Chapter 12

Front 1

Person Perception

Back 1

The mental processes we use to form judgments and draw conclusions about the characteristics and motives of other people

Front 2

Social Psychology

Back 2

The branch of psychology that studies how people think, feel, and behave in social situations

Front 3

Social Cognitive

Back 3

The mental processes people use to make sense out of their social environment

Front 4

Social Influence

Back 4

The effects of situational factors and other people on an individual's behavior

Front 5

Social Norms

Back 5

The "rules," or expectations, for appropriate behavior in a particular social situation

Front 6

Social Categorization

Back 6

The mental process of categorizing people into groups (or social categories) on the basis of their shared characteristics

Front 7

Implicit Personality Theory

Back 7

A network of assumptions or beliefs about the relationships among various types of people, traits, and behaviors

Front 8

Attribution

Back 8

The mental process of inferring the causes of people's behavior, including one's own. Also Refers to the explanation made for a particular behavior

Front 9

Fundamental Attribution Error

Back 9

The tendency to attribute the behavior of others to internal, personal characteristics, while ignoring or underestimating the effects of external, situational factors; an attributional bias that is common in individualistic cultures

Front 10

Blaming the Victim

Back 10

The tendency to blame an innocent victim of misfortune for having somehow caused the problem or for not having taken steps to avoid or prevent it

Front 11

Just-Worried Hypothesis

Back 11

The assumption that the world is fair and that therefore people get what they deserve and deserve what they get

Front 12

Actor-Observer Discrepancy

Back 12

The tendency to attribute one's own behavior to external, situational causes, will attributing the behavior of others to internal, personal causes; especially likely to occur with regard to behaviors that lead to negative outcomes

Front 13

Self-Serving Bias

Back 13

The tendency to attribute successful outcomes of one's own behavior to internal causes and unsuccessful outcomes to external, situational causes

Front 14

Attitude

Back 14

A learned tendency to evaluate some object, person, or issue in a particular way; such evaluations may be positive, negative, or ambivalent

Front 15

Cognitive Dissonance

Back 15

An unpleasant state of psychological tension or arousal (dissonance) that occurs when two thoughts or perceptions (cognitions) are inconsistent; typically results from the awareness that attitudes and behavior are in conflict

Front 16

Prejudice

Back 16

A negative attitude toward people who belong to a specific social group

Front 17

Stereotype

Back 17

A cluster of characteristics that are associated with all members of a specific social group, often including qualities that are unrelated to the objective criteria that define the group

Front 18

In-Group

Back 18

A social group to which one belongs

Front 19

Out-Group

Back 19

A social group to which one does not belong

Front 20

Out-Group Homogeneity Effect

Back 20

The tendency to see member of out-groups as very similar to one another

Front 21

In-Group Bias

Back 21

The tendency to judge the behavior of in-group members favorably and out-group members unfavorably

Front 22

Ethnocentrism

Back 22

The belief that one's own culture or ethnic group is superior to all others and the related tendency to use one's own culture as a standard by which to judge other cultures

Front 23

Conformity

Back 23

The tendency to adjust one's behavior, attitudes, or beliefs to group norms in response to real or imagines group pressure

Front 24

Normative Social Influence

Back 24

Behavior that is motivated by the desire to gain social acceptance and approval

Front 25

Informational social influence

Back 25

Behavior that is motivated by the desire to be correct

Front 26

Obedience

Back 26

The performance of an action in response to the direct orders of an authority or person of higher status

Front 27

Altruism

Back 27

Helping another person with no expectation of personal reward or benefit

Front 28

Personal Behavior

Back 28

Any behavior that helps another, whether the underlying movie is self-serving or selfless

Front 29

Bystander Effect

Back 29

A phenomenon in which the greater the number of people present, the less likely each individual is to help someone in distress

Front 30

Diffusion of Responsibility

Back 30

A phenomenon in which the presence of other people makes it less likely that any individual will help someone in distress because the obligation to intervene is shared among all the onlookers

Front 31

Social Loafing

Back 31

The tendency to expend less effort on a task when it is a group effort

Front 32

Social Facilitation

Back 32

The tendency for the presence of other people to enhance individual performance

Front 33

Deindividuation

Back 33

The reduction of self-awareness and inhibitions that can occur when a person is a part of a group whose members feel anonymous

Front 34

Persuasion

Back 34

The deliberate attempt to influence the attitudes or behavior of another person in a situation in which that person has some freedom of choice