Unit 4: Social Psychology and Personality Concepts

Attribution Theory

the theory that we explain people's behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition

Dispositional Attributions

Internal Characteristics (Personal Traits) such as personality and intelligence

Situational Attributions

Environmental Factors

Explanatory Style

a psychological attribute that describes how people explain the causes and impact of events in their lives, whether positive or negative

Actor-Observer Bias

Tendency to attribute one's own actions to external causes while attributing other people's behaviors to internal causes.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency for observers, for analyzing others' behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of a person's disposition

Self-Serving Bias

We attribute causes of behavior to external causes if we fail & internal causes if we succeed.

Internal locus of control

Think they control and are responsible for what happens to them

External locus of control

Believe what happens is due to fate, luck, or others

Mere Exposure Effect

the phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

a belief that leads to its own fulfillment

Social Comparison Theory

the idea that people compare themselves to others to evaluate their abilities, opinions, and attitudes, and to gain a better understanding of themselves

Relative Deprivation

the idea that someone feels deprived or entitled to something based on a comparison to others

Stereotype

a generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people

Prejudice

unjustifiable and usually negative attitude toward a group and its members.

Discrimination

the ability to differentiate between stimuli, or the act of acting on prejudice

Cognitive Load

refers to the amount of information our working memory can process at any given time

Implicit attitudes

evaluations that occur without conscious awareness towards an attitude object or the self

Just-World Phenomenon

the tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get

Out-group homogeneity effect

the perception of out-group members as more similar to one another than are in-group members

Ingroup bias

our tendency to favor our own group as opposed to the outgroup.

Ethnocentrism

is the prejudicial belief that one's culture is superior to all other cultures.

Belief Perseverance

clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited.

Confirmation bias

is the tendency to search for or put more value on information that confirms your beliefs, while disregarding opposing information.

Cognitive Dissonance

the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent.

Social Norms

rules for accepted and expected behavior.

Social Influence Theory

proposes that social pressure to behave or think in certain ways can be normative or informational.

Normative Social Influence

influence resulting from a person's desire to gain approval to avoid disapproval.

Informative Social Influence

influence resulting from one's willingness to accept others' opinions about reality.

Persuasion

the process of influencing someone to change their beliefs or actions.

Peripheral Route Persuasion

occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speakers' attractiveness.

Central Route to Persuasion

occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts.

Halo effect

believe someone is good, you will interpret all of their actions as good, and fail to notice their bad traits.

Foot-In-The-Door Phenomenon

Tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request.

Door in the face phenomenon

when someone starts with a large request that the other person would turn down, and then asking a more reasonable request that the person would accept.

Conformity

adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.

Obedience

Changing one's behavior at the direct command of an authority figure.

Conditions that strengthen obedience

Presence of an Authority Figure, Distance from the Victim, Legitimacy of the Authority, Group Influence, Lack of Personal Responsibility.

Individualists

more emphasis on independent self. Self defined by personal values, personal goals, and personal attitudes.

Collectivists

more emphasis on collective self.

Self-defined

Defined by connections with family and friends with the goals of the group having higher priority than individual goals.

Multiculturalism

The quality or condition of a society in which different ethnic and cultural groups have equal status and access to power but each maintains its own identity, characteristics, and mores.

Group Polarization

The enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group.

Group Think

The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives.

Diffusion of responsibility

A phenomenon whereby a person is less likely to take responsibility for action or inaction when other bystanders or witnesses are present.

Social Loafing

The tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable.

Deindividuation

The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity.

Social Facilitation

Improved performance on simple or well learned tasks in the presence of others.

False Consensus Effect

The tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors.

Superordinate Goals

Shared goals that can only be achieved through cooperation.

Social Trap

A situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing their self-interest rather than the good of the group, become caught in mutually destructive behavior.

Industrial-organizational psychology

Helps organizations and companies select and train employees, boost morale, productively design products, and implement systems.

Prosocial behavior

Refers to any action that benefits other people.

Altruism

Unselfish concern for the welfare of others.

Social Responsibility Norm

A norm that tells us to help others when they need us even though they may not repay us.

Bystander effect

The idea that people are less likely to help if others are around, because we assume that someone else will help instead.

Personality

An individual's characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Psychodynamic theories view of personality

View human behavior as a dynamic interaction between the conscious mind and the unconscious mind, including associated motives and conflicts.

Unconscious

A reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories.

Ego

The largely conscious, 'executive' part of personality that mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality.

Defense mechanisms

Unconscious strategies that people use to protect themselves from anxiety or threats to their self-esteem.

Repression

Banishing anxiety arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness.

Regression

An individual faced with anxiety retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated.

Reaction Formation

The ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses to their opposite.

Projection

People disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others. Example: "He doesn't trust me," may mean "I don't trust him."

Rationalization

Offers self-justification explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one's actions. Example: Students who don't study may think, "All work and no play makes me a boring person" or someone who is an alcoholic say, "I only drink in social settings."

Displacement

Shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person; redirecting anger toward a safer outlet. Example: Bullying.

Denial

People refuse to believe or even perceive painful realities. Example: See your boyfriend cheating, but still don't believe it.

Sublimation

A type of defense mechanism where socially unacceptable impulses are transformed into socially acceptable actions or behavior.

Projective Test

Personality test that provides ambiguous stimuli and test-takers tell a story about it.

Preconscious

Includes stored information about yourself or your environment that you are not currently aware or thinking of but can easily call to mind when asked.

Humanistic Psychology

Emphasized human potential, focused on the ways 'healthy' people strive for self determination and self-realization.

Unconditional Positive Regard

We are all born with a need for acceptance and love from others independent of how we behave, and positive self-regard from ourselves.

Self-Actualization

Motivation to fulfill potential and to become a fully functioning person.

Social-Cognitive Theory of Personality

States that our traits and social environments interact with one another, and those traits are learned through observation or imitation.

Reciprocal determinism

A social-cognitive theory that states that a person's behavior, environment, and cognition all influence and interact with each other.

Self-Concept

All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves 'Who am I'.

Self-esteem

A person's subjective evaluation of their own worth, including their beliefs about themselves and their emotional states.

Self Efficacy

The belief that you can do a particular task greatly increases the chances that you actually can do it.

Trait

A characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports.

Personality Inventory

A questionnaire on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits.

Factor analysis

A statistical method used to describe variability among observed variables in terms of fewer unobserved variables called factors. It helps identify clusters or groups of related items on psychological tests.

The Big Five Personality Factors

Model of personality traits that describes five basic trait dimensions (OCEAN).

Openness

Do you like change? Can you adapt to it? - Low score: practical, prefers routine, comforting - High score: imaginative, prefers variety, independent.

Conscientiousness

Are you organized and careful? - Low score: disorganized, careless, impulsive - High score: organized, careful, disciplined.

Agreeableness

How well do you get along with others? - Low score: ruthless, suspicious, uncooperative - High score: soft-hearted, trusting, helpful.

Extroversion

Are you shy or outgoing? - Low score: retiring, sober, reserved - High score: sociable, affectionate, fun-loving.

Neuroticism

Are you anxious often?

Low score

calm, secure, self-satisfied

High score

anxious, insecure, self-pitying

Drive Reduction Theory

The idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need.

Arousal Theory

Human motivation aims to increase arousal - We feel driven to experience stimulation.

Optimal Level of Arousal

Individuals are motivated to reach an optimal level of arousal, where they feel alert and engaged but not stressed.

Yerkes-Dodson Law

People perform best at a moderate level of arousal.

Self-Determination Theory

The theory that we feel motivated to satisfy our needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness.

Intrinsic Motivation

Motivation that stems from internal factors, benefits associated with the process of pursuing a goal (autonomy, mastery, purpose).

Extrinsic Motivation

Motivation that stems from external factors, benefits associated with achieving a goal or avoiding punishment (compensation, punishment, reward).

Instinct

Complex, inherited behavior patterns characteristic of a species that is unlearned.

Instinct Theory

People are motivated to behave in certain ways because they are evolutionarily/genetically programmed to do so with survival instincts.

Approach-approach

The least stressful social conflict that involves 2 options, only one of which you can choose.