Appendix A: Glossary of Terms

Appendix A: Glossary of Terms

Attribution- cognitive process of assigning meaning to a symptom or behaviour (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008, p. 156)

Expressive Equipment: relates to being attractive and having spending power (Lease, Kennedy, & Axelrod, 2002)

In-group- those belonging to the same group “Us” (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008, p. 404)

Normative Influence- Going along with the crowd in order to be liked or accepted (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008, p. 267)

Norms- social standards that prescribe what people ought to do (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008, p. 256)

Out-group- Those belonging to a different group “them” (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008, p. 404)

Reference group- groups that people look to when evaluating or deciding qualities, circumstances, attitudes, values and behaviours (Steinberg, 1993)

Social aggression-consists of actions directed at damaging another's self-esteem, social status, or both, and includes behaviors such as facial expressions of disdain, cruel gossipping, and the manipulation of friendship patterns (Galen & Underwood, 1997).

Social Categorisation- Sorting people into groups on the basis of common characteristics (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008, p. 404)

Social visibility- described as being perceived as ‘cool and athletic’ (Lease, Kennedy, & Axelrod, 2002)

Stereotypes-beliefs that associate groups of people with certain traits (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008, p. 403)

Stigma- an attribute that is perceived by others as broadly negative (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008, p. 227)

Stigma by association- rejection of those who associate with stigmatised others (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008, p. 408)


Definitions from:

Baumeister, R. F., & Bushman, B. J. (2008). Social Psychology and Human Nature (1st ed.) Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

Galen, B. R., & Underwood, M. K. (1998). A developmental investigation of social aggression among children. Developmental Psychology, 33(4), 589-600.

Lease, A. M., Kennedy, C. A. & Axelrod, J. L. (2002). Children’s social construction of popularity. Social Development, 11(1), 87-109.

Steinberg, L. (1993). Adolescence (3rd ed.). Sydney; McGraw-Hill, Inc.