AP Psych Unit 0-5

Attribution Theory

How people explain the behavior and mental processes of both themselves and others.

Dispositional Attributions

Attributing one’s behavior to their internal characteristics such as personality, character, or disposition.

Situational Attributions

Refers to when we explain someone’s behavior based on external factors or the situation they’re in

Explanatory Styles

A predictable pattern of attributions which explain good and bad events in one’s life.

Optimistic Explanatory Style

People tend to explain negative events in ways that make them feel hopeful and resilient.

Pessimistic Explanatory Style

People tend to explain negative events in ways that make them feel hopeless/helpless.

Fundamental Attribution Error

Tendency to underestimate the impact of situational factors and overestimate impact factors when assessing why other people acted the way they did.

Self-Serving Bias

Tendency to blame external forces when bad things happen and give ourselves credit when good things happen.

Actor/Observer Bias

The tendency to attribute one's own actions to external factors while attributing others' actions to internal causes.

Locus of Control

Extent to which people feel they have control over the events that influence their lives. Internal vs. External

Internal Locus of Control

Outcomes within your control-determined by your hard work or decisions.

External Locus of Control

Outcomes outside your control - determined by “fate” and independent of your hard work or decisions.

Person Perception

Process by which we form impressions of and make judgements about the behaviors, traits, and characteristics of other people.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

When someone’s perceptions about another person (or themselves) cause that person to behave in a way that confirms those expectations, even if they weren’t initially true.

Mere Exposure Threat

Phenomenon that repeated exposure to stimuli increases likelihood of our perception changing and being attracted or drawn to it.

Social Comparision

Occurs when people evaluate themselves based on comparisons to other members of society circles. Social comparison can be upward (comparison towards someone more capable or successful) or downward (comparison towards someone less capable or successful)

Relative Deprivation

People often judge what they lack based on what others have. The feeling of being deprived of something to which one believes they are entitled, especially when comparing themselves to others.

Attraction

What makes us drawn to others, whether it be groups, a potential romantic interest, or friends?

Proximity

The closer together people are physically, the more likely they are to form a bond.

Familiarity

We tend to like things as they become familiar, they produce more positive feelings and seem safer.

Physical Attractiveness

Experiments reveal what most affects a first impression is physical attractivness.

Matching Hypothesis

People have tendency to choose partners whose level of attractiveness they believe to be equal to their own.

Halo Effect

Initial positive judgments may unconsciously influences other perceptions about a person.

Similarity

Shared attitudes and other traits help in perception.

Reciprocity of Liking

People tend to seek out validation by surrounding themselves with people who already like them.

Implicit Attitudes

Difficult to change attitudes because a person may be unaware that they posses them due to not reflecting on it.

Stereotype

A generalized belief or concept about a group, which are learned mental schemas. Lend to quick judgments in cognition but are usually negative.

Prejustice

Unjustified negative attitude about a group of people based on their membership in the group. Can lead to discrimination.

Discrimination

Unjustified negative behavior toward members of a target group (individual level) based on their shared characteristics.

Just-world Phenomenon

Tendency to believe the world is just and people get what they deserve. People will look for ways to explain or rationalize injustice.

Out-Group Homogeneity Bias

Thinking your in-group is more diverse in thought or behavior than an outgroup (a social group to when a person doesn’t belong) and out-groups are similar or “homogenous” than their group is.

In-Group Bias

Preference for our own groups that we identify with over other groups (may be gender, political party, race, age, interests, fandoms, social economic group). Provides source of identity, belonging, and self-esteem.

Ethnocentrism

Using one’s own culture as the standard to judge and evaluate other cultures.

Cognitive Dissonance

Refers to mental discomfort that occurs when one’s actions/attitudes are in conflict. People are motivated to reduce the discomfort by changing either actious or attitudes to be more in line with each other.

Central Route of Persuasion

Involves thoughtful consideration and active engagement of the participant, with an argument based on logic, evidence, and reasoning.

Peripheral Route of Persuasion

Involves less cognitive effort, relies on superficial cues and persuades using factors unrelated to message’s content, like source’s attractiveness, credibility, or emotional appeal.

Scapegoat Theory

Self-defenses instinct groups have to direct blame or negative feelings towards a vulnerable individual when hints go wrong or the group experiences conflict.

Elaboration Likelihood Model of Attitude Change

A theory of persuasion that explains how attitudes can change through two different methods of persuasion: central route and peripheral route.

Foot-in-the-Door Technique

Involves making a small request that a person is likely to agree to, followed by a larger request that the person might be more likely to comply with because they’re already agreed to the first one.

Door-in-the-Face Technique

Involves making a large request that is likely to be rejected first, followed by a smaller, more reasonable request, the person will be more likely to agree to smaller request.

Social Norms

Unspoken rules which define and rules a society may have for its members in individual and social situations and usually produces conformity.

Chameleon Effect

I I cry serves an important social function, creates an “in sync” pace; we may unconsciously match posture aneurism, facial expressions, tone of voice, accents, speech patterns, and other behaviors.

Social Influence Theory

Ways people are affected by real or imagines pressures of others (whether it’s normative or informational) ranging from obedience to defiance.

Informal Influence

Arises from desire to be corrector have accurate info, especially in ambiguous situations. People conform because they believe others have more knowledge or expertise.

Normative Influence (social norms)

Influence based on desire to be liked or accepted by others to fit in groups and avoid social rejection or disapproval. Peer pressure.

Conformity

Act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to group norms. Most common and widespread form of social influence.

Research on Conformity

Solomon Asch

Solomon Asch: Conformity Line Experiment

Measured conformity. Participants were asked a simple question and most purposefully answered incorrectly to see if one random participant would conform. 1/3 conformed with the group.

Obedience

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

Research on Obedience

Stanley Milgram and Philip Zimbado

Stanley Milgram: Shock Experiment

Measured obedience. Strangers separated by a wall, one told to shock. Other person not actually shocked but told to react. 65% delivered the ultimate punishment of 450 volts.

Philip Zimbado: Stanford prison experiment

Measured obedience and conformity. College man assigned roles of grades and prisoners and were left alone. Guards place in position of power, prisoners place in situation where they had no real control and were exploited and abused. Guards became abusive and authoritarian and prisoners became submissive, distressed, and sleep deprived. Study ended early.

Groups

A set of individuals who interact and have shared fate, goals, or identity.

Group Think

Mode of thinking and decision making that occurs to create harmony in the group instead of evaluating alternative ideas or viewpoints.

Social Loafing

Tendency of individuals to put less effort when they are part of a group.

Sucker Effect

While everyone goofs off, everyone withholds effort to not be the “sucker” who does all the work

Group Polarization

Exaggeration and radicalizing of ideas (of everyone in group) due to group discussions and confidence built by groups.

Deindividuation

Loss of a person’s sense of individuality and self-restraint in group situations that may be deviant

Diffusion of Responsibility

Because there are other observers, individuals do not feel as much pressure to take action since the responsibility to take action is thought to be shared among all those present

Bystander Effect

Phenomenon in which the greatest number of people present, the less likely people are to help a person in distress due to circumstances based on attention and/or the situation.

Cultural Effects on Groups

cultural phenomena such as individualism, collectivism, and multiculturalism can influence how one perceives and behaves.

Individualism

Focus on uniqueness and importance of the self

Collectivism

Focus on group

Multiculturalism

focus on differences within the group

Social Facilitation

Mere presence of others may assist people in completing well-learned tasks due to an increase in nervous system arousal.

Social Inhibition

More self-conscious, performance is poorer when watched by others.

False Consensus Effect

Tendency to overestimate how much other people agree with us.

Superordinate Goals

Shared goals between diverse groups that override differences among people and require cooperation creates more unity.

Social Trap/Dilemma

A situation which occurs when individuals may be tempted to not unite and to act in their own self-interest to the detriment of the group.

Industrial-Organization (I/O) Psychologists

Study individual and group behavior in the work place; research best practices in management of work, relationships among people working together of for a common company or program, and how people feel about work (burnout)

Altruism

Selfless, prosocial behavior, but some researchers suggest that people act in prosocial ways due to incurring social debt.

Prosocial

Any action that benefits others

Social Reciprocity Norm

Social expectation in which we feel pressured to help others if they have already done something for us.

Social Responsibility Norm

Societal rule that we should help those who need our help-like young kids and others who cannot give as much as they receive-even if the cost outweigh the benefits

Psychodynamic Psychology

Formed under Sigmund Freud, this perspective believes unconscious processes drive our personality, our dreams, and decisions we make.

The Unconscious Mind

Psychodynamicists likened the mind to an iceberg, where only a small portion is really accessible; majority of our feelings, memories, and thought processes are hidden even from the self.

Id

Part of the unconscious mind that operates based on the pleasure principle. Seeks immediate gratification of basic drives and desires without considering consequences or social norms

Ego

Conscious part of the mind that operates on reality principle meditating between the Id and Superego making rational decisions and moral demands in a socially acceptable way.

Superego

Part on conscious mind that represents internalized moral standards and societal rules. Morality principle works to suppress urges of id and strives for perfection, guiding the individual to act according to ideal standards of behavior.

Denial

Functions to protect ego from things with which the individual cannot cope.

Displacement

Involves taking out frustrations, feelings, and impulses on people or objects that are less threatening than what is causing them

Repression

Involves unconsciously blocking or pushing away uncomfortable thoughts, feelings, memories, or impulses from conscious awareness.

Regression

When confronted by stressful events, people sometimes cope by unconsciously reverting to an earlier stage of development or less mature behavior. Ex: tempertantrum

Sublimation

When a person channels or redirects unacceptable impulses, desires, or emotions of the id into socially acceptable or productive activities.

Reaction Formation

When a person unconsciously expresses that opposite of their true feelings or desires in an exaggerated or overcompensated way to avoid dealing with a negative or uncomfortable emotion.

Projection

Involves taking our own unacceptable qualities or feelings and ascribing them to people.

Rationalization

Involves a person justifying/explaining their actions, thoughts, or feelings in a way that makes themselves more acceptable or logical, even though the real reasons may be different or less flattering.

Free Association

a therapy methods of exploring unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing.

Freudian Slip

When we say the wrong thing out loud, but to Freud it’s truth surfacing

Interpretation of Dreams

Dreams were analyzed by Freud to be reelections of our unconscious thoughts, feelings, desires, and/or fears

Manifest Content

Surface-level storyline remembered of a dream

Latent Content

Represents the under lying hidden meaning symbolized within the manifest content.

Projective Tests

Uses people’s interpretations of ambiguous art to examine a person’s personality characteristics and emotional functioning and unconscious attitudes and motivations. Thematic Apperception (TAT) and Rorschach Inkblot test

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Projective test in which people create an entire story for an ambiguous piece of art, indirectly expressing their inner feelings, fears, and intrests.

Rorschach Inkblot Test

Most widely used projective test, uses random symmetrical ink blots as the point of analysis.

Humanistic Psychology

Focuses on idea personality is not fixed and can be changed because individuals have an inherent capacity for growth, self-actualization (reaching one’s full potential), and personal fulfillment.

Unconditional Positive Regard

Basic acceptance and support of a person regardless of what the person says or does to help them find self-assured and to become their genuine personality.

Reciprocal Determinism

Robert Bandura proposed that the complex interaction of person, environment, and behavior interact to determine patterns of behavior and thus personality.

Self-Concept

A constantly evolving view of oneself in relation to other people by comparing their real self to an ideal self.

Self-Efficacy

Belief in your own ability to successfully perform tasks or achieve goals-which may actually increase your ability to achieve them.