Chapter 10

Question 1

Social psychology

Answer 1

the scientific study of how a person’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior are influenced by the real, imagined, or implied presence of others.

Question 2

Social influence

Answer 2

the scientific study of how a person’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior influence and are influenced by social groups.

Question 3

Conformity

Answer 3

changing one’s own behavior to match that of other people.

Question 4

Groupthink

Answer 4

kind of thinking that occurs when people place more importance on maintaining group cohesiveness than on assessing the facts of the problem with which the group is concerned.

Question 5

Consumer psychology

Answer 5

branch of psychology that studies the habits of consumers in the marketplace.

Question 6

Compliance

Answer 6

changing one’s behavior as a result of other people directing or asking for the change.

Question 7

Foot-in-the-door technique

Answer 7

asking for a small commitment and, after gaining compliance, asking for a bigger commitment.

Question 8

Door-in-the-face technique

Answer 8

asking for a large commitment and being refused and then asking for a smaller commitment.

Question 9

Lowball technique

Answer 9

getting a commitment from a person and then raising the cost of that commitment.

Question 10

Obedience

Answer 10

changing one’s behavior at the command of an authority figure.

Question 11

Attitude

Answer 11

a tendency to respond positively or negatively toward a certain person, object, idea, or situation.

Question 12

Persuasion

Answer 12

the process by which one person tries to change the belief, opinion, position, or course of action of another person through argument, pleading, or explanation.

Question 13

Elaboration likelihood model

Answer 13

model of persuasion stating that people will either elaborate on the persuasive message or fail to elaborate on it and that the future actions of those who do elaborate are more predictable than those who do not.

Question 14

Central-route processing

Answer 14

type of information processing that involves attending to the content of the message itself.

Question 15

Peripheral-route processing

Answer 15

type of information processing that involves attending to factors not involved in the message, such as the appearance of the source of the message, the length of the message, and other noncontent factors.

Question 16

Cognitive dissonance

Answer 16

sense of discomfort or distress that occurs when a person’s behavior does not correspond to that person’s attitudes.

Question 17

Social categorization

Answer 17

the assignment of a person one has just met to a category based on characteristics the new person has in common with other people with whom one has had experience in the past.

Question 18

Stereotype

Answer 18

a set of characteristics that people believe is shared by all members of a particular social category.

Question 19

Impression formation

Answer 19

the forming of the first knowledge that a person has concerning another person.

Question 20

Implicit personality theory

Answer 20

sets of assumptions about how different types of people, personality traits, and actions are related to each other.

Question 21

Attribution

Answer 21

the process of explaining one’s own behavior and the behavior of others.

Question 22

Attribution theory

Answer 22

the theory of how people make attributions.

Question 23

Situational cause

Answer 23

cause of behavior attributed to external factors, such as delays, the action of others, or some other aspect of the situation.

Question 24

Dispositional cause

Answer 24

cause of behavior attributed to internal factors such as personality or character.

Question 25

Fundamental attribution error

Answer 25

the tendency to overestimate the influence of internal factors in determining behavior while underestimating situational factors.

Question 26

Prejudice

Answer 26

negative attitude held by a person about the members of a particular social group.

Question 27

Discrimination

Answer 27

treating people differently because of prejudice toward the social group to which they belong.

Question 28

In-groups

Answer 28

social groups with whom a person identifies; “us.”

Question 29

Out-groups

Answer 29

social groups with whom a person does not identify; “them.”

Question 30

Social cognitive

Answer 30

referring to the use of cognitive processes in relation to understanding the social world.

Question 31

Realistic conflict theory

Answer 31

theory stating that prejudice and discrimination will be increased between groups that are in conflict over a limited resource.

Question 32

Social identity theory

Answer 32

theory in which the formation of a person’s identity within a particular social group is explained by social categorization, social identity, and social comparison.

Question 33

Social identity

Answer 33

the part of the self-concept including one’s view of self as a member of a particular social category.

Question 34

Social comparison

Answer 34

the comparison of oneself to others in ways that raise one’s self-esteem.

Question 35

Stereotype vulnerability

Answer 35

the effect that people’s awareness of the stereotypes associated with their social group has on their behavior.

Question 36

Self-fulfilling prophesy

Answer 36

the tendency of one’s expectations to affect one’s behavior in such a way as to make the expectations more likely to occur.

Question 37

Equal status contact

Answer 37

contact between groups in which the groups have equal status with neither group having power over the other.

Question 38

Jigsaw classroom

Answer 38

educational technique in which each individual is given only part of the information needed to solve a problem, causing the separate individuals to be forced to work together to find the solution.

Question 39

Acculturative stress

Answer 39

stress resulting from the need to change and adapt a person’s ways to the majority culture.

Question 40

Social support system

Answer 40

the network of family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and others who can offer support, comfort, or aid to a person in need.

Question 41

Interpersonal attraction

Answer 41

liking or having the desire for a relationship with another person.

Question 42

Proximity

Answer 42

the tendency to perceive objects that are close to each other as part of the same grouping.

Question 43

Reciprocity of liking

Answer 43

tendency of people to like other people who like them in return.

Question 44

Romantic love

Answer 44

type of love consisting of intimacy and passion.

Question 45

Companionate love

Answer 45

type of love consisting of intimacy and commitment.

Question 46

Aggression

Answer 46

behavior intended to hurt or destroy another person.

Question 47

Social role

Answer 47

the pattern of behavior that is expected of a person who is in a particular social position.

Question 48

Prosocial behavior

Answer 48

socially desirable behavior that benefits others.

Question 49

Altruism

Answer 49

prosocial behavior that is done with no expectation of reward and may involve the risk of harm to oneself.

Question 50

Bystander effect

Answer 50

referring to the effect that the presence of other people has on the decision to help or not help, with help becoming less likely as the number of bystanders increases.

Question 51

Diffusion of responsibility

Answer 51

occurring when a person fails to take responsibility for actions or for inaction because of the presence of other people who are seen to share the responsibility.

Question 52

Social neuroscience

Answer 52

the study of the relationship between biological systems and social processes and behavior.