Social Psychology 4.1

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Person Perception

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The process of forming impressions and making judgments about other people.

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Attribution Theory

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The theory that we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation (a situational attribution) or a person's stable, enduring traits (a dispositional attribution).

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Fundamental Attribution Error

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The tendency to overestimate the influence of dispositional (internal) factors and underestimate the influence of situational (external) factors when explaining other people's behavior.

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Actor-Observer Bias

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The tendency to attribute our own behavior to situational causes, while attributing other people's behavior to dispositional causes.

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Prejudice

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A preconceived negative judgment or attitude toward a group and its individual members, often based on stereotypes. It involves negative feelings, opinions, and beliefs.

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Stereotype

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A generalized belief about a group of people, in which identical characteristics are assigned to virtually all members of the group, regardless of actual variation among the members.

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Discrimination

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Unjustified negative behavior toward a group and its members based on their group affiliation. It is the behavioral manifestation of prejudice.

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Social Identity

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The part of an individual's self-concept derived from knowledge of their membership in a social group (or groups) together with the value and emotional significance attached to that membership.

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In-group

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A social group with which an individual identifies and feels a sense of belonging. Often referred to as 'us.'

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Out-group

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A social group with which an individual does not identify and feels a sense of difference or opposition. Often referred to as 'them.'