Intro To Psychology (Ch. 14) Vocab Set

Front 1

Social psychology

Back 1

the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and actions are affected by others

Front 2

Attitudes

Back 2

evaluations of people, objects, ideas, and behavior

Front 3

Central route processing

Back 3

the type of mental processing that occurs when a persuasive message is evaluated by thoughtful consideration of the issues and arguments use to persuade

Front 4

Peripheral route processing

Back 4

the type of mental processing that occurs when a persuasive message is evaluated on the basis of irrelevant or extraneous factors

Front 5

Cognitive dissonances

Back 5

the mental conflict that occurs when a person holds two contradictory attitudes or thoughts (referred to as cognitions).

Front 6

Social cognition

Back 6

the cognitive processes by which people understand and make sense of others and themselves

Front 7

Schemas

Back 7

sets of cognitions about people and social experiences

Front 8

Central traits

Back 8

the major traits considered in forming impressions of others

Front 9

Attribution theory

Back 9

the theory that considers how we decide, on the basis of samples of person's behavior, what the specific causes of that behavior are

Front 10

Situational causes (of behavior)

Back 10

causes of behavior that are external to a person

Front 11

Dispositional causes (of behavior)

Back 11

perceived causes of behavior brought about by a person's traits or personality characteristics

Front 12

Halo effect

Back 12

a phenomenon in which an initial understanding that a person has positive traits in used to infer other uniformly positive characteristics

Front 13

Assumed-similarity bias

Back 13

the tendency to think of people as being simular to oneself even when meeting them for thefirst time

Front 14

Self-serving bias

Back 14

the tendency to attribute personal success to personal factors (skill, ability, or effort) and to attribute failure to factors outside oneself

Front 15

Fundamental attribution error

Back 15

a tendency to overattribute other's behavior to dispositional causes and minimize the importance of situational causes

Front 16

Social influence

Back 16

the process by which social groups and individuals exert pressure on an individual, either delieberately or unintentionally

Front 17

Group

Back 17

two or more people who interact with one another, perceive themselves as part of a group, and are interdependent

Front 18

Conformity

Back 18

a change in behavior or attitudes brought about by a desire to follow the beliefs or standards of other people

Front 19

Status

Back 19

the social standing of someone in a group

Front 20

Social supporter

Back 20

a group member whose dissenting views make non-conformity to the group easier

Front 21

Groupthink

Back 21

a type of thinking in which group members share such a strong motivation to achieve consensus that they lose the ability to critically evaluate alternative points of view

Front 22

Compliance

Back 22

behavior that occurs in response to direct social pressure

Front 23

Industrial-organizational (I/O) psychology

Back 23

the branch of psychology focusing on work and job-relating issues, including worker motivation, satisfaction, safety, and productivity

Front 24

Obedience

Back 24

a change in behavior in response to the commands of others

Front 25

Stereotype

Back 25

a set of generalized beliefs and epectations about a particular group and its members

Front 26

Prejudice

Back 26

a negative (or positve) evaluation of a particular group and its members

Front 27

Discrimination

Back 27

behavior directed toward individuals on the basis of their membership in a particular group

Front 28

Social neuroscience

Back 28

the subfield of social psychology that seeks to identify the neurological basis of social behavior

Front 29

Interpersonal attraction (or close relationship)

Back 29

positive feelings for others; liking and loving

Front 30

Reciprocity-of-liking effect

Back 30

a tendency to like those who like us

Front 31

Passionate (or romantic) love

Back 31

a state of intense absorption in someone that includes intense physiological arousal, psychological interest, and caring for the needs of another

Front 32

Companionate love

Back 32

the strong affection we have for those with whom our lives are deeply involved

Front 33

Aggression

Back 33

the intential injury of, or harm to, another person

Front 34

Catharis

Back 34

the process of discharging built-up aggressive energy

Front 35

Prosocial behavior

Back 35

helping behavior

Front 36

Diffusion of responsibility

Back 36

the belief that resonsibility for intervening is shared, or diffused, among those present

Front 37

Altruism

Back 37

behavior meant to help another person without regard for self-interest