Social Psychology

A pattern in which a group appears more willing to take chances or to take an extreme stance than any individual members would have been on their own.

An emotional state characterized by idealization of the beloved, obsessive thoughts of this person, and turbulent feelings. See also companionate love.

The intensification of romantic love that can occur when the couple's parents oppose relationship.

Beliefs about how a person will behave that actually make the expected behavior more likely.

The theory that we know our own attitudes and feelings only by observing our own behaviors and deciding what probably caused them, just as we do when trying to understand others.

Explanations of someone's behavior in terms of the circumstances rather than aspects of the person.

The tendency to perform simple or well-practiced tasks better in the presence of others than alone.

The tendency to perform complex or difficult tasks more poorly in the presence of others.

A pattern in which people working together on a task generate less total effort than they would have if they had each worked alone.

Philip Zimbardo's study of the effect of roles on behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to play either prisoners or guards in a mock prison. The study was ended early because of the "guards'"

Schemas that are often negative and are used to categorize complex groups of people.

A sales method that starts with a modest offer, then improves on it. The improvement seems to require reciprocation, which often takes the form of purchasing the item.