Unit 4: Social Psychology & Personality

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130 Terms

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4.1a: person perception

the brain’s ability to form impressions and make judgments about others based on limited information

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attribution

how we explain the causes of behavior

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attribution theory

explains someone's behavior by either crediting the dispositional attribution or the situational attribution

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dispositional attribution

assumption that the behavior is driven by internal forces, like motivation or personality

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situational attribution

behavior is driven by an external source, like people

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Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE)

tendency to attribute the behaviors of others to dispositional factors and ignore other explanations

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explanatory style

our tendency to offer similar explanations for different events; the way that you routinely explain your life circumstances to yourself

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optimistic explanatory style (w/ positive events)

driven by internal and global causes; eg. success is seen as a personal achievement

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optimistic explanatory style (w/ negative events)

driven by external and specific causes; eg. failure is seen as an obstacle instead of a personal shortcoming

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pessimistic explanatory style (w/ positive events)

driven by external and specific causes;

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pessimistic explanatory style (w/ negative events)

driven by internal and global causes; eg. failure is seen as a personal shortcoming instead of an obstacle

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locus of control

perception of where the power over life resides

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internal locus of control

belief that people have the ability to control their lives, choices, and interaction with the world; develops high motivation, tended to be more hardworking; people blame themselves for any failure due to outside influences

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external locus of control

belief that people have little/no control over their lives or what people do; life is unpredictable, so why try?; be more pessimistic, passive, accepting

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actor-observer bias

tendency to attribute dispositional attributes of behavior when explaining others, while attributing situational attributes of behavior when explaining yourself

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self serving bias

tendency to see oneself in a positive light and specifically as moral individuals without evil intent; eg. failing a test and blaming everything but yourself

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mere-exposure effect

preference for something increases the more you are exposed to it; liking that one damn song on the radio

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self fulfilling prophecy

individuals believe expectation about a situation/person influences their behavior and causes those expectations to come true

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social comparison

how individuals evaluate themselves by comparing their abilities, opinions, and attributes to those of others; effects self esteem and can inspire to improve

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upwards social comparison

comparing oneself to others who are seen as superior in some way; leads to feelings of inadequacy, motivates one to do better

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downwards social comparison

comparing oneself to others who are seen a inferior in some way; boosts one's self esteem, leads to anxiety because a person sees they could potentially be worse off

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relative deprivation

a feeling of dissatisfaction or resentment that arises when people perceive themselves as having less than they deserve compared to others

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prejudice

an attitude founded on unjustified negative judgements, evaluations, and beliefs about a group of people based of their membership in the group

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explicit prejudice

at the surface level of our awareness; consciously held, easily expresses; eg. discrimination

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implicit prejudice

at an unconscious level, may not align with a person's beliefs; eg. implicit attitudes and stereotypes

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social identity

the “we” aspect of our self concept; the answer to “who am i” and comes from group memberships

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in-group

“us” people who we have a shared identity with

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in-group bias

reserving positive feelings such as admiration and trust for only the other members of the ingroup

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out-group

“them” people who are different and not a part of the ingroup

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out-group homogeneity

when people see members of an outgroup as more similar to each other than the members of that ingroup

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just-world phenomenon

tendency to see the world as fundamentally fair; believing that people get what they deserve, based on their actions and behavior; cognitive, it stems from our other ways of processing information

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other-race effect/ cross-race effect/ own-race bias

a tendency to recall faces of one's own race more accurately than faces of other races

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scapegoat theory

prejudice that acts as an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame; eg. nazis blamed jews for everything that’s wrong with their society

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attitudes

the feeling experienced by an individual that are often influenced by our beliefs; predispose our actions to objects

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belief perseverance

tendency to cling to one’s beliefs, even when presented with information that disproves them

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confirmation bias

tendency to interpret/seek information to supports one’s views

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social pressures

override the attitude-behavior connection; eg. politicians may vote as their supporters demand, despite disagreeing with their opinions

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ethnocentrism

individuals view their own culture superior to other cultures

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stereotypes

biased and fixed belief about a group of people

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implicit attitudes

unconscious evaluations of our biases for certain objects, groups, or people; formed from past experiences and learned associations

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cognitive dissonance

the discomfort a person feels when their behavior does not align with their values or beliefs

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cognitive dissonance theory

minimizing discomfort caused by doing bad behaviors by internally reasoning with themselves; eg. knowing that smoking is bad but still doing it anyways for whatever reason

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persuasion

when others try to convince us of something/something we’re trying to convince ourselves

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peripheral route persuasion

uses attention giving cues to trigger speedy emotion based judgements; using emotions to persuade people

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central route persuasion

offers evidence and argument that aim to trigger careful thinking; using logic and reason to persuade people

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social norms

society’s understood rules for normal and expected behavior

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social contagion

the spontaneous spread of behaviors via observation; eg. a lion that observes another member of their pride yawn is 100x more likely to yawn in the next 3 minutes

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chameleon effect

humans mimic their surroundings with social contagion and mimicking others, just like how chameleon mimics the colors of their surroundings

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mood contagion

hearing someone read/react in a happy/sad tone can affect the mood of listeners

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mood linkage

the sharing of moods

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conformity

adjusting behavior/thinking to coincide with a group standard

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normative social influence

influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval; wanting to fit in

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informational social influence

influence resulting from a person's willingness to accept others opinions about reality; believing the group is better informed

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obedience

complying with an order/command

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social control

the power of the situation; someone avoiding stealing only because they don’t go to jail

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personal control

the power of the individual; someone avoiding stealing only because stealing is wrong

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minority influence

small minority that consistently shares their views can sway the majority; consistency is important

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social facilitation

when performance is enhanced/hindered by other people are watching; eg. difficult tasks are easier to perform in front of an audience while harder tasks aren’t

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social loafing

tendency of people in a group to exert less effort when pulling their effort to attain a common goal; because effort isn’t measured individually, people tend to not put as much effort

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deindividualization

loss of self awareness/ self restraint occurring in situations involving anonymity;

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group polarization

the tendency to hold even more extreme views on topics after a group discussion of like-minded people; eg. people connect with others who share their views on the internet, they share information/misinformation and can enable extremist views

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groupthink

tendency to make bad decisions because the illusion that the pan is good is supported by the group

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diffusion of responsibility

someone witnessing a problem are less likely to take action when in a group setting, because they assume that someone else will take on the responsibility; eg. bystander effect

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multiculturalism

places value on culture and ethnic groups, as well as their ability to retain their unique identity, beliefs and practices

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collectiveism

focuses on “we” and meeting group standards, and accommodating others

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individualism

focuses on “me” the independent, and a separate self

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aggression

physical or verbal action meant to harm someone physically or emotionally

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frustration-aggression principle

frustration can create anger and can spark aggression

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attraction

a sense of interest you feel towards another person

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reward theory of attraction

tendency to like those who positively benefit us and whose behavior is rewarding to us

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altruism

selfless behavior performed to help people

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social debt

implicit expectation when a person performs a good deed to someone, the other person is expected to return the favor

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bystander effect

individuals in a group are less likely to take action/feel responsible about a task/emergency because they assume someone else will help

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social exchange theory

individuals engage in relationships based on a cost-benefit basis; seeking to maximize rewards and minimize cost

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reciprocity norm

expectation that people will help instead of hurt people who have helped them before; eg. tipping wait staff who gave good service

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social responsibility norm

expectation that people help those needing their help, especially individuals who are in visible need of it

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social trap

situation in which two parties, each pursuing their own interest rather than the good of the group, each get caught in their own mutually destructive behavior

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superordinate goals

shared goals that override differences between people and require cooperation; a common enemy

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psychodynamic perspective

how we deal with the unconscious mind; how experiences from childhood impact future decisions

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defense mechanisms

used to unconsciously avoid unwanted thoughts/anxiety

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regression

moving backwards to a previous stage in life; eg. sleeping with a stuffed animal for comfort

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repression

blocking traumatic events from conscious thoughts; all mechanisms have a base in repression

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reaction formation

reacting to opposite ways to their true feelings; eg. laughing during a traumatic event

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displacement

shifted behavior/aggression towards a more accepting person; eg. yelling at your brother for no reason instead of your teacher

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sublimation

making unacceptable behaviors into acceptable behaviors; eg. a guy wanting to yell at a coach for something but instead teaching his little brother to play

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projection

pushing one's personal feelings onto others; eg. accusing a partner of being unfaithful, while you are the one having unfaithful thoughts

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rationalization

self-justifying explanations in place of real unconscious explanations; eg. saying that you could’ve done something better if you tried harder

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denial

the refusal to accept the truth of a situation; eg. a father who refuses to accept that his kid didn’t make the team because his kids are so athletic

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projective tests

test to determine the inner thoughts and feelings of an individual; eg. the ink blot test

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unconditional positive regard

caring, accepting, non judgmental attitude that helps ppl develop self acceptance

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humanistic perspective

perspective that emphasizes goodness found in humans, free will, importance for self actualization, potential for growth, and a desire to fulfill one’s potential

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self actualization

ultimate psychological need that comes after basic needs are met and self esteem is achieved

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trait theory

the idea that people have consistent personality traits that influence behavior

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factor analysis

statistical procedure that identifies factors of test items that tap basic components of a trait; eg. ppl who describe themselves as outgoing often enjoy jokes while disliking silence

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personality inventories

longer questionnaires covering a wide range of feelings, assess several traits at once

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Openness (big 5 personality traits)

imaginative, prefers variety, independent

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Conscientiousness (big 5 personality traits)

organized, careful, discipline

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extraversion (big 5 personality traits)

sociable, fun loving, affectionate

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agreeableness (big 5 personality traits)

soft-hearted, trusting, helpful