Key Psychological Concepts and Theories

Flashcards covering key psychological terms and theories for exam preparation.

Attribution Theories

Frameworks for understanding how individuals explain the causes of behavior, distinguishing between dispositional (internal) and situational (external) factors.

Dispositional Attribution

Attributing behavior to internal characteristics or personality traits.

Situational Attribution

Attributing behavior to external factors or situational circumstances.

Explanatory Style

The habitual way a person explains events, categorized into positive or negative.

Actor Observer Bias

The tendency to attribute one's own actions to situational factors while attributing others' actions to their dispositions.

Fundamental Attribution Bias

The tendency to over-emphasize personal characteristics and ignore situational factors in analyzing others' behavior.

Self Serving Bias

The tendency to attribute positive events to one's own character while attributing negative events to external factors.

Locus of Control

The degree to which individuals believe they can control events affecting them, categorized as internal (belief in personal control) and external (belief in outside control).

Mere Exposure Effect

The phenomenon where individuals tend to develop a preference for things merely because they are familiar with them.

Social Comparison

The act of comparing oneself to others to assess one’s abilities and opinions, with upward (comparison to those better off) and downward (comparison to those worse off) types.

Relative Deprivation

The perception of being worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself.

Stereotype

A widely held but oversimplified and generalized belief about a particular group of people.

Implicit Attitudes

Unconscious beliefs or feelings towards a particular group or object.

Just World Phenomenon

The belief that the world is fair and people get what they deserve.

In Group vs Out Group

Social groups to which individuals identify (in group) and those they do not (out group), often leading to bias.

Ethnocentrism

Evaluating other cultures based on the standards of one's own culture, often resulting in viewing one's culture as superior.

Belief Perseverance

The tendency to maintain a belief even in the face of contradictory evidence.

Cognitive Dissonance

The mental conflict that occurs when beliefs or assumptions are contradicted by new information.

Social Norms

Implicit or explicit rules a group has for the acceptable behaviors, values, and beliefs of its members.

Social Influence Theory

A theory that focuses on how individuals change their behavior to meet the demands of a social environment.

Central Route of Persuasion

A method of persuasion that relies on logical arguments and factual information.

Peripheral Route of Persuasion

A method of persuasion that relies on superficial cues rather than the content of the message.

Foot in the Door Technique

A persuasion tactic that involves getting a person to agree to a large request by first setting them up with a smaller one.

Door in the Face Technique

A persuasion strategy where a large, unreasonable request is made first, followed by a smaller, more reasonable request.

Conformity

The act of aligning attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to group norms.

Confederate

An accomplice of the experimenter who acts as a participant in a psychological experiment.

Individualism vs Collectivism

Cultural dimensions that reflect whether individuals prioritize personal goals (individualism) or group goals (collectivism).

Social Facilitation

The tendency for people to perform differently on tasks when in the presence of others compared to when alone.

False Consensus Effect

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

Superordinate Goals

Goals that require cooperation between different social groups to achieve, often helping to reduce conflict.

Social Trap

A situation in which individuals or groups are drawn to immediate rewards that lead to negative long-term consequences.

Industrial Organizational Psychologists

Psychologists who apply principles of psychology to the workplace to improve productivity and the quality of work life.

Altruism

The selfless concern for the well-being of others, often leading to helping behaviors without expecting anything in return.

Bystander Effect

The phenomenon where individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim when other people are present.