Psych 221 Chapter 2 Vocabulary

Motivation

The force that moves people toward desired outcomes

Goal

A desired outcome; something one wishes to achieve or accomplish

Motives

A high-level goal fundamental to social survival

Attention

The process of consciously focusing on aspects of our environment or ourselves

Automacity

The ability of a behavior or cognitive process to operate without conscious guidance once it’s put into motion

Exemplar

A mental representation of a specific episode, event, or individual

Schema

A mental representation capturing the general characteristics of a particular class of episodes, events, or individuals

Priming

The process of activating knowledge or goals, of making them ready for use

Chronically accessible

The state of being easily activated, or primed, for use

Attitudes

Favorable or unfavorable evaluations of a particular person, object, event, or idea

Emotions

Relatively intense feelings characterized by physiological arousal and complex cognitions

Moods

Relatively long-lasting feelings that are diffuse and not directed at particular targets

Counterfactual thinking

The process of imagining alternative, “might have been” versions of actual events

Self-concept

A mental representation capturing our views and beliefs about ourselves

Self-esteem

Our attitude toward ourselves

Social comparison

The process through which people come to know themselves by comparing their abilities, attitudes, and beliefs with those of others

Reflected appraisal process

The process through which people come to know themselves by observing or imagining how others view them

Self-perception process

The process through which people observe their own behavior to infer internal characteristics such as traits, abilities, and attitudes

Self-regulation

The process through which people select, monitor, and adjust their strategies in an attempt to reach their goals

Self-presentation

The process through which we try to control the impressions people form of us; synonymous with impression management

Affordances

An opportunity or threat provided by a situation

Descriptive norms

A norm that defines what behaviors people typically perform in a given situation

Pluralistic ignorance

The phenomenon in which people in a group misperceive the beliefs of others because everyone acts inconsistently with their beliefs

Injunctive norms

A norm that describes what is commonly approved or disapproved in a situation

Scripted situations

A situation in which certain events are expected to occur in a particular sequence

Individualistic cultures

A culture that socializes its members to think of themselves as individuals and to give priority to their personal goals

Collectivistic cultures

A culture that socializes its members to think of themselves in terms of their relationships and as members of the larger social group, and to prioritize the concerns of their relationship partners and groups before their own

Person-situation fit

The extent to which a person and a situation are compatible

Socialization

The process whereby a culture teaches its members about its beliefs, customs, habits, and language