Unit 4 AP Pysch

Attribution

how people explain behavior and mental processes of themselves and others

Dispotional Attributions

Internal Qualities of Others

Situtational Attrributions

External circumstances that are experienced

Explanatory style

how people explain good and bad events in their lives and in the lives of others; can be optimistic or pessimistic

Mere Exposure Effect

occurs when people are exposed to a stimulus repeatedly over time which causes them to like the stimulus more

Self Fulfilling Prophecy

people can behave in ways that elicit behaviors from others that confirm their beliefs or perceptions about themselves or others

Sterotype

Generalized concept about a group; reduces cognitice load when making descions or judgements; can be the cause and/or result of biased perceptions and experiences and are frequently the basis of prejudiced attitudes and discriminatory behaviors

Implict Attitudes

attitudes individuals hold but may not be aware of or may not acknowledge

Just world Phenomenon

Belief that the world is fundamentally fair and that people therefore "get what they deserve" and "deserve what they get

Out-group homogeneity bias

the tendency for people to view members of an out-group (a group they do not belong to) as more similar to one another ("they are all alike") than members of their own in-group, whom they perceive as diverse

In-Group Bias

the tendency to favor, trust, and hold more positive attitudes toward members of one's own group (the "in-group") compared to those in outside groups (the "out-group"

Group Bias

the tendency to favor, trust, and positively evaluate members of one's own group over those in outside groups

Ethnocentrism

the tendency to view the world primarily through the lens of one’s own culture, judging others by its standards and often believing it to be superior.

Belief Perseverance

when belief persists even if evidence suggest it is not accurate

Cognitive Dissonance

mental discomfort or tension you feel when your actions don't match your beliefs, or when you hold two conflicting beliefs at once.

Social Norms

define expectation and roles a society may have for its members in individual and social situations

Persuasion

refers to the techniques applied to convince the self or others of particular ideas actions or beliefs

Foot in the door phenomenon

thoses who have first agreed to a small request to later comply with a larger request

Conformity

when we adjust our behavior or thinking to coincide with the group standard

Social Contagion

understood rules for accepted and expectd behavior

False Consensus Effect

people overestimate the levels to which others agree with them

Alturism

selfless behavior

Bystander Effect

demonstrates that situational and attentional variables predict whether someone is likely to help another

Observer Bias

the tendency of researchers or observers to unconsciously allow their expectations, beliefs, or knowledge of a study's hypothesis to influence their recordings and interpretation of behavior

Fundamental attribution error

we blame others' actions on their character, while blaming our own mistakes on external circumstances

Self-Serving Bias

attribute successes to internal traits (ability, effort) while blaming failures on external factors (luck, unfairness)

Social comparison

when people evaluate themselves based on comparisons to other members of society or social circle; tends to be more negative

Confirmation Bias

clinging to an attitude or belief regardless of the evidence for or against it

Central Persuasion

Focuses on logic, facts, often taking more time and elaboration; utilizes complex slow thinking

Peripheral Persuasion

Focuses uses emotions to persuade someone; takes less time and focused on quick thinking; Leads to quick, temporary attitude changes (e.g., using the "halo effect")

Elaboration Likelihood Model

Explains how people are persuaded either through the central route or peripheral

Door-in-the-face phenonmenon

a persuasion method where a large, likely rejected request is made first, followed by a smaller, reasonable request

Group Polarization

tendency for individuals opinions thoughts, and/or actions to become more extreme in a group setting

Groupthink

group priorities consensus over critical evaluation, often leading to poor decision-making to occur; esire for harmony within the group overirides members of the group to vocalize dissenting opinions

Deindividuation

when an individual is in a group and loses their sense of self-awareness or personal accountability, often due to the individual feeling more anonymous in the group

Diffusion of Responsibility

when an indiviudal feels less personally accountable and responsible for taking action of helping in situations where others are present

Social Loafing

when individuals are in groups they end up trying less, since they can rely on others to carry the workload

Social Facilitation

opposite of social loafing; when a group of people are together they start to perform better due to being observed by others

Superordinate Goals

require coooperation between individuals or groups, these goals often help reduce conflict by encouraging collaberative efforts towards one common goal

Social Traps

when individuals do not unite and act in their own self-interest to the detriment of the group

Industrial-organizational (I/O) psychologists

study how people perform in the workplace, best practices in management of work, relationships among people working together or for a common company or program, and how people feel about work

Pyschodynamic Theory of Personality

unconscious processes drive personality

Ego defense mechanisms

denial, displacement, projection, rationalization, reaction formation, regression, repression, and sublimation: these serve to protect the ego unconsciously from threats

Psychodynamic personality psychologists

assess personality using projective tests that are designed to probe the preconscious and unconscious mind

humanistic psychology

personality focuses on unconditional regard and the self-actualizing tendency as primary motivating factor

social-cognitive theory

Reciprical Determinism

person's behavior, personal factors (cognition, personality), and environment all mutually influence one another

Self Efficacy

an individual’s belief in their ability to do a specific task

Self-Esteem

how positively a person views themselves inlcluding how they see their abilities, accomplishments, and values, as well as how they think others see them

Trait theories of personality

personality involves a set of enduring characteristics that lead to typical responses to stimuli

Openness

how open someone is to new ideas, creativity, and trying new things

Conscientiousness

How organized responsible, and self disciplined a person is

Extroversion

How outgoing a person is

Agreeableness

How kind, cooperative, and compassionate someone is towards others

Neuroticism

How much a person experiences negative emotins like stress or anxiety

Motivation

consists of biological, emotional, social, and cognitive forces all of which influence an individual to take action

Primary Needs

biological basic needs such as food, water or sleep; innate and must be met to maintain a person’s well-being

Secondary Needs

psychological needs taht help with a person’s well-being and social fulfillment such as social approval, belonging and love

Instincts

fixed patterns of behavior that automatically kick in when an animal encounters certain stimuli;Humans do not seem to demonstrate instinctual behavior or mental processes

Drive-Reduction Theory

behavior is often driven by the need for an individual to maintain homeostasis

Homeostasis

the body’s way of keeping everything inside your body balanced, such as temperature or energy levels

Arousal Theory

how a person’s motivation is impacted by the amount of stimulation they are experiencing

Yerkes-Dodson Law

performance increases with arousal, but only up to a certain point. If an individual goes beyond that point their performance starts to decrease

Self-determination theory

proposes that people are motivated by intrinsic (internal) or extrinsic (external) motivations

Incentive theory

explores the role of rewards (an extrinsic motivation) in motivating behavior

Kurt Lewin’s motivational conflicts theory

people become motivated to act when confronted with a choice: approach-approach, approach-avoidance, and avoidance-avoidance

Approach-Approach

person has to choose between two desirable or positive outcomes

Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict

when a person must choose between two undesirable or negative outcomes

Approach Avoidance Conflict

when one choice has both positive and negative aspects

Sensation-seeking theory

individuals have different needs for experiences with each need impacting an individuals motivation to act

Experience Seeking

desire for new or unconventional experiences

Thrill/Adventure Seeking

drive to engage in physically risky activities

Disinhibition

tendency to seek out soical or recreational situations

Boredom Susceptibility

individuals’s tolerance for repetitive or routine experiences

Eating

omplex motivated behavior that demonstrates how physical and mental processes interact; External factors like the presence of food, time of day, or social gatherings around meals also influence the behavior of eating

Ghrelin

hunger

Leptin

satiety

Emotion

Also known as affect, complex pyschological state that involves a varietty of physiological responses

Theories of Emotion

• physiological and cognitive experiences

  occurred in succession while others proposed

  that they occurred simultaneously

• the cognitive label is required to experience an emotion

facial-feedback hypothesis

suggests that the experience of emotion is influenced by facial expressions; supports theories that the physiological experience of emotion precedes the cognitive appraisal, and research testing this hypothesis has produced mixed result

broaden-and-build

positive emotional experiences tend to broaden awareness and encourage new actions and thoughts. Negative emotions tend to reduce awareness and narrow thinking and action

Emotion Research

Research on the universality of emotions shows mixed results

Display Rules

set by the culture, these are social guidelines that tell an individual when, where, and how it’s olay to show certain emotions