Unit 4

dispositional attribution

internal factors, a person’s intelligence, attitude or personality

situational attribution

external factors that impact the individual

self-serving bias

when we succeed we attribute the success to our internal factors, but we faul we attribute it to external factors

actor-observing bias

situational attribution to explain ourselves but dispositional attribution for others

fundamental attribution error

tendency to overemphasize internal factors when judging others’ behaviors while underestimating situational factors

external locus

outside factors determine life outcome

internal locus of control

when an individual believes their actions directly affect what happens to them

person perception

about how an individual forms impressions of other people and sometimes even themselves

Mere exposure effect

when an indivdual is repeatedly exposed to a stimulus resulting in the individual to like the stimulus more and more over time

self-fulfilling prophecy

when a person’s expectations influence their behavior in a way that causes those expectations to come true

upward social comparison

comparison when an individual compares themselves to someone they believe is better off

downward social comparison

when the individual compares to themselves to someone they believe is worse off

attitude

how an individual thinks, feels, or behaves towards another person, object, idea, or situation

explicit attitudes

beliefs that the individuals are aware of

implicit attitudes

implicit attitudes that are unconscious, oftentimes the individual may not even realize they hold these beliefs

just-world phenomenon

tendency for people to believe that the world is just and that things are they way they are for a reason

out-group homogenity bias

the tendency for an individual to perceive member of an out-group as more similar to each other than they actually are

outgroup

members of a group that you do not consider yourself apart of

in-group

people who the individual perceives to have similar characteristics as, resulting in them seeing themselves as part of the group

in-group bias

tendency to favor and support people in our own group and be more critical of people out of it

ethnocentrism

the belief that one’s own culture is superior or better than others

belief persevreance

the tendency to maintain a belief despite new information or evidence that clearly contradicts ite

cofirmation bias

the tendency for a person to focus on info that confirms their pre-existing viws and dismiss conflicting info

stereotypes

generalized beliefs about a group of people

explicit prejudice

prejudice that people are aware of an consciously agree with

implicit prejudice

negative feelings than an individual has towards another person or group without them being aware of it

cognitive dissonance

the mental discomfort or tension that comes from when an individual has two conflicting beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors

social influence theory

examines how and why people are persuaded by others

normaive influence

a person’s desire to be liked and accepted by a group

informational influence

when individuals conform because they believe others have more accurate information

elaboration likelihood model

which explains how people are persuaded, sitting that people are either persuaded through central route persuasion or the peripheral route to persuasion

central route to persuasion

uses facts to persuade someone, often taking more time and elaboration

peripheral route persuasion

using emotions or nonrelevant external factors to persuade someone

halo effect

cognitive bias where ouroverall impression of a person influences how we feel and think about them

foot in door technique

small request made first and generally people will agree, then make a larger request

door in face request

ask for a larger request that will most likely be rejected then asking for a smaller request

group polarization

the tendency or indivisuals’s thoughts, and/or actions to become more extreme ina group setting

group think

phenomenon where the group prioritizes consensus over critical evaluation, often leading to poor decision-making to occur

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

bystander effect

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

social loafing

when an individual is in a group they end up trying less, since they can rely on others to carry the work load

social facilitation

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

altruism

when an individual does a selfless act for the well-being of others, without expecting any personal gain or reward

social responsibility norms

expectations that people will help those who are dependent or in need of assistance

social reciprocity norms

an expectation that people have when doing something for someone else

psychodynamic perspective

believes that a person’s personality and behaviors are shaped by their conscious and unconscious mind

deinal

when an individual refuses to accept their reality, essentially blocking certaine external events or emotions from an individual’s awareness

displacement

when an individual redirects their reaction or emotional response from one situation to another

projection

when a person attributes their thoughts or feelings to someone else

rationalization

when an individual justifies an uncomfortable thought or behavior to make it seem more acceptable

reaction formation

when an individual acts in the opposite way as they feel

regression

when an individual reverts back to behaviorsof an earlier developmental stage, generally this happens when an individual experiences heightened stress

sublimination

when an individual takes unacceptable impulses and channels them into socially acceptable actions

repression

when an individual pushes distressing memories or thoughts out of their conscious awareness

ego

ego plays a crucial role in personality by regulating impulses, interacting with external stimuli, and mediating between the i’d and supereg

superego

which is located in a person’s preconscious, represents a person’s ideals, moral values, and judgements

ID

resides in te unconscious and strives to meet all needs, good or bad

projective tests

test that has open responses and does not limit the test taker to a select group of responses (inkblot Roschach’s test or thematic apperception test)

objective personality test

test with limited answers and seeks specific responses from test takers such as Myer-Briggs personality test

humanistic psychology

emphasizes the inherent goodness of people and their desire to continue to grow to reach their full potential

self actualization

innate drive within a person to grow, improve, and reach their full potential

self-transcendence

when an individual goes beyond their own self-interests to pursue something larger than one’s self

congruence

the alignment between one’s self and their ideal self

social cognitive theory

highlights cognition, focusing on how a person thinks about and interprets situations and how that directly influenced their personality

self esteem

how positively a person views themselves

self-efficacy

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

trait theories

focus on enduring characteristics/traits that form a person’s personality

enduring chararcteristics

stable, constant traits that can be measured, they generally lead to predictable behaviors and emotional reactions from individuals

Big 5 Theory of Personality

openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism (OCEAN)

openess

imagination,

conscientiousness

a person’s organization, dependability, discipline, and goal-directed behaviors

extraversion

a person’s sociability, enthusiasm, and assertiveness

Agreeableness

a person’s trustworthiness, altruism, kindness, and affection

neuroticism

emotional stability and remaining calm in stressful situations

personality inventory

a specialized questionnaire that measures where they fall on each of the big 5 traits

drive-reduction theory

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

pituitary gland

works with hypothalamus to release hormones that influence bodily functions

arousal theory

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

yerkes-dodson law

the principle that performance increases with arousal, but only up to a certain point, if an individual goes beyond that point their performance started to decrease

self-determination theory

people can be motivated by intrinsic or extrinsic motivation

intrinsic motivation

comes from inside like enjoyment or personal satisfaction

extrinsic motivation

comes from outside such as a reward

incentive theory

believes that behavior is largely driven by external rewards or punishments, individuals are motivated to act due to extrinsic motivation

sensation-seeking theory

proposes that individuals have different needs for experiences, with each need impacting an individual’s motivation to act. (experience seeking, adventure seeking, disinhibition, boredom susceptibility)

Kurt Lewin’s motivational conflict theory

focuses on how people become motivated to act when confronted with a choice

approach-aproach conflict

person has to choose between two desirable outcomes

avoidance-avoidance conflict

choose between two negative outcomes

approach-avoidance

one choice has both negative and positive aspects

james-lange theory

physiological changes such as increased heart rate happen first followed by a cognitive experience which results in an emotion

cannon-bard theory

physiological and cognitive experiences occurred simultaneously instead of happening in a sequence

schachter twp-factor theory

an individual’s experience emotions due to physiological arousal and cognitive labeling

facial feedback hypothesis

facial expressions can influence the emotional experience

broaden and build theory

positive emotions will expand an individual’s awareness, opening their mind to new ideas, actions, and possibilities. negative emotions on the other hand will close a person’s mind to new perspectives, experiences, and narrow a person’s focus

display rules

social guidelines that tell an individual when, where, and how it;s okay to show certain emotions in a specific culture

elicitors of emotion

events, situations, or stimuli that trigger an emotional response from an individual