Learning Objectives

After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Describe the domain of social psychology.
2. Explain what is meant by social cognition, distinguish between dispositional and situational attributions, and explain three dimensions that have been offered to explain the attributional process.
3. List and describe two biases that enter into the attribution process.
4. List and describe three factors that influence the process of person perception.
5. List and describe four factors that influence our liking for another person.
6. Distinguish between the important features of two theories of romantic love, briefly summarizing any research that supports them.
7. Summarize the scientific evidence in support of the factors that promote romantic love.
8. Define attitude and explain the three components of an attitude.
9. Describe the ways in which our attitudes influence our behavior and how our behavior influences our attitudes.
10. Describe the elaboration likelihood model and how the qualities of the source, message, and audience influence the persuasion process.
11. Distinguish between prejudice and discrimination, and then summarize the factors that have been found to promote and reduce prejudice.
12. Define group and groupthink, and then summarize the factors that promote groupthink and criticism toward the concept.
13. Explain the resolution of the controversy that surrounded the concept of social facilitation, and then explain the concept of social loafing.
14. Describe two types of social influence and explain the significance of the obedience research.
15. Distinguish between prosocial and altruistic behavior.
16. Explain the bystander intervention model, describing the five steps.
17. Define aggression and describe the theories that attempt to account for aggressive behavior, emphasizing the strengths and weaknesses of each theoretical approach.
18. Explain the role deindividuation plays in group violence.