Chapter 11- Social Psychology

Question 1

Social psychology

Answer 1

The scientific study of how a persons thoughts, feelings, and behavior influence and are influenced by social groups; area of psychology in which psychologists focus on how human behavior is affected by the presence of other people

Question 2

Social influence

Answer 2

The process through which the real or implied presence of others can directly or indirectly influence the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of an individual

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

Group polarization

Answer 5

The tendency for members involved in a group discussion to take somewhat more extreme positions and suggest riskier actions when compared to individuals who have not participated in a group discussion

Question 6

Social facilitation

Answer 6

The tendency for the presence of other people to have a positive impact on the performance of an easy task

Question 7

Social loafing

Answer 7

The tendency for people to put less effort into a simple task when working with others on that task

Question 8

Deindividuation

Answer 8

The lessening of personal identity, self restraint, and the sense of personal responsibility that can occur within a group

Question 9

Compliance

Answer 9

Changing ones behavior as a result of other people directing or asking for the change

Question 10

Foot in the door technique

Answer 10

Asking for a small commitment and after gaining compliance asking for a bigger commitment

Question 11

Door in the face technique

Answer 11

Asking for a large commitment and begging refused and then asking for a smaller commitment

Question 12

Lowball technique

Answer 12

Getting a commitment from a person and then reading the cost of that commitment

Question 13

Obedience

Answer 13

Changing ones behavior at the command of an authority figure

Question 14

Attitude

Answer 14

The tendency to respond positively or negatively towards a certain person, object, idea, or situation

Question 15

Persuasion

Answer 15

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 16

Cognitive dissonance

Answer 16

Sense of discomfort or distress that occurs when a persons behavior does not correspond to that persons attitudes

Question 17

Impression formation

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Central route processing

Answer 18

Type of information processing that involves attending to the content of the message itself

Question 19

Peripheral route processing

Answer 19

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 20

Attribution theory

Answer 20

The theory of how people make attributions

Question 21

Situational cause

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Dispositional cause

Answer 22

Cause of behavior attributed to internal factors such as personality or character

Question 23

Fundamental attribution error

Answer 23

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

Question 24

Actor-observer bias

Answer 24

The tendency to attribute to ones own biases to external causes while attributing other people’s behavior to internal causes

Question 25

Stereotype

Answer 25

A set of characteristics that people believe is shared by all embers of a particular social category

Question 26

Social cognitive theory

Answer 26

Referring to the use of cognitive processes in relation to understanding the social world

Question 27

Social identity theory

Answer 27

Theory in which the formation of a persons identity within a particular social group is explained by social categorization, social identity, and social comparison

Question 28

Social comparison

Answer 28

The comparison of oneself to others in ways that raise ones self esteem

Question 29

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 29

The tendency of ones expectations to affect ones behavior in such a way as to make the expectations more likely to occur

Question 30

Mere exposure effect

Answer 30

Idea that repeated presentation of novel stimuli increases liking the stimuli

Question 31

Companionate love

Answer 31

Type of love consisting of intimacy and commitment

Question 32

Social role

Answer 32

The pattern of behavior that is expected of a person who is in a particular position

Question 33

Aggression

Answer 33

Actions meant to harm or destroy

Question 34

Altruism

Answer 34

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