Unit 4. Social Psychology and Personality - Pt 1: Attribution, Person Perception & Attitude

Attribution

Explaining the cause of behavior or mental events.

Dispositional Attribution

Blaming internal traits (e.g., personality, intelligence) for behavior.

Situational Attribution

Blaming external circumstances (e.g., environment, context) for behavior.

Explanatory Style

A person’s habitual way of explaining life events—either optimistically or pessimistically.

Optimistic Style

Explaining events positively (e.g., “I can handle it,” or “Things will get better”).

Pessimistic Style

Explaining events negatively (e.g., “This is awful,” or “It’s all my fault”).

Actor-Observer Bias

Judging your behavior as situational, but others’ behavior as due to their personality.

Fundamental Attribution Error

Overestimating internal factors and underestimating the situation when judging others’ actions.

Self-Serving Bias

Attributing success to yourself (internal) and failure to external factors.

Locus of Control

Belief about what controls your life outcomes—yourself or outside forces.

Internal Locus of Control

Believing you control your life through your choices and actions.

External Locus of Control

Believing life outcomes are caused by outside forces beyond your control.

Person Perception

How we form impressions and judgments about other people.

Mere Exposure Effect

The more we are exposed to something, the more we tend to like it.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

A belief that causes behavior which makes the belief come true.

Rosenthal Effect

When teacher expectations cause students to perform better or worse.

Social Comparison

Evaluating yourself by comparing to others.

Upward Social Comparison

Comparing yourself to people who are better off.

Downward Social Comparison

Comparing yourself to people who are worse off.

Relative Deprivation

Feeling deprived by comparing yourself to others who have more.

Stereotype

A generalized belief about a group, which can influence perception and behavior.

Implicit Attitudes

Unconscious beliefs that affect behavior without awareness.

Prejudice

A negative belief or feeling about a group formed without full knowledge.

Discrimination

Unfair treatment of a person or group based on prejudice.

Just-World Phenomenon

Belief that people get what they deserve and deserve what they get.

Outgroup Homogeneity Bias

Belief that all members of an outgroup are similar.

Ingroup Bias

Favoring people who belong to your own group.

Ethnocentrism

Believing your own group or culture is superior to others.

Belief Perseverance

Holding onto a belief even when there’s strong evidence against it.

Confirmation Bias

Focusing only on information that supports your belief.

Cognitive Dissonance

Mental discomfort from having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or behaviors.

Reducing Cognitive Dissonance

Changing beliefs or behaviors to reduce conflict and restore consistency.