self-conception.

question

self-affirmation

answer

in the context of dissonance theory, a way of reducing dissonance by reminding oneself of one or more of one's positive attributes.

question

impact bias

answer

the tendency to overestimate the intensity and duration of one's emotional reactions to future negative events.

question

postdecision dissonance

answer

dissonance aroused after making a decision, typically reduced by enhancing the attractiveness of the chosen alternative and devaluating the rejected alternatives.

question

lowballing

answer

an unscrupulous strategy whereby a salesperson induces a customer to agree to purchase a product at a low cost, subsequently claims it was an error, and then raises the price; frequently, the customer will agree to make the purchase at the inflated price.

question

justification of effort

answer

the tendency for individuals to increase their liking for something they have worked hard to attain.

question

external justification

answer

a reason or an explanation for dissonant personal behavior that resides outside the individual (e.g., in order to receive a large reward or avoid a severe punishment).

question

internal justification

answer

the reduction of dissonance by changing something about oneself (e.g., one's attitude or behavior).

question

counterattitudinal advocacy

answer

stating an opinion or attitude that runs counter to one's private belief or attitude.

question

insufficient punishment

answer

the dissonance aroused when individuals lack sufficient external justification for having resisted a desired activity or object, usually resulting in individuals devaluing the forbidden activity or object.

question

self-persuasion

answer

a long-lasting form of attitude change that results from attempts at self-justification.

question

hypocrisy induction

answer

the arousal of dissonance by having individuals make statements that run counter to their behaviors and then reminding them of the inconsistency between what they advocated and their behavior. The purpose is to lead individuals to more responsible behavior.

question

attitudes

answer

evaluations of people, objects, and ideas.

question

cognitively based attitude

answer

an attitude based primarily on people's beliefs about the properties of an attitude object.

question

affectively based attitude

answer

an attitude based more on people's feelings and values than on their beliefs about the nature of an attitude object.

question

classical conditioning

answer

the phenomenon whereby a stimulus that elicits an emotional response is repeatedly paired with a neutral stimulus that des not, until the neutral stimulus takes on the emotional properties of the first stimulus.

question

operant conditioning

answer

the phenomenon whereby behaviors we freely choose to perform become more or less frequent, depending on whether they are followed by a reward or punishment.

question

behaviorally based attitude

answer

an attitude based on observations of how one behaves toward an object.

question

explicit attitudes

answer

attitudes that we consciously endorse and can easily report.

question

implicit attitudes

answer

attitudes that are involuntary, uncontrollable, and at times unconscious.

question

persuasive communication

answer

communication advocating a particular side of an issue.

question

yale attitude change approach

answer

the study of conditions under which people are most likely to change their attitudes in response to persuasive messages, focusing on the source of the communication, the nature of the communication, and the nature of the audience.

question

elaboration likelihood model

answer

a model explaining two ways in which persuasive communications can cause attitude change: centrally, when people are motivated and have the ability to pay attention to the arguments in the communication, and peripherally, when people do not pay attention to the arguments but are instead swayed by surface characteristics (e.g., who gave the speech).

question

central route to persuasion

answer

the case in which people elaborate on a persuasive communication, listening carefully to and thinking about the arguments, which occurs when people have both the ability and the motivation to listen carefully to a communication.

question

peripheral route to persuasion

answer

the case in which people do not elaborate on the arguments in a persuasive communication but are instead swayed by peripheral cues.

question

need for cognition

answer

a personality variable reflecting the extent to which people engage in and enjoy effortful cognitive activities.

question

fear-arousing communication

answer

persuasive message that attempts to change people's attitudes by arousing their fears.

question

heuristic-systematic model of persuasion

answer

an explanation of the two ways in which persuasive communications can cause attitude change: either systematically processing the merits of the arguments or using mental shortcuts (heuristics), such as "experts are always right".

question

attitude inoculation

answer

making people immune to attempts to change their attitudes by initially exposing them to small doses of the arguments against their position.

question

reactance theory

answer

the idea that when people feel their freedom to perform a certain behavior is threatened, an unpleasant state of reactance is aroused, which they can reduce by performing the threatened behavior.

question

attitude accessibility

answer

the strength of the association between an attitude object and a person's evaluation of that object, measured by the speed with which people can report how they feel about the object.

question

theory of planned behavior

answer

the idea that people's intentions are the best predictors of their deliberate behaviors, which are determined by their attitudes toward specific behaviors, their subjective norms, and their perceived behavioral control.

question

subliminal messages

answer

words or pictures that are not consciously perceived but may nevertheless influence people's judgments, attitudes, and behaviors.

Social Psychology 8th Edition Ch. 1 – 7 – Flashcards

Unlock all answers in this set

Haven't found what you were looking for?

Search for samples, answers to your questions and flashcards