AP Psychology Unit 4 Social Psychology and Personality

AP Psych Vocab of Social Psychology and Personality concepts

Personality Psychology

The study of an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Social Psychology

The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.

attribution theory

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

fundamental attribution error

the tendency for observers, when analyzing others' behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition.

external locus of control

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond our personal control determine our fate.

internal locus of control

the perception that you control your own fate.

self control

the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long-term rewards.

homeostasis

a tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state; the regulation of any aspect of body chemistry, such as blood glucose, around a particular level.

incentive

a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior.

Yerkes-Dodson law

the principle that performance increases with arousal only up to a point, beyond which performance decreases.

hierarchy of needs

Maslow's pyramid of human needs, beginning at the base with physiological needs that must first be satisfied before higher-level safety needs and then psychological needs become active.

set point

the point at which an individual's "weight thermostat" is supposedly set. When the body falls below this weight, an increase in hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may act to restore the lost weight.

glucose

the form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides the major source of energy for body tissues. When its level is low, we feel hunger.

emotion

a response of the whole organism, involving

1. physiological arousal,

2. expressive behaviors, and

3. conscious experience.

facial feedback effect

the tendency of facial muscle states to trigger corresponding feelings such as fear, anger, or happiness.

free association

in psycho-analysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing.

psychoanalysis

Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions.

id

a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. The id operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification.

ego

the largely conscious, "executive" part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality. Operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id's desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain.

superego

the part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations.

psychosexual stages

the childhood stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) during which, according to Freud, the id's pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones.

Oedipus Complex

according to Freud, a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father.

identification

the process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parents' values into their developing superegos.

fixation

according to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved.

defense mechanisms

in psychoanalytic theory, the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality.

repression

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories.

regression

Retreating to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated.

projection

Disguising one's own threatening impulses by attributing them to others.

Reaction formation

Switching unacceptable impulses into their opposites.

rationalization

Offering self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening unconscious reasons for one's actions.

displacement

Shifting sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person.

Sublimation

Transferring of unacceptable impulses into socially valued motives.

Denial

Refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities.

projective test

a personality test, such as the Rorschach, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics.

Thematic Apperception test

a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes.

Rorschach inkblot test

the most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots, designed by Hermann Rorschach; seeks to identify people's inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots.

false consensus test

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

terror management theory

a theory of death-related anxiety; explores people's emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death.

humanistic theories

view personality with a focus on the potential for healthy personal growth.

self actualization

according to Maslow, one of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one's potential.

unconditioned positive regard

according to Rogers, an attitude of total acceptance toward another person.

self concept

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"

personality inventory

a questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests. Originally developed to identify emotional disorders (still considered its most appropriate use), this test is now used for many other screening purposes.

empirically derived test

a test (such as the MMPI) developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups.

social cognitive perspective

views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people's traits including their thinking) and their social context.

behavioral approach

in personality theory, this perspective focuses on the effects of learning on our personality development.

reciprocal determinism

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment.

self

in contemporary psychology, assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions.

spotlight effect

overestimating others' noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders

self esteem

one's feelings of high or low self-worth.

self efficacy

one's sense of competence and effectiveness.

self serving bias

a readiness to perceive oneself favorably.

narcissism

excessive self-love and self-absorption.

individualism

giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications.

collectivism

giving priority to the goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly.

grit

in psychology, grit is passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals.

attitude

feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events.

peripheral route persuasion

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

central route persuasion

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

foot in the door phenomenon

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

role

a set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave.

cognitive dissonance theory

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

conformity

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

normative social influence

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

disapproval.

information social influence

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

social facilitation

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

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.

group polarization

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

groupthink

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

culture

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.

norm

an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior.

stereotype

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

prejudice

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

discrimination

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members.

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.

in group

"Us" —people with whom we share a common identity.

out group

"Them" —those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup.

in group bias

the tendency to favor our own group.

scapegoat theory

the theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame.

other race effect

the tendency to recall faces of one's own race more accurately than faces of other races.

aggression

any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy.

frustration aggression principle

the principle that frustration-the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal-creates anger, which can generate aggression.

social script

culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations.

altruism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others.

bystander effect

the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present.

reciprocity norm

an expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them.

social responsibility norm

an expectation that people will help those needing their help.

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.

mirror image perceptions

mutual views often held by conflicting people, as when each side sees itself as ethical and peaceful and views the other side as evil and aggressive.

self fulfilling prophecy

a belief that leads to its own fulfillment.

superordinate goals

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation.

GRIT

Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-Reduction—a strategy designed to decrease international tensions.

asch effect

a form of conformity in which a group majority influences individual judgement

Diffusion of responsibility

a person is less likely to provide needed help when they are in a groups than when alone

social comparison theory

people evaluate their abilities and attitude in relation to those of others in a process that plays a significant role in self image and subjective well being

Conscientiousness

contrasts organization, thoroughness, and reliability with carelessness, negligence and unreliability

high physiological arousal produces ___?

strong feelings