AP Psychology Unit 4 Social Psychology and Personality (Updated for 24/25 YS)

Attributions

people's explanations for why events or actions occur

dispositional attribution

assuming that another's behavior is due to personality factors, not situational ones

Situational attribution

attribution to factors external to an actor, such as the task, other people, or luck

Explanatory style

One's habitual way of explaining life events. Can be optimistic or pessimistic

Optimistic

hopeful and confident about the future

Pessimistic

seeing the worst side of things; no hope

actor-observer bias

the tendency to blame our actions on the situation and blame the actions of others on their personalities

fundamental attribution error

the tendency for observers, when analyzing another's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition

self-serving bias

the tendency for people to take personal credit for success but blame failure on external factors

Internal locus of control

the perception that you control your own fate

External locus of control

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

Mere exposure effect

the phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them

self-fulfilling prophecy

an expectation that causes you to act in ways that make that expectation come true.

social comparison

evaluating one's abilities and opinions by comparing oneself with others

upward social comparison

comparing ourselves to people who are better than we are with regard to a particular trait or ability

downward social comparison

comparing ourselves to people who are worse than we are with regard to a particular trait or ability

relative deprivation

the perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself

stereotype

A generalized belief about a group of people

cognitive load

The amount of a person's cognitive resources needed to carry out a particular cognitive task.

prejudice

preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience

discrimination

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members

implicit attitudes

Attitudes that are involuntary, uncontrollable, and at times unconscious

just-world phenomenon

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

Out-group bias

tendency to view all individuals outside our group as highly similar

In-group bias

tendency to favor individuals within our group over those from outside our group

Ethnocentrism

Belief in the superiority of one's nation or ethnic group.

Belief perseverance

tendency to stick to our initial beliefs even when evidence contradicts them

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

cognitive dissonance

Inner tension that a consumer experiences after recognizing an inconsistency between behavior and values or opinions

social norms

The implicit or explicit rules a group has for the acceptable behaviors, values, and beliefs of its members

social influence theory

theory that powerful social influences can produce a state of hypnosis

normative social influence

influence resulting from a person's desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval

informational social influence

the influence other people have on us because we want to be right

Persuasion

the process of creating, reinforcing, or changing people's beliefs or actions

elaboration likelihood model

theory identifying two ways to persuade: a central route and a peripheral route

central route persuasion

attitude change path in which interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts

peripheral route persuasion

occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker's attractiveness

halo effect

tendency of an interviewer to allow positive characteristics of a client to influence the assessments of the client's behavior and statements

Foot-in-the Door phenomenon

the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request

door-in-the-face technique

persuasive technique involving making an unreasonably large request before making the small request we're hoping to have granted

conformity

Adjusting one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.

obedience

changing one's behavior at the command of an authority figure

individualism

a social theory favoring freedom of action for individuals over collective or state control.

collectivism

giving priority to the goals of one's group and defining one's identity accordingly

multiculturalism

The practice of valuing and respecting differences in culture.

group polarization

the enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group

Groupthink

the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives

diffusion of responsibility

the tendency for individuals to feel diminished responsibility for their actions when they are surrounded by others who are acting the same way

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

A phenomenon that occurs when immersion in a group causes people to become less aware of their individual values

social facilitation

improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others

false consensus effect

the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors

superordinate goals

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation

social traps

a situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing their self-interest, become caught in mutually destructive behavior

industiral-organizational psychologists

the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces

burnout

a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion created by long-term involvement in an emotionally demanding situation and accompanied by lowered performance and motivation

altruism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others

prosocial behavior

positive, constructive, helpful behavior

social debt

offender's criminal history should be considered in sentencing

social reciprocity norm

an expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them

social responsibility norm

an expectation that people will help those dependent upon them

bystander effect

the finding that a person is less likely to provide help when there are other bystanders

situational variables

Elements of a situation may influence whether someone is likely to help another person

attentional variables

Elements of attention which may influence whether someone is likely to help another person

Psychodynamic theory

Freudian theory that unconscious forces determine behavior

Unconscious processes

thoughts and feelings outside of our awareness

Ego defense mechanism

according to psychoanalytic theory, strategies developed by the ego to control unacceptable id impulses and to avoid or reduce the anxiety they arouse

Denial

psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people refuse to believe or even to perceive painful realities.

Displacement

psychoanalytic defense mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person, as when redirecting anger toward a safer outlet

Projection

psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others

Rationalization

defense mechanism that offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one's actions

Reaction formation

psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites. Thus, people may express feelings that are the opposite of their anxiety-arousing unconscious feelings.

Regression

psychoanalytic defense mechanism in which an individual faced with anxiety retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated

Repression

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

Sublimation

a mature type of defense mechanism, in which 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

personality assessments that present ambiguous visual stimuli to the client and ask the client to respond with whatever comes to mind

preconscious mind

Freud's term for what is stored in one's memory that one is not presently aware of but can access

humanistic psychology

historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual's potential for personal growth

unconditional regard

Respecting and accepting a patient as a unique individual.

self-actualizing tendency

the human motive toward realizing our inner potential

social-cognitive theory

The view of psychologists who emphasize behavior, environment, and cognition as the key factors in development.

reciprocal determinism

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment on personality

self-concept

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"

self-efficacy

one's sense of competence and effectiveness

self-esteem

how much you value, respect, and feel confident about yourself

Trait theories

Theoretical views stressing that personality consists of broad, enduring dispositions (traits) that tend to lead to characteristic responses.

Big Five Theory

a trait theory that identifies five main characteristics that account for most individual differences in personality

Agreeableness

how trusting, good-natured, cooperative, and soft-hearted one is

Openness to experience

how intellectual, imaginative, curious, and broad-minded one is

extraversion

dimension of personality referring to one's need to be with other people

Conscientiousness

A personality dimension that describes someone who is responsible, dependable, persistent, and organized

Emotional stability

the degree to which someone is not angry, depressed, anxious, emotional, insecure, and excitable

Personality inventories

a questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits.

Factor analysis

a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person's total score.

drive-reduction theory

a theory of motivation stating that motivation arises from imbalances in homeostasis

homeostasis

A tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state; the regulation of any aspect of body chemistry, such as blood glucose, around a particular level

arousal theory

A theory of motivation suggesting that people are motivated to maintain an optimal level of alertness and physical and mental activation.

optimal level of arousal

Theory arguing that humans are driven to increase or decrease arousal to produce a comfortable level that is not over- nor under stimulating.

Yerkes-dodson law

the principle that performance increases with arousal only up to a point, beyond which performance decreases

self-determination theory

a theory of motivation that is concerned with the beneficial effects of intrinsic motivation and the harmful effects of extrinsic motivation