Intro to Psych Unit 3

Anger, Fear, Disgust, Surprise, Happiness, Sadness

6 basic human emotions

Universalist Position on Emotions

different cultures will produce similar expressions of similar emotion

Subjective Feeling

component of emotion; the feeling itself ie. fear

Context

component of emotion; perceived threat

Physiological Changes

component of emotion; autonomic nervous system changes, sympathetic: fight or flight, parasympathetic: rest and digest

Behaviors

component of emotion; muscle movements, physical reactions

James Lange Theory

context→physiological changes and behaviors→subjective feeling

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

emotional expressions may cause the emotional experiences they signify

Problems with Facial Feedback Hypothesis

felt emotion is instantaneous but some physiological changes lag (blushing), difficulty detecting autonomic changes, shared physiological changes across emotion

Canon Bard Theory

suggests that context leads to both physiological changes/ behavior and subjective feeling happening simultaneously

Interpretation

what does the Canon Bard Theory not account for?

Schachter Singer Theory/ Two Factor

suggests that context leads to physiological changes/ behaviors, but our interpretation of them leads to our subjective feeling

Misinterpreting Others Emotions

we may misunderstand others emotions without the context of body language, possibility of interpreting our own emotions incorrectly as well

Two Axes of Emotion

Autonomic Arousal Axis and Subjective Valence Axis that allows us to experience a wide variety of secondary emotion

Autonomic Arousal Axis

Active

↑

axis that goes from Passive

Subjective Valence Axis

axis that goes from Bad→ Good

Misattribution of Arousal

the tendency for people to incorrectly label the source of the arousal that they are experiencing

Reappraisal

if you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment

LeDoux High Road - Low Road Model

model describing the two pathways in which the brain processes emotions, illustrating how emotional responses can occur in different ways depending on the situation

Low Road Model

context seen by eyes→ thalamus→ amygdala→ makes physiological changes/ behaviors happen: FAST pathway, quick and dirty

High Road Model

context seen by eyes→ thalamus→ frontal lobes for cognitive analysis and integration→ amygdala: SLOW pathway, slow and precise

Amygdala

appraisals of valance and affective significance, most responsive to threats

Hypothalamus

reciprocally connected to amygdala, regulation of autonomic (SNS & PNS) responses

Prefrontal Cortex

reciprocally connected to subcortical structures like amygdala; interpreting, reinterpreting, and regulating emotions

Ultrasocial

collective organization with full division of labor and cooperation for mutual benefits i.e. hunters and gatherers

Humans, Naked Mole Rats, Termites, Hymenoptera

species that fall under the term of ultrasocial

Aggression

behavior with the goal to harm another

Frustration-Aggression Principle

animals aggress when their attempts to achieve a goal are frustrated

Reactive Aggression

aggression that is spontaneous and without premonition

Instrumental Aggression

conscious proactive aggression as a strategy for achieving their goal

Heat Hypothesis

violence and heat are correlated across seasons and climates, and in experimental settings

Testosterone

hormone more present in males with larger facial width-to-height ratios make them tend to be more aggressive

Cooperation

behavior by two or more individuals that lead to mutual benefits

Altrusim

behavior that is not beneficial (or may be harmful) to the organism but that benefits another organism

Reciprocal Altrusim

predisposition to help those who have previously helped you, or helping others knowing they might return the favor in the future

Kin Selection

functional evolutionary adaptation; tendency to help those who are related to perpetuate genes

In Group Favoritism

the tendency for members of a group to act and feel more positively toward members than non-members

Out Group Derogation

the tendency for members of a group to act and feel negatively toward non-members

Diffusion of Responsibility

people are less likely to take responsibility for action (or inaction) when other bystanders are present

Social Loafing

reduction in individual output on tasks where contributions are pooled

Deindividuation

group membership causes anonymity and less concern with personal values

Group Think

group members try to maintain harmony/ cohesion in decision-making at the expense of critical thinking

Conformity

adjusting behavior or thinking to align with a group standard because of real or imagined group pressure

Soloman Asch Experiment

experiment testing how likely participant are to conform to others answers in a line length test, even when the other answers are obviously incorrect

Normative Influence

conformity based on ones desire to fulfill others’ expectations and gain acceptance

Informational Influence

conformity under acceptance of evidence about reality which has been provided by others, ideas that others know more than you

Obedience

compliance of a behavior in response to a direct command from a person in authority

Milgram’s Experiment

experiment to test obedience from authority figure, shocks administered to actors posing as learners to test how long the “teacher” would harm another person just because an authority figure told them to

over 50%

in Milgram’s experiment what percentage of the “teachers” shocked the “learners” until the maximum capacity

Stereotype

belief attributed to an entire group that doesn’t take into account individual differences, can be positive or negative

Prejudice

attitude held about an entire group that arises due to a belief, can be positive or negative

Discrimination

behavior towards an entire group that arises due to prejudice

Stereotyping

act of drawing inferences about an individual’s attributes based on that individual’s category membership

Inaccurate, Overused, Automatic, Perpetuated

4 components of stereotyping

Illusory Correlation

cognitive bias where people perceive a relationship between 2 unrelated variables, e.g. thinking the moon causes strange behavior; how stereotyping is inaccurate

Ignoring Variance

people ignore the differences within groups; how stereotyping is overused

Out Group Homogeneity

perception of out group members as more similar to one another than are in group members

Automatic Stereotyping

e.g. a cop not realizing they are stereotyping based on race or gender

Implicit Association Test

test that helps uncover biases that people may not even realize they have

Self Fulfilling Prophecy

tendency for people to behave as they are expected to behave; how stereotyping is perpetuated

Attributions

inferences about the causes of behavior

Dispositional Attribution

attribution of events to personal traits

Situational Attribution

attributions of events to the situation that may have caused it

Attributional Equation

behavior=situation+disposition; then if a behavior is a result of a situation then the disposition must=0, should happen does not always

Fundamental Attribution Error

the (individualistic observers) tendency to attribute the actor’s behavior to a corresponding disposition; overestimate the influence of personal traits, underestimate the influence of the surroundings; common in individualistic cultures (like the U.S)

Actor Observer Effect

tendency to make situational attributions for our own behaviors while making dispositional attributions for the identical behaviors of others

Trait

stable, long-lasting characteristics of a person's personality

State

temporary conditions or feelings that an individual experiences in a specific moment or situation

Person Situation Controversy

the debate of whether someone’s behavior was influenced more by their personality or the situation they were in; you cannot accurately decide peoples traits based off specific situations

Strong Situation

a situation that has strong behavioral norms and thus produces uniform behavior

Weak Situation

a situation that has weak behavioral norms and thus produces variable behavior

Zimbardo Prison Experiment

controversial psychological experiment that simulated a prison environment with male college students assigned to roles of guards or prisoner, led to dehumanizing behavior displayed by the guards and the severe psychological distress experienced by the prisoners; Strong Situation

Galen’s Four Humors

body is made up of 4 humors: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile; a excess of deficiency in which can lead to different personalities

Myers-Briggs Test

Self-report measure of personality that categorizes people into one of four categories on four dimensions: introversion vs. extraversion, sensing vs. intuiting, thinking vs. feeling, and judging vs. perceiving self

MMPI

Self-report measure of personality and psychological disorders in which the respondant answers 500 true-false questions

Weakness’ of Typologies

categorization of people, derived inferentially rather than empirically, poor reliability and validity

Categorization of People

a weakness of typologies; placing people into categories that are mutually exclusive with no middle ground, either one or the other

Derived Inferentially rather than Empirically

a weakness of typologies; based off theories and not real experiments with empirical evidence

Poor Reliability

a weakness of typologies; multiple attempts will result in different answers

Poor Validity

a weakness of typologies; no evidence that it predicts outcomes

Id

represents innate, instinctive desires and impulses

Ego

mediates impulsive drives, expressing them in a more acceptable way

Superego

provides a conscience and awareness of others thoughts and feeling

Projective Test

ambiguous stimuli created to elicit unique responses that reveal inner aspects of an individuals personality

Rorschach Inkblot Test

projective measures of personality in which the respondent indicates their thought about a series of ambiguous inkblots to reveal their subconscious thoughts and traits

Thematic Apperception Test

projective measure of personality in which the respondent created stories about ambiguous sketches to reveal their subconscious thoughts and traits

Building a Better Test

assess dimensions, derive empirically rather then inferentially, strong reliability, would predict relevant outcomes (validity)

Access Dimensions

building a better test; information given on a scale or on multiple scales overlapping, category is not one or the other

5 Dimensions of Personality

Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Negative Emotionality (OCEAN)

Openness

dimension of personality; An individual’s tendency to be curious and open to new experiences

Conscientiousness

dimension of personality; An individual’s tendency to be organized, disciplined, and goal-oriented

Extraversion

dimension of personality; An individual’s tendency to prefer social interaction

Agreeableness

dimension of personality; An individual’s tendency to show empathy and cooperation in social situations

Negative Emotionality

dimension of personality; An individual’s tendency to experience negative emotions such as anxiety and depression

Derived Empirically

building a better test; data based on observations and evidence gathered through systematic experimentation or real-world experience, rather than solely on speculation, theory, or reasoning

Hierarchical Structure of Traits

how did psychologists use factor analysis to identify the core personality traits

Strong Reliability

building a better test; get the same or similar results when taken multiple times

Test-Retest Reliability

assesses the consistency of results when the same test is administered to the same individuals at different times

Inter-Rater Reliability

measures the degree of agreement between two or more observers when assessing the same subject

Strong Validity

building a better test: strength of the conclusions, inferences or propositions we can draw from the results of out measurements, predicts occupational and social outcomes, and mental health outcomes