the scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to other people.
the tendency for an individual to be less likely to help in an emergency when other people are present.
the area of social psychology that explores how people select, interpret, remember, and use social information
the processes by which we use social stimuli to form impressions of others
a generalization about a group's characteristics that does not consider any variations from one individual to another.
social expectations cause individuals to act in ways that make the expectations come true.
an individual's fast-acting, self-fulfilling fear of being judged based on a negative stereotype about his or her group
people are motivated to discover the underlying causes of their behavior as part of their effort to make sense of that behavior
Fundamental Attribution Error
observers often overestimate the importance of internal traits and underestimate the importance of external situations when they seek explanations of another person's behavior
the tendency to take credit for one's own successes and to deny responsibility for one's own failures
If you do well on an exam, you are likely to take credit for that success (“I'm smart” or “I knew that stuff”)—internal attributions. If you do poorly, however, you are more likely to blame situational factors (“The test was too hard”)—external attributions.
the overestimation of the degree to which everybody else thinks or acts the way we do.
favorable views of oneselves that are not necessarily rooted in reality
the process by which we evaluate our thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and abilities in relation to others.
feeling a sense of accomplishment about getting a B on a test, only to feel deflated when you found out that your friend in the class got an A is an example of what?
an individual's opinions and beliefs about people, objects, and ideas—how we feel about the world.
An individuals the psychological discomfort (dissonance) caused by two inconsistent thoughts
According to this theory, we feel uneasy when we notice an inconsistency between what we believe and what we do.
how behavior influences attitudes, individuals make inferences about their attitudes by observing their behavior.
giving aid to another person with the ultimate goal of benefiting that person, even if it incurs a cost to oneself.
helping another person for personal gain, such as to feel good, or avoid guilt.
Kindness might serve selfish purposes by ensuring that we help another person to increase the chances that the person will return the favor.
a person's feeling of oneness with the emotional state of another. When we feel empathy for someone, we feel what that person is feeling.
social behavior whose objective is to harm someone, either physically or verbally.
physically or verbally harming another person directly.
behavior that is meant to harm the social standing of another person through activities such as gossiping and spreading rumors
Romantic Love Or Passionate Love
love with strong components of sexuality and infatuation, and it often predominates in the early part of a love relationship
Affectionate Love Or Companionate Love
the type of love that occurs when an individual has a deep, caring affection for another person and desires to have that person near.
The view of social relationships as involving an exchange of goods, the objective of which is to minimize costs and maximize benefits.
a change in a person's behavior to coincide more closely with a group standard.
Informational Social Influence
the influence other people have on us because we want to be right.
Normative Social Influence
the influence others have on us because we want them to like us.
behavior that complies with the explicit demands of the individual in authority. We are obedient when an authority figure demands that we do something, and we do it.
when being part of a group reduces personal identity and erodes the sense of personal responsibility
imitative behavior involving the spread of behavior, emotions, and ideas
an individual's performance improves because of the presence of others
each person's tendency to exert less effort in a group because of reduced accountability for individual effort.
Group Polarization Effect
the solidification and further strengthening of an individual's position as a consequence of a group discussion or interaction.
the way individuals define themselves in terms of their group membership.
social identity is a crucial part of self-image and a valuable source of positive feelings about oneself.
The tendency to favor one's own ethnic group over other groups
an unjustified negative attitude toward an individual based on the individual's membership in a particular group.
an unjustified negative or harmful action toward a member of a group simply because the person belongs to that group.