1. Chapter 18 Social Psychology

2. The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another. social psychology

3. Suggests how we explain someone’s behavior—by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition. attribution theory

4. The tendency for observers, when analyzing another’s behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition. fundamental attribution error

5. Feelings, often based on our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and event. attitude

6. The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request. foot-in-the-door phenomenon

7. The theory that we act to reduce the psychological discomfort we feel when two of our thoughts are inconsistent. For example: When our awareness of our attitudes and of our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes. cognitive dissonance theory

8. Adjusting one’s thinking or behavior to coincide with a group standard. conformity

9. Influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval. normative social influence

10. Influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality. informational social influence

11. Stronger performance of simple or well- learned tasks in the presence of others. social facilitation

12. The tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable. social loafing

13. The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity. deindividuation

14. The enhancement of a group’s prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group. Group polarization

15. The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives. groupthink

16. Occurs when our expectations of how people will behave cause us to treat them in ways that elicit such behaviors. self-fulfilling prophecy

17. An unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members. prejudice

18. A generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people. stereotype

19. Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members. discrimination

20. “Us”—people with whom one shares a common identity. ingroup

21. “Them”—those perceived as different or apart from one’s ingroup. outgroup

22. The tendency to favor one’s own group. ingroup bias

23. The theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame. scapegoat theory

24. The tendency of people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get. just-world phenomenon

25. Any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy. aggression

26. The principle that frustration— the clocking of an attempt to achieve some goal—creates anger, which can generate aggression. frustration-aggression principle

27. A perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas. conflict

28. A situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing their self-interest, become caught in mutually destructive behavior. social trap

29. The phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them. mere exposure effect

30. An aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a love relationship. passionate love

31. The deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined. companionate love

32. A condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it. equity

33. Revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others. self-disclosure

34. Unselfish regard for the welfare of others. altruism

35. The tendency of a person to be less likely to give aid if there are other people present. bystander effect

36. The theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs. social exchange theory

37. An expectation that people will help those dependent upon them. social responsibility norm

38. Shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation. superordinate goals

39. Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-Reduction A strategy designed to decrease international tensions. GRIT