psych revision final

Inter personal attraction

A positive attitude held by one person towards another

person

► Why is inter-personal attraction important?

► Need to belong

► Cooperation and partnership

► The opposite of ostracism – physical and social isolation

► ProcreatioN

Concept of need

It is a psychological feature that arouses an organism to

action toward a goal, giving purpose and direction to

behaviour.

What predicts attraction

Propinquity effect

similarity (actual or perceived) like opinions, personality , interests and experiences ,

physical attractiveness :cultural standards of beauty , power of familiarity

Reciprocal liking

Bowbly’s theory of attachement

Infants have innate need to attach

► Attachment to caregivers is attachment for survival

► Attachement to primary caregiver (mother) is unique (separationanxiety)

► Individuals develop different expectations about relationships

based on experiences with primary caregiverS

Propinquity effect

Attraction due to level and degree of interaction

Relational Ambivalence

the experience of holding simultaneous, contradictory feelings of attraction and repulsion, or love and doubt, toward a romantic partner or within a relationship

Challenges of modern relationships

First time in history so many adults are living

alone

► Almost 50% of marriages are ending in divorce

because expectations are going up- what one

village provided in the past is now expected from

one person (Esther Perel)

► There is Relational Ambivalence.

► There is global crisis of lonelines

Helping behavior

actions designed to assist another person with a problem or to relieve their distress., even at the cost to oneself

Hostile argression

Aggression driven by anger, meant to hurt someone

Instrumental agression

Aggression used as a way to achieve another goal. Like ex terrorism

Attitude

A positive or negative feeling toward something or someone.

3 components of an attitude

: Beliefs (thoughts), feelings, and behaviour.

How is attitude formed

Process of Social Learning or Socialization, through reinforcement,

association of stimuli and by observation

Influence of group

Influence of culture

Balance theory

Cognitive dissonance theory

Feeling uncomfortable when beliefs and actions don’t match Cognitive dissonance theory suggests that people prefer cognitive consonance, where two attitudes, beliefs, or ideas are consistent with one another.

Theory of planned behavior

Our behaviour is guided by intentions, attitudes, social norms, and perceived control.

Prejudice

A negative attitude toward a group based on assumptions.

Components of prejudice

Affective

Behavioral

Cognitive

Social learning theory

We learn how to behave by watching others and copying them.

Key idea:

• We observe role models (parents, teachers, celebrities, friends)

• If their behaviour seems rewarded or accepted, we imitate it

Social identity theory

We like our own group more than other groups to feel good about ourselves.

• People divide the world into “us” (in-group) and “them” (out-group)

• Favoring our group boosts self-esteem

Example: Supporting your school and thinking it’s better than others.

Fundamental attribution error

We blame people, not situations, for their behaviour.

Key idea:

• We overestimate personality (lazy, rude, careless)

• We underestimate the situation (stress, pressure, bad day)

Example: Calling someone lazy for being late, ignoring traffic or emergencies.

Social exchange theory

We do things when we think we’ll get something in return.

Key idea:

• People try to maximize rewards and minimize costs

• Social behaviour is like a cost-benefit calculation

📌 Example: Helping someone because you expect gratitude or help later.

Cognitive dissonance theory

Feeling uncomfortable when thoughts and actions don’t match.

Key idea:

• Contradictory beliefs or actions create mental discomfort (dissonance)

• People try to reduce this discomfort by changing beliefs or behaviour

📌 Example: Saying smoking is bad but still smoking → discomfort.

Goal setting theory

How well we reach goals depends on how clear and achievable they are.

Key idea:

Goal achievement depends on:

• Incentives (rewards)

• Self-perception (belief in ability)

• Desirability (how much we want it)

• Accessibility (how realistic it is)

Social comparison theory

We judge ourselves by comparing ourselves to others.

Upward Comparison

Comparing yourself to someone better than you.

Example: Comparing your grades to a top student.

Downward Comparison

Very simple:

Comparing yourself to someone worse off than you.

Example: Feeling better because someone else did worse on a test.

Affective prejudice

an attitude composed of negative feelings or emotions towards a group of people.

Behavioral prejudice

discrimination against members of a group

Cognitive prejudice

holding stereotype beliefs and

expectations about members of a grouP

Stereotype

A fixed belief about a group that ignores individual differences.

Discrimination

Acting unfairly toward someone because of their group.

Social identity theory

People prefer their own group to feel better about themselves

Fundamental attribution error

Blaming behaviour on personality instead of the situation

Persuasion

Trying to change beliefs, attitudes, or behaviour.

Central route to persuasion

Persuasion using logic and careful thinking.

Peripheral route to persuasion

Persuasion using emotions, images, or attractiveness

Helping behavior can be due to

Social exchange theory

Reciprocity norm

Social responsibility norm

Evolutionary theor

How to reduce agression

Using a social learning approach like:

Rewarding and modelling non-aggression

Presence of non-aggressive models

Building empathy towards others

Ways to reduce aggression

Anger management

Teaching non violent ways to deal with difficult

situation

Psychologically informed correctional treatment

programs

Catharsis hypothesis

the idea that releasing anger (for example by shouting, hitting something, or expressing aggression) will reduce future aggression.

However

Catharsis does NOT reduce aggression

It can actually increase or aggravate aggression