AP Psych Unit 4: Social Psychology and Personality

Attribution Theory + 2 Types of Attribution

explains how individuals determine the causes of behavior based on disposition or situation

Dispositional vs Situational Attributions

1. explains behavior based on internal traits, motives, and intentions

2. explains behavior based on external and environmental factors

Self-Serving Bias, Actor-Observer Bias, Fundamental Attribution Error

1. the tendency to attribute success to internal factors and attribute failure to external factors

2. the tendency to attribute your own behavior to external factors and the same behavior of others to internal factors

3. the tendency to overemphasize internal factors and underestimate external factors when judging others’ behaviors

Optimistic vs Pessimistic Explanatory Styles

how you explore different events/situations in life

1. attributes negative events to external, unstable, specific causes, promoting resilience

2. attributes negative events to internal, stable, global causes, linked to depression

External vs Internal Locus of Control

who/what you believe has power over events in your life

1. the belief that situational factors determine the outcomes of events in your life

2. the belief that your actions directly affect the outcomes of events in your life

Person Perception

how you form impressions of other people and yourself

Mere Exposure Effect

when repeatedly exposure to a stimulus causes an individual to like the stimulus more and more

Self-fulfilling Prophecy

when expectations influence behavior in a way that causes those expectations to come true

Upward vs Downward Social Comparison

how you constantly evaluate yourself by comparing circumstances, skills, abilities, and internal characteristics to others

1. comparing yourself to someone you believe is better off

• Relative deprivation: when this causes you to feel worse off

2. comparing yourself to someone you believe is worse off

Explicit vs Implicit Attitudes

how you think, feel, or behave towards something/someone

1. beliefs you are consciously aware of

2. believes you are unaware of

Just-World Phenomenon & Victim-Blaming

1. the belief that the world is just and things are the way they are for a reason

2. the idea that an individual’s misfortunes are their own fault

Cohort Effect

When a cohort, a group of individuals with common characteristics, exhibits unique characteristics that differentiate them from other groups

In-Group & Out-Group

1. people perceived to be part of the same group as you, having similar characteristics

2. people perceived to be part of a different group

Out-group Homogeneity Bias & In-Group Bias

1. the tendency to perceive members of an out-group as similar

2. the tendency to favor and support people in your own group while being more critical of those outside it

• Ethnocentrism: the idea that your own culture and group is superior

Cultural Relativism

when you view and judge another culture by its own standards

shows that no culture is superior to another

Belief Perseverance

maintaining a belief despite opposing evidence

Stereotypes vs Prejudice vs Discrimination

1. generalized beliefs about a group of people

2. preconceived negative [generalized beliefs toward a group of people]

3. unfair treatment of individuals based on their group

Explicit vs Implicit Prejudice

1. prejudice that people are aware of and consciously agree with

2. prejudice that people are unaware of

Cognitive Dissonance

mental discomfort/tension caused by conflicting beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors

Conformity + 4 Examples

the tendency to align your behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes with the norm

Unanimity of a group: if a group all gives similar responses, it increases the chance that the individual will give a similar response

Group cohesion: if an individual feels a sense of belonging to a group, it increases the chance that they will conform

Normative influence: when a person conforms in order to fit in and be accepted

Informational influence: when a person conforms because they believe the group has accurate information

Obedience vs Disent

1. conforming to authority figures

2. disagreeing with the opinions of the group or authority figure

Social Impact Theory

the idea that the amount of influence you experience from others depends on three factors:

1. Strength: how important, powerful, or respected the influencing group is to you

2. Immediacy: how close the influencing group is in terms of physical distance and time

3. Number: how many people are present and actively exerting the social influence

Elaboration Likelihood Model

explains how people are persuaded

Central route to persuasion: uses facts, often takes more time and elaboration

Peripheral route to persuasion: uses emotions

Halo Effect

a bias where your overall impression of a person influences how you feel and think about them

Foot-in-the-Door Technique vs Door-in-the-Face Technique

1. after a small request is accepted, you make a larger request

2. a large request that is likely to be refused is followed by a smaller, more reasonable request

Group Polarization & Group Think

1. tendency for opinions and actions to become more extreme in a group setting

2. phenomenon where a group prioritizes consensus over critical evaluation, leading to poor decision-making

Deindividuation, Diffusion of Responsibility, and Bystander effect

1. when being in a group creates a feeling of anonymity and causes individuals to lose their sense of self-awareness or personal accountability

2. when an individual feels less responsible for taking action in situations where others are present

3. due to term 2, individuals are less likely to help when others are present

Social Loafing

When individuals in a group try less because they can rely on others to carry the workload

Industrial Organization Psychology

studies how psychological concepts/methods can be used to optimize humans behavior in workplaces

Social Facilitation vs Social Inhibition

1. performance on simple tasks improves in the presence of others

2. performance on complex or unfamiliar tasks deteriorates in the presence of others

False Consensus Effect

a bias that causes an individual to overestimate how others think/act and believe that others must have the same thoughts as them

Superordinate Goals

goals that require cooperation to accomplish

Social Traps

situations where people act in their own short-term interest, disregarding long-term consequences

Altruism

when an individual acts selflessly for others without expecting personal gain

Social Responsibility Norms & Reciprocity Norms

1. the expectation that people will help those in need out of moral obligation

2. the expectation that people will repay others for what they’ve been given

8 Mental Defense Mechanisms

1. Denial: refusing to accept reality by blocking certain events/emotions from awareness

2. Displacement: redirecting your reaction from one situation from another

3. Projection: attributing your thoughts and feelings to another person

4. Rationalization: justifying an uncomfortable thought/behavior to make it seem more acceptable

5. Reaction Formation: acting the opposite way as how you feel

6. Regression: reverting to behaviors of an earlier developmental stage when experiencing heightened stress

7. Sublimation: redirecting unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable actions

8. Repression: blocking distressing thoughts from conscious awareness

Projective vs Objective Personality Tests

1. ambiguous stimuli is used to uncover subconscious emotions, open responses not limited to certain answers

Rorschach Inkblot Test, Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

2. higher test validity and reliability, uses standardized, structured questions that seek specific answers and quantify traits

Myers-Briggs, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

Positive Regard

support, love, and acceptance from other people

can be unconditional or conditional

Self-Concept, Self-Esteem, & Self-Efficacy

1. how you see yourself and your personality, skills, roles, and traits

2. how positively you view yourself

3. your belief in your ability to do a task

Self-Actualization vs Self-Transcendence

1. the process of fulfilling your highest potential

2. looking beyond yourself to connect with other people or a larger purpose

Q-Sort Technique

a research technique that assesses one’s self-concept by asking to sort descriptive statements into categories based on level of agreement

produces both quantitative and qualitative data

Congruence

the alignment of the ideal self and actual self

Social-Cognitive Theory of Personality & Reciprocal Determinism

people develop personality through the interactions between cognitive processes, behaviors, and environmental influences (situations)

Reciprocal Determinism is the mechanism that explains that one’s personal factors, behaviors, and environment continuously influence each other

Enduring Characteristics/Traits

constant traits that can be measured and generally lead to predictable behaviors/emotional reactions

The Big Five theory/Five Factor model of personality

Openness: imagination, creativity, curiosity

Conscientiousness: organization, dependability, discipline

Extraversion: social ability, enthusiasm, assertiveness

Agreeableness: trustworthiness, altruism, kindness, affection

Neuroticism: the tendency to experience emotional stability and remain calm in stressful situations

Acrynoym: OCEAN

Personality Inventory

a specialized question that can be used to measure personality traits based on the Big Five model

Factor Analysis

a statistical technique that combines many correlated variables into smaller variables called “factors”

Primary & Secondary Needs

1. basic, innate biological needs required for survival

2. psychological needs that help with well-being and social fulfillment

4 Theories of Motivation

Drive Reduction Theory: the idea that behavior is driven by a need to maintain homeostasis, which keeps the body balanced

Arousal Theory: the idea that motivation is driven by the desire to maintain an ideal, personalized level of stimulation

Self-determination theory: people transition from extrinsic motivation to intrinsic motivation when three needs are met—autonomy, competence, and relatedness

Incentive theory: behavior is largely driven by external factors

Sensation-Seeking Theory + 4 Core Dimensions

a branch of Arousal Theory

specifically explains that people have different needs for arousal/experiences, which impacts motivation

1. Experience seeking: the desire for new/unconventional experiences (mental stimulation)

2. Thrill/Adventure seeking: the desire for physically risky or adrenaline-inducing activities

3. Disinhibition: the tendency to act on impulse

4. Boredom susceptibility: dislike for repetitive/routine experiences

Yerkes-Dodson Law

the principle that arousal (stress/motivation) increases performance, up to a certain point after which performance starts to decrease

Kurt Lewin’s Motivational Conflict Theory + 3 Types of Conflict

explains how people become motivated to act when faced with a choice

approach-approach conflict: choosing between two desirable choices

approach-avoidance conflict: choosing between a desirable and an undesirable choice

avoidance-avoidance conflict: choosing between two undesirable choices

3 Theories of Emotion (how is emotion perceived)

James-Lange theory: physical reactions occur first and are interpreted as emotion

Cannon-Bard theory: physical and emotional experiences occur simultaneously

Schachter-Singer Two-Factor theory: emotions are experienced as a result of physiological arousal followed by cognitive labeling

Facial-Feedback Hypothesis

facial expressions affect emotional experience

Broaden-and-Build Theory

positive emotions expand one’s awareness to new ideas while negative emotions do the opposite and narrow one’s focus

Preconscious & Unconscious Mind (Freudian theory)

1. thoughts/feelings that aren’t in consciousness but can easily be brought into consciousness

2. a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, feelings, and memories

Display Rules

social guidelines set by culture that dictate when, where, and how it is appropriate to show certain emotions

Elicitors of Emotion

events, situations, or stimuli that trigger an emotional response