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social psychology

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the study of how people think about, influence, and relate to other people ex) social psychologists are interested in the ways that social situations influence behavior

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stereotype

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a generalization about a group's characteristics that does not consider any variations from one individual to another ex) the beautiful is good stereotype

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attribution theory

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the view that people are motivated to discover the underlying causes of behavior as part of their effort to make sense of the behavior ex: guessing that the student did not turn in their homework because they are lazy

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fundamental attribution error

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observers' overestimation of the importance of internal traits and underestimation of the importance of external situations when they seek explanations of an actor's behavior ex: assuming that the teacher makes jokes because he is naturally funny, not because he thinks that is the best way to make students learn.

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false consensus effect

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observers' overestimation of the degree to which everybody else acts or thinks the way they do ex: if you like physical contact, you automatically believe that other people enjoy physical contact as well

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positive illusions

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positive views of the self that are not necessarily rooted in reality ex: believing that you are more attractive than you actually are

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self-serving bias

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the tendency to take credit for our successes and to deny responsibility for our failures ex: if you failed a test, it was because the test was too hard if you did well on a test, it was because you were smart.

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self-objectification

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the tendency to see oneself primarily as an object in the eyes of others ex: women have the tendency to view their bodies as objects in the eyes of society

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stereotype threat

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an individual's fast acting, self-fulfilling fear of being judged based on a negative stereotype about his or her group ex: an african american might feel pressured to achieve less academically because that is what is expected

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social comparison

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the process by which individuals evaluate their thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and abilities in relation to other people ex: asking other people how they did on their test

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attitudes

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our feelings, opinions, and beliefs about other people, objects, and ideas ex: having a negative perception of the education system.

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cognitive dissonance

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an individual's psychological discomfort (dissonance) caused by two inconsistent thoughts ex: saying one thing and doing another

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self-perception theory

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Bem's theory on how behaviors influence attitudes, stating that individuals make inferences about their attitudes by perceiving their behavior. ex: believing that you are hardworking by reflecting back on all of the tests that you studied for

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elaboration likelihood model

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theory identifying two ways to persuade: a central route and a peripheral route ex: a commercial appealing to an audience via attractive models, etc

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altruism

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unselfish interest in helping another person ex: jumping in front of a car in order to save someone's life

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egoism

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giving to another person to ensure reciprocity; to gain self-esteem; to present one-self as powerful, competent, or caring; or to avoid censure from oneself and others for failing to live up to society's expectations ex: tutoring another person in chemistry to feel good about yourself

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empathy

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a feeling of oneness with the emotional state of another person ex: feeling sad because another person is sad

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bystander-effect

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the tendency of an individual who observes an emergency to help less when other people are present than when the observer is alone ex: someone is having a heart attack in a crowded room, and no one does CPR because they think another person will

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aggression

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social behavior whose objective is to harm someone, either physically or verbally ex: murdering someone

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conformity

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a change in a person's behavior to coincide more closely with a group standard ex: wearing army pants and flip flops because regina george wears army pants and flip flops

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informational social influence

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the influence other people have on us because we want to be right ex: asking all of your friends who have iPhones whether or not they like their phones. You then base your decision of which phone to get off of your friends' opinion

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normative social influence

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the influence others have on us because we wat them to like us. ex: agreeing with your friends in a group project, even if you don't agree with them, so you don't hurt any of their feelings.

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obedience

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behavior that complies with the explicit demands of the individual in authority ex: study where people were willing to shock an old man to death just because a "researcher" told them to do so.

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deindividuation

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the reduction in personal identity and erosion of the sense of personal responsibility when one is part of the group ex: a shy person cheers loudly in a crowd of people

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social contagion

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imitative behavior involving the spread of actions, emotions, and ideas ex: social fads, the popularity of certain dog breeds, etc

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social facilitation

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improvement in an individual's performance because of the presence of others ex: doing better on a presentation in front of your class than you rehearsed

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social loafing

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each person's tendency to exert less effort in a group because of reduced accountability for individual effort ex: people slacking off in a group project because they believe that someone else will do the work for them

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risky shift

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the tendency for a group decision to be riskier than the average decision made by the individual group members ex: a group telling lisa to quit her job and find another one, even though it isn't positive whether she will find another job.

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group polarization effect

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the solidification and further strengthening of an individual's position as a consequence of a group discussion or interactions ex: talking about political views that are similar to your own, and then becoming more confident about your own political views

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groupthink

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the impaired group decision making that occurs when making the right decision is less important than maintaining group harmony ex: a person who gives an unorthodox opinion is shunned from the group... even though that opinion could have helped the group to improve

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social identity

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the way we define ourselves in terms of our group membership ex: I am a daughter and a sister, I play the bassoon, I play tennis, etc

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social identity theory

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Tajfel's theory that our social identities are a crucial part of our self-image and a valuable source of positive feelings about ourselves ex: feeling good about yourself because you play tennis

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ethnocentrism

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the tendency to favor one's own ethnic group over other groups ex: liking people who are of your race, and looking down on those who are of a different race

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prejudice

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an unjustified negative attitude toward an individual based on the individual's membership in a particular group ex: hating a gay people

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discrimination

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an unjustified negative or harmful action toward a member of a group simply because the person belongs to that group ex: denying someone of a job because they are gay

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mere-exposure effect

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the phenomenon that the more we encounter someone or something, the more probable it is that we will start liking the person or think even if we do not realize we have seen it before ex: liking someone more and more the more times you see them

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romantic love

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also called passionate love; love with strong components of sexuality and infatuation, often dominant in the early part of a love relationship ex: feeling a passionate interest in someone that is often sexual.

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affectionate love

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also called compassionate love; love that occurs when individuals desire to have another person near and have a deep, caring affection for the person ex: having a best friend that you love platonically

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social exchange theory

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the view of social relationships as involving an exchange of goods, the objective of which is to minimize costs and maximize benefits ex: if I pay for dates as much as my boyfriend pays for dates, then I will continue to feel satisfied with the relationship

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investment model

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a model of long-term relationships that examines the ways that commitment, investment, and the availability of attractive alternative partners predict satisfaction and stability in relationships ex: i will likely be loyal to my partner because there aren't any better options available

Social Psychology- Chapter 13 vocab – Flashcards

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