Unit 4 psych vocab

Attribution Theory

Explains how individuals interpret behavior causes.

Dispositional Attributions

Assigning behavior to personal traits or characteristics.

Situational Attributions

Assigning behavior to external situational factors.

Explanatory Style

How individuals explain events, positive or negative.

Actor-Observer Bias

Tendency to attribute own actions to situations.

Fundamental Attribution Error

Overemphasizing personality in others' behaviors.

Self-Serving Bias

Attributing successes to internal factors, failures to external.

Internal Locus of Control

Belief that outcomes result from personal actions.

External Locus of Control

Belief that outcomes result from external factors.

Mere Exposure Effect

Increased liking due to repeated exposure.

Self Fulfilling Prophecy

Expectations influence behavior to confirm those expectations.

Mirror-Image Perceptions

Mutual views held by conflicting parties.

Social Comparison

Evaluating oneself against others for self-assessment.

Relative Deprivation

Feeling deprived when comparing to others' resources.

Stereotype

Overgeneralized belief about a group of people.

Prejudice

Negative attitude toward a group based on stereotypes.

Discrimination

Unjust treatment of individuals based on group membership.

Implicit Attitudes

Unconscious beliefs influencing behavior toward others.

Just-World Phenomenon

Belief that people get what they deserve.

Outgroup

Group individuals do not identify with.

Ingroup

Group individuals identify with and belong to.

Ethnocentrism

Belief in the superiority of one's own culture.

Scapegoat Theory

Blaming an outgroup for one's problems.

Cognitive Dissonance

Mental discomfort from conflicting beliefs or behaviors.

Social Norms

Expected standards of behavior within a group.

Conformity

Adjusting behavior to align with group norms.

Obedience

Following direct commands from an authority figure.

Groupthink

Faulty decision-making due to group pressure.

Bystander Effect

Reduced likelihood of helping in a group.

Prosocial Behavior

Actions intended to benefit others.

Altruism

Selfless concern for the well-being of others.

Self-Efficacy

Belief in one's ability to succeed.

Personality Inventory

Standardized questionnaire assessing personality traits.

Big Five Theory

Personality model based on five key traits.

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Optimal arousal improves performance to a point.

Drive-Reduction Theory

Motivation arises from biological needs.

Facial-Feedback Hypothesis

Facial expressions influence emotional experiences.

Universal Emotions

Basic emotions recognized across cultures.

Display Rules

Cultural norms governing emotional expression.

Person Perception

The process of forming impressions of others.

Attitude

A settled way of thinking or feeling about something.

Social Identity

The part of an individual's self-concept derived from their group memberships.

Cognitive Load

The total amount of mental effort being used in the working memory.

Out-Group Homogeneity Bias

The tendency to see members of an out-group as more similar to each other than they really are.

In-Group Bias

The tendency to favor one's own group over other groups.

Other-Race Effect

The tendency to recognize faces of one's own race more accurately than those of other races.

Belief Perseverance

The phenomenon where a person holds on to their beliefs even when confronted with contrary evidence.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions.

Role

A set of expectations about how to behave in a particular social position.

Social Influence Theory

The theory that individuals change their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to meet the demands of a social environment.

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.

Persuasion

The process of convincing someone to change their beliefs or behaviors.

Central Route Persuasion

Persuasion that involves careful and thoughtful consideration of the arguments.

Peripheral Route Persuasion

Persuasion that involves superficial cues rather than the substance of the message.

Halo Effect

The tendency for an impression created in one area to influence opinion in another area.

Foot-in-the-Door Technique

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

Door-in-the-Face Technique

A persuasion strategy that involves making a large request that is refused, followed by a smaller request.

Social Norms

The accepted behaviors within a society or group.

Culture

The beliefs, customs, arts, and institutions of a particular group of people.

Tight Culture

A culture that has strict norms and expectations for behavior.

Loose Culture

A culture that allows for more freedom and flexibility in behavior.

Individualism

A social theory favoring freedom of action for individuals over collective or state control.

Collectivism

A social orientation that emphasizes the good of the group over the individual.

Multiculturalism

The presence of, or support for, multiple cultural traditions within a single jurisdiction.

Group Polarization

The tendency for group discussion to enhance the group's prevailing attitudes.

Diffusion of Responsibility

A social phenomenon wherein individuals feel less responsible to act when others are present.

Social Loafing

The tendency for individuals to put forth less effort when they are part of a group.

Deindividuation

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

Social Facilitation

The tendency for people to perform differently when in the presence of others than when alone.

Social Trap

A situation in which individuals or groups act in their own self-interest and thereby harm the collective interest.

Superordinate Goals

Goals that require the cooperation of two or more people or groups to achieve.

Social Responsibility Norm

An expectation that people will help those dependent upon them.

Social Exchange Theory

The theory that human relationships are formed by the use of a subjective cost-benefit analysis.

Reciprocity Norm

The expectation that people will respond favorably to each other by returning benefits for benefits.

Personality

An individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and behaving.

Psychodynamic Theory

A theory that explains personality in terms of conscious and unconscious forces.

Psychoanalysis

A therapeutic approach that focuses on bringing unconscious thoughts and feelings to consciousness.

Free Association

A psychoanalytic technique where patients speak freely about their thoughts.

Id

The part of the mind in which innate instinctive impulses and primary processes are manifest.

Ego

The part of the mind that mediates between the conscious and the unconscious.

Superego

The ethical component of the personality that provides the moral standards.

Defense Mechanisms

Psychological strategies used to cope with reality and maintain self-image.

Denial

Refusal to accept reality or fact.

Displacement

The redirection of emotions to a substitute target.

Projection

Attributing one's own unacceptable thoughts or feelings to someone else.

Rationalization

The cognitive distortion of "the facts" to make an event or an impulse less threatening.

Reaction Formation

The conversion of unwanted or dangerous thoughts into their opposites.

Regression

A defense mechanism leading to the reversion to an earlier stage of development.

Repression

The unconscious blocking of unacceptable thoughts, feelings, and impulses.

Sublimation

The channeling of unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable activities.

Projective Tests

Psychological tests that reveal hidden emotions and internal conflicts via a person's projection.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

A projective psychological test consisting of ambiguous images.

Rorschach Inkblot Test

A projective test consisting of inkblots used to measure personality.

Preconscious

The part of the mind that contains thoughts and feelings that are not currently in conscious awareness.

Unconscious

The part of the mind that is inaccessible to the conscious mind but affects behavior.

Collective Unconscious

A term used by Carl Jung to describe the part of the unconscious mind shared by all human beings.

Humanistic Psychology

A psychological perspective that emphasizes the study of the whole person.

Unconditional Positive Regard

An attitude of acceptance and respect regardless of circumstances.

Self-Actualizing Tendency

The innate drive to realize one's full potential.