AP Psych - 4.1-4.3

Flashcards based on AP Psychology lecture notes.

Attributions

Explanations that people make about the causes of behavior or events. Example: Attributing your high test score due to studying.

Dispositional attributions

Attributing behavior to internal characteristics, such as personality traits or motives. Example: Attributing your high test score due to studying.

Situational attributions

Attributing behavior to external factors, such as the environment or circumstances. Example: Attributing your bad test score due to a bad teacher.

Explanatory style

A person's habitual way of explaining events, typically as optimistic or pessimistic. Example: Explaining bad things because of nature is an example of optimistic.

Optimistic explanatory style

A tendency to attribute negative events to external, unstable, and specific factors. Example: Blaming why you got dumped on the fact that there's an economic depression.

Pessimistic explanatory style

A tendency to attribute negative events to internal, stable, and global factors. Example: Blaming why you got dumped on the fact that you were not spending time on significant other.

Actor/observer bias

The tendency to attribute one’s own actions to situational factors while attributing others’ actions to dispositional factors. Example: Failing a test due to a bad teacher while others fail due to them not being smart.

Fundamental attribution error

The tendency to overemphasize personal traits and underestimate situational factors when explaining others' behavior. Example: Saying people have bad studying habits cause they failed instead of other things going on in their life like a family death.

Self-serving bias

The tendency to attribute successes to internal factors and failures to external factors. Example: Attributing acing a test due to being smart.

Internal locus of control

The belief that outcomes are determined by one’s own actions and decisions. Example: Passing a test because you studied.

External locus of control

The belief that outcomes are determined by external factors or forces beyond one’s control. Example: Passing a test because it was easy.

Mere exposure effect

The tendency to develop a preference for things simply because they are familiar. Example: Recurring commercials and catchy slogans.

Self-fulfilling prophecy

A belief or expectation that influences behavior in a way that causes the belief to become true. Example: Believing you will pass and that coming true.

Social comparison

Evaluating one’s own abilities, behaviors, and opinions by comparing oneself to others. Example: Comparing your test scores to peers.

Upward social comparison

Comparing oneself to someone perceived as better to improve one’s own situation or motivation. Example: Comparing your 90 to your friends 100 and wanting to be better.

Downward social comparison

Comparing oneself to someone perceived as worse to feel better about one’s own situation. Example: Comparing your 90 to someone else’s 75 to feel better.

Relative deprivation

The perception that one is worse off relative to others, often leading to dissatisfaction. Example: Feeling that your social-economic stand is worse compared to friends.

Stereotype

A generalized belief about a group of people. Example: All asians are short.

Cognitive load

The total amount of mental effort being used in working memory. Example: Doing a math problem and having a significant cognitive load.

Prejudice

An unjustified or negative attitude toward an individual based solely on their membership in a group. Example: Hating on people because they are democratic.

Discrimination

Unjustified or harmful behavior toward individuals based on their membership in a group. Example: Beating up people cause they are republicans.

Implicit attitudes

Unconscious beliefs or feelings that influence behavior and decisions. Example: Liking math but associating it with negativity without realizing.

Just-world phenomenon

The belief that the world is fair and people get what they deserve. Example: Bully becomes poor in future.

Out-group homogeneity bias

The tendency to perceive members of an out-group as more similar to each other than they really are. Example: Assuming a friendgroup all share the same interests when in reality they don’t.

In-group bias

The tendency to favor one’s own group over others. Example: Favoring your friendgroup over others.

Ethnocentrism

The belief in the superiority of one’s own culture or ethnic group. Example: Hitler believing that Jews are inferior to the “supreme race.”

Belief perseverance

Clinging to one’s initial beliefs even when evidence contradicts them. Example: Getting a math problem wrong but arguing that you are right.

Confirmation bias

The tendency to search for and favor information that confirms one’s preexisting beliefs. Example: Doing a research project and searching for sources that support your findings.

Cognitive dissonance

The mental discomfort experienced when one’s actions and beliefs are inconsistent. Example: Wanting to be healthy but not exercising or dieting.

Social norms

Shared rules or expectations about how people should behave in specific situations. Example: Shaking hands.

Social influence theory

A theory that suggests people’s behavior is influenced by the real or imagined presence of others. Example: Behaving well because the teacher is watching you.

Normative social influence

Conforming to gain approval or avoid disapproval from others. Example: Wearing trendy clothes to get approval of others.

Informational social influence

Conforming because one believes others have accurate information. Example: Changing your answer to your friends because they are smart.

Persuasion

The process of changing someone’s beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors through communication. Example: A commercial convincing you to buy a product by highlighting its benefits.

Elaboration likelihood model

A theory that explains the two routes to persuasion: the central route (logic and evidence) and the peripheral route (superficial cues). Example: A politician using statistics to persuade logically (central) versus using celebrity endorsements (peripheral).

Central route

Persuasion based on logic, evidence, and thoughtful argument. Example: Choosing a phone based on detailed technical specifications.

Peripheral route

Persuasion based on superficial cues, such as attractiveness or credibility of the speaker. Example: Buying a product because a famous athlete promotes it.

Halo effect

The tendency to let one positive trait (e.g., attractiveness) influence perceptions of other traits. Example: Assuming someone is kind and intelligent just because they are attractive.

Foot-in-the-door technique

A persuasion technique in which agreeing to a small request increases the likelihood of agreeing to a larger request later. Example: Signing a petition and later agreeing to donate money to the cause.

Door-in-the-face technique

A persuasion technique in which refusing a large request increases the likelihood of agreeing to a smaller request. Example: Asking for $100 first, getting denied, then asking for $20 and getting it.

Conformity

Adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to align with a group standard. Example: Wearing a specific brand of clothing because your friends do.

Obedience

Complying with direct orders from an authority figure. Example: Following a teacher’s instruction to complete an assignment.

Individualism

A cultural orientation that values independence and personal goals over group goals. Example: Pursuing a personal career dream instead of following family expectations.

Collectivism

A cultural orientation that values group harmony and prioritizes group goals over individual goals. Example: Prioritizing family business over personal career aspirations.

Multiculturalism

The coexistence of diverse cultures, where cultural differences are acknowledged and respected. Example: A workplace celebrating multiple cultural holidays.

Group polarization

The tendency for group discussions to amplify the initial leanings of the group. Example: A political discussion making group members adopt more extreme views.

Groupthink

A phenomenon where the desire for group harmony leads to poor decision-making. Example: A company launching a flawed product because no one wanted to criticize the CEO’s idea.

Diffusion of responsibility

The tendency for individuals to feel less accountable when others are present to share responsibility. Example: Not calling 911 in an emergency because you assume someone else will.

Social loafing

The tendency for individuals to put in less effort when working in a group compared to working alone. Example: Putting in minimal effort on a group project because others will do the work.

Deindividuation

The loss of self-awareness and individual accountability in group situations. Example: Engaging in rowdy behavior at a concert because everyone else is.

Social facilitation

Improved performance on simple tasks in the presence of others. Example: Running faster when people are watching.

False consensus effect

The tendency to overestimate how much others share one’s beliefs and behaviors. Example: Assuming everyone agrees with your political opinions.

Superordinate goals

Shared goals that require cooperation between groups to achieve, reducing conflict. Example: Rival sports teams working together for charity.

Social traps

Situations where individuals act in their self-interest, leading to worse outcomes for the group. Example: Overfishing a lake, leading to long-term depletion of fish.

Industrial-organizational (I/O) psychologists

Psychologists who study workplace behavior and aim to improve productivity and employee well-being. Example: A company hiring an I/O psychologist to improve teamwork.

Burnout

A state of physical and emotional exhaustion due to prolonged stress, often in the workplace. Example: A doctor feeling mentally drained after years of overwork.

Altruism

Selfless concern for the well-being of others. Example: Donating anonymously to charity.

Prosocial behavior

Actions intended to benefit others, such as helping, sharing, or comforting. Example: Helping an elderly person cross the street.

Social debt

The feeling of obligation to return a favor or help after receiving help from others.Example: Feeling the need to buy lunch for a friend who previously treated you.

Social reciprocity norm

The expectation that people will help those who have helped them. Example: Sending a thank-you note to someone who gave you a gift.

Social responsibility norm

The expectation that people will help others in need, even when it may not benefit them. Example: Volunteering at a homeless shelter without expecting anything in return.

Bystander effect

The tendency for individuals to be less likely to help in an emergency when others are present. Example: Witnessing a car accident but assuming someone else will call for help.

Situational variables

External factors that influence behavior, such as environment or context. Example: Performing poorly on a test due to a noisy classroom.

Attentional variables

Factors that affect the ability to focus attention, such as distractions or competing stimuli. Example: Struggling to concentrate on homework while watching TV.

demand Characteristics

Characteristics influenced by what the participants think the experiment was about (advertisted poorly and gave away too much information and may have attracted people who like being cruel or made people act cruel b/c they thought thats what the experimenters wanted).

Milgram’s obedience experiment

Participants delivered shocks to “confederates” as instructed by the experimenter. Asch’s conformity experiment: Conformity - Line test where participants where shown three lines and had to match a new line to one of the lines. In the experiment actors were placed in the wrong line to see if participant would fall into peer pressure and join the group

Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment

Question: does watching violence on television make kids aggresive? - Placed Bobo doll, adult, and child in room. - Some adults treated doll passively, some attacked, and some none. - Checked to see what kids did and they followed and repeated the actions of the adults

Zimbardo’s Stanford prison experiment

Ethical Concerns and Obedience