AP Psychology - Unit 4 - Social Psychology and Personality

What is the Mere-Exposure Effect?

The tendency to demonstrate a more favorable attitude toward something or someone with repeated exposure.

What is a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?

A belief or expectation that causes individuals to behave in ways that confirm their initial perceptions.

What is Relative Deprivation?

The perception that one has fewer resources than others in their social circle, often leading to unhappiness.

What is the difference between a stereotype, prejudice, and discrimination?

A stereotype is a cognitive belief about a group; prejudice is a negative attitude toward a group; discrimination is treating others differently based on group characteristics.

What is the Just-World Phenomenon?

The belief that the world is inherently fair and that people deserve whatever happens to them.

What is the difference between In-Group Bias and Out-Group Homogeneity Bias?

In-group bias is favoring one's own group as superior, while out-group homogeneity bias is viewing those outside one's group as inferior or uniform.

What is Ethnocentrism?

Viewing one's own ethnic, racial, or national group as the center of everything.

What were the key findings of the Milgram Experiment?

63% of participants were willing to deliver the maximum lethal voltage (450 volts) when commanded by an authority figure.

How do Individualism and Collectivism differ?

Individualism emphasizes the role of the individual, while collectivism emphasizes being a member of a larger social group.

What is Attribution Theory?

The process of ascribing the reason for behavior to either internal (dispositional) or external (situational) causes.

What is the Fundamental Attribution Error?

The tendency to overestimate dispositional attributes and underestimate situational attributes when explaining others' behavior.

What is the Actor-Observer Bias?

The tendency to attribute one's own behavior to situational factors while attributing others' behavior to dispositional factors.

What is Self-Serving Bias?

Interpreting events to ascribe success to oneself while denying responsibility for failure.

What is the difference between an internal and external locus of control?

Internal locus of control is the belief that life outcomes result from one's own abilities; external is the belief that outcomes result from factors outside one's control.

What is the Elaboration Likelihood Model?

A model showing that attitude change occurs on a continuum based on the level of scrutiny or elaboration applied to information.

What is the Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon?

The tendency to comply with a large request after first agreeing to a smaller one.

What is the Door-in-the-Face Phenomenon?

The tendency to comply with a reasonable request after denying an initial extreme request.

What was the purpose of the Asch Situation experiment?

To measure the degree to which individuals conform to group norms by having them answer questions in a group of confederates who give incorrect answers.

What is Belief Perseverance?

The tendency to continue believing in an idea even after it has been refuted or proven inaccurate.

What is Confirmation Bias?

The tendency to gather evidence that supports a conclusion while ignoring or avoiding evidence that refutes it.

What is Cognitive Dissonance?

The psychological discomfort experienced when one's behaviors and beliefs are inconsistent, motivating the individual to change one of them.

What is the difference between Normative and Informative Social Influence?

Normative influence is conforming to gain social rewards or avoid ostracism; informative influence is changing behavior based on the persuasion of information.

What is the Central Route to Persuasion?

Forming or changing attitudes based on a thoughtful evaluation of the merits of the information.

What is the Peripheral Route to Persuasion?

Forming or changing attitudes based on cues outside of the actual merits of the information.

What are Implicit Attitudes?

Beliefs held by individuals that they may be unaware of or fail to recognize.

What is social loafing?

The tendency to put forth less effort when working in a group compared to working alone.

Define deindividuation.

A loss of self-awareness and self-restraint resulting from anonymity or blending into a group.

What is group polarization?

The tendency for people's beliefs to strengthen after discussing them in a group of like-minded individuals.

What is the primary risk of groupthink?

Poor decision-making caused by the group's desire to maintain harmony and avoid dissenting views.

What is the bystander effect?

The tendency for individuals to fail to provide assistance to those in need when others are present, often due to diffusion of responsibility.

What are superordinate goals?

Goals that require members of two or more groups to work together and pool skills to achieve an outcome they could not reach alone.

What is the humanistic perspective on personality?

The belief that people are inherently good and are motivated to reach their full potential, known as self-actualization.

What are the three components of unconditional positive regard?

Acceptance, empathy, and genuineness toward others regardless of their behavior.

Define reciprocal determinism in social-cognitive theory.

The concept that the environment, behavior, and internal cognitive factors all influence each other to determine personality.

What is self-efficacy?

An individual's perception of their ability to perform tasks based on self-reflection and self-regulation.

What are the 'Big Five' personality dimensions?

Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

What is factor analysis?

A mathematical procedure used to reduce a large number of variables into a smaller set by identifying correlations.

What is the difference between a need and a drive in drive-reduction theory?

A need is a physiological requirement for survival (e.g., food), while a drive is the psychological feeling of deprivation (e.g., hunger).

What does the Yerkes-Dodson law state?

There is an inverted U-shaped relationship between arousal and performance, where optimal arousal depends on task difficulty.

What is an approach-avoidance conflict?

A situation where one must choose a goal or motive that has both desirable and undesirable consequences.

What is the unconscious in psychodynamic theory?

The reservoir of mental activity, including memories and conflicts, that is inaccessible to awareness but still influences behavior.

Define the defense mechanism of projection.

Attributing one's own unacceptable characteristics or impulses to another person or group.

What is sublimation?

Unconsciously channeling unacceptable drives into socially acceptable behaviors.

What is the purpose of a projective test?

To use ambiguous stimuli to reveal an individual's unconscious thoughts, personality traits, and thought processes.

What is the false consensus effect?

The tendency to overestimate the extent to which others agree with one's own views.

What do industrial-organizational psychologists study?

How people perform in the workplace, including management, relationships, burnout, and personnel selection.

What is social reciprocity norm?

The societal expectation that people who receive help should provide equal benefits in return.

What is the difference between self-concept and self-esteem?

Self-concept is the evaluation of one's own characteristics and roles, while self-esteem is the extent to which those qualities are perceived as positive.

What is homeostasis?

The regulation of body chemistry to maintain a balanced internal state.

What is the Rorschach Inkblot Test?

A projective test that utilizes ten inkblots of random design to assess personality.

What is the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)?

A projective test that asks participants to create a written story about black-and-white pictures.

What is the definition of emotion?

An attempt to deal with a personally significant matter through physiological responses, experience, and expressed behaviors.

What is the facial feedback effect?

The phenomenon where facial muscle movements trigger inner emotional states.

What does the Broaden-and-Build Theory suggest about positive emotions?

They broaden awareness and encourage new thoughts and behaviors.

What does the Broaden-and-Build Theory suggest about negative emotions?

They reduce awareness and narrow thoughts and behaviors.

What are the six commonly cited universal facial expressions?

Surprise, fear, anger, sadness, happiness, and disgust.

What are display rules?

Socially learned rules that regulate how one expresses emotions.

What factors influence display rules?

Gender, age, and socioeconomic class.

What is the primary function of ghrelin?

Secreted in the stomach, it stimulates appetite and growth hormone.

What is the role of insulin in hunger?

Secreted in the pancreas, it helps transfer glucose through cell membranes.

What happens when insulin levels are insufficient?

Glucose accumulates in the blood.

Where is leptin found and what is its function?

Found in the hypothalamus, it communicates the amount of body fat stored and regulates food intake.

What is the function of orexin?

Found in the hypothalamus, it triggers feeding.

What is the function of PYY?

Located in the digestive tract, it signals to the brain that one is not hungry.

List four external factors that influence eating behavior.

Presence of food, time of day, social gatherings, and size of plate.

What is the definition of hunger?

The sensation caused by the need for food.

Are facial expressions considered universally spontaneous?

Research is mixed; while some studies suggest universality, others refute it.

What is a display rule?

A socially learned rule that regulates how one expresses emotions.

How does the hypothalamus relate to hunger?

It serves as the location for hormones like leptin and orexin that regulate food intake and feeding behavior.

What is the primary purpose of the Broaden-and-Build Theory?

To explain how positive and negative emotional experiences affect awareness and behavior.

What does the facial feedback effect imply about the relationship between muscles and emotions?

It implies that physical expression can influence or trigger internal emotional experiences.