Page 450 - The Social Animal

432 Glossary

cover story: the setting and scenario of an experiment designed to increase
experimental realism by producing a situation in which the participants can
behave naturally without being affected by knowing precisely which aspect of
their behavior is being studied
credibility of the source: if the source of a communication is both expert
and trustworthy, that source is likely to have an impact on the beliefs of the
audience

debriefing: the procedure whereby the purpose of the study and exactly
what transpired is explained to participants at the end of an experiment

decoy: in consumer decision making, an alternative that is inferior to other
possible selections but serves the purpose of making one of the others look
good by comparison
dehumanization: the process of seeing victims as nonhumans, which lowers
inhibitions against aggressive actions and makes continued aggression easier
and more likely
deindividuation: a state of reduced self-awareness (usually brought about
by anonymity), which results in reduced concern over social evaluation and
weakened restraints against prohibited forms of behavior
dependent variable: in an experiment, the variable a researcher measures to
see if it is influenced by the independent variable; the researcher hypothe-
sizes that the dependent variable will depend on the level of the independent
variable
dilution effect: the tendency for additional irrelevant information about an
issue to weaken our judgment or impression of that issue
dispositional attribution: the assumption that a person’s behavior is the re-
sult of his or her personality (disposition) rather than of pressures existing in
the situation
egocentric thought: the tendency to perceive one’s self as more central to
events than it really is
ego-defensive: behavior aimed at maintaining a positive view of oneself at
the expense of viewing the world accurately
emotional contagion: the rapid transmission of emotions or behaviors
through a crowd
empathy: the ability to put oneself in the shoes of another person—to expe-
rience events and emotions (e.g., joy, sadness) the way that person experi-
ences them
Eros: the instinct toward life, posited by Freud