Psychology 101 Final Study Guide

A comprehensive set of 50 flashcards covering key concepts and terms in Psychology 101, including personality, social psychology, stress, and psychological disorders.

Personality

The combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual's distinctive character.

Psychoanalysis

A therapeutic approach that seeks to explore the interactions of conscious and unconscious elements in the mind.

Id

The part of the mind that contains our primal desires and drives.

Ego

The part of the mind that mediates between the desires of the Id and the demands of reality.

Super Ego

The ethical component of the personality that provides the moral standards by which the ego operates.

Defense Mechanisms

Psychological strategies used to cope with reality and maintain self-image.

Psychosexual Stages

Freudian theory proposing that personality develops through a series of childhood stages.

Trait Perspective on Personality (5 Factor)

A model that identifies five core traits to describe human personality: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism.

Self-Report tests

Assessment tools where individuals provide subjective reports of their own behaviors and beliefs.

Projective tests

Psychological tests where individuals respond to ambiguous stimuli, revealing hidden emotions and internal conflicts.

Person Perception

The processes involved in forming impressions of others.

Implicit Personality Theory

Assumptions about the relationships between people’s traits and behaviors.

Attribution

The process of explaining the causes of behavior.

Attribution error

The tendency to overemphasize personal traits and underestimate situational factors when judging others' behavior.

Blaming the victim

Attributing victimization to the victim's own behaviors or characteristics.

Self Serving Bias

The tendency to attribute positive outcomes to oneself and negative outcomes to external factors.

Self Effacing Bias

The tendency to attribute successes to external factors and failures to oneself.

Hindsight Bias

The phenomenon of seeing events as having been predictable after they have already occurred.

Prejudice

A preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.

In Group-Out Group Bias

The tendency to favor one's own group over others.

Cognitive Dissonance

A psychological state that arises from holding two conflicting beliefs or behaviors.

Asch Experiment

A study that demonstrated the power of conformity in social groups.

Factors Influencing Conformity

Elements such as group size, unanimity, cohesion, and status that can affect whether an individual conforms.

Milgram Study

An experiment that measured obedience to authority figures, showcasing how far individuals would go in following orders.

Bystander Effect

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

Factors that Increase Likelihood of Bystanders Helping

Situational factors such as perceived emergency, number of bystanders, and relationship to the victim.

Stress

A psychological and physical response to perceived challenges or threats.

PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)

A mental health condition that can develop after exposure to a traumatic event.

Resilience

The ability to recover quickly from difficulties; emotional strength.

SRRS (Social Readjustment Rating Scale)

A scale that measures the stress load one carries, based on life events.

Stress and Culture

The ways in which cultural context influences perceptions and responses to stress.

Physical Effects of Stress

Stress can lead to symptoms like headaches, fatigue, and increased heart rate.

Cognitive Effects of Stress

Stress can impair focus, decision-making, and memory.

Emotional Effects of Stress

Stress can lead to feelings of anxiety, depression, and irritability.

Stress and Aging

Chronic stress can accelerate aging through various biological mechanisms.

Stress and the Immune System

Chronic stress can weaken the immune response, making one more susceptible to illness.

Negative Emotions

Emotions such as sadness, anger, or fear that can arise from stress.

Positive Emotions

Emotions like joy and contentment that can also arise in coping with stress.

Social Factors and Social Support

Support from friends, family, or community can mitigate effects of stress.

Strategies for Coping

Techniques and methods used to manage stress effectively.

GAS (General Adaptation Syndrome)

A three-stage response to stress: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.