AP Psychology Unit 4

Person Perception

the process of forming impressions and making judgments about other individuals based on their physical appearance, behavior, and other observable characteristics.

Attribution (Attribution Theory)

an innate human tendency to ascribe a cause to our actions and the actions of others; dispositional or situational.

Dispositional Attributions

A type of attribution in which you assign responsibility for an event or action to the person involved.

Situational Attributions

A type of attribution in which you assign responsibility for an event or action to the circumstances of the situation.

Explanatory Style

a psychological attribute that indicates how people explain to themselves why they experience a particular event, either positive or negative.

Actor-Observer Bias

the tendency to attribute the behavior of others to internal causes, while attributing our own behavior to external causes.

Fundamental Attribution Error

the tendency to overemphasize internal factors (like personality traits) and underestimate external situational factors when explaining someone else's behavior.

Self-Serving Bias

the tendency to attribute positive outcomes to internal or personal factors and negative outcomes to situational or external factors.

Internal Locus of Control

the belief that an individual has control over their own actions and outcomes in life.

External Locus of Control

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate.

Mere Exposure Effect

the idea that people tend to prefer things that are familiar.

Self Fulfilling Prophecy

when a person unknowingly causes a prediction to come true, due to the simple fact that he or she expects it to come true.

Mirror-Image Perceptions

the reciprocal views of one another often held by parties in conflict.

Social Comparison

the tendency of individuals to evaluate their own abilities, achievements, and attributes by comparing themselves with others.

Relative Deprivation

the belief that a person will feel deprived or entitled to something based on the comparison to someone else.

Attitude

Beliefs and feelings that predispose people to respond in particular ways to situations and other people.

Stereotype

widely held beliefs or generalizations about a particular group of people, often based on limited knowledge or biased assumptions.

Social Identity

the idea that individuals derive a sense of self and their identity from the groups they belong to.

Cognitive Load

the idea that our working memory has a limited capacity and when we exceed that capacity, learning becomes difficult.

Prejudice

a negative attitude toward another person or group formed in advance of any experience with that person or group.

Discrimination

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members.

Implicit Attitudes

a negative attitude, of which one is not consciously aware, against a specific social group.

Just-World Phenomenon

the tendency to believe that the world is just and that people get what they deserve.

Outgroup

a social group with which an individual does not identify or feel a sense of belonging.

Out-Group Homogeneity Bias

the perception that individuals in an outgroup are more similar (homogeneous) than they really are, as compared to members of one's ingroup.

Ingroup

a social group with which an individual identifies and feels a sense of belonging

In-Group Bias

the tendency for individuals to perceive members of their own group as more similar to each other than they actually are

Ethnocentrism

the belief that one's own culture is superior to other cultures, often leading to biased judgments and understandings of other groups based on one's own cultural norms

Scapegoat Theory

the tendency to blame someone else for one's own problems

Other-Race Effect

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

Belief Perseverance

when a person holds to a belief or set of beliefs even when confronted with contrary evidence

Confirmation Bias

the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses

Cognitive Dissonance

An uncomfortable state of mind arising when you recognize inconsistencies in your beliefs and/or behaviors

Role

Patterns of behavior expected of persons occupying particular social positions

Social Norms

the unwritten rules and expectations that dictate how individuals should behave in a particular social group or society

Social Influence Theory

a theory in psychology that talks about how people are more likely to do whatever they see as being the norm

Normative Social Influence

a situation where an individual conforms to the norms of a group so that they do not become an outcast

Informational Social Influence

phenomenon where people assume the actions of others in an attempt to reflect correct behavior for a given situation

Persuasion

the study of how attitudes and beliefs are influenced and changed through various methods of communication

Central Route Persuasion

A method of persuasion in which you are convinced by the content of the message

Peripheral Route Persuasion

A method of persuasion in which you are convinced by something other than the message's content

Halo Effect

a cognitive bias where our overall impression of someone influences how we feel and think about his or her character

Foot-in-the-Door Technique

A persuasive technique that begins with a small request to encourage compliance with a larger request

Door-in-the-Face Technique

A persuasive technique that begins with an outrageous request in order to increase the likelihood that a second, more reasonable request is granted

Conformity

adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard or expectation

Obedience

a given person being socially influenced by an authority figure who is giving clear-cut and direct orders

Culture

shared beliefs, customs, practices, values, traditions, and behaviors that characterize a particular group of people within a society

Tight Culture

societies characterized by strong norms and strict behavioral expectations, which promote conformity and discourage deviance

Loose Culture

weak norms and high tolerance of deviant behavior

Individualism

giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identification

Collectivism

a cultural orientation where the needs and goals of the group are prioritized over the individual

Multiculturalism

The belief in the equal coexistence and recognition of multiple cultures within a society

Group Polarization

the idea that groups tend to make decisions that are more extreme compared to the original thoughts of individual group members

Groupthink

a psychological and sociological phenomenon in which members of a group will conform to majority opinion to maintain group harmony rather than stating their own opinions

Diffusion of Responsibility

individuals feeling less responsible for taking action or making decisions when they are part of a group because they assume someone else will take on the responsibility

Social Loafing

the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable

Deindividuation

losing self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in situations that foster arousal and anonymity

Social Facilitation

the phenomenon where the presence of other people can enhance an individual's performance on a task

Social Trap

a situation in which actions are taken because of short-term benefits that lead to long-term consequences

Superordinate Goals

goals that are worth completing but require two or more social groups to cooperatively achieve

Prosocial Behavior

behavior that helps another and for which an internal reward or external reward may be received

Altruism

The belief in or practice of selfless concern for the well-being of others

Social Responsibility Norm

An expectation that people will help those dependent upon them or those who need assistance even if doing so may not offer any visible reward.

The Bystander Effect

a social psychological phenomenon where individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim when other people are present

Social Exchange Theory

the idea that social relationships are an exchange in which a participant tries to maximize benefits and minimize costs

Reciprocity Norm

our expectation that people will help us if we help them

Personality

The set of thoughts, feelings, traits, and behaviors that are characteristic of a person and consistent over time and in different situations

Psychodynamic Theory

relies heavily on how the past has affected an individual's psychological states

Psychoanalysis

freud's theory of personality that attributes our thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts

Free Association

the practice of allowing the patient to discuss thoughts, dreams, memories, or words, regardless of coherency

Id

the biological component (instinct)

Ego

psychological component (conscious decision)

Superego

social component (conscience)

Defense Mechanisms

unconscious psychological strategies that individuals use to protect themselves from anxiety and maintain their self-esteem

Denial

when someone acts as if the negative feelings or events that cause negative emotions do not exist

Displacement

when someone takes their negative emotions and focuses them on a different, safer target

Projection

when someone attributes his or her own feelings to another person or group

Rationalization

an ego defense in which apparently logical reasons are given to justify unacceptable behavior that is motivated by unconscious instinctual impulses

Reaction Formation

when someone expresses an exaggerated, opposite version of how they actually feel

Regression

an individual copes with stressful or anxiety-provoking relationships or situations by retreating to an earlier developmental stage

Repression

when unacceptable ideas, impulses, and memories are kept out the consciousness

Sublimation

socially unacceptable impulses or idealizations are transformed into socially acceptable actions or behavior, possibly resulting in a long-term conversion of the initial impulse

Projective Tests

a personality test in which subjects are shown ambiguous images and asked to interpret them

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

a type of projective test (a personality test) that involves describing ambiguous scenes to learn more about a person's emotions, motivations, and personality

Rorschach Inkblot Test

presents a patient with an ambiguous image and asks the patient to interpret what they see

Preconscious

thoughts and feelings that are not currently in conscious awareness, but can be readily brought into consciousness if attention is directed towards them

Unconscious

represents the thoughts, desires, and urges that are actively repressed from consciousness and that affect mental activity outside of active awareness

Collective Unconscious

the part of the human psyche that contains information that has been inherited from our ancestors and is commonly shared among all humans

Humanistic Psychology

a way of evaluating an individual as a whole, rather than looking at them only through a smaller aspect of their person

Unconditional Positive Regard

accepting and respecting others as they are without judgment or evaluation

Self-Actualizing Tendency

innate human drive to fulfill one's potential and become the best version of oneself, essentially reaching one's full capacity and realizing all possible abilities

Social-Cognitive Theory

Theory that maintains personality both shapes and is shaped by environment

Behavioral Approach

Approach emphasizing that human behavior is determined mainly by what a person has learned, especially from rewards and punishments

Reciprocal Determinism

the theory set forth by psychologist Albert Bandura which states that a person's behavior both influences and is influenced by personal factors and the social environment

Self

the totality of an individual's thoughts, feelings, and experiences, essentially encompassing their sense of identity, including their beliefs, values, and perceptions about themselves, which acts as the center point of their personality and guides their actions

Self-Concept

an individual's beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions about themselves

Self-Efficacy

an individual's belief in his or her capacity to execute behaviors necessary to produce specific performance attainments

Self-Esteem

how we value and perceive ourselves; our feelings towards ourselves

The Spotlight Effect

the tendency to overestimate the amount of people who notice something about you

Self-Serving Bias

the tendency to attribute positive outcomes to internal or personal factors and negative outcomes to situational or external factors