Unit 4 AP Psychology Vocab

social psychology

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

sterotypes

a set of characteristics believed to be shared by all members of a social category by which we infer things about individuals, ignoring the facts about their individual traits.

person perception

how we form impression of ourselves and others

attribution theory

we explain someone’s behavior b crediting either the situation or the person’s stable, enduring traits

situational (external) attribution

the test was unfair, so I did bad. the sun was in my eyes, so I didn't catch the ball

Dispositional (internal) attribution

i am a hard worker, so I do well in school. I am athletic so I caught the ball.

Fundamental attribution error

our tendency to categorize others behaviors, putting their personality in front of the situation.

actor-observer bias

if we are the actors, we make attributes on the situation. If we are the observer, then we use their personality to determine what happened.

social comparison theory

Upward: compare to someone you see as superior. Can lead to relative deprivation,. Downward: comparing yourself or someone we see as inferior.

Scapegoat theory

the theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame (ex: 9/11, Covid)

Ethnocentrism

Judging other cultures according to the preconceptions of our own cultures.

Outgroup homogeneity

“they’re all like that” thinking; leads to other-race effect: the tendency to recall faces of one’s own race more accurately than faces of other races (aka cross-race effect or own-race bias)

Ingroup (us) vs. Outgroup (them) bias

we favor our “group” more than other groups!

Belief perserverance

occurs when a belief persists even if evident suggest it is not accurate

Cognitive Dissonance

inner drive to hold attitudes/beliefs in harmony and to avoid disharmony.

social norm

expectations and roles a society may have for its members in individual and social situations.

conformity

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

social facilitation

In the presence of others, improved performance on simple or well learned tasks, and worsen performance on difficult tasks

social loafing

The tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts towards attaining a common goal than one individually accountable 

deindividualization

The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in a group situations that Foster arousal and anonymity

group polarization

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

groupthink

The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for Harmony and in 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 

tight culture

a place with clearly defined and reliability imposed norms

loose culture

a place with flexible and informal norms

normative social influence

to avoid rejection and gain social approval. we are very sensitive to social norms 

informational social influence

because we want to be accurate (and accept others’ opinions about reality).

persuasion

the techniques applied to convince the self of others of particular ideas, actions, beliefs. 

halo effect

generalize positive qualities to other aspects, even if there is no direct evidence to support it. or, the opposite.

foot in the door technique

get someone to comply with something small, might be easier to get them to comply with something much bigger. 

door in the face technique

ask for a big thing that seems atrocious, then ask for something smaller or your real goal.

aggression

any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone

social scripts

a culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations.

frustration-aggression principle

frustration leads to anger, which can lead to aggression.

prejudice

unjustifiable and usually negative attitude towards a group and its members.

prosocial behavior

behavior that is intended to benefit others

antisocial behavior

behavior that is intended to injure others or deprive them of their rights 

non-normative behavior

behavior that clearly violates social norms, but does not directly help or harm others.

industrial organization

how people perform in the work place. support and evaluate the culture of the company and the employee’s mental health.

Mere exposure effect

the more we are exposed to something, the more we like it (can be a person).

altruism

doing good or the sake of doing good

diffusion of responsibility

a category of behavior that occurs when people feel less of a responsibility to take the right actions when other people are present,

social exchange theory (utilitarianism)

the theory that our social behavior is an exchange process. we will do something if we think the benefit outweighs the cost

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 two parties, by each pursing their self-interest rather than the good of the group, become caught in mutually destructive behavior. 

mirror image perceptions

Outgroup bias. Overemphasize and sugar coat our own perceptions of our own groups, but demonize the other groups. 

self-fulfilling prophecy

a prediction that causes itself to become true because people change their bahvior in response to the belief

super-ordinate goal

shared goal that serves to unite disparate groups and help reduce negative effects of stereotyping among groups.

personality

an individual’s characteristics pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

psychoanalysis

freud’s theory of personality that attributes our thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; largely from childhood experiences

defense mechanisms

tactics to reduce anxiety by distorting reality

repression

suppress anxiety, ignoring and burying deep.

regression

revert to behaviors we have already extinguished (curled up with old stuffed animal, temper tantrums). 

reaction formation

switching unacceptable impulses into their opposites (cries about soccer team alone, but then you say you hate it)

projection

attribute your own fears and anger by acting out (how are you? shut up. THEY are the angry one)

rationalization

justify something as not a big deal

displacement

shifting aggressive behavior to a less threatening thing.

sublimation

take anger/anxiety, channel it to a healthy outlet

denial

refuse to believe or accept painful realites

inferiority complex

much of our behavior is driven by an effort to conquer the childhood inferior feeling, and trying to be superior to that. (small person, big truck)

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes.

Rorshacch Inkblot Test

inkblots, analyzing what you see, most widely used

trait theory

a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act in certain ways, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports

Personality inventories

a questionnaire on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behavioral used to assess selected personality traits. 

MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory)

over 500 questions, true/false, the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests

empirically derived

it is evidence based, the items on the test have a research based to discriminate between different traits. 

social cognitive perspective

a view of behavior as influenced by the interactions between people’s traits (including thinking) and their social context

behavioral approach

emphasized the effects of learning on our personality development via conditioning, observation, and imitating (social)

Reciprocal determinism

model that explains personality as a result of behavioral, cognitive, and environmental actions. 

Self-efficacy

belief that people have about their ability to meet demands of a specific situation

Self-esteem

feelings of self-worth

Spotlight effect

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

Self-serving bias

readiness to perceive ourselves favorably

motivation

a need or desire that energizes that directs behavior

affiliation motive

a motivation to form and maintain during close personal relationships. 

ostracism

to be excluded and exiled from a group; not included

lateral areas (hypothalamus)

brings on hunger, tells you your hungry, relases the hormones.

ventromedial areas (hypothalamus)

depresses hunger, tells you when your full

emotion

complex psychological proccess involving  internal and external factors including: physical arousal, expressive behaviors, conscious experience, feelings. 

display rules

social and cultural rules that regulate emotional expression, especially facial expressions