Social Psych Ch 4 Vocab

Acquiescence Bias

Tendency to agree with or say “yes” to questions

Actual Self

Who one is

Better-Than-Average Effect

Judging that one is above average on most desirable characteristics

Bias Blind Spot

Believing that one is immune to cognitive biases that affect others

Context Effects

Variations in responding because of survey features encountered prior to answering a question

Counterfactual Thinking

Imagining what could have happened (but did not)

Downward Social Comparison

Contrasting one’s own performance, ability, or situation with individuals who did less well, have weaker abilities, or are in worse situations

Extremity Bias

Tendency to provide answers that are at the extremes of the response options

Extrinsic Motivation

Desire to perform a behavior as a result of external rewards or pressures

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

Idea that people infer their feelings from their facial expressions

False Consensus Effect

Believing that one’s opinions or behaviors are more common than they actually are

False Uniqueness Effect

Holding incorrect beliefs about how different one is from others

Ideal Self

Image of a hypothetical self that possesses the qualities and features that a person wishes she or he had

Illusion of Transparency

Incorrect belief that others can “read” our emotions or detect our lies merely by looking at our facial expressions

Impression Management

Efforts to project the image of the self that a person wants others to have

Ingratiation

Attempts to get particular persons to like us

Interpersonal Self

Way we present ourselves to other people

Intrinsic Motivation

View of religion as an end in itself

Introspection

Looking internally at the self to examine who one is, how one feels, and so forth

Ironic Process of Mental Control

Trying to control one’s thoughts or behavior in a way that produces the very thoughts or behavior that one is trying to avoid

Ought Self

Image of a hypothetical self who a person believes important others think he or she should be

Overjustification Effect

When one’s intrinsic motivation— such as enjoyment experienced by simply enacting behavior— is weakened by the presence of extrinsic motivation

Response Effects

Unintended variations in question responses that stem from procedural aspects or features of the survey instrument, such as the wording of a question or the order of the questions

Schemas

Cognitive structures that organize knowledge about particular objects of thought, such as concepts, experiences, or roles

Self

Psychological apparatus that gives a person the capability to consciously think about him or herself

Self-Concept

Set of beliefs a person has about the characteristics they possess

Self-Discrepancy Theory

Idea that each person has an actual, ideal, and ought self

Self-Esteem

Overall positive or negative evaluation of oneself

Self-Evaluation Maintenance Model (SEM)

Postulates that a person typically only makes social comparisons when this will improve their self-evaluation

Self-Handicapping

Arranging events that may reduce one’s likelihood of success but also protect one’s self-esteem by serving as excuses for possible failure

Self-Monitoring

Extent to which people chronically think about how they appear to others and, as a consequence, change their appearance and behavior to fit the circumstances

Self-Perception Theory

Idea that people sometimes infer their own attitudes in the same way that a third party might infer their attitudes: by watching their behavior

Self-Promotion

Efforts designed to enhance one’s self-image

Self-Projection

Efforts intended to maintain or defend one’s positive self-image

Self-Regulation

The capacity to control one’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior

Self-Report

Individual’s conscious response to a question or situation

Self-Schema

Schema that organizes information about oneself with respect to specific domains of one’s life

Self-Serving Attributional Bias

Taking credit for one’s successes but blaming outside factors for one’s failures

Self-Verification

Seeking information that will confirm one’s self-concept

Social Comparison

Monitoring how one is doing and adjusting one’s behavior accordingly in an effort to be liked by important others

Sociometer Hypothesis

Idea that people have a psychological mechanism— the sociometer— that assesses the strength and importance of social relationships and that these relationships strongly influence self-esteem

Spotlight Effect

Overestimation of the extent to which other people are observing and noticing one

Surveys

Questionnaires that consist entirely of self-report items that can be administered on paper, computer, online, or in interviews

Theory of Social Comparison Processes

Idea that people will evaluate how they are doing using subjective standards when objective standards are not available

Upward Social Comparison

Contrasting one’s performance, ability, or situation with individuals who performed better, have stronger abilities, or are in better situations

Willpower

Mental energy needed to change the activities of the self to meet the desired standards