AP Psychology Unit 4: Social Psychology, Personality, and Emotions

Attribution Theory

Tendency to give a causal explanation for someone’s behavior, often by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition

Actor-Observer Bias

when we blame our own actions on external factors

Fundamental Attribution Error

Overestimating personal traits and underestimating environmental context when explaining others' actions.

Self-Serving Bias

Attributing successes to oneself, failure to external factors

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

When a person’s expectations influence their actions, leading to the expected outcome. Prophecy influences behavioral response, which leads to expected outcome, which confirms prophecy

Social Comparison Theory

explains how people compare themselves to others to evaluate their abilities and attitudes. This process can impact self-esteem, mood, and motivation.

Attitude

a set of beliefs and feelings

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

One reason that attitudes are difficult to change. People are motivated to have consistent attitudes and behaviors, and when they do not, they experience unpleasant mental tension (dissonance). When experiencing this sensation, people will either change their attitudes to align with their actions OR change their actions to align with their attitudes.

Central Route to Persuasion

occurs when people's thinking is influenced by considering evidence supporting an argument

Peripheral Route to Persuasion

Occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, more than the actual argument.

Multiculturalism

Recognition and appreciation of diverse cultural perspectives

Ethnocentrism

Belief in superiority of one’s own culture

Normative Social Influence

influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval. Leads to conformity

Conformity

adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard

Informational Social Influence

Influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept other’s opinions about reality. Leads to norms

Norms

unspoken rules of society that influence behaviors

Social Responsibility Norm

n expectation that people will help those needing their help

Social Reciprocity Norm

The belief that if someone does something for you, you should do something for them

Social Facilitation

people tend to perform simple/well-learned tasks BETTER in the presence of others

Social Impairment

People tend to do WORSE on difficult or new tasks in the presence of others

Bystander Effect

The tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystander are present

Deindividualization

The loss of self awareness and self restraint, often occurring in group situations

In-Group Bias

the tendency to favor one’s own group and dislike or blame things on another “out-group”

Scapegoat Theory

Taking responsibility often causes people too much dissonance, would rather blame others (like the “outgroup”)

Prejudice

An unjustifiable (an usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members. Involves stereotyped belief, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action

Stereotype

a generalized, often oversimplified belief or expectation about a specific group of people, applied to all members of that group

Social Loafing

People in groups exert less effort when working toward a common goal than when working individually.

Just-World Phenomenon

the tendency of people to believe the world is “just”, people get what they deserve and deserve what they get.

Social Trap

a situation in which a group of people act to obtain short-term individual rewards, which in the long run leads to a loss for the group as a while

Proximity

mere exposure effect- repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them

Physical Attractiveness

Youthfulness may be associated with health and fertility

Attractiveness

worldwide, men prefer youth and health, women prefer resources and social status.

Similarity

friends share common attitudes, beliefs, and interests

Explanatory Styles

describes how we explain how and why adverse events happen to us

Optimistic Explanatory Style

believes that the cause of that event is specific to that event only, the cause of that even will be short lived

Pessimistic Explanatory Style

believes that the cause of that event is far-reaching and involves many aspects of your life, the cause of that event will be long lasting, and the cause of that event was all your fault

External Locus of Control

people who feel that they have no control over their situation/future.

Internal Locus of Control

the belief that we have control and change change our situation

Foot-In-The-Door Phenomenon

Starts with a small request and then follows up with a larger request. The goal is to increase the likelihood of compliance with the larger request

Door-In-The-Face Phenomenon

Starts with a large request and then follows up with a smaller request.The goal is to gain compliance with the smaller request

Group Polarization

Enhancement of a group’s prevailing attitudes through discussion with the group.

Group Think

The desire for harmony in decision-making group overrides the motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action.

False Consensus Effect

The tendency for people to overestimate the number of people who agree with them

Gender Roles

A set of expected behaviors for males and females

Personality

A person’s unique and relatively consistent patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving.

Psychodynamic Theory (Freud)

Personality is determined from your unconscious desires/conflicts (sI*xual & aggressive)

Unconscious Mind (Freudian)

Holds the most basic of all human instincts and desires. Contains all of our repressed thoughts, passions, desires, wishes, feelings, etc. Repressed feelings are blocked because they would be too unsettling to acknowledge

Manifest Content

The actual content of drams

Latent Content

The interpretation of the content of a dream, which masks your unconscious wishes

Free Association

Patient reports all thoughts, feelings, and mental images that come to mind when given a prompt- no matter how trivial they seem. It is hoped that fragments of repressed thoughts and feelings might emerge in the course of free association, giving an insight into the unconscious mind.

Developing Personality

the battle for satisfaction between the unconscious mind and our conscious mind

Id

Unconscious drives

Pleasure principle

Irrational, instinctual, immediate

Ego

Unconscious drives

Pleasure principle

Irrational, instinctual, immediate

Superego

Morality principle

Values & Acceptable Behavior

Reflected in “conscience”

Structures of Personality

Your EGO must safely and responsibly satisfy your ID, while keeping in mind the needs of your SUPEREGO.

Defense Mechanisms

Your mind’s way of reducing internal stress caused by excess anxiety. Includes repression, regression, reaction formation, displacement, rationalization, displacement, projection, denial, and sublimation

Repression

excluding from consciousness all anxiety-producing thoughts, feelings, impulses. (memory)

Regression

behaving in a way that is characteristic of earlier development (childlike) life age regression

Reaction Formation

When the EGO is stressed over whether it is making the right decision, the EGO enacts behavior that is exactly opposite of the decision it made

Displacement

Redirection of impulse towards a “safer” alternative

Rationalization

Justifying your actions/feelings with another explanation- not true to your feelings. An excuse to make you feel better.

Projection

Giving your own unacceptable urges or qualities to others

Denial

Failing to recognize or acknowledge the existence of information that causes anxiety.

Sublimation

The transfer of unwanted behaviors into something less harmful. Freud considered it the only healthy defense mechanism.

Humanistic Perspective to Personality

Deals with how you feel about yourself, they believe that you have the power to control your personality through free will, self awareness, physiological growth, focus on healthy personality, and individuals' conscious, subjective opinion of self is most important.

Self Concept

Set of perceptions you hold about yourself

Positive Regard

sense of being loved and valued by other people-- can be conditional or unconditional.

Unconditional Positive Regard

Healthy personalities form out of a sense of being loved and valued by other people no matter what. Key to developing a healthy personality

Abraham Masolow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Level 1: Physiological Needs- food, water, oxygen, etc.

Level 2: Safety, Health- Economic and physical security (health and job)

Level 3: Love/Belonging- Significant Other, Family and Friends

Level 4: Esteem- Self-Esteem, Confidence and Respect.

Level 5: Self Actualization- Morality, Lack of Prejudice, the best person you can be. Very few people reach this

Social Cognitive Theory of Personality

Understanding personality involves considering the situation and thoughts before, during, and after an event,

Positive Self-Efficacy:

Belief that people have about their ability to meet demands of a specific situation.

Reciprocal Determinism

Model that explains personality as the result of behavioral, cognitive, and environmental interactions.

Trait Theory

Your personality is composed of broad, pre-dispositions to behave in a certain way

The Five-Factor Model of Personality (OCEAN)

(each section rated on a scale)

O: Openness (imagination, feelings, actions, ideas)

C: Conscientiousness (competence, self-discipline, thoughtfulness, goal-driven)

E: Extroversion (sociability, assertiveness, emotional expression)

A: Agreeableness (cooperative, trustworthy, good-natured)5

N: Neuroticism (tendency toward unstable emotions)

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

Most widely used by mental health professionals, designed to help assess and diagnose mental illness. Should be administered, scored, and interpreted by a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist. Has over 500 true or false questions, includes “lying scales”, and is STANDARIZED

Psychodynamic Testing

Observing what is one’s unconscious mind

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Subject is shown an ambiguous “scene”, like the inklblot, the individual will project onto the scene something of them self and this way their “inner” or hidden self will be revealed. Very subjective even though it is widely used

Stress

mental AND physical condition that occurs when a person encounters some demand or expectation and must adjust or adapt to the environment

Stress Reaction

he arousal of the autonomic nervous system that occurs in response to the stressor (often leading to the “flight or fight” response). The sympathetic nervous system is activated by stress.

Hpertension

high blood pressure and heart disease. This increases risk of stroke and heart attacks

Headaches

stress increase muscle tension and can affect blood flow to the brain

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

three stage process that describes the psychological changes the body goes through when under stress. Includes alarm, resistance, and exhaustion

Alarm

Initial reaction to a stressor; flight-or-flight response

Resistance

continued “coping” with stress leads to irritability, frustration and poor concentration

Exhaustion

extended exposure to stress can be dangerous. Leads to fatigue, burnout, depression, anxiety, illness (weakened immune system) and learned helplessness.

Distress

negative stress, what you typically perceive as stressful such as a job loss or family conflict

Eustress

positive stress, pushes people to achieve and accomplish goals, such as getting a promotion at work or preparing for a wedding. Optimal performance.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE)

Traumatic events that occur during childhood and can have long lasting negative effects on a person’s mental and physical health. Includes abuse, neglect, household dysfunction. Increases the risk of mental health problems later in life

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

A disorder in which a person has difficulty recovering after an extremely STRESSFUL event. The condition may last months or years, with triggers that can bring back memories of the trauma accompanied by intense emotional and physical reactions. Symptoms may include nightmares or unwanted memories of the trauma, avoidance of situations that brings back memories of the trauma, heightened reactions, anxiety, or depressed mood.

Post-Traumatic Growth

For some, POSITIVE psychological changes that can emerge from grappling with trauma or challenging circumstances.

Tend and Befriend Theory

in response to stress, some people (females in particular) come together with others for joint protection. The "tend” aspect refers to the nurturing and protective behaviors aimed at caring for those in need (giving comfort, reassurance and practical assistance. The “befriend” aspect emphasizes the importance of social connections and support as opposed to withdrawing and isolating (emotional support, sharing experiences. Social support is important for lessening the negative impacts of stress.

Coping

the act of facing and dealing with problems and stressors over the long term. Unhealthy ways include avoiding responsibilities (stop doing your school work), self-destructive behaviors (drugs/alcohol) and neglecting self-care (showering, changing clothes, etc). These behaviors are counter-productive and usually INCREASE the stress.

Emotion-Focused Coping

involves controlling or replacing the negative emotional responses to the stressor. Particularly if we have little control over the cause of the stress. Takes care of emotion but doesn’t solve the actual problem.

Problem-Focused Coping

involves managing or fixing the stress by changing our behavior or the situation causing the stressor.

Positive Psychologists (Therapists)

focus not just on happiness, but “Subjective well-being”, a broad term encompassing: life satisfaction, positive emotions, positive behaviors, and positive thinking. For example, things with intrinsic value lead to greater happiness than things with extrinsic value

Gratitude

a positive emotional response that emerges from acknowledging and appreciating the good aspects of life. Practicing gratitude elevates happiness and life satisfaction. Fosters positive emotions such as optimism, joy, and pleasure . A buffer against anxiety and depression

Character Strengths

Attributes/traits that contribute to your positive functioning. Utilizing your signature strength report higher levels of happiness. Includes Wisdom/Knowledge, Humanity, Justice, Temperance. Transcendence, and Courage.

Instinct

Complex behaviors have fixed patterns and are not learned (explains animal motivation)

Drive Reduction

physiological need creates aroused tension (drive) that motivates you to satisfy the need. Driven by homeostasis. Contains primary and secondary drives

Primary Drive

unlearned drive based on survival