Final Exam Study Guide Psychology 101:01

social loafing

Reductions in motivation and effort when individuals work collectively in a group

deindividuation

Psychological state characterized by reduced self-awareness and reduced social identity -> increased feeling of anonymity, decreased feeling of responsibility or accountability, and follow norms of group

group polarization

Tendency of groups to make more extreme decisions than do individuals alone

groupthink

Pattern in group decision-making in which members assume their decision will be correct -> collective state of mind, group unwilling to hear diff views

Prejudice

hostile or negative attitude toward a distinguishable group of people

Stereotype

a generalization about a group of people in which identical characteristics are assigned to virtually all members of the group

Discrimination

differential actions toward members of specific social groups

Internal (dispositional) attribution

inference that a person's behavior is caused by something about the person

External (situational) attribution

inference that a person's behavior is caused by something about the situation

fundamental attribution error

Tendency to make internal attributions for others' behavior, even when situational causes are apparent

Zimbardo's Stanford prison experiment

Participants randomly assigned to either prisoner or prison guard -> assumed the role and would start genuinely acting it out, guards became abusive and prisoners showed signs of stress and anxiety

cognitive dissonance

Unpleasant psychological state that results from inconsistencies between one's attitudes and behavior

Social norms

guidelines for how to behave in a social context

Normative social influence

social influence based on the desire to be liked or accepted

Milgram's study of obedience

Milgram sought to investigate obedience to authority, where participants served as teachers and were instructed to inflict shocks of increasing intensity onto the learner -> under orders participants would keep administering shocks, after he stopped responding, they would continue to shocking

Explicit prejudice

prejudice that can be overtly expressed

Implicit prejudice

prejudice that the individual may not be aware of and/or cannot overtly express

Implicit Association Test

Measures implicit prejudice

just-world phenomenon

Blaming the victim -> tendency to blame individuals (make dispositional attributions) for being a target, when something bad happens to a person they look to blame other things for it

realistic conflict theory

Idea that competition for limited resources leads to conflict between groups and results in increased prejudice and discrimination -> prejudice occurs as a result of competition, when resources are scarce, groups develop negative attitudes towards the other group, viewing them as a threat to their own wellbeing

Sherif's Robber's Cave experiment

Created two groups, introduced competition leading to hostility between the two groups as they developed group identities

social identity theory

Individuals' self esteem partially depends on identifying with social groups

in-group bias

Positive feelings and behavior toward people in our in group

minimal groups

Groups united by trivial similarities -> strangers formed into groups using trivial criteria, given choice about amount of $ given to ingroup and out group like blue eyed or brown eyed

How does categorization explain stereotyping?

Our brains automatically classify information into categories, by looking at someone who has similar traits we categorize them and think they are the same

How does confirmation bias explain stereotyping?

Tendency to notice/remember events consistent with our existing beliefs

contact hypothesis

That direct contact between members of different social or cultural groups can reduce prejudice, improve intergroup relations, and promote understanding

cooperative interdependence

Relationship in which the outcomes of multiple people or groups depend on each others' actions

drive theory of aggression

Aggression results from situations that stimulate the internal motive to harm others -> aggression is harm inflicted on another person

catharsis

Notion that expressing aggression or watching others engage in aggressive behaviors reduces aggressive drive (not supported) -> though committing/watching acts of aggression increases tendency

frustration-aggression hypothesis

Frustration increases probability of aggressive behavior

Similarity

"birds of a feather flock together"

Proximity

liking those who are near us

mere exposure effect

Repeated exposure to a person increases our liking for the person

bystander effect

The presence of other people makes it less likely that anyone will help a stranger in distress -> occurs when people within a group witness an incident but do not take action to interfere due to the presence of other bystanders

Diffusion of responsibility

The presence of other people make each individual feel less personally responsible

Pluralistic ignorance

Bystanders assume nothing is wrong in an emergency because other bystanders don't appear concerned

Evaluation apprehension

Concern about social approval or disapproval

psychoanalytic perspective of personality

Explains behavior and personality in terms of unconscious processes, not just behavior that an individual engages in but why they engage in it, assumes that adult personality is formed primarily by experiences in early childhood

unconscious

Impulses, wishes, and memories of which people are not consciously aware but affect thoughts and behavior

Id

most primitive part of personality, basic biological impulses and drives, pleasure principle

Superego

internalized morals and values of society, conscience

Ego

delays fulfillment of impulses util the situation is appropriate, mediates id and superego, reality principle

Psychosexual stages

theory of personality development reflecting conflict between child's desire for pleasure and social expectations
Fixation: occurs when conflict that occurs within a stage isn't resolved well

Oral fixation

nail biting, excessive consumption of alcohol, pica disorder, dysfunctional eating habits -> anything that has to do with consumption

Anal fixation

perfectionist, ordered, messy, and lazy -> anything that had to do with a type of behavior/attitude

Oedipus complex

Boy desires exclusive relationship with mother (greek legend -> Oedipus kills father and marries mother)

Repression

Thoughts that are too anxiety-provoking to acknowledge are blocked from conscious awareness

Projection

Person attribute his or her own unacknowledged feelings or impulses to other people

Rationalization

Generating explanations for behaviors in an apparently logical way to avoid discomfort

Displacement

Directing emotions toward others that are not the real object of their feelings

Denial

Refusing to acknowledge realities or emotions

psychological determinism

All thoughts, emotions, and behaviors have causes

Freudian slips

an unintentional error regarded as revealing subconscious feelings like saying the wrong name, using the wrong word, and etc.

projective tests

Present ambiguous stimulus to which person responds

Rorschach inkblot test

Individual views a set of ink blots and tells what each inkblot resembles

humanistic perspective of personality

Emphasizes looking at the whole individual and stresses concepts such as free will, self efficacy, and self actualization

Empathy

capacity to understand another person's experience cognitively and emotionally

Unconditional positive regard

being given the sense that individual is valued by parents and others

Big Five traits

Openness to experience: imaginative, witty
Conscientiousness: cautious, dependable
Extraversion: enthusiastic, sociable
Agreeableness: friendly, cooperative
Neuroticism: nervous, worrying

DSM

Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders -> used to make clinical diagnoses (current-DSM-5-TR)

labeling theory

Psychiatric diagnosis is a way of labeling individuals a society considers deviant -> Rosenhan and 7 others admitted to psychiatric hospitals, would fake their psychiatric diagnosis, could not distinguish sane from insane

generalized anxiety disorder

Global, persistent, chronic, and excessive anxiety -> constant sense of tension and fear

panic disorder

Attacks of extreme fear that are out of proportion to what the situation calls for

phobias

Irrational fear of a specific object or situation

social anxiety disorder

Intense fear of being in social or performance situation

obsessive-compulsive disorder

Recurrent obsessions and compulsions that cause distress and significantly interfere with an individual's life

Obsessions

persistent thoughts

Compulsions

behaviors that must be performed

major depressive disorder

Feelings of extreme sadness, emptiness, thoughts of hopelessness -> depressed mood may emerge without clear trigger

bipolar disorder

Extreme mood swings, alternating between depression and mania

Mania

Period of abnormally euphoric mood, increased energy

schizophrenia

Severe disorder of thought, emotion, and perception associated with psychotic symptoms

psychotic symptoms

Out of touch with reality

Delusions

strongly held, fixed beliefs that have no basis in reality

Hallucinations

sensory perceptions that distort or are experienced in the absence an external stimulus

disorganized speech

Skips from topic to topic

word salad

A confused or unintelligible mixture of seemingly random words and phrases

Catatonic symptoms

motor problems

Positive symptoms

presence of something not usually there like delusions and hallucinations

Negative symptoms

absence of something like flat affect, expressionless faces

dissociative identity disorder

At least 2 separate and distinct personalities within the same person, multiple personality disorder

borderline personality disorder

Extreme variability in moon, relationships, and self perceptions such as misinterpret others' actions as signs of abandonment or rejection

narcissistic personality disorder

Grandiose sense of self-importance, exaggeration of abilities and accomplishments, and the excessive need for admiration

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Triggered by a terrifying event causing flashbacks, nightmares, and severe anxiety

psychoanalytic therapy

Uses various methods to help a patient become aware of his/her unconscious motives, in order to help the patient be more able to choose behaviors consciously. Therapy sessions usually focus on patients talking about their lives and reducing anxiety through self insight through analysis and interpretation.

dream interpretation

Help with emotional processing, memory consolidation, performance, and creativity

free association

The practice of allowing the patient to discuss thoughts, dreams, memories, or words, regardless of coherency

humanistic therapy

Focuses on removing obstacles that block personal growth and potential -> important qualities of Rogers's person centered therapy is empathy, unconditional positive regard, reflection

behavioral therapy

focuses on changing behavior by identifying problem behaviors, replacing them with appropriate behaviors, and using rewards or other consequences to make the changes

exposure therapy

Confronts clients with what they fear

flooding

Client confronts the feared stimulus all at once

systematic desensitization

Client taught to relax as they are gradually exposed to what they fear -> counterconditioning

token economy

Desirable behaviors are rewarded with tokens that patients can exchange for rewards

cognitive therapy

Focuses on thought processes that are the basis of psychological symptoms

cognitive-behavioral therapy

Combination of cognitive and behavioral therapies -> identifies automatic irrational thoughts and focus on changing thoughts and behaviors

Is psychotherapy effective?

More effective then no therapy

Schizophrenia

antipsychotic medications (dopamine antagonists), effective for delusions, hallucinations but has side effects

Anxiety

anti-anxiety medications (GABA agonists), useful for short-term, calm jittery feelings, relax muscles, antidepressant medications

Depression

antidepressant medications, most common, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)