Psychology Chapter 12 Flashcards

Social Psychology Concepts

• Social psychology examines how individuals are influenced by the presence of others, encompassing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
• Social influence involves both direct and indirect effects from others on individual beliefs and actions.
• Conformity is the adjustment of one’s behavior to align with group norms.

Group Dynamics

• Groupthink leads to poor decision-making as members prioritize group harmony over critical analysis of facts.
• Group polarization results in more extreme viewpoints during discussions compared to individual opinions.

Consumer Behavior

• Consumer psychology focuses on understanding consumer habits and decision-making processes in the marketplace.

Compliance Techniques

• Compliance occurs when individuals change behavior upon requests from others.
• The foot-in-the-door technique involves starting with a small request to increase compliance for a larger subsequent request.
• The lowball technique secures a commitment before increasing the cost associated with that commitment.
• The that's-not-all technique enhances an offer by adding additional incentives just before a decision is made.

Authority and Obedience

• Obedience signifies behavioral changes driven by direct commands from authority figures.

Social Performance

• Social facilitation refers to improved performance on simple tasks in the presence of others.
• Conversely, social impairment indicates decreased performance on complex tasks under group observation.
• Social loafing describes reduced effort exerted by individuals when working in a group compared to working alone.

Attitudes and Persuasion

• Attitudes reflect individual predispositions toward people, objects, or ideas.
• Persuasion is aimed at altering beliefs or actions using arguments or appeals.
• The elaboration likelihood model posits that persuasive outcomes depend on the level of message elaboration.
• Central-route processing emphasizes the message content, while peripheral-route processing considers external cues.

Cognitive Dissonance and Impressions

• Cognitive dissonance arises from conflicting behaviors and attitudes, causing discomfort.
• Impression formation involves the initial understanding one develops about another person.

Social Cognition

• Social cognition encompasses mental processes used to interpret and understand social interactions.
• Social categorization simplifies the process of understanding new individuals based on prior experiences.

Stereotypes and Attribution

• Stereotypes are overgeneralized beliefs about members of specific social groups.
• Attribution involves assigning reasons to behaviors, with dispositional causes linked to personal traits and situational causes attributed to external factors.
• The fundamental attribution error is a common bias favoring internal explanations for others' behaviors while downplaying situational influences.

Prejudice and Discrimination

• Prejudice reflects negative biases toward social groups, while discrimination entails differential treatment based on those biases.

In-Groups and Out-Groups

• In-groups provide a sense of belonging, whereas out-groups are identified as "others."
• Realistic conflict theory suggests that competition for limited resources fosters prejudice and discrimination.

Interpersonal Relationships

• Social identity theory explains how group membership influences self-concept, identity, and intergroup behavior.
• Proximity fosters interpersonal attraction, along with reciprocity of liking, where mutual affection enhances relationships.

Love and Aggression

• Romantic love combines intimacy and passion, while companionate love focuses on intimacy and commitment.
• Aggression manifests as behavior intended to cause harm to others.

Social Roles and Behavior

• Social roles dictate expected behaviors linked to specific social positions, influencing interactions.
• Prosocial behavior benefits others, with altruism reflecting selfless acts without expected rewards.

Bystander Effect

• The bystander effect outlines a reduced likelihood of help being offered in emergency situations as the number of witnesses increases.
• Diffusion of responsibility occurs when individuals feel less accountable for actions due to the presence of others sharing the burden.

Cults and Group Identity

• Cults signify groups unified by specific belief systems, often deviating from mainstream norms and fostering a distinct identity.