Group polarization is the strengthening of an original group attitude following the discussion of views within a group (Teger & Pruitt, 1967). That is, if a group initially favors a viewpoint, after discussion the group consensus is likely a stronger endorsement of the viewpoint. Conversely, if the group was initially opposed to a viewpoint, group discussion would likely lead to stronger opposition.

When observing how a curve behaves near a specific point along the horizontal axis, there are cases where the curve’s height increases or decreases without limit as the position draws closer to that point. The curve does not settle at any particular value; instead, the values grow more extreme—upward or downward—the nearer they get. No defined value exists exactly at that location, yet the surrounding behavior becomes more dramatic, indicating a sharp change in direction.The values may rise...

Social traps are negative situations where people get caught in a direction or relationship that later proves to be unpleasant, with no easy way to back out of or avoid. The concept was orignally introduced by John Platt who applied psychology to Garrett Hardin's "Tragedy of the Commons", where in New England herd owners could let their cattle graze in the common ground. This situation seems like a good idea, but an individual could have an advantage. If they owned more cows, the larger...

In order to make good decisions, we use our knowledge and our reasoning. Often, this knowledge and reasoning is sound and solid. However, sometimes, we are swayed by biases or by others manipulating a situation. For example, let’s say you and three friends wanted to rent a house and had a combined target budget of $1,600. The realtor shows you only very run-down houses for $1,600 and then shows you a very nice house for $2,000. Might you ask each person to pay more in rent to get the $2,000...

A limit describes the value a function approaches as its input moves closer to a particular point. Even when a function is undefined at a specific value, limits allow us to analyze its behavior near that point. This concept is fundamental in calculus and essential for understanding continuity, derivatives, and integrals.Mathematically, a function f(x) has a limit L at x = a if its values L approach x as x gets arbitrarily close to a. This is written as:This notation expresses that the function...

Social proof is a form of persuasion based on comparison and conformity. People compare their behavior and actions to what others are doing and will change to conform to do what their peers do.