Ch. 1 An Invitation To Social Psychology

Front 1

Social Psychology

Back 1

The scientific study of the feelings, thoughts, and behaviors of individuals in social situations.

Front 2

Milgram Shock Experiment

Back 2

The participant was tasked with shocking a "learner" at increasing intervals while they attempted to memorize word pairings. If the participant showed signs of doubt, an experimenter tried to keep them going, saying things like "You have no choice. Keep going." The results gave huge evidence on the psychological effect of authority figures on their employees/followers.

Front 3

The Zimbardo Prison Experiment

Back 3

In the basement of the Stanford University Psychology building, Zimbardo conducted a study in which participants were randomly assigned roles: either prisoner or guard. The experiment was cut short (within 6 days) because the "guards" were so cruel to the "prisoners" that they suffered nervous breakdowns.

Front 4

The Farley/Bars on Seminarian Experiment

Back 4

After questioning students who were studying theology about their religious orientation (which ended up not being a deciding factor), they were told to deliver a sermon in a far off building. One group was told they had plenty of time to get there, the other was told they were late. On the way there was Confederate pretending to be hurt. Many of the Seminarians who were not late stopped to help, but most of those who were told they were late did not stop.

Front 5

Dispositon

Back 5

Internal factors, such as beliefs, values, personality traits, and abilities that guide a person's behavior.

Front 6

Fundamental Attribution Error

Back 6

The failure to recognize the importance of situational influences on behavior, and the corresponding tendency to overemphasize the importance of dispositions on behavior.

Front 7

Channel Factors

Back 7

Situational circumstances that appear unimportant on the surface but that can have great consequences for behavior-- facilitating it, blocking it, or guiding it in a particular direction.

Front 8

Gestalt Psychology

Back 8

Based on the German word "gestalt", meaning "form" or "figure", this approach stresses the fact that people perceive objects not by means of some automatic registering device but by active, usually nonconscious interpretation of what the object represents as a whole.

Front 9

Construal

Back 9

An interpretation of, or inference about, the stimuli or situations people confront.

Front 10

Schemas

Back 10

A knowledge structure consisting of any organized body of stored information

Front 11

Stereotypes

Back 11

A belief that certain attributes are characteristic of members of a particular group.

Front 12

Natural Selection

Back 12

An evolutionary process that molds animals and plants so that traits that enhance the probability of survival and reproduction are passed on to subsequent generations.

Front 13

Theory of Mind

Back 13

The understanding that other people have beliefs and desires.

Front 14

Parental Investment

Back 14

The evolutionary principle that costs and benefits are associated with reproduction and the nurturing of offspring. Because these costs and benefits are different for males and females, one gender will normally value and invest more in each child than will the other.

Front 15

Naturalistic Fallacy

Back 15

The claim that the way things are is the way they should be.

Front 16

Social Neuroscience

Back 16

The scientific study of biological changes which accompany various behaviors and environmental factors (measured through an fMRI).

Front 17

Independent (Individualistic) Culture

Back 17

A culture in which people tend to think of themselves as distinct social entities, tied to each other by voluntary bonds of affection and organizational memberships but essentially separate from other people and having attributes that exist in the absence of any connection to others.

Front 18

Interdependent (Collectivistic) Culture

Back 18

A culture in which people tend to define themselves as part of a collective, inextricably tied to others in their group and placing less importance on individual freedom or personal control over their lives.