Key Terms

actor-observer bias: phenomenon of explaining other people’s behaviors are due to internal factors and our own behaviors are due to situational forces
ageism: prejudice and discrimination toward individuals based solely on their age
aggression: seeking to cause harm or pain to another person
altruism: humans’ desire to help others even if the costs outweigh the benefits of helping
Asch effect: group majority influences an individual’s judgment, even when that judgment is inaccurate
attitude: evaluations of or feelings toward a person, idea, or object that are typically positive or negative
attribution: explanation for the behavior of other people
bullying: a person, often an adolescent, being treated negatively repeatedly and over time
bystander effect: situation in which a witness or bystander does not volunteer to help a victim or person in distress
central route persuasion: logic-driven arguments using data and facts to convince people of an argument’s worthiness
cognitive dissonance: psychological discomfort that arises from a conflict in a person’s behaviors, attitudes, or beliefs that runs counter to one’s positive self-perception
collectivist culture: culture that focuses on communal relationships with others such as family, friends, and community
companionate love: type of love consisting of intimacy and commitment, but not passion; associated with close friendships and family relationships
confederate: person who works for a researcher and is aware of the experiment, but who acts as a participant; used to manipulate social situations as part of the research design
confirmation bias: seeking out information that supports our stereotypes while ignoring information that is inconsistent with our stereotypes
conformity: when individuals change their behavior to go along with the group even if they do not agree with the group
consummate love: type of love occurring when intimacy, passion, and commitment are all present
cyberbullying: repeated behavior that is intended to cause psychological or emotional harm to another person and that takes place online
diffusion of responsibility: tendency for no one in a group to help because the responsibility to help is spread throughout the group
discrimination: negative actions toward individuals as a result of their membership in a particular group
dispositionism: describes a perspective common to personality psychologists, which asserts that our behavior is determined by internal factors, such as personality traits and temperament
empathy: capacity to understand another person’s perspective—to feel what they feel
foot-in-the-door technique: persuasion of one person by another person, encouraging a person to agree to a small favor, or to buy a small item, only to later request a larger favor or purchase of a larger item
fundamental attribution error: tendency to overemphasize internal factors as attributions for behavior and underestimate the power of the situation
group polarization: strengthening of the original group attitude after discussing views within the group
groupthink: group members modify their opinions to match what they believe is the group consensus
homophily: tendency for people to form social networks, including friendships, marriage, business relationships, and many other types of relationships, with others who are similar
homophobia: prejudice and discrimination against individuals based solely on their sexual orientation
hostile aggression: aggression motivated by feelings of anger with intent to cause pain
in-group: group that we identify with or see ourselves as belonging to
in-group bias: preference for our own group over other groups
individualistic culture: culture that focuses on individual achievement and autonomy
informational social influence: conformity to a group norm prompted by the belief that the group is competent and has the correct information
instrumental aggression: aggression motivated by achieving a goal and does not necessarily involve intent to cause pain
internal factor: internal attribute of a person, such as personality traits or temperament
just-world hypothesis: ideology common in the United States that people get the outcomes they deserve
justification of effort: theory that people value goals and achievements more when they have put more effort into them
normative social influence: conformity to a group norm to fit in, feel good, and be accepted by the group
obedience: change of behavior to please an authority figure or to avoid aversive consequences
out-group: group that we don’t belong to—one that we view as fundamentally different from us
peripheral route persuasion: one person persuades another person; an indirect route that relies on association of peripheral cues (such as positive emotions and celebrity endorsement) to associate positivity with a message
persuasion: process of changing our attitude toward something based on some form of communication
prejudice: negative attitudes and feelings toward individuals based solely on their membership in a particular group
prosocial behavior: voluntary behavior with the intent to help other people
racism: prejudice and discrimination toward individuals based solely on their race
reciprocity: give and take in relationships
romantic love: type of love consisting of intimacy and passion, but no commitment
scapegoating: act of blaming an out-group when the in-group experiences frustration or is blocked from obtaining a goal
script: person’s knowledge about the sequence of events in a specific setting
self-disclosure: sharing personal information in relationships
self-fulfilling prophecy: treating stereotyped group members according to our biased expectations only to have this treatment influence the individual to act according to our stereotypic expectations, thus confirming our stereotypic beliefs
self-serving bias: tendency for individuals to take credit by making dispositional or internal attributions for positive outcomes and situational or external attributions for negative outcomes
sexism: prejudice and discrimination toward individuals based on their sex
situationism: describes a perspective that behavior and actions are determined by the immediate environment and surroundings; a view promoted by social psychologists
social exchange theory: humans act as naïve economists in keeping a tally of the ratio of costs and benefits of forming and maintain a relationship, with the goal to maximize benefits and minimize costs
social loafing: exertion of less effort by a person working in a group because individual performance cannot be evaluated separately from the group, thus causing performance decline on easy tasks
social norm: group’s expectations regarding what is appropriate and acceptable for the thoughts and behavior of its members
social psychology: field of psychology that examines how people impact or affect each other, with particular focus on the power of the situation
social role: socially defined pattern of behavior that is expected of a person in a given setting or group
stanford prison experiment: Stanford University conducted an experiment in a mock prison that demonstrated the power of social roles, social norms, and scripts
stereotype: specific beliefs or assumptions about individuals based solely on their membership in a group, regardless of their individual characteristics
triangular theory of love: model of love based on three components: intimacy, passion, and commitment; several types of love exist, depending on the presence or absence of each of these components