Chapter 1

Question 1

Social psychology

Answer 1

The scientific study of the way in
which people’s thoughts, feelings,
and behaviors are influenced by
the real or imagined presence of
other people

Question 2

Social influence

Answer 2

The effect that the words, actions,
or mere presence of other people
have on our thoughts, feelings,
attitudes, or behavior

Question 3

Individual differences

Answer 3

The aspects of people’s
personalities that make them
different from other people

Question 4

Fundamental attribution error

Answer 4

The tendency to overestimate the
extent to which people’s behavior
is due to internal, dispositional
factors and to underestimate the
role of situational factors

Question 5

Behaviorism

Answer 5

A school of psychology
maintaining that to understand
human behavior, one need only
consider the reinforcing properties
of the environment

Question 6

Construal

Answer 6

The way in which people perceive,
comprehend, and interpret the
social world

Question 7

Gestalt psychology

Answer 7

A school of psychology stressing
the importance of studying the
subjective way in which an object
appears in people’s minds rather
than the objective, physical
attributes of the object

Question 8

Self-esteem

Answer 8

People’s evaluations of their own
self-worth—that is, the extent to
which they view themselves as
good, competent, and decent

Question 9

Social cognition

Answer 9

How people think about
themselves and the social world;
more specifically, how people
select, interpret, remember, and
use social information to make
judgments and decisions