Unit 4 & 5 AP PSYCH VOCAB

from the cram packet

Attributions

how ppl explain behavior & mental processes of themselves & others

Dispositional attribution

person’s internal qualities —personality

Situational attribution

external circumstances

attribution theory

we explain behaviors by crediting the situation or the person’s internal disposition (personality)

Fundamental attribution error

tendency to blame a person’s disposition (personality) and not consider the situation (that guy cut me off b/c he’s a jerk — not that his wife could be in labor)

Actor-observer bias

when its others— blame the person, when its you, blame the situation

Self serving bias

self only — our successes are bc we’re awesome, our failures are someone else’s fault

self fulfilling prophecy

a belief that leads to its own fulfillment (I expect you all to pass, you know this, you study— fulfilling my prophecy)

social comparison

we evaluate ourselves based on comparisons to society and social circles

upward comparison

compare to ppl you think are better than you (I want to be like them)

downward comparison

compare to someone you think is worse off than you (at least I don't have it as bad as them)

relative deprivation

judge what we are lacking relative to others

explanatory style

how ppl explain good and bad events in their lives and others — either optimistic (pos) or pessimistic (neg)

External locus of control

chance / outside forces control your fate

Internal locus

control your own fate

Mere exposure effect

repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking them (the more time you spend around something the more you like it)

stereotype

generalized concept above a group (a label)

• reduces cognitive load (mental effort) when making decisions

• Usually the basis of prejudice and discrimination

prejudice

neg. reaction towards a person/group w/o any advance experience w/ that group (a belief/emotion)