Social and Multicultural Bases of Behavior Flashcards

The tendency to overestimate dispositional factors and underestimate situational factors when explaining others' behavior is known as:

Answer: Fundamental attribution error

The fundamental attribution error refers to the tendency to over-attribute others' behavior to their character or disposition rather than to situational factors.

When a person experiences psychological discomfort from holding two conflicting beliefs simultaneously, the resulting tension is best described as:

Answer: Cognitive dissonance

Cognitive dissonance, as described by Festinger, occurs when contradictory cognitions are held simultaneously, creating motivational pressure to reduce the inconsistency.

In Asch's line judgment experiments, participants who conformed to clearly incorrect group answers demonstrated the powerful influence of:

Answer: Normative social influence

Asch's conformity experiments showed normative social influence, where individuals conformed to avoid rejection and maintain group acceptance even when the group was clearly wrong.

Which phenomenon occurs when a cohesive group prioritizes consensus over critical evaluation, leading to poor decision-making?

Answer: Groupthink

Groupthink, identified by Janis, occurs when cohesiveness and pressure for conformity override realistic appraisal of alternatives, resulting in flawed collective decisions.

A psychologist holds negative attitudes toward members of a particular ethnic group but does not act on those attitudes in clinical practice. This BEST represents:

Answer: Prejudice without discrimination

Prejudice refers to negative internal attitudes toward a group, while discrimination involves differential behavior; one can hold prejudiced attitudes without engaging in discriminatory actions.

Stereotype threat, as described by Steele and Aronson, most directly impairs academic performance by:

Answer: Creating anxiety about confirming a negative stereotype about one's group

Stereotype threat occurs when individuals fear confirming a negative group stereotype, generating performance-interfering anxiety and cognitive load.

According to Festinger's social comparison theory, people are most likely to compare themselves to others who are:

Answer: Similar to themselves

Festinger's social comparison theory posits that people evaluate their opinions and abilities by comparing themselves to similar others when objective standards are unavailable.