Unit 4-B ID's: Personality and Social Psychology

Conscious

mental processes that you’re aware of

• “tip of the iceberg” visible

Preconscious

mental processes that you’re not currently aware of, but can easily bring to conscious

Unconscious

inaccessible mental processes that can influence thoughts and judgement

Id

unconsciously strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives → pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification

Superego

provides standards for judgement and internalized values of society → moral compass

Ego

conscious state, mediates between Id and superego

Projective tests

projecting internal unconscious attitudes on ambiguous stimuli; break through defense mechanisms

Defense mechanisms

the distance they put between unwanted unconscious thoughts and feelings; serve to protect the ego

Denial

refusing to accept

Displacement

redirecting toward a less-threatening person or object

Projection

transferring one’s own unacceptable thoughts, qualities, etc. to others

Rationalization

distorting reality to justify

Reaction formation

opposite of your own unacceptable thoughts and feelings

Regression

pushing them into the unconscious

Repression

the basis for all other defense mechanisms

Sublimation

diverted/ing into socially approved thoughts

Big 5 Theory of Personality (Five Factor Model)

focuses on the measurement of traits, most influential trait approach today

Factor analysis

summarizes and reduces large, correlated data sets number of underlying factors or patterns

Conscientiousness

careful, dependable, self-disiplined

Agreeableness

courteous, good-natured, empathetic, caring

Neuroticism

anxious, hostile, depressed

Openness

imaginative, creative, curious, sensitive

Extraversion

outgoing, talkative, sociable, energized by people

Self-actualizing tendency

the innate human drive towards growth, fulfillment, and realizing one’s full potential

Unconditional positive regard

an attitude of acceptance of self and others despite their shortcoming (genuineness, acceptance, empathy)

Real self vs. ideal self

who you are currently vs. who you hope to be

Congruent vs. incongruent

strong overlap vs. little overlap

Reciprocal determinism

three interconnected pieces that determine personality →intercognitive factors, environmental factors, behavior

Self concept

how one views oneself internally and in relation to others

Self-efficacy

one’s confidence in their ability to succeed

Self-esteem

an individual’s subjective emotional evaluation of own worth

Attribution

Why do people behave the way they do?

Dispositional (interval) attribution

assumption that behavior reflects internal dispositions such as personal attitudes, beliefs, or personality

Situational (external) attribution

assumptions that behavior reflects external influences

Explanatory style

How you cognitiavly frame and explain events

• pessimistic: bad events are permanent, global, and internal

• optimistic: bad events are temporary, specific, and external

Internal locus of control

one’s owns actions control outcomes

External locus of control

outside factors control outcomes

Fundamental attribution error

tendency to overemphasize dispositional factors to explain others

Self-serving bias

overemphasize dispositional factors for our successes while overemphasizing situational factors beyond our control

Just world phenomenon

the tendency to believe the people “get what they deserve”, especially in bad situations

Cognitive dissonance

a state of psychological tension (dissonance) when a person’s beliefs are behaviors are inconsistent

Social comparison

people evaluate themselves based on comparisons to other members of society or social circles

Upward

other group perceived as superior

downward

other group perceived as inferior

Relative deprivation

actual (or perceived) lack of a resource

Ingroup bias

people with whom one shares a common identity

• tendency to favor one’s own group

Out-group homogeneity bias

those perceived as different from the ingroup tendency to perceive members of an outgroup as more similar than they actually are

Stereotyping

fixed, overgeneralized beliefs about a group of people

Scapegoating

a group is made of become the outlet of anger/blame

Prejudice

negative attitudes toward a group, based on stereotype

Discrimination

behavior or action that causes us to treat people differently

Ethnocentrism

the tendency of individuals to judge other cultures by the standards and values of their own

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Social facilitation

the tendency for an individual’s performance to improve when simple or well-learned tasks are performed in the presence of others

Social inhibition

performance declines when complex or unrehearsed tasks are performed in the presence of others

Conformity & Soloman Asch’s Line Test

adjustment of behavior to align with the behavior of others due to social influence

Obedience & Stanley Milgram’s Electrical Shock Experiment

adjustment of behavior in compliance with a direct command, typically an authoritative figure

Normative social influence

individuals conform to a behavior to gain acceptance and avoid social rejection

Informational social influence

individuals conform to a behavior because they believe someone else is correct

Mere exposure effect

you tend to develop a preference for things that you are familiar with

• familiarity principle

Central toute to persuasion

focus on factual information, logical arguments, and thoughtful analysis (long lasting)

Peripheral route to persuasion

focus on positive appeals in incidental cues (temporary)

• attractiveness, celebrity

The halo effect

positive impressions of people in one area lead us to have positive feelings in another area

Foot-in-the-door phenomenon

first agree to a small request to comply later with a larger request

Door-in-the-face phenomenon

unreasonably large request is made first and the person is more likely to agree with a smaller, more reasonable request

Individualism

cultural emphasis on goals and rights of individual