Psychology 101 Final Exam Study Guide

A compilation of key concepts and definitions to assist in studying for the final exam.

normative influences

The tendency to conform to group norms and expectations to gain acceptance, approval, or avoid disapproval.

• Example: A student might lie about their political views during a group discussion to avoid being ridiculed by their peers, even if they secretly disagree with the group’s position.

What is informational social influence?

Social influence is based on the desire to be liked or accepted 

• Example: doing something because you don't know what to do, so you follow what others do, parking in the grass because others did it, and there is no other parking 

What was Asch’s study of conformity?

standard line and people were told to pick a line and they choose the wrong line because they were in a group and wanted to fit in.

1. Confederates unanimously chose the incorrect line —>75% of participants chose the wrong line at least once 

What type of social influence did Asch's study demonstrate?

Normative social influence.

What was Milgram’s study of obedience?

Milgram(1963) sought to investigate obedience to authority 

• Participants served as “teachers”- instructed to inflict shocks (fake) of increasing intensity on “learner” (confederate) 

What proportion of participants in Milgram’s study continued shocking after the learner stopped responding?

About 65% of participants continued to the highest voltage.

social loafing

• Reductions in motivation and effort occur when individuals work collectively in a group 

• Example: participants made more noise when they thought they were alone compared to when they were in a group setting

deindividuation

a state where individuals lose their sense of personal identity and self-awareness within a group, leading to behaviors they might not typically exhibit

What is group polarization?

make extreme decision while in a group compared to alone

groupthink

When a group prioritizes harmony and agreement over critical thinking, leading to potentially flawed decisions

What is prejudice?

A hostile or negative attitude toward a distinguishable group of people.

What is stereotyping?

A generalization about a group of people in which identical characteristics are assigned to virtually all members of the group

discrimination

Differential actions toward members of specific social groups.

What is explicit prejudice?

Prejudice that can be overtly expressed.

What is implicit prejudice?

Prejudices that individuals may not be aware of and cannot overtly express.

example: a hiring manager might unconsciously favor a candidate with a name that sounds more familiar, even if the qualifications are similar.

What is the Implicit Association Test?

A test that measures implicit prejudice.

just-world phenomenon

Blaming the victim- the tendency to blame individuals ( make dispositions, attractions) for being a target

realistic conflict theory

The idea that competition for limited resources leads to conflict between groups and results in increased prejudice and discrimination 

What was Sherif’s Robber’s Cave experiment?

An experiment that created competition between two groups which increased prejudice.

What is in-group bias?

Positive feelings and behavior toward people in our in-group.

What are minimal groups?

A group lacking interdependence, group cohesion, structure, and other characteristics typically found in social groups. 

What was the minimal group experiment (Tajfel, 1971)?

• Strangers formed into groups using trivial criteria

• Given a choice about the amount of $ given to the in-group and out-group 

How does categorization explain stereotyping?

Cognitive process of placing individuals into social groups.

What is the confirmation bias?

The tendency to perceive information that confirms pre-existing beliefs and disregard contradicting evidence.

contact hypothesis

proposes that positive interactions between members of different groups can reduce prejudice and improve intergroup relations

cooperative interdependence

a situation where individuals perceive that they can achieve their goals only if other individuals in the group achieve their goals as well

example: working together

How did Sherif reduce prejudice in the Robber’s Cave study?

Introduced superordinate goals that required cooperation.

What is a jigsaw classroom?

work together to reduce prejudice and compassion

drive theory of aggression

Aggression results from situations that stimulate the internal motive to harm.

catharsis

• The notion that expressing aggression or watching others engage in aggressive behaviors reduces aggressive drive ( not supported)

• However, committing or watching acts of aggression→ increases the tendency toward future aggression. 

What is the frustration-aggression hypothesis?

Frustration increases the probability of aggressive behavior.

What is the bystander effect?

The presence of others decreases the likelihood anyone will help a stranger in distress.

psychoanalytic perspective of personality

Patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior influenced by unconscious processes.

What is the unconscious?

• Impulses, wishes, and memories of those people are not consciously aware of but affect thoughts and behavior. 

• Assumes that adult personality is formed primarily by experiences in early childhood 

defense mechanism

Unconscious processes protecting against unpleasant emotions.

What is psychological determinism?  What are Freudian slips?

• All thoughts, emotions, and behaviors have causes 

• Unsatisfied drives and unconscious wishes 

  • E.g. Freudian slips, when you say something wrong, Freud explains it as your desired action 

What are projective tests?

Tests presenting ambiguous stimuli to provoke responses.

humanistic perspective of personality

Emphasizes individual growth, choice, and self-actualization.

What is the DSM?

A book that contains all psychological disorders.

What is labeling theory?

Suggests that individuals’ self-perception and behavior can be significantly influenced by the labels they are assigned by others, particularly those in positions of authrority

What was Rosenhan’s study?

• “On Being Sane in Insane Places”

• seven others were admitted to psychiatric hostels 

• Faked symptoms of schizophrenia 

Anxiety disorders

Characterized by intense, frequent, or continuous anxiety.

generalized anxiety disorder

Chronic, excessive anxiety without an apparent trigger.

What is panic disorder?  What are panic attacks?

Attacks of extreme fear that are out of proportion to what the situation calls for (panic attacks) 

What are phobias?

Irrational fear of specific objects or situations.

What is social anxiety disorder?

Intense fear of being in social or performance situations.

What is obsessive-compulsive disorder?

Involves recurrent obsessions and compulsions causing distress.

What is major depressive disorder?

Characterized by extreme sadness and hopelessness.

What is bipolar disorder?

Extreme mood swings between depression and mania.

What is schizophrenia?

Severe disorder of thought and perception with psychotic symptoms.

What is disorganized speech?

Speech patterns that are difficult for others to understand due to incoherence, illogical connections between ideas, or a general lack of logical organization.

What are catatonic symptoms?

Motor problems associated with schizophrenia.

What are positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia?

• Positive symptoms are the presence of abnormal thoughts/behaviors;

• Negative symptoms refer to the absence of normal functions.

What is DID?

A mental health condition characterized by the presence of two or more distinct personality states (alters) within a single indiviual

personality disorders

long-term, inflexible patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving that deviate significantly from what's considered normal for a person's culture and cause distress or impairment

borderline personality disorder

• Extreme variability in mood, relationship, and self-perception 

• Misinterpret others’ actions as signs of abandonment or rejection

What is narcissistic personality disorder?

Grandiose sense of self-importance 

Exaggeration of abilities and accomplishments 

Excessive need for admiration

psychoanalytic therapy

A type of talk therapy rooted in the idea that unconscious thoughts, feelings, and memories influence behavior and relationships.

What is free association?

Verbalizing thoughts without censorship in psychoanalytic therapy.

What is humanistic therapy?

Emphasizes individual potential and vital therapeutic qualities like empathy.

behavioral therapy

Addresses maladaptive behavior with learning and conditioning principles 

What are classical and operant conditioning methods?

Techniques used in behavioral therapy to modify behaviors.

What is flooding?

A method where a client confronts the feared stimulus all at once.

systematic desensitization

A gradual exposure therapy combined with relaxation techniques.

cognitive therapy

a type of therapy focused on how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interconnected.

What is cognitive-behavioral therapy?

A type of talk therapy that helps individuals manage their problems by modifying their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

psychotherapy effective

Designed to help modify emotional and cognitive patterns causing difficulties.

ECT

• a brief burst of electric current to induce a seizure in the brain 

• More effective than antidepressant drugs 

  • Side effects: memory loss 

What is the life change approach to measuring stress?  Is life change associated with health?

• Brings changes that require considerable adaptation 

• Social readjustment rating scale(SRRS; Holmes and Rahe, 1967)

  • Positive or negative events 

• Life changes →illness

What is the daily hassles approach to measuring stress?  Are daily hassles associated with health?

• Minor annoying events that require some degree of adjustment

• Daily hassles → poorer health 

What is perceived stress?  Is it associated with health?

• Subjective interpretations of events or life circumstances as stressful 

• Negatively correlated with health

What is Cannon’s fight-or-flight mechanism?

When animals perceive threatening situations, they respond with physiological reactions to prepare for fighting or running away 

• Stress response 

What is Selye’s general adaptation syndrome?  What are the 3 stages?

• Alarm- body mobilizes to respond to stress 

• Resistance - The body adapts to a stressor, but becomes weakened 

• Exhaustion- physical resources are depleted in the process of trying to overcome or adjust to a threat 

→ Vulnerability to illness 

What is the tend-and-befriend hypothesis?

Females’ responses to stress may be different than males’(Taylor et al., 2000)

• “Tending”- caring for offspring 

• “Befriending”-affiliating in response to stress 

Indirect effect model

describes how a variable ( the predictor) influences an outcome variable through an intervening variable ( the mediator)

Type A behavior pattern

competitive, hostile, tense 

• Link between “Type A” behavior pattern and heart disease 

Type B behavior pattern

relaxed less competitive

Problem-focused coping 

• Actions taken to change a stressful situation or reduce its effects 

• Doing something about the stress

Emotion-focused coping

• Attempts to reduce distress 

• Addressing emotions but not the source of stress

How is control related to health?  What was Rodin and Langer’s (1976) “plant” study?

Greater control —> lower stress response, better health 

• Rodin & Langer, 1976- plant study 

• Gave a plant and made people either take care of it or have someone take care of it; people who had someone take care of it lived longer

What is perceived control?

Believing you can influence the outcome of a situation or event, even if you don’t have complete control over it.

What is the relation between social support and health?  What are the potential mechanisms explaining this relation?

• Social connection → better health 

• Mechanism:

  • Cognitive appraisal 

  • Health behaviors 

  • Psychoneuroimmunological pathways

What is expressive writing?  How is it related to health?

Expressing emotional experiences 

• Lower stress, health benefits 

ID

The most primitive part of personality

Ego

reality

Superego

Pleasure principle

Oral

1. Explore the world through the mouth 

2. dependence, trust 

3. Oral fixation

Anal

1. Conflict with parents about compliance and defiance 

2. Attitudes toward order and disorder 

3. Anal fixation

Phallic

1. Oedipus Complex- boy desires  exclusive relationship with mother (Greek legend- Oedipus kills father and marries mother)

2. Identification with father(boys)- develop feelings of similarity and connectedness.

How does social identity theory explain prejudice?

Individuals’ self-esteem partially depends on identifying with social groups

Similarity

“birds of a feather flock together”

Proximity

• Liking those who are near us

Mere exposure effect

repeated exposure to a person increases our likelihood of the person

college students were shown pictures of faces —> liking was measured

mirror image study

What is the mere exposure effect? How has this been demonstrated in studies (e.g., students shown pictures of faces)?

Repeated exposure to a person increases our likelihood of the person.. 

Bystander effect

The presence of other people makes it less likely that anyone will help a stranger in distress. 

why does the bystander effect occur ?

people believe others will do stuff so they don’t worry

ex: see a car crash on the road but don’t call the police because YOU believe someone else has

Repression

Thoughts that are too anxiety-provoking to acknowledge are blocked from conscious awareness

Projection

a defense mechanism where individuals unconsciously attribute their own unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or traits to others

Rationalization

When you try to give a logical explanation for your behavior.

example: a student who fails an exam might say, "The teacher is biased," instead of acknowledging their lack of preparation.

displacement

directing emotions toward others that are not the real object of their feelings