10 Social Psychology Free Online FlashCards

What does social psychology study?

Social psychology studies how other people and social situations shape people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions.

What are schemas, and how can they bias social perception?

Schemas are mental frameworks that organize what we know about people and situations. They support quick judgments but can cause us to overlook details or interpret ambiguity to fit expectations.

How do stereotype, prejudice, and discrimination differ?

A stereotype is a generalized belief about a group; prejudice is an attitude or feeling toward people based on group membership; discrimination is behavior that treats them differently on that basis.

What three components can an attitude include?

An attitude can include feelings (affective), beliefs (cognitive), and behavioral tendencies (behavioral) toward a person, object, idea, or issue.

What is cognitive dissonance, and how might someone reduce it?

Cognitive dissonance is discomfort that can arise when beliefs, attitudes, or actions conflict. People may reduce it by changing behavior, reconsidering a belief, or rationalizing the inconsistency.

How can other people’s presence affect task performance?

Social facilitation is the effect of others’ presence: it can improve performance on familiar or simple tasks, but sometimes make difficult or unfamiliar tasks harder.

What can help relationships grow?

Repeated contact, familiarity, perceived similarity, mutual liking, reciprocity, and appropriate self-disclosure can help relationships grow. These influences do not guarantee closeness.

How do normative and informational influence differ?

Normative influence is conformity motivated by a desire for approval or to avoid rejection. Informational influence is conformity based on believing others have useful or more accurate information.

What is the fundamental attribution error?

The fundamental attribution error is the tendency to overemphasize personal qualities and underemphasize situational influences when explaining someone else’s behavior.

Why might an attitude not predict a person’s actions?

Convenience, social expectations, and available opportunities can affect whether people act on their attitudes.

How can engagement affect the cues people use in persuasion?

Persuasion is attitude change influenced by communication. Engaged people may evaluate argument strength, while less engaged people may rely more on cues such as expertise or likeability.

What is social loafing, and what can help limit it?

Social loafing is reduced individual effort when people work together and their contributions are hard to distinguish. Clear individual responsibilities can help limit it.