| Social Psychology Concept | Definition | Application to Society Provide Example | Application to Criminal Justice Provide Example | Application to the Individual Provide Example |
| Survey Research | Insert text here. Use complete sentences and limit each cell to a maximum of 200 words. | Insert text here. Use complete sentences and limit each cell to a maximum of 200 words. | Insert text here. Use complete sentences and limit each cell to a maximum of 200 words. | Insert text here. Use complete sentences and limit each cell to a maximum of 200 words. |
| Self-Esteem | This is a feeling of self-efficacy and self actualization. It is when a person recognizes and appreciates the innate abilities within them. It is also the aspect of self belief and self confidence | Self esteem is applicable in various aspects of societies. This is especially when one is faced with a challenge (Franzoi, 2009). When one goes through a rough patch in life, they must rise again and move on with their life. The ability to rise above one’s challenges is a perfect example of application of self esteem. | Self esteem is also applicable in the criminal justice system. When a person is incarcerated, going back to the society is always a challenge. Former inmates suffer from low self esteem. Former inmates are encouraged to rise above their fears and boost up their self esteem | Various instances in society can either boost or break the self esteem of a person. Success and power is always known to boot the self esteem of a person. This is when the person feels that they are on top and in control |
| Self-Handicapping | This is a mechanism adopted by individuals in an attempt to protect their self esteem (Franzoi, 2009). When an individual is of the view that their self esteem is danger of being hurt, they take up a protective mechanism known as self-handicapping | Procrastination is one of the most common forms of self- handicapping. This is done mainly due to the fear of failure. Therefore, a person postpones doing something which they must eventually do. | This is when an inmate fails to show improvement deliberately so that they are not released. They have the fear of not fitting back into the community. They therefore prefer to remain within the system. | People who have been through hurtful relationships will always find excuses of not getting into new ones. This is for fear of getting hurt again |
| Hindsight Bias | This is when people feel that the occurrence of certain event or chain of events was imminent just as they had thought earlier. It occurs when there is a distortion of the mind | More often, people tend to have biases towards certain issues or certain people. This is more often occasioned by some experiences in the past. The mindset they have may not always be correct and this distort their ability to perceive issues correctly | This happens through labeling of former inmates. They are more often stigmatized upon release. Due to this, there is a tendency to predict such occurrences | People who have been through traumatic experiences are likely to have hindsight bias. They always believe that what happened to them previously will happen again. |
| External Attribution | Derived from the word attribute, this refers to association of certain occurrences with certain other factors. It is also the belief that other people are likely to react differently to similar situations | In case of failure to get something that somebody wants people react differently. There are some people who will look forward to another opportunity and some will feel dejected for the failure | Within the criminal justice system, there are those who recognize their mistakes and agree to reform. There are others who constantly blame themselves for their mistakes and are unable to transform their lives (Franzoi, 2009). | People’s reactions to different situations vary. This is determined by a number of factors. Generally however, individuals are different. Therefore, even when faced with similar situations they are likely to react differently. |
| Cognitive Dissonance | This is an inward conflict of thoughts, ideas, opinions and attitudes in a person | Sometimes people know that what they are doing is wrong. Yet, they seek to look for a justification that will make them feel more comfortable within themselves. For example people who smoke will justify that they don’t smoke too much | A person who is involved in crime will always justify by perhaps arguing that they need to tend for their children. This makes the person feel more comfortable inward. | A perfect example would be people who smoke or take alcohol. These people know full well that such drugs are harmful to the body. However, they justify by rationalizing the reason why they do it. |
| Media Persuasion | This is the power of the media to influence and cause change in attitude and behavior | The impression given by the media about a certain issue is likely to be given much weight because of the influence of the media | The portrayal of inmates by the media largely influences the perception that the society has about them | What people see in the media is very powerful. A person is likely to buy a product just because it was advertised in the media as being good. |
Matrix Terms — Key to Pages from Textbook
Franzoi, S. L. (2009). PSY 110: Social psychology: 2009 custom edition (5th ed.). New York:
McGraw-Hill Custom Publishing.
| Term | Textbook Pages |
| Survey Research | 43-44 |
| Self-Esteem | 85-93 |
| Self-Handicapping | 81-85 |
| Hindsight Bias | 112-113 and 116 |
| External Attribution | 127 |
| Cognitive Dissonance | 162-168 |
| Media Persuasion | 174-178 |
References
Franzoi, S. L. (2009). PSY 110: Social psychology: New York: McGraw-Hill Custom Publishing.