Society & Culture

The tendency to interpret the world primarily through human values, interests, and experience, placing human concerns at the center of moral and practical consideration.

The tendency to characterize animals, objects, and abstract concepts as possessing human-like traits, emotions, and intentions.

A phenomenon whereby the rate of uptake of beliefs, ideas, fads and trends \*decreases\* the more that they have already been adopted by others (contrary to the Bandwagon Effect).

Withdrawal or alienation from society or human interaction, often as a result of disappointment or disillusionment with people or society.

The phenomenon where the group performance exceeds the combined contributions of individual group members. There is evidence for both task-specific assembly bonus effects, and a general effect of collective intelligence, analogous to that of general intelligence.

A self-reinforcing cycle where an idea gains credibility simply because more people are repeating it. Popularity substitutes for evidence, and the belief snowballs through social networks.

A phenomenon whereby the rate of uptake of beliefs, ideas, fads and trends increases the more that they have already been adopted by others.

The tendency to underestimate your own abilities relative to others, especially in areas where you feel inexpert. The flip side of overconfidence.

A proposed psychological phenomenon where a person who has already performed a favor for another is more likely to do another favor for the other than if they had received a favor from that person.

The cognitive bias of recognizing the impact of biases on the judgment of others, while failing to see the impact of biases on one's own judgment.

The subconscious tendency of people to prefer the numbers in the date of their birthday over other numbers.

The theory that maintaining and monitoring urban environments to prevent small crimes such as vandalism, public drinking, and toll-jumping helps to create an atmosphere of order and lawfulness, thereby preventing more serious crimes from happening.

A social psychological phenomenon in which individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim when other people are present.

A movement first described in Melanesia which encompasses a range of practices and occurs in the wake of contact with more technologically advanced societies, where there was a belief that various ritualistic acts such as the building of an airplane runway will result in the appearance of material wealth, particularly highly desirable Western goods (i.e., cargo), via Western airplanes.

A sociological concept where a community or society may at times come together and simultaneously communicate the same thought and participate in the same action, which in turn excites individuals and serves to unify the group.

Generally, a political and social philosophy that promotes tradition, hierarchy, and social continuity — though it receives criticism as upholding social and economic inequality, and as making unhelpful societal appeals to nostalgia and a romantic history that has likely been more manufactured than experienced.

Social phenomenon where people in a group try to bring down or sabotage those who try to improve or succeed, out of envy, resentment, or a sense of competition.

The tendency to more easily recognize faces of the race that one is most familiar with (which is most often one's own race).

The process of obtaining feedback, services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people — often associated with Internet communities — where when a large group's aggregated answers to questions has been found to be as good as, and often better than, the answer given by any of the individuals within a group.

The idea that cultures change over time through processes analogous to biological evolution — beliefs, customs, languages, and technologies spread, mutate, compete, and sometimes go extinct.

A social psychological term from the attributional approach referring to a set of beliefs used as a shield against the fear that one will be the victim or cause of a serious mishap.

What happens when too many people contribute to a design without a single unifying vision. The result is often a muddled compromise that satisfies no one.

The suggested cognitive limit to the number of friends one can maintain, in terms of stable, social relationships, which is usually said to be around 150.

Metaphorical environment in which beliefs are amplified and reinforced inside of a closed system.

Inferences about the nature of specific individuals are based solely upon aggregate statistics collected for the group to which those individuals belong.

The tendency to rely too heavily on one's own perspective and/or have a higher opinion of oneself than reality.

An obvious problem or risk that no one wants to discuss but which everyone is silently considering.

Cognitive bias in which people underestimate the influences of visceral drives on their own attitudes, preferences, and behaviors.

An attributional bias where people attribute relatively more to "extrinsic incentives" (such as monetary reward) than to "intrinsic incentives" (such as learning a new skill) when weighing the motives of others rather than themselves.

The tendency to overestimate how many other people share your opinions, preferences, and habits — assuming your way of thinking is more "normal" than it actually is.

How people tend to view their qualities, traits and personal attributes as unique, when in reality they are not.

A ritual of pausing for coffee, a treat, and unhurried conversation. More than a simple break — it is about slowing down and connecting with the people around you.

A trope where a caregiver develops romantic feelings, sexual feelings, or both for their patient, even if very little communication or contact takes place outside of basic care.

Phenomenon where knowledge or experiences are lost between generations due to incomplete or selective transmission, leading to a distorted or incomplete understanding of historical events or cultural practices.

A feeling of warmth, togetherness, and relaxed social comfort — applied to places, people, gatherings, or moments that make you feel at home among friends.

A Wiradjuri concept encompassing wind, change, and the feelings of fear and apprehension that accompany transformation.

The tendency to believe either that the characteristics of an individual group member are reflective of the group as a whole, or that a group's decision outcome must reflect the preferences of individual group members.

A nostalgic reference to a past period remembered as happy, peaceful, and successful.

The tendency to be overconfident on hard tasks and underconfident on easy ones. We overestimate our chances when things look difficult, and underestimate them when things look simple.

The tendency of humans to quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major positive or negative events or life changes.

Not conforming with accepted or orthodox standards or beliefs.

Group intelligence that emerges from the collective efforts of individuals and reflects a collective intelligence. Commonly seen in sociology, political science, biology, and technology.

A traditional Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness, centered on restoring harmony through mutual responsibility and letting go.

The tendency of individuals to associate and bond with similar others, as in the expression "birds of a feather flock together".

The tendency to interpret others' behaviors as having hostile intent, even when the behavior is ambiguous or benign.

An 18th-century Scottish term for lounging in bed long after it's time to get up. A charming word for a universal guilty pleasure.

Danish concept that refers to a feeling of coziness, warmth, and contentment, often achieved through simple pleasures and social interactions, and emphasizing a sense of comfort, security, and togetherness.

A cognitive bias whereby people perceive their knowledge of others to surpass other people's knowledge of them.

The notion that most people feel they understand the world with far greater detail, coherence, and depth than they really do.

A cognitive bias where people overestimate their own qualities and abilities relative to others — most people, for example, rate themselves as above-average drivers.

The Japanese concept of taking power naps at work, on the subway, and in other public places, where the practice is seen not as a sign of laziness, but of diligence — that one is working themselves to exhaustion.

The pattern of favoring people who belong to your own group while being skeptical or dismissive of outsiders, often unconsciously.

The moment when something that was once popular no longer warrants the attention it previously received, particularly when attempts at publicity only serve to highlight its irrelevance.

A classical Japanese dance-drama known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate makeup worn by some of its performers.

A Finnish term for drinking at home alone in your underwear, with no intention of going out. Elevated to a national concept — no shame, just comfort.

The person in a family or community who preserves its stories, traditions, and connections across generations — the living thread that holds collective memory together.

A vision of modern life as fundamentally out of balance — humanity's relationship with technology and nature seen as one of escalating disharmony, made iconic by the 1982 experimental film of the same name.

A Swedish philosophy of moderation and balance — not too much, not too little, but just the right amount.

Scandinavian social code that emphasizes humility, conformity, and egalitarianism, and discourages individualism and self-promotion.

The quality of ambiguity that occurs in the middle of a rite of passage, where one no longer hold their pre-ritual status, but have not yet transitioned to the final state — a standing on the threshold.

The phenomenon where when one engages in something they're excited about, they will naturally pull others into their orbit.

The belief that one's thoughts, wishes, or rituals can directly influence events in the world. From superstitions to prayer to "jinxing it" — the feeling that thinking something can make it so.

The phenomenon where individuals systematically overestimate the prevalence of their current state (neighborhood, local environment) over the global knowledge of the states of others, which may accelerate the spread of choices, risky behaviors, social contagions.

Maslow used the terms ‘physiological', ‘safety', ‘belongingness' and ‘love', ‘esteem', ‘self-actualization', and ‘self-transcendence' to describe the pattern that human motivations generally move through, in a ranked and building fashion.

A bias against acknowledging the achievements of those women scientists whose work is attributed to their male colleagues.

Malagasy expression, literally “it exists but it’s empty,” which is colloquially ‘out of stock,’ but also serves as a more philosophical notion of having the capacity and expectation to have something, but to not currently be in possession of that thing.

The tendency to assume other people are more selfishly motivated than they actually are. We expect bias in others while remaining blind to our own.

The human tendency to believe that we see the world around us objectively, and that people who disagree with us must be uninformed, irrational, or biased.

A strong attraction to novelty and new experiences. Neophiles thrive on change and are drawn to the unfamiliar — sometimes at the expense of depth or commitment.

The practice of deliberately doing nothing — sitting idle, staring out a window, or letting your mind wander without any productive goal.

Confidence in one's self-image tends to make one less worried about the consequences of subsequent immoral behavior, thus making one more likely to make immoral choices.

The sphere of thought encircling the earth that has emerged through evolution as a consequence of growth in complexity and consciousness — an evolution beyond the geosphere (inanimate matter) and the biosphere (biological life).

A philosophy of hospitality centered on anticipating guests' needs and fulfilling them wholeheartedly, without pretense or expectation of anything in return.

The tendency for the perception of out-group members as more similar to one another than are in-group members, e.g. "they are alike; we are diverse."

A person's subjective confidence in their judgements are greater than the objective accuracy of those judgements.

Extended deliberation or negotiation aimed at reaching consensus through open dialogue, though now often used informally to mean excessive, drawn-out, or unnecessary talk and fuss.

A critique of disciplines like economics, sociology, or psychology for chasing the mathematical precision and predictive power of physics, often at the cost of oversimplifying their own subject matter.

The phenomenon of elements of a culture being transformed or more fully embraced elsewhere, and then _re_-imported to the original culture with a nuance of the foreign culture's interpretation.

An appeal towards a framework of thinking in terms of populations and variation among individuals as opposed to individuals as central representative types.

A ceremonial feast practiced by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast involving elaborate gift-giving, oratory, and sometimes destruction of wealth, serving to redistribute resources and reinforce kinship obligations.

An affective feeling towards a person or group member based solely on that person's group membership.

The phenomenon where higher expectations placed on someone actually lead to improved performance. What you expect of people shapes what they become.

A Danish interjection — roughly "don't worry about it" or "oh well" — expressing the cultural practice of letting go of small frustrations and resetting one's attitude.

Recording devices fashioned from strings and knots, historically used by a number of cultures particularly in the region of Andean South America.

A behavior whereby an organism acts in a manner that temporarily reduces its fitness while increasing another organism's fitness, with the expectation that the other organism will act in a similar manner at a later time.

The tendency for people to overestimate their ability to control impulsive behavior. An inflated self-control belief may lead to greater exposure to temptation, and increased impulsiveness.

The tendency for individual members of a group to become increasingly less productive as the size of their group increases.

In Western Kenya, it means "to spread", and refers to marketing slogans for mobile connectivity, as well as to refer to the way money slips away, drip by drip, as friends and family ask for favors.

A cognitive strategy by which people avoid effort in the hopes of keeping potential failure from hurting self-esteem.

The tendency to credit personal successes to one's own abilities and efforts while blaming failures on external circumstances — a pattern that protects and enhances self-esteem.

The tendency for group members to spend more time and energy discussing information that all members are already familiar with (i.e., shared information), and less time and energy discussing information that only some members are aware of (i.e., unshared information).

The hypothesis that the awarding of an educational degree would yield a higher income than the same amount of studying without possession of a certificate.

Any custom or tradition, particularly a speech pattern, that distinguishes one group of people (an ingroup) from others (outgroups).

A Finnish concept described as stoic determination, tenacity of purpose, grit, bravery, resilience, and hardiness.

Having feelings of dislike and competitiveness with someone that is seen physically, or mentally better than oneself.

A psychological phenomenon where people copy the actions of others in an attempt to reflect correct behavior in a given situation.

A spatial region or conceptual division where a state or organization has a level of cultural, economic, military, or political exclusivity, accommodating to the interests of powers outside the borders of the state that controls it.

The phenomenon in which people tend to believe they are being noticed or are the center of attention more than they really are.

A folk story in which hungry strangers convince the people of a town to each share a small amount of their food in order to make a meal that everyone enjoys (and whereby the inedible stone can be removed when the neighboring ingredients are sufficient to make an actual soup), and exists as a moral regarding the value of sharing.

The social and cultural activity of sharing stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatrics, or embellishment. Every culture has its own stories or narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation or instilling moral values.

A cognitive bias by which a person will consider a statement or another piece of information to be correct if it has any personal meaning or significance to them.

A theory within social psychology where people have underlying needs, which vary from individual to individual, that can be satisfied by the defense and justification of the status quo, even when the system may be disadvantageous to certain people.

A metaphor for an issue that is controversial to the point of being "untouchable" that to broach the subject will cause damage. The metaphor comes from the high-voltage third rail in some electric railway systems.

German compound word translated as "gate-close-panic", describing a fear that time is running out to do major life things.

The tendency for people to view themselves as relatively variable in terms of personality, behavior and mood while viewing others as much more predictable in their personal traits across different situations.

Household objects — tools, utensils, instruments — believed to gain a spirit or consciousness after reaching great age, often becoming mischievous or vengeful once animated.

The tendency to 'lock' individuals into narrowly defined, safe, predictable roles based on their past performance rather than their potential in new and/or different roles.

A Southern African philosophy meaning "I am because we are" — the belief that our humanity is bound up in the humanity of others.

A group-level attribution error where one explains an outgroups' negative behavior as flaws in their personality, and positive behavior as a result of chance or circumstance, where conversely they explain an \*ingroups'\* negative behavior as a result of chance or circumstance, and positive behavior as strengths in their personality.

A public debate within a country on a problematic period of its recent history. Most often associated with World War II and the Holocaust.

The phenomenon found in psychological and sociological research which suggests that people associate more positive attributes with women compared to men.

The concept of an invisible agent or force dominating the characteristics of a given epoch in world history.