AP Psych Modules 4.1-4.2

Personality Psychcology

The scientific study of personality and its development, structure, traits, processes, variations, and disordered forms (personality disorders)

Social Psychology

The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to each other

Explanatory Style

(Pessimistic or Optimistic) is a predictable patter of attributions for events

Person perception

How we form impressions of ourselves and others, including attributions off behavior

Attribution Theory

The tendency to give an explanation for someone’s behavior, often by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition

Fundamental attribution error

The tendency for observers to underestimate the impact of a situation. “He’s poor because he’s lazy”

Actor-observer bias

The tendency for those acting in a situation to attribute their behavior to external causes (situation), but for observers to attribute others’ behavior to internal causes

Prejudice (the thought)

An unjustifiable (usually negative) attitude towards a group and its members

Discrimination (the action)

An unjustifiable negative behavior towards a group and its members

Stereotype

A generalized belief about a group of people

Just-world phenomenon

The tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get was they deserve, and deserve what they get (blaming the victim)

Ingroup

People with whom one shares a common identity with. “Us”

Outgroup

Those perceived as different from one’s ingroup. “Them”

Ingroup bias

The tendency to favor one’s own group

Outgroup Homogeneity

Allows the ingroup to view the outgroup as “the same.” This allows for a schema of the entire group

Ethnocentrism

The evaluation of others cultures according to the standards and customs of one’s own culture

Other-race effect

The tendency to recall faces of one’s own race more accurately than the faces of other races

Attitudes

Feelings that are influenced by our beliefs that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events

Attitudes-follow-behavior principle

The idea that the more you do something, the more your attitude changes to accommodate that behavior

Foot-in-the-door phenomenon

The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request

Door-in-the-face effect

Involves making a large request that is likely to be refused, followed by a smaller more reasonable request (ex. spring break pitch)

Role

A set of explanations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave

Cognitive Dissonance (Leon Festinger)

When our attitudes and actions don’t coincide, we experience tension or cognitive dissonance which makes us not feel great (dissonance = clash / tension)

Persuasion

Changing people’s attitudes, potentially influencing their actions (Peripheral or central range)

Elaboration likelihood model

There are mainly two routes to persuade or change an attitude (by mentally elaborating on a message)

• Peripheral route

• Central roure

Peripheral route

Occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker’s attractiveness.

The halo effect

The tendency for an impression created in one area to influence opinion in another area

Central route persuasion

Occurs when interested people’s thinking is influenced by considering evidence and arguments.