Social influence, group behavior, and interpersonal psychological phenomena. Institutions and kinship systems belong in Social Structures.
Test your knowledge with these top questions!
What mindset helps explain why the foot-in-the-door effect works?
Once people act helpfully, self-image pushes them to stay consistent by agreeing again to the larger request.
What usually happens to liking when people hear an unfamiliar tune many times?
Repeated hearings make a tune feel easier to process, and the brain reads that ease as liking.
Why does an audience boost easy tasks but hurt difficult ones?
Arousal strengthens the most practiced response, which helps mastered tasks and harms unfamiliar ones.
Which psychologist coined the term groupthink after studying government decision failures?
Janis introduced groupthink in 1972 after analyzing fiascoes such as the Bay of Pigs invasion.
What mistake occurs when people blame a rude driver on character instead of heavy traffic?
Observers often miss hidden pressures like stress or deadlines, so personality gets too much blame for bad behavior.
Audience members who start clapping because nearby people clap show what?
Groups set unspoken norms for applause, so people often copy neighbors to fit in without being told to clap.
What motive describes helping others with no expectation of reward?
Altruistic helpers focus on the other person's welfare, even when helping costs time, effort, or money.
What term describes performing a well-practiced skill better when others watch?
The boost applies to mastered tasks; an audience tends to strengthen the dominant well-rehearsed response.
Which psychologist named the mere-exposure effect in the 1960s?
Zajonc showed people rated unfamiliar words and faces higher after repeated brief showings.
What did volunteers judge in Solomon Asch's classic conformity study?
Confederates gave a clearly wrong answer first, testing whether the real volunteer would follow the group.