Unit 4: Social Psychology & Personality

Unit 4 vocab

person perception

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

attribution

how we explain the causes of behavior

attribution theory

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

dispositional attribution

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

situational attribution

behavior is driven by an external source, like people

Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE)

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

explanatory style

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

optimistic explanatory style (w/ positive events)

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

optimistic explanatory style (w/ negative events)

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

pessimistic explanatory style (w/ positive events)

driven by external and specific causes;

pessimistic explanatory style (w/ negative events)

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

locus of control

perception of where the power over life resides

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

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

actor-observer bias

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

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

mere-exposure effect

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

self fulfilling prophecy

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

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

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

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

relative deprivation

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

prejudice

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

explicit prejudice

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

implicit prejudice

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

social identity

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

in-group

“us” people who we have a shared identity with

in-group bias

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

out-group

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

out-group homogeneity

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

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

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

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

attitudes

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

belief perseverance

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

confirmation bias

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

social pressures

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

ethnocentrism

individuals view their own culture superior to other cultures

stereotypes

biased and fixed belief about a group of people

implicit attitudes

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

cognitive dissonance

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

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

persuasion

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

peripheral route persuasion

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

central route persuasion

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

social norms

society’s understood rules for normal and expected behavior

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

chameleon effect

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

mood contagion

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

mood linkage

the sharing of moods

conformity

adjusting behavior/thinking to coincide with a group standard

normative social influence

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

informational social influence

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

obedience

complying with an order/command

social control

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

personal control

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

minority influence

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

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

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

deindividualization

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

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

groupthink

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

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

multiculturalism

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

collectiveism

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

individualism

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

aggression

physical or verbal action meant to harm someone physically or emotionally

frustration-aggression principle

frustration can create anger and can spark aggression

attraction

a sense of interest you feel towards another person

reward theory of attraction

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

altruism

selfless behavior performed to help people

social debt

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

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

social exchange theory

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

reciprocity norm

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

social responsibility norm

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

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

superordinate goals

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

psychodynamic perspective

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

defense mechanisms

used to unconsciously avoid unwanted thoughts/anxiety

regression

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

repression

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

reaction formation

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

displacement

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

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

projection

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

rationalization

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

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

projective tests

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

unconditional positive regard

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

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

self actualization

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

trait theory

the idea that people have consistent personality traits that influence behavior

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

personality inventories

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

Openness (big 5 personality traits)

imaginative, prefers variety, independent

Conscientiousness (big 5 personality traits)

organized, careful, discipline

extraversion (big 5 personality traits)

sociable, fun loving, affectionate

agreeableness (big 5 personality traits)

soft-hearted, trusting, helpful