Unit 4: Social Psychology and Personality

Attribution

the process of explaining one's own behavior and the behavior of others

dispositional attribution

assuming that another's behavior is due to personality factors, not situational ones

situational attribution

attributing behavior to the environment

explanatory style

a person's habitual way of explaining events, typically assessed along three dimensions: internal/external, stable/unstable, and global/specific

self-serving bias

the tendency for people to take personal credit for success but blame failure on external factors

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

actor-observer bias

the tendency to blame our actions on the situation and blame the actions of others on their personalities

locus of control

a person's tendency to perceive the control of rewards as internal to the self or external in the environment

person perception

The mental processes we use to form judgments and draw conclusions about the characteristics and motives of other people.

positive evaluation

refers to the fact that we all like to be positively evaluated, and therefore, we tend to prefer the company of people who think highly of us

shared opinions

preferring the company of someone who praised and rewarded us for our opinions.

mere exposure effect

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

Rosenthal Effect

the result when an experimenter's preconceived idea of appropriate responding influences the treatment of participants and their behavior

societies

Groups of people who share common symbols, language, values, and norms

social identities

the socially constructed categories and subcategories of people in which we place ourselves or are placed by others

personal identities

the components of self that are primarily intrapersonal and connected to our life experiences

primary group

a small group of people who interact over a relatively long period of time on a direct and personal basis

secondary group

a group in which interaction is impersonal and temporary in nature

out-group

a social group toward which a person feels a sense of competition or opposition

reference group

a social group that serves as a point of reference in making evaluations and decisions

outgroup homogeneity bias

tendency to exaggerate similarities of members of an outgroup

cognitive dissonance

unpleasant mental experience of tension resulting from two conflicting thoughts or beliefs

social influence theory

theory that powerful social influences can produce a state of hypnosis

normative social influence

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

informational social influence

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

elaboration likelihood model

theory identifying two ways to persuade: a central route and a peripheral route

central route persuasion

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

peripheral route persuasion

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

collectivist culture

culture that focuses on communal relationships with others such as family, friends, and community

individualist culture

culture in which personal accomplishments are a more important component of one's self-concept than group membership

Groupthink

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

mindguard

a member of a cohesive group whose job it is to protect the group from outside information that is inconsistent with the group's views

Group Dynamics

the ways in which individuals affect groups and the ways in which groups influence individuals

social facilitation

stronger responses on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others

social inhibition

a decrease in performance in front of a crowd

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

group polarization

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

Deindividuation

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

bystander effect

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

diffusion of responsibility

the tendency for individuals to feel diminished responsibility for their actions when they are surrounded by others who are acting the same way

social traps

a situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing their self-interest, become caught in mutually destructive behavior

GRIT (Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-Reduction)

a conflict resolution strategy developed by psychologist Charles Osgood that involves one party making small, unilateral concessions to the other side in the hopes of encouraging reciprocal actions and gradually reducing tension between them

burnout

a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion created by long-term involvement in an emotionally demanding situation and accompanied by lowered performance and motivation

Equity Theory

a theory that states that people will be motivated when they perceive that they are being treated fairly

human factors research

a field of study that focuses on understanding how people interact with systems, machines, and environments to design products, processes, and interfaces that are safe, effective, and user-friendly, taking into account human capabilities and limitations

Hawthorne effect

A change in a subject's behavior caused simply by the awareness of being studied

Psychodynamic Theories

modern-day approaches that view personality with a focus on the unconscious and the importance of childhood experiences

Psychoanalytic

study of the unconscious, includes childhood and aggression issues

Psychodynamic

how behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts

free association (psychoanalysis)

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

id (Freud)

innate biological instinct and urges; self serving, irrational, and totally unconscious

Pleasure Principle (Id)

principle by which the id functions; the immediate satisfaction of needs without regard for the consequences

Superego (Freud)

the part of personality that represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment and for future aspirations

Ego (Freud)

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

reality principle (ego)

the governing principle of the ego, which involves considerations of social acceptability and practicality

displacement (defense mechanism)

shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person, as when redirecting anger toward a safer outlet

reaction formation (defense mechanism)

switching unacceptable impulses into their opposites

sublimation (defense mechanism)

channeling threatening devices into acceptable outlets (e.g. working out)

sublet-->outlet

basic anxiety

anxiety created when a child is born into the bigger and more powerful world of older children and adults

Persona

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

shadow

the hidden, repressed, and unacceptable aspects of the human psyche (Carl Jung)

anima

soul, spirit, life principle

animus

hostile feeling or intent; animosity; hostility; disposition

Personal Unconscious (Jung)

material which one has repressed or forgotten from personal experiences

Collective Unconscious (Jung)

a storehouse of latent memory traces inherited from people's ancestral past

Archetypes (Jung)

emotionally charged images and thought forms that have universal meaning

projective tests

tests designed to reveal inner aspects of individuals' personalities by analysis of their responses to a standard series of ambiguous stimuli

inventory-type tests

tests used in psychology in which participants answer a standard series of questions

Rorshach 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

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

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

humanistic theories

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

Self-actualization (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

Incongruence

The degree of disparity between one's self-concept and one's actual experience.

Conditions of Worth (Rogers)

expectations or standards we believe others place on us

Unconditional Positive Regard (Rogers)

an attitude of total acceptance toward another person

social congnitive theory

Bandura's theory of personality that emphasizes both cognition and learning as sources of individual differences in personality

self-efficacy

one's sense of competence and effectiveness

Trait theory of personality

Personality consists of a set of traits which are characteristics that vary between people and are STABLE over the course of the lifetime. Key: NO ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES. Very little personal control over personality, and personality is hereditable.

nomothetic analysis

Traits, like the big five, that are thought to be universal

idiographic analysis

traits that are unique to the individual, such as openness or curiosity

Central Traits (Allport)

major characteristics of the personality that are easy to infer

Source Traits (Cattell)

16 underlying personality traits that influence surface behavior

arousal theory (Yerkes-Dodson Law)

-motivated to do things because we seek an optimal level of arousal; we need something interesting to happen constantly

-tasks of moderate difficulty illicit the highest level of performance

opponent-process theory

explains how the brain counteracts emotional extremes with an opposing reaction

drive-reduction theory

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

instinct theory

A view that explains human behavior as motivated by automatic, involuntary, and unlearned responses.

overjustification effect

The effect of promising a reward for doing what one already likes to do. The person may now see the reward, rather than intrinsic interest, as the motivation for performing the task.

self-efficacy

one's sense of competence and effectiveness

congnitive dissonance

state of internal tension brought about by conflicting attitudes and behavior

approach-avoidance conflict

conflict occurring when a person must choose or not choose a goal that has both positive and negative aspects

multiple approach-avoidance

many options are available, but each has positives and negatives

Hypothalamus

a neural structure lying below the thalamus; directs eating, drinking, body temperature; helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion

Ventromedical hypothalamus (VMH)

a brain region that depresses hunger when activated

lateral hypothalamus (LH)

The part of the hypothalamus that produces hunger signals

lipostatic hypothesis

fat is the measured and controlled substance in the body that regulates hunger

pituitary gland

The endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.

Theories of Emotion

James Lange- physiological arousal causes emotion

Cannon Bard- physiological arousal and emotion happen at same time

Schachter Singer- use situation to cognitively interpret physiological arousal to determine emotion

James-Lange Theory

the theory that our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to emotion-arousing stimuli

Cannon-Bard Theory

the theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers (1) physiological responses and (2) the subjective experience of emotion

two-factor theory

the Schachter-Singer theory that to experience emotion one must (1) be physically aroused and (2) cognitively label the arousal