Final Psychology Vocab List

Define social psychology Describe situational versus dispositional influences on behavior Describe the fundamental attribution error Explain actor-observer bias Describe self-serving bias Explain the just-world hypothesis Social psychology examines how people affect one another, and it looks at the power of the situation.

According to the American Psychological Association (n.d.), social psychologists "are interested in all aspects of personality and social interaction, exploring the influence of interpersonal and group relationships on human behavior."

Interpersonal topics (those that pertain to dyads and groups) include helping behavior (Figure 12.2), aggression, prejudice and discrimination, attraction and close relationships, and group processes and intergroup relationships.

People from an individualistic culture, that is, a culture that focuses on individual achievement and autonomy, have the greatest tendency to commit the fundamental attribution error.

Define social psychology Describe situational versus dispositional influences on behavior Describe the fundamental attribution error Explain actor-observer bias Describe self-serving bias Explain the just-world hypothesis Social psychology examines how people affect one another, and it looks at the power of the situation.

...of Individualistic and Collectivistic Cultures Individualistic Culture Collectivistic Culture Achievement oriented Relationship oriented Focus on autonomy Focus on group harmony Dispositional perspective Situational perspective Independent Interdependent Analytic thinking style Holistic thinking style Table 12.1 Masuda and Nisbett (2001) demonstrated that the kinds of information that people attend to when viewing visual stimuli (e.g., an aquarium scene) can differ significantly...

Army) Social psychologists focus on how people conceptualize and interpret situations and how these interpretations influence their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors (Ross & Nisbett, 1991).

Define social psychology Describe situational versus dispositional influences on behavior Describe the fundamental attribution error Explain actor-observer bias Describe self-serving bias Explain the just-world hypothesis Social psychology examines how people affect one another, and it looks at the power of the situation.

Student participants were randomly assigned to play the role of a questioner (the quizmaster) or a contestant in a quiz game.

Characteristics of Individualistic and Collectivistic Cultures Individualistic Culture Collectivistic Culture Achievement oriented Relationship oriented Focus on autonomy Focus on group harmony Dispositional perspective Situational perspective Independent Interdependent Analytic thinking style Holistic thinking style Table 12.1 Masuda and Nisbett (2001) demonstrated that...

However, imagine that Jamie was just laid off from work due to company downsizing.

Blaming poor people for their poverty ignores situational factors that impact them, such as high unemployment rates, recession, poor educational opportunities, and the familial cycle of poverty (Figure 12.7).

According to the American Psychological Association (n.d.), social psychologists "are interested in all aspects of personality and social interaction, exploring the influence of interpersonal and group relationships on human behavior."

In contrast, dispositionism holds that our behavior is determined by internal factors (Heider, 1958).

Define social psychology Describe situational versus dispositional influences on behavior Describe the fundamental attribution error Explain actor-observer bias Describe self-serving bias Explain the just-world hypothesis Social psychology examines how people affect one another, and it looks at the power of the situation.

One model of attribution proposes three main dimensions: locus of control (internal versus external), stability (stable versus unstable), and controllability (controllable versus uncontrollable).

One study on the actor-observer bias investigated reasons male participants gave for why they liked their girlfriend (Nisbett et al.,

In this context, stability refers to the extent in which the circumstances that result in a given outcome are changeable.

One model of attribution proposes three main dimensions: locus of control (internal versus external), stability (stable versus unstable), and controllability (controllable versus uncontrollable).

According to some social psychologists, people tend to overemphasize internal factors as explanations—or attributions—for the behavior of other people.

An internal factor is an attribute of a person and includes personality traits and temperament.

Social psychologists have tended to take the situationist perspective, whereas personality psychologists have promoted the dispositionist perspective.

In this chapter, we discuss the intrapersonal processes of self-presentation, cognitive dissonance and attitude change, and the interpersonal processes of conformity and obedience, aggression and altruism, and, finally, love and attraction.

Thus, social psychology studies individuals in a social context and how situational variables interact to influence behavior.

Fundamental Attribution Error In the United States, the predominant culture tends to favor a dispositional approach in explaining human behavior.