Social Psychology

A general term for the processes by which people come to understand one another

behavior that reveals a person's feelings without words, through facial expressions, body language, and vocal cues

the process by which people attribute humanlike mental states to various animate and inanimate objects, including other people

a group of theories that describe how people explain the causes of behavior

Attribution to internal characteristics of an actor

attributions to factors external to an actor

A principle of att. theory that holds that ppl attribute behavior to factors that are present when a behavior occurs and are absent when it does not

tendency to estimate the liklihood that an evnt will occur by how easily of it comes to mind

tendency for people to overestimate the extent to which others share their opinions, attributions, and behaviors

the finding that people relatively insensitive to consensus information presented in the form of numerical base rates

the tendency to imagine alternative events or outcomes that might have occured but did not

tendency to focus on the role of personal causes and underestimate the impact of situations on other people's behavior

the belief that individual get what they deserve in life

process of integrating info about a person to form a coherent impression

• impressions are based on
• 1. perceiver dispositions
• 2. a weighted average of a target's trait

the tendency for recently used or perceived words or ideas to come to mind easily and influence the interpretation of new info

network of assumption ppl make about the relationships among traits and behavior

traits that exert a powerful influence on overall impressions

the tendency for information presented early in a sequence to have more impact on impressions than info presented later

desire to reduce cognitive uncertainty, which heightens the importance of first impression

tendency to seek, interpret, and create info that verifies existing belief

tendency to maintain belief even after they have been discredited

process by which one;s expectation about a person lead that person to behave in ways that confirm those expectations.

a positive, negative, or mixed reaction to a person, object or idea

a multiple item questionaire designed to measure a person's attitude toward some object

a phone lie-detector test that's sometime used to give truthful answer to sensitive questions

records facial muscle activity associated with emotion and attitude

an attitude one is not aware of having

a covert measure of unconscious attitude derived from the speed at which ppl resond to pairings of concept

theory that attitudes toward a specific behavior combine with subjective norms and perceived control to influence a person's action

process by which attitudes are changed

process by which a person thinks carefully about a communication and is influenced by the strength of its argument

which a person does not think carefully about communication and is influenced instead by superficial cues

process of thinking about and scrutinizing the arguments contained in a persuasive communication

delayed increase in the persuasive impact of a noncredible source

personality variable that distinguishes ppl on the basis of how much they enjoy effortful cognitive activities

idea that exposure to weak versions of a persuasive argument increase later resistant to that argument

theory that ppl react against threats to their freedom by asserting themselves and perceiving the threatened freedom as more attractive

theory that holding inconsistent cognitions arouses psychological tension that ppl become motivated to reduce

a condition in which ppl freely perform an attitude-discrepant behavior without receiving a large reward

a condition in which ppl refrain from engaging in a desirable activity, even when ony mild punishment is threatened

to change our perceptions, opinions, or behaviors in ways that are consistent with group norms

influence that produces conformity when a person believes others are correct in their judgments

influence that produces conformity when a person fears the negative social consequences of appearing deviant

change of beliefs that occurs when a person privately accepts the position taken by others

superficial change in overt behavior without a corresponding change of opinion that is produced by real or imagined group pressure

process by which dissenters produce change within a group

interpersonal "credits" that a person earns by following group norms

a cultural orientation in which independence, autonomy, and self reliance takes priority over group allegiances

cultural orientation in which interdependence, cooperation, and social harmony take priority over personal goals

change in behavior that elicited by direct request

two step compliance technique in which an influencer sets the stage for the real request by first getting a person to comply with a much smaller request

a two step in which influencer secures agreement with a request but then increases the size of that request by revealing hidden costs

influencer prefaces the real request with one that is so large that it is rejected

influencer begins an inflated request , then decreases its apparent size by offering a discount or bonus

behavior change produced by the commands of authority

that social influence depends on the strength, immediacy, and number of source persons relative to target person

extent to which forces push group members closer together, such as intimacy, unity, and commitment to group goals

process whereby the presence of others enhance performance on easy task but impairs performance on difficult tasks

mere presence of others is sufficient to produce social facilitation effects

presence of others will produce socail faciliation effects only when those others are seen as potential evaluators

presence of other will produce social faciliation effects only when those others distract from the task and create attentional conflict

group produced reduction in indv. output on tasks where contributions are pooled

indv. will exert effort on a collective task to the degree that they think their indv. efforts will be important, relevant, and meaningful for acheiving outcomes that they value

the loss of a person's sense of individuality