Psych Unit 4

Social Psychology

The scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another

Explanatory Style

A person's tendency to explain the causes of events in their life

Pessimistic

Setbacks viewed as personal, permeant, and pervasive

Optimistic

Setbacks viewed as temporary and isolated. May attribute bad experiences to bad luck.

Personalization

Do I internalize or externalize the cause of this event?

Permanence

Do I think the cause of this event is something permanent or temporary?

Pervasiveness

Does the cause of this event cause other events in my life?

Person Perception

The process of forming impressions of others

Attribute Theory

Tendency to give a casual explanation for behaviors; we believe behavior is caused by personality situation

Attribute

Quality or characteristic considered an inherent part of someone or something

Dispositional Attributes

Behavior due to ones environment

Fundamental Attribution Error

Underestimating the impact of the situation and overestimating the impact of personality when explaining others actions

Actor-observer bias

A cognitive bias where people tend to attribute their own actions differently than they attribute the actions of others

Self-serving bias

I cause good stuff, but bad stuff occurs because of my situation

Personal Control

Our sense of control vs helpfulness over our environment or situation

Internal Locus of control

I believe I control my own fate

External Locus of control

Chance or outside forces control my fate

Social comparison

Evaluating oneself by comparing with others

Upward Social comparison

Comparing oneself to someone better

Downward social comparison

Comparing oneself to someone worse off

Relative Deprivation

Thinking you are worse off then who you compare yourself to

Mere exposure effect

When repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking

Self fulfilling prophecy

Behaving in ways that reinforce your beliefs and actions, causing them to come true

Stereotypes

Unconscious shortcut to reduce our cognitive load

Prejudice

Preconceived, typically negative attitude toward a specific group and its members

Intrinsic load

complexity of new information

Germane Load

Linking new information with current information

Extraneous Load

Unnecessary and distracting information

Two types of prejudice

implicit and explicit

Implicit prejudice

Unconscious attitudes about a stereotyped group that operate automatically outside of conscious awareness

Explicit prejudice

Conscious and openly expressed negative attitudes about a stereotyped group; these are deliberate and can be verbalized

Discrimination

Unjustifiable negative behaviors towards a group or its members (prejudice + action)

Just-world phenomenon

Believing that the world is always fair and people get what they deserve

In group (us)

Those with whom you share a common identity

Out group (them)

Disparaging those outside your group

Ingroup bias

Tendency to favor ones own group

Outgroup homogeneity bias

Perceiving out-group members as more similar than they truly are.

Ethnocentrism

The tendency to evaluate other cultures based on the standards of one's own culture, often accompanied by a belief in the inherent superiority of ones own cultural group.

Confirmation Bias

Only seeking information that is likely to support ones decisions/beliefs.

Belief Perseverance

Our tendency to maintain a belief even when faced with contradictory evidence.

Difference between confirmation Bias and Belief Perserverance

Conformation bias is seeking out information that supports existing beliefs while belief perseverance is holding onto those beliefs when faced with contradictory evidence.

Cognitive Dissonance

Discomfort caused by inconsistency between are thoughts or our thoughts and our actions. (when beliefs and behaviors don't align)

Ways to reduce cognitive dissonance

Adding or changing a belief, rationalizing the behavior, changing the behavior

Social Norm

Unspoken, informal rules that define what kind a behavior is appropriate in a given situation

Social Influence theory

People adjust their behaviors and attitudes based on the influence of others.

Normative Social influence

Going along with others in pursuit of social approval or avoidance of disapproval/rejection.

Informational Social Influence

Going along with others because their ideas and behaviors make sense.

Elaboration likelihood model

People vary in willingness and ability to scrutinize an argument or position

Central route persuasion

Attitudes influenced by logical arguments

Peripheral route persuasison

Being influenced by incidental (emotional) cues

Halo effect

Cognitive bias in which our overall impression of a person or thing is based on a single trait or attribute

foot-in-the-door phenomenon

Tendency for people who have agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger one

Door in the face technique

Following up an extravagant request with a reasonable one to guilt the subject into complying

Conformity

Adjusting ones behaviors or thinking to coincide with a group standard.

Asch conformity study (1951)

Will participants conform to match a wrong answer provided by those (confederates) around them?

Factors that encourage conformity

Feeling insecure or uncertain, a group of 3+, admirable or high status group, unanimous agreement among others, safety, cultural respect

Obedience

Complying with a direct order from someone perceived as an authority figure

Milgram shock experiment (1960)

Participants were forced to punish a "learner" while being directed by the experimenter

Milgram shock experiment results

Every participant shocked the learner at least once and 65% of people delivered the max (potentially fatal) shock

Superordinate goals

A shared goal that overrides differences among people and requires their cooperation

Social trap

A person or group of people actively work to attain a short-term goal, which will ultimately have long-term consequences for the larger population

False consensus effect

A cognitive bias where individuals overestimate the extent to which their opinions or behaviors are shared by others

Groupthink

When the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides realistic appraisal of alternatives

Group polarization

When the decisions and opinions of people in a group setting become more extreme that their actual, privately held beliefs after group discussion

Deindividuation

Loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity (impulsive, less need for social approval)

Social facilitation

Performing better on a task in front of others (occurs with simple or well-learned tasks)

Social inhibitation

Performing worse on a task in front of others (occurs with complicated or new tasks)

Social loafing

Tendency for people in a group to exert less effort together compared to when each person is individually accountable

Altruism

An unselfish regard for the welfare of others, or engaging in acts of kindness without expecting anything in return

Social responsibility norm

The expectation that people will help those in need of help

Social reciprocity norm

the expectation that people will help those that have helped them

Social debt

An emotional state in which guilt accumulates from unpleasant social interactions (feeling like you "owe" someone)

Bystander effect

Tendency for a bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present

Diffusion of responsibility

Dividing the feeling of responsibility by the number of people present.

Personality

an individual’s unique patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that persists over time and across situations

Psychodynamic theory

behavior is influenced by unconscious thoughts, feelings, and conflicts

-interplay between the conscious and unconscious mind

The Unconscious (Freud)

A reservoir of unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories

The Unconscious (Contemporary)

Information processing of which people are unaware

Defense mechanisms

ways the ego unconsciously distort reality to reduce anxiety and protect itself

Denial

refusing to accept real events because they are unpleasant

Displacement

transferring inappropriate urges or behaviors onto a more acceptable or less threatening target

Projection

attributing unacceptable desires to others

Rationalization

justifying behaviors by substituting acceptable reasons for less-acceptable real reasons

Reaction Formation

Reducing anxiety by adopting beliefs contrary to your own beliefs

Regression

Returning to coping strategies for less mature stages of development

Repression

suppressing painful memories and thoughts

Sublimination

Redirecting unacceptable desires through socially acceptable channels

Psychodynamic Therapy Techniques

Free Association (encourages sharing unfiltered thoughts to uncover hidden conflicts)

Projective Tests (Uses ambiguous stimuli to reveal subconscious thoughts i.e inkblots)

Dream Analysis (interprets dreams to reveal unconscious issues)

Transference (identifies projections of past relationship feelings onto the therapist)

Humanism

approach to psychology that emphasizes helping people fulfill their purpose and maximize well-being

Abraham Maslow

Founder of humanistic psychology who developed a framework for human’s ability to reach their full potential

Carl Rogers

Humanistic psychologist and the father of client centered therapy

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Bottom to top of pyramid)

Physiological (food, water, warmth, rest, reproduction)

Safety (money, resources, shelter, security)

Social (family, friends, community, relationships)

Esteem (self-confidence, respect, excellence, accomplished)

Self-Actualization (personal growth, potential achieving, peak performance)

Self actualization

motivation to become the best person you can be and living your life to its fullest potential

Congruence

consistency between how you perceive yourself and the person you want to be

Unconditional Positive Regard

Providing basic love and acceptance of a person regardless of the situation or behavior

Positive Psychology

interested in understanding what factors contribute to a fulfilling life by focusing on the positive aspects of the human experience like strengths, virtues, happiness, and well-being

Resilience

ability to adapt and “bounce back” from challenges

-ability to effectively adjust to internal and external demands

Signature strengths

the most prominent and essential positive character traits a person possesses

The 6 Signature Strengths

Wisdom: drawing on knowledge to make sound judgements

Courage: ability to act despite fear

Humanity: characteristics that define what it means to be human (emotion, thought, motivation)

Justice: fairness and impartiality

Temperance: moderation and self-restraint; balance

Transcendence: deep connection with others, nature, and a sense of higher purpose

Social-Cognitive Theory of Personality

Views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people and their social context (environment)