Alphabetical Glossary

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

deception
the procedure whereby participants are misled about the true purpose of a study or the events that will actually transpire

decode
to interpret the meaning of the nonverbal behavior other people express, such as deciding that a pat on the back was an expression of condescension and not kindness

defensive attributions
explanations for behavior that avoid feelings of vulnerability and mortality

dehumanization
the act of seeing victims as nonhumans (e.g., "gooks" instead of fellow human beings); dehumanization lowers inhibitions against aggressive actions and makes continued aggression easier and more likely

deindividuation
the loosening of normal constraints on behavior, leading to an increase in impulsive and deviant acts

density
the number of people who occupy a given space

dependent variable
the variable a researcher measures to see if it is influenced by the independent variable; the researcher hypothesizes that the dependent variable will depend on the level of the independent variable

descriptive norms
people's perceptions of how other people are actually behaving in a given situation, regardless of what behaviors are socially sanctioned

diffusion of responsibility
the phenomenon whereby each bystander's sense of responsibility to help decreases as the number of witnesses increases

discounting
underestimating the effects of one cause of our behavior when another cause is conspicuous and salient

discrimination
unjustified negative or harmful action toward a member of a group, simply because of his or her membership in that group

disjunctive task
a group task in which performance depends on how well the most talented member does (e.g., a group of people trying to solve a difficult math problem)

display rules
culturally determined rules about which nonverbal behaviors are appropriate to display

distinctiveness information
information about the extent to which one particular actor behaves in the same way to different stimuli

divisible versus a unitary task
divisible tasks are those that can be broken down into different subtasks performed by individual members, whereas unitary tasks are those in which no division of labor is feasible; performance on unitary tasks depends on how group members' outputs are combined to reach a joint decision

door-in-the-face technique
a technique to get people to comply with a request, whereby people are presented first with a large request, which they are expected to refuse, and then with a smaller, more reasonable request, to which it is hoped they will acquiesce

downward social comparison
the process whereby we compare ourselves to people who are worse than we on a particular trait or ability, in order to feel better about ourselves