A.P. Psychology Unit 4: Personality, Motivation/Emotion, and Social Psychology

Attribution

Explanations we make about why people behave in certain ways or events occur. These explanations may involve attributing behavior or events either internally (to personal characteristics) or externally (to situational factors).

Dispositional Attribution

The process of explaining an individual’s behavior based on their inherent qualities, traits, or personality characteristics. This type of attribution emphasizes internal factors over external circumstances, suggesting that a person’s action stems from their nature rather than the situation they are in.

(e.g., You see a student fail their test and think, “They failed because they’re lazy or not smart.")

Situational Attribution

The process of assigning the cause of a person’s behavior to external factors, such as the environment, social context, or situational pressures, rather than to their personal characteristics. This concept highlights how people’s actions can be influenced by circumstances beyond their control.

(e.g., You see a student fail a test and think, “They failed because the test was really hard or they didn’t have enough time to study.”)

Optimistic Explanatory Style

This is an emotional attitude that hopes for the best possible outcome in every situation. It’s always seeing the glass as half full instead of half empty.

Pessimistic Explanatory Style

This is an inclination to expect the worst possible outcome. It’s like constantly expecting it to rain even where there are no clouds in sight.

Actor-Observer Bias

Refers to the tendency of people to attribute their own actions to external causes while attributing other people’s behavior to internal factors.

(e.g., You arrive late to class and think, “Traffic was terrible” (situational), but when someone else is late, you think, “They’re irresponsible” (dispositional).

Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE)

The tendency for observers, when analyzing others’ behavior, to overestimate the influence of dispositional factors (personality traits, attitude) and underestimate the influence of situational factors (environment, context).

Self-Serving Bias

The cognitive tendency to attribute our successes to internal, personal factors (e.g., skill, effort) while attributing failure to external, situational factors (e.g., luck, unfairness).

External Locus of Control

The belief that life outcomes—successes or failures—are determined by outside forces like fate, luck, chance, or powerful others rather than personal effort. Individuals with this mindset often feel powerless and may develop learned helplessness.

Internal Locus of Control

The belief that one controls their own fate, successes, and failures through personal effort, ability, and decisions. Individuals with this perspective believe their actions directly influence outcomes, rather than luck, fate, or external circumstances. It promotes responsibility and high motivation.

Out-Group Homogeneity Bias

The cognitive tendency to perceive members of an out-group (a group you do not belong to) as “all the same” or highly similar to one another, while viewing one’s own in-group as diverse and unique. This bias leads to oversimplified stereotypes and overgeneralizations about others.

In-group Bias

The strong tendency to favor, trust, and hold positive attitudes toward members of one’s own group (the “in-group”) over those in outside groups (the “out-group”); leads to unfair advantages for in-group members and discrimination against out-group members.

Ethnocentrism

The belief that one’s own culture, ethnic group, or nation is superior to all others, using one’s own cultural standards to judge other people and practices; involves interpreting the world through a biased, narrow lens, which can lead to prejudice, discrimination, and misinterpretation of different cultures.

Belief perseverance

The cognitive tendency to maintain or cling to one’s initial belief even after they have been discredited, contradicted, or proven false by new, compelling evidence.

Confirmation Bias

The cognitive tendency to search for, interpret, favor, or recall information that confirms one’s preexisting beliefs while ignoring or discounting contradictory evidence.

Cognitive Dissonance

The mental discomfort or tension that occurs when a person’s behaviors, attitudes, or beliefs are inconsistent. (e.g., A smoker knows smoking causes cancer (belief) but continues to smoke (behavior), leading to dissonance. They might resolve it by quitting or by rationalizing, “I only smoke light cigarettes.”)

Social Norms

Unwritten, implicit rules and expectations within a group that guide acceptable behavior, attitudes, and actions in specific situations (e.g., shaking hands, not interrupting, standing in line, or clapping at a performance).

Normative Social Influence

Individuals conform to group norms to be liked, accepted, or avoid rejection, rather than because they believe the group is correct. Driven by a desire for social approval, this often leads to public compliance (fitting in) while privately disagreeing. → People conform to avoid ridicule, gain social rewards, or maintain harmony.

Informational Social Influence

A type of conformity where individuals change their behavior or beliefs because they believe others possess more accurate information, especially in ambiguous situations. Driven by the desire to be correct, this often leads to private acceptances to group’s view rather than just public compliance.

(e.g., Following a crowd to an exit, asking coworkers how to act at a new job, or copying the actions of people at a fancy dinner)

Persuasion

The process by which a message induces changes in beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors.

Elaboration Likelihood Model

A model suggesting that attitudes can change through evaluation of the content of a persuasive message (central route) or by irrelevant persuasion cues (peripheral routes).

Central Route Persuasion

Listener focuses on the content of the product.

Peripheral Route of Persuasion

Listener focuses on the tone of the person’s voice, their excitement.

Halo Effect

A cognitive bias where an overall positive impression of a person, brand, or product—based on one trait—influences observers to assume other, unrelated positive exist.

Foot-in-the-door phenomenon

A compliance tactic where getting someone to agree to a small, initial request makes them significantly more likely to agree to a larger, follow-up request later.

Door-in-the-face phenomenon

A compliance method where an influencer makes an unreasonably large initial request that is likely to be refused, followed by a smaller, more reasonable request (the actual goal); The target is more likely to agree to the smaller request, feeling obliged to make a concession.

Conformity

Adjusting one’s behavior, attitudes, or beliefs to coincide with a group standard or social norm; Adopting group norms to match the majority.

Obedience

A form of social influence where an individual complies with a direct order or command from a perceived authority figure; Involves changing behavior to align with orders.

Individualism

A cultural value or social theory prioritizing personal autonomy, self-reliance, and individual goals over group harmony or collective needs.

Collectivism

A cultural orientation prioritizing group goals, harmony, and interdependence over personal desires. Prevalent in many Asian, African, and Latin American cultures, it emphasizes defining oneself through group membership (family, community) rather than individual traits, promoting collective responsibility and conformity to group norms.

Mere Exposure Effect

The psychological phenomenon where people develop a preference for, or a positive attitude toward, a person, object, or stimulus simply because they are familiar with it (AKA familiarity principle).

Self-fulfilling Prophecy

A phenomenon where a person’s expectations or belief about a situation, person, or themselves lead to behaviors that cause that expectation to become true; Essentially, our beliefs influence our actions, which then produce the predicted outcome, creating a feedback loop.

Social Comparison

Individuals evaluate their own abilities, opinions, and personal worth by comparing themselves to others.

Upward and Downward Social Comparison

Upward comparison involves comparing oneself to better-off others, often motivating improvement but potentially causing inadequacy.

Downward comparison involves comparison to worse-off others, typically boosting self-esteem.

Relative Deprivation

The perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself. This subjective feeling of inequality often leads to frustration, resentment, and anger, regardless of actual, objective standing. → Explains why individuals feel deprived based on social comparisons.

Stereotype

A generalized, oversimplified, and often inaccurate belief about a group of people, applied to all members of that group regardless of individual variation.

Prejudice

An unjustifiable, typically negative attitude toward a group and its members, involving stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and predispositions to discriminatory actions.

Discrimination

The unjust treatment or biased action towards a group of people.

Implicit Attitudes

Unconscious, automatic, and involuntary evaluations of people, objects, or ideas that exist outside conscious awareness

(e.g., You might say you believe everyone should be treated equally, but still feel uneasy around a certain group without knowing why—that reaction reflects an implicit attitude).

Just-world Phenomenon

The tendency for people to believe the world is fundamentally fair, assuming individuals get where they deserve and deserve what they get.

Multiculturalism

The recognition, appreciation, and acceptance of diverse cultural backgrounds, including race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation, within a society.

Group Polarization

The tendency for groups to make decisions or adopt attitudes that are more extreme that initial, moderate inclinations of their individual members; When people in a group discussion end up making more extreme decisions or adopting strong opinions than they originally had

(e.g., A group of students mildly thinks school uniforms are a good idea. After discussing it together, they become strongly in favor and start believing uniforms should be strictly enforced everywhere).

Group Think

A psychological phenomenon where the desire for group cohesiveness and conformity overrides a realistic appraisal of alternative ideas, resulting in poor decision-making

(e.g., A student council is planning an event. One person has doubts about the budget, but everyone else seems excited, so they stay quiet to avoid conflict. They group quickly agrees the plan without questioning it—and later realize they can’t afford it).

Diffusion of Responsibility

A sociopsychological phenomenon where individuals are less likely to take action or help in an emergency when others are present, because they assume someone else will intervene.

Social Loafing

The tendency for individuals to exert less effort when working collectively on a task than when working individually.

Deindividuation

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