Psychology: Key Attribution, Biases, Social Influence, and Psychoanalytic Concepts

Dispositional Attribution

explaining behavior based on personality or internal traits (failed because he's lazy and didn't study)

Situational Attribution

explaining behavior based on external factors (failed the test because it was really hard)

Actor/observer bias

actor/you blame the situation (late bc of traffic) observer/others blame the person (late because he is lazy)

Self Serving Bias

tendency to credit ourselves for successes but blame external factors for failures.

Fundamental Attribution Error

tendency to overestimate personality and underestimate situations when judging others behaviors (ignoring situational factors) (someone cuts you off, you assume they're a bad driver and ignore they might be in a rush)

Foot in the door

getting someone to agree to a small request 1st and then a bigger one

Door in the face

start w/ a huge request, get denied, then ask for a smaller one

Mere Exposure Effect

liking things more b/c we see them more often

Cognitive Dissonance

feeling uncomfy when your actions and beliefs don't match (knowing smoking is bad but still doing it b/c it is not "that bad")

Peripheral Route to Persuasion

persuasion using surface level cues (looks, emotions, celebs)

Central Route To Persuasion

persuasion using logic, facts, and strong arguments (statistics)

Halo Effect

bias where your overall impression of someone influences how you see their other traits (someone is hot, they will appear kind, nice, rich, smart, etc)

Belief Perseverance

holding onto your beliefs even after they've been proven wrong

Chameleon Effect

unconsciously copying the behavior, gestures, or expressions of others

Conformity

changing your behaviors/beliefs to match a group

Informational Social Influence

conforming b/c you think others are right

Normative Social Influence

conforming to be liked or accepted

Obedience Study

research on how ppl follow authority, especially the famous study by stanley milgram

Social Facilitation

performing better on simple tasks when others are watching

Social Loafing

less effort when working in a group

Deindividuation

losing self awareness, acting different in a group of anonymity (yell smth in a crow they would not say alone)

Group Polarization

group discussions strengthen member's original opinions

False Consensus Effect

overestimating how much others agree with you

Groupthink

prioritizing group harmony over good decision making (avoid challenging others opinions)

Self Fulfilling Prophecies

expectations about someone lead them to act in ways that make the expectation come true

Prejudice

ATTITUDE toward a group and its members (I don't like you because you're jewish)

Discrimination

BEHAVIOR how we act on it (not hiring someone because they are black)

Stereotypes

COGNITION (everyone in ridgewood is rich)

Just World Phenomenon

people get what they deserve (people are poor b/c they are lazy)

Ingroup

a group you belong too (friend group, sports team, etc)

Outgroup

a group you do not belong to (rival school sports team)

Ingroup Bias

favoring own group over others

Ethnocentrism

belief that your country is superior to others

Outgroup homogeneity bias

seeing members of an outgroup as more similar to each other that they really are

Altruism

unselfish concern for the well being of others

Bystander Effect

people are less likely to help in a group

Diffusion of Responsibility

people are less likely to help in a group because they think others are going to

Social Exchange Theory

helping behavior is based on weighing costs and benefits

Reciprocity Norm

expectation that people will help those who have helped them

Social Responsibility Norm

belief that we should help those who need help, regardless of return

Social Traps

situations where people pursue short-term gain but end up hurting everyone long term

Prisoners Dilemma

a situation where individuals acting in self interest leads to worse outcome for both

Tragedy of the Commons

when individuals overuse a shared resource, depleting it (fish from a public lake)

Superordinate Goals

shared goals that require cooperation to achieve

Industrial Organizational Psychology

study of behavior in the workplace to improve productivity and well - being

Freudian Slips

accidentally saying things that come into the unconscious mind

Psychoanalysis

examining childhood experiences and unconscious thoughts and their effect on how we act

Free Association

method to explore the unconscious mind where the person says whatever they are thinking freely

Dream Analysis

dreams reveal unconscious desires (highway to the unconscious)

Conscious Mind

where thoughts that we are aware of are stored

Preconscious

where thoughts are stored before they transfer to the conscious

Unconscious

a space storing many wishes, thoughts, and feelings that may not be reasonable. Where info may be processed but we do not realize we are processing it.

Id

part of the conscious mind that seeks gratification without thinking of consequences

Ego

conscious mind that enjoys pleasure but can avoid consequences (reality principle)

Superego

this focuses on how one should/must behave. Enforces morals and perfection (moral compass)

Repression

puts feelings/wishes that spark anxiety into the unconscious

Regression

acting like a child

Denial

refusal to acknowledge a painful reality

Rationalization

making excuses for your behavior

Reaction Formation

doing the opposite of the way you feel

Projection

you see your faults in other people but not you

Displacement

focusing frustration or anger on something more vulnerable/weak

Sublimation

focusing aggression into something positive that aids community

Projective Tests

personality test where people are shown vague/unclear pictures/words/stimuli and are then asked to describe what they see

Thematic Apperception Test

Test where express inner feelings through stories they make up about an unclear picture (what people see are projections of their own conflicts)

Rorschach Inkblot Test

people analyze inkblots designed by Hermann R. to identify unconscious feelings/beliefs

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Physiological Needs Met →Safety→To love →Self esteem→self actualization

Self Actualization

motivation to reach ones full potential

Self Concept

all of our thoughts and feelings about ourselves to answer "Who am I?"

Unconditional Positive Regard

total acceptance toward someone else no matter what.

Conscientiousness

high level = organized, careful, and disciplined

Agreeableness

High level = soft hearted, trustworthy, helpful

Neuroticism

High level = anxious, insecure, self pitying

Openness

high level = Imaginative, variety, independent

Extraversion

High level = sociable, fun, loving, affectionate

Personality Inventories

long questionnaires covering a wide range of feelings/behaviors to assess personality

Reciprocal Determinism

Bandura, how interaction influences behavior, internal cognition, and environment

Spotlight Effect

overthinking how others think about how we look (self consciousness)

Self Esteem

how one feels about themselves

Self Efficacy

sense of competence and effectiveness (how useful you are)

Individualistic Culture

focusing on individual over the group

Collectivist Culture

focusing on group over individual