Social Psych Test #2

narrated self

people go beyond basic introspective efforts to weave full-fledged stories about themselves

what are the basic units of organization for self-knowledge?

self-schemas

self-schemas

cognitive structures, derived from past experiences, that represent our beliefs and feelings about the self in general and specific situations

looking-glass self

other people’s reactions to us (their approval or disapproval) can serve as a mirror that guides our self-evaluation

reflected self-appraisal

we appraise ourselves based on what others think; we use “significant others” to determine our self-worth

situationism

the notion that the social self changes across different contexts

overall self-concept

your overall, organized, and dynamic perception of yourself (e.g., I’m a good friend)

working self-concept

a subset of self-knowledge that is brought to mind in a particular context (e.g., I’m a good friend in school)

distinctiveness

when we feel unique in a given context (e.g., age may seem more important to self-definition if you’re surrounded by older people)

independent view of self

the self seen as a distinct, autonomous entity, separate from others and defined by individual traits and preferences

interdependent view of self

the self seen as connected to others and defined by social duties and shared traits and preferences

self-esteem

the overall positive or negative evaluation an individual has of themself

trait (global) self-esteem

a person’s enduring level of self-regard across time

state self-esteem

dynamic, changeable self-evaluations a person experiences as momentary feelings about the self

social comparison theory

the hypothesis that people compare themselves to other people to obtain an accurate assessment of their own opinions, abilities, and internal states

downward social comparison

may boost self-esteem by making us feel better about the self

upward social comparison

may motivate self-improvement by making us feel worse about the self

sociometer theory

the assertion that self-esteem is an internal, subjective index or marker of the extent to which a person is included or looked on favorably by others

self-regulation

any processes by which people initiate, alter, and control their behavior in pursuit of a goal

self-discrepancy theory

argues that our goals are shaped by “discrepancies” that stem from incoherence between our actual self, ideal self, and ought self

actual self

who we believe we are

ideal self

who we aspire to be

ought self

who we are expected to be

promotion focus

self-regulation behavior with respect to ideal-self standards; a focus on attaining positive outcomes through approach-related behaviors

prevention focus

self-regulation behavior with respect to ought-self standards; a focus on avoiding negative outcomes through avoidance-related behaviors

self-monitoring

the tendency to monitor one’s behavior to fit the current situation

self-handicapping

the tendency to engage in self-defeating behavior in order to have an excuse ready, should one perform poorly or fail

automatic self-control strategies

deployed automatically, operating without our even realizing it

self-presentation

presenting the person that we would like others to believe we are

impression management

attempts to control how other people will view us

face

the public image of ourself that we want others to believe

snap judgment

making a judgment even when we have very little information to base it on

covariation principle

the idea that behavior should be attributed to potential causes that occur along with the behavior

consensus

whether most people would behave the same way, or few or no other people would behave that way

distinctiveness

whether the behavior is unique to a particular situation, or occurs in all situations

situational attribution

when consensus and distinctiveness are both high

dispositional attribution

when consensus and distinctiveness are both low

discounting principle

the idea that people should assign reduced weight to a particular cause of behavior if other plausible causes might have produced it

counterfactual thoughts

houghts of what might have, could have, or should have happened “if only” something had occurred differently

emotional amplification

an increase in an emotional reaction to an event that is proportional to how easy it is to imagine the event not happening

self-serving attributional bias

the tendency to attribute failure and other bad events to external circumstances, and to attribute success and other good events to oneself

fundamental attribution error

failure to recognize the importance of situational influences on behavior, and the corresponding tendency to overemphasize the importance of dispositions on behavior

actor-observer difference

a difference in attribution based on who is making the causal assessment

confirmation bias

the tendency to test an idea by searching for evidence that would support it

bottom-up processing

“data-driven” mental processing, in which an individual forms conclusions based on the stimuli encountered in the environment

top-down processing

“theory-driven” mental processing, in which an individual filters and interprets new information in light of preexisting knowledge and expectations

encoding

filing information away in memory based on what information is attended to and the initial interpretation of that information

retrieval

the extraction of information from memory

priming

the presentation of information designed to activate a concept and hence make it accessible

prime

the stimulus presented to activate the concept in question

subliminal stimulus

a stimulus that is below the threshold of conscious awareness

intuitive system

this consists of rapid responses based on associations that come automatically to mind; involves parallel processing

rational system

slower and more controlled, and based on rules and deduction; involves serial processing

heuristics

intuitive mental operations, performed quickly and automatically, that provide efficient answers to common problems of judgment

availability heuristic

the process whereby judgments of frequency or probability are based on how readily pertinent instances come to mind

fluency

the feeling of ease (or difficulty) associated with processing information

representativeness heuristic

the process whereby judgments of likelihood are based on assessments of similarity between individuals and group prototypes, or between cause and effect

illusory correlation

the belief that two variables are correlated when in fact they are not

emotion

a brief, specific response, involving appraisals, experiences, expressions, and physiology, that helps people meet goals, including social goals

appraisal

our interpretation (“construal”) of a situation that gives rise to the experience of emotion

Arnold (1960)’s Appraisal Theory of Emotion

situation —> appraisal —> emotions —> action

how are emotions useful to us?

they help us interpret our surrounding circumstances, leading to potentially helpful behavior and provide us in-the-moment feedback about this behavior, helping us adjust to advance goals

the evolutionary approach claims that emotions are _______ reactions to promote survival and reproduction

adaptive

the evolutionary approach claims that emotional expression is _________ based

physiologically

the constructivist approach claims that emotions are influenced by _______, ____ _____, ______, and __________

language, social rules, values, and institutions

the constructivist approach claims that emotional expression varies between ______

cultures

Darwin’s thesis was that human emotions come from ________ and ______ that were evolutionarily advantageous for our mammalian and primate ancestors

motivations, displays

according to Darwin, emotions are universal because all humans have the same _____ _______

facial muscles

according to Darwin, since humans share an evolutionary history with other mammals, most recently primates, our ______ _________ behaviors should resemble those of other species

emotionally expressive

according to Darwin, blind individuals, lacking the rich visual input a culture provides related to how to display emotion, will still show expressions ______ to those of sighted people

similar

_______ expressions are recognized cross-culturally

facial

Cultures never exposed to the West or Western media identify expressions of _______, ______, _______, _______, ______, and ______ shown by Westerners

happiness, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust, and fear

U.S. college students identified facial expressions shown by those in _______ cultures

unfamiliar

groups of _______ and ____ tribe members in New Guinea both reliably judged the emotions expressed in photos at higher rates of accuracy than expected by chance

Americans, Fore

this study demonstrated that facial expressions of emotion have been shaped by ______ and are _______

evolution, universal

supporting the universal perspective, human facial expressions resemble displays of other _________

primates

human anger resembles other primates’ ______ displays

threat

when playing, chimpanzees have a “relaxed open-mouth display” that resembles human _______

laughter

human embarrassment resembles the _________ displays of other social mammals

appeasement

supporting the universal perspective, research suggests facial expressions are similar between ____ and ____ people

blind, sighted

sighted and blind athletes show similar facial expressions of _____ after winning a competition

pride

focal emotions

certain emotions that are especially common within a particular culture

example of focal emotions

societies with a culture of honor may express more anger at insults

cultures have _____ emotions

ideal

affect valuation theory

emotions that promote important cultural ideals are valued and will tend to play a more prominent role in the social lives of individuals

example of affect valuation theory

people in the U.S. engage in thrilling and dangerous recreational practices, such as skateboarding, because of the value they place upon feeling excited

emotion regulation varies by ______ and ______

culture, context

people _____ their emotions to make themselves feel better or to fit the present context

modify

reappraisal

the process of reinterpreting the causes of an emotion and its meaning for the individual

acceptance

adopting an open and welcome attitude to one’s emotions

suppression

attenuating the outwards signs of the emotion

social functional theory

the broad idea that emotions serve to coordinate social interactions in ways that enable people to meet social opportunities and challenges

what are two ways emotions may promote relationship commitment?

1. The expression of certain emotions signals our commitment to others’ well-being

2. Emotions can motivate us to put aside our own self-interest and act in ways that prioritize welfare of others

the chemical ______ is produced in the hypothalamus and released into the brain and bloodstream

oxytocin

what does oxytocin promote in non-human species?

commitment, or what is called pair bonding, the preference for one mate over desirable alternatives

what does oxytocin promote in humans?

may promote commitment and generosity toward one’s own group (but can enhance bias against outgroups)

expressing emotions in timely ways and knowing the emotions of other people can assist efforts to _________

collaborate

one of the simplest ways we collaborate with others is through emotional _______

mimicry

emotional mimicry

copying others’ emotional expressions

with a deftly placed _____, we can encourage people or dissuade them from inappropriate behavior

touch