Fundamental Concepts in Social Psychology Quiz

Social psychology focuses on understanding how individuals behave in social contexts.

Cognitive dissonance theory suggests that individuals experience discomfort when their attitudes and behaviors are inconsistent and strive to align them.

The availability heuristic is the mental shortcut where individuals estimate the likelihood of an event based on how easily similar instances come to mind.

The fundamental attribution error is the tendency to overemphasize dispositional explanations for others' behavior while underemphasizing situational factors.

The self-concept in social psychology refers to individuals' perceptions, beliefs, and evaluations about themselves, including their identity and self-esteem.

Social cognition examines how people perceive, interpret, and make sense of social information.

The actor-observer bias refers to the tendency to explain others' behavior based on internal traits while attributing our own behavior to external factors.

The Asch conformity experiment tested individuals' tendency to conform to social norms, even when those norms conflicted with their own beliefs.

Ethnocentrism is the inclination to perceive one's own cultural or ethnic group as superior to others.

Henri Tajfel proposed the theory of social identity, which explores how individuals define themselves in terms of group membership.

Social impact theory suggests that individuals conform to social norms based on the strength, immediacy, and number of people in the group.

The two-factor theory of emotion proposes that emotional arousal can be experienced without knowing its cause, and individuals label the arousal based on the context.

Philip Zimbardo conducted the Stanford prison experiment, which investigated the effects of perceived power dynamics in a simulated prison environment.

Group polarization is the tendency for group discussions to lead individuals to make decisions that are more extreme than the initial inclinations of the group members.

The spotlight effect is the tendency to overestimate how much others notice and evaluate one's appearance, behavior, or performance.

Stanley Milgram conducted research on obedience to authority, famously known for the Milgram experiment.

The bystander effect describes the phenomenon where individuals are less likely to offer help in emergency situations when others are present, often due to diffusion of responsibility.

Conformity is the process by which individuals adjust their behavior, attitudes, and beliefs to align with those of a reference group or the prevailing social norms.

Max Ringelmann proposed the concept of social loafing, which describes individuals exerting less effort in a group task compared to when working individually.

In social psychology, the term 'ingroup' refers to a group to which an individual identifies or belongs, often leading to positive attitudes and behaviors towards members of that group.

Social loafing is the phenomenon where individuals exert less effort when working in a group compared to when working alone.

The bystander effect describes the tendency for individuals to be less likely to provide assistance in emergency situations when others are present.

Ethnocentrism refers to the tendency to view one's own cultural or ethnic group as superior to others, often leading to prejudice or discrimination.

Social exchange theory posits that individuals assess the benefits and costs of a relationship and decide to maintain it based on the perceived balance between rewards and costs.

Social exchange theory suggests that individuals seek and maintain relationships based on a rational calculation of rewards and costs, aiming to maximize benefits and minimize drawbacks.