AP Psych Unit 4

Attribution Theory

How people explain behavior & events by crediting either the situation/the person’s disposition

Dispositional Attribution

Explain with person’s internal characteristics/personal traits/personality (e.g. you got low marks cuz you’re stupid)

Situational attribution

Explain with environment outside the person’s control (e.g. you got low marks cuz you had to take care of ur sick snake)

Explanatory Style

Someone’s unique way of describing & explaining some event

Actor-Observer Bias

Attribute your actions to situational factors, others’ actions to dispositional errors (Im late cuz theres traffic, you’re late cuz you’re lazy)

Fundamental Attribution Error

Observers underestimate impact of situational factors & overestimate dispositional factors (e.g. He’s loud cuz he’s rude, not cuz he’s working OT & tired)

Self-serving Bias

Attribute your success to dispositional factors, and your failures to situational factors (I have a lot of friends cuz I’m nice, my friends ditch me because they are too busy with their jobs)

External Locus of Control

Events are because of luck/ fate/ things beyond their control (Fate brought me to ICS, not cuz I did anything great)

Internal Locus of Control

Events are because of your actions, decisions & efforts. You are in control & responsible for what happens to yourself. (E.g. I gave great responses to ICS interview, so I got in)

Mere Exposure Effect

Repeated exposure to new stimuli → start liking it (e.g. always smell durian going home → like it)

Self-fulfilling prophecy

A belief that leads to its own fulfilment (e.g. I can do it → I actually do it)

Relative Deprivation

Perception / Dissatisfaction that the amount of desired resource you have is less than sb else (e.g. ugh I have less money than other ppl in ICS)

Social Comparison Theory

You evaluate your abilities & attitudes by comparing yourself to others → affects self-image & well-being (e.g. I’m poor, Charles’ house is bigger than mine)

Upward Social Comparison

Comparing yourself with someone you think is “better” (e.g. Charles has more money than me) → motivated to achieve similar success/sad at your own life

Downward Social Comparison

Compare yourself with someone you think is worse (e.g. I have more money than Lawrence) → Feel better about yourself/ Feel content with where you are, lose motivation

Stereotype

A generalized (sometimes accurate, but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people (e.g. All asians are good at math)

Prejudice

Unjustifiable & negative attitude toward a group & its members (e.g. You’re a discord mod, you must be lazy & fat, I don’t like you)

Discrimination

Unjustified, differential & negative treatment of a target group & its members (e.g. you’re a discord mod, you’re not important, go to the back of the Disneyland queue)

Implicit Attitudes

Attitudes & beliefs that occur outside of our conscious awareness & control (e.g. unconsciously hate Precalc → you always get a stomachache before class & skip 15 mins)

Cognitive Load

Relative mental resources demand for a task (e.g. precalc → high cognitive load - my brain hurts)

Just-world phenomenon

People believe the world is just & people get what they deserve (E.g. you deserve to have depression cuz you didn’t manage your time well & your decisions were crap)

Ingroup

“Us” group that we belong to (E.g. 11g4!)

Outgroup

“Them” group that is different from us & we don’t belong to (E.g. 11g12356)

Ingroup Bias

Favor your group & think it’s better (E.g. 11G4 best at everything [cough])

Out-group homogeneity Bias

Perceive out-group members as more similar to one another, while our in-group members are more distinct (e.g. everyone in 11g12356 is good at sports, but 11g4 has ppl good at art, trivia, sport and spirit day [cough])

Ethnocentrism

See your culture as superior to other cultures. Justify your culture’s social system & see others’ as bad (e.g. Asians are smarter than all other ppl, our education is top [cough])

Belief Perseverance

Maintain a belief even after your info/evidence has been refuted or found inaccurate (e.g. Arsenic gives you nice skin → proven wrong → nonono it does trust me imma eat it)

Confirmation Bias

Gather evidence that confirms your preexisting beliefs, typically emphasizing & finding supporting evidence while dismissing or X finding contradictory evidence (e.g. look i found this report by random guy says Arsenic is good → how bout this report by scientists? → nah bro yours looks sus stop lying)

Cognitive Dissonance

Mental tension when you have conflicting attitudes & behaviors → Change attitude/behavior to reduce discomfort & restore balance (e.g. you know Arsenic is bad but it’s too yummy so you still eat it → tell yourself nahh it’s good i want good skin, so you feel better eating it)

Social Norms

Society’s rules for expected & accepted behavior (e.g. dont eat out of rubbish bins on the street)

Social Influence Theory

Ways people are affected by the real/imagined pressures of others (e.g. omg my friends are here I better watch scroll reels instead of watching Mr Beast)

Normative Social Influence

Influence cuz you want to gain approval & avoid disapproval (e.g. you watch reels instead of Mr Beast so you’re friends don’t laugh at you)

Informative Social Influence

Influence cuz you want to accept others’ opinions about reality. Believe others know better than you, so you are influenced. (e.g. Everyone is lining up at Crumbl, you dk if it’s good, but they probs know what they’re lining up for, so you line up too)

Persuasion

Active attempt to change someone’s attitudes/beliefs/emotions, potentially influencing their actions (e.g. You have to try crumbl it’s so healthy & cheap!! [not sarcastic])

Peripheral Route Persuasion

People are influenced by attention-getting cues that trigger speedy, emotional-based judgments (e.g. wow that model looks so good in that taobao dress → lemme buy it)

Central Route Persuasion

People are influenced by evidence & arguments to trigger careful thinking (e.g. Mom: It’s getting hotter, I’m going to Malaysia, my dress now is broken, & im broke too → Me: ok lemme buy that taobao dress)

Halo Effect

Believe sb is good, so you will interpret all their actions as good, and fail to notice their bad traits (e.g. Donald Trump is so cool!! oh hes stealing stuff → yup he can do what he wants, good for him)

Foot-In-The-Door technique

People who agree to an initial small request comply later with a larger request (e.g. can you help me take the teacher’s pen → can you help me get his money on the table→ can you help me steal a car? ok)

Door in the face technique

Start with a large request that will be turned down, then ask for reasonable request that will be accepted (e.g. can you help me steal a car? ofc not. Ok, how bout helping me take that pen off the teacher’s desk? … ok??)

Conformity

Adjusting our behavior/thinking to match the group (e.g. everyone grunge aesthetic → want to fit in → change cottagecore to grunge)

Obedience

Changing one’s behavior at the direct command of an authority figure (E.g. Queen: STEAL THAT CAR! ok)

Attitude

Evaluation of an object/person/group/issue/idea. Can be pos or neg (e.g. precalc is bad)

Individualism

Emphasize individual & separate self, rights, independence “me” (E.g. chase your dreams!)

Collectivism

View person as member of a larger group “we”, focus on meeting group standards & accommodating others (e.g. perform your family role first!)

Multiculturalism

Society where different ethnic & cultural groups are equal but maintain their own uniqueness (e.g. Lots of races equal & live together, but still each have their own festivities, e.g. Thai water spraying in kowloon city )

Group Polarization

People’s preexisting beliefs become more extreme & stronger after discussions with like-minded people (e.g. Pineapples on pizza good → discuss with other ppl “oh yea it’s healthy it' adds sour kick” → YESYES IT’S SO GOOD YUMYUM WE R GONNA PUT PINEAPPLES ON EVERY SLICE IN THE WORLD)

Groupthink

Want to keep group harmony → suppress your disagreements, look like everyone agrees → X realistically access decisions (e.g. Everyone should wear brown! OKOK (I hate poopy brown…) → everyone wears brown, gets laughed at)

Diffusion of responsibility

Causes People to be less likely to take action when other bystanders are present (e.g. Someone is having a heart attack at Eras Tour → oh sb else can do CPR better than me… someone else can help… → no one helps)

Social Loafing

People in a group working for a common goal each exert less effort than when individually responsible (e.g. it’s ok she can finish it ill just write 1 point & slack off, we’ll still get A)

Deindividuation

In a group, ppl feel more aroused & anonymous → Loss of self-awareness & self-restraint (e.g. YEA FOOD FIGHTTT they cant only punish me, everyones joining. so exciting lets goo)

Social Facilitation

Improved performance on things that are simple/you’re good at when others are there. Worse performance on things that are hard/you’re bad at when others are there. (e.g. others looking at me rapping → rap worse)

False-Consensus Effect

Assume your opinion/belief/attitude is much more common & widely shared than it actually is (e.g. I bet everyone loves Precalc → not really)

Social Trap

Situation where conflicting parties, each pursuing their self-interest rather than the good of the group end up in mutually destructive behavior (e.g. I want orange meat, u want orange peel → fight, orange falls into the rubbish, both cant have. Originally could have shared & each got what they wanted)

Superordinate goals

Shared goals that can only be achieved through cooperation. Enemies forced to work together (e.g. blocked road → everyone needs to work together to push thing off0

Prosocial behavior

Beneficial Actions (e.g. throwing trash in rubbish, X litter)

Altruism

Unselfish concern for welfare of others (e.g. jump onto train tracks to try to save sb, when train is coming)

Social Responsibility Norm

Expectation that we should help those who need our help, even if cost outweighs benefits (e.g. pay for poor person)

Bystander Effect

Ppl are less likely to help when others are around, think sb else will help instead (e.g. Someone is having a heart attack at Eras Tour → oh sb else can do CPR better than me… someone else can help… → no one helps)

Reciprocity Norm

We should return help & not harm ppl who helped us. (e.g. last time she helped me pay, this time i help her pay)

Social Exchange Theory

Maximize benefits & minimize costs (e.g. if i help, ppl will like me & maybe i can get a promotion → waste time to help sb’s computer problems)

Personality

Individual’s characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling & acting (e.g. shes optimistic, helps others)

Psychodynamic Theory

Theory that views personality with a focus on the unconscious mind & the importance of childhood experience

Preconscious

Info that you are not currently aware but could be easily brought into conscious mind (E.g. What did you wear yesterday? now ur thinking about it)

Unconscious

Reservoir of mostly unacceptable thought, wishes, feelings, memories. Repressed memories that allow us to function normally (e.g. lustful desires, childhood abuse)

Conscious

Thoughts, memories, feelings & wishes we are aware at a given moment (e.g. Psych rn)

Ego

Largely conscious, execute parts of personality that balances reality, if & superego (E.g. Secretly eat 1 small pice of candy)

• Superego: Internalized ideals, standards for judgment, morals (e.g. you cant randomly eat in class)

• Id: Inborn biological urges that want immediate gratification (pleasure principle) (e.g. want food)

Defense Mechanisms

Ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by distorting reality of conscious mind to cope

Denial

Refusing to believe/perceive painful realities (e.g. my boyfriend’s not cheating, even tho u saw him)

Displacement

Taking out your sexual/aggressive impulses to a more acceptable/less threatening object/person. Release frustration (e.g. Bully another girl at work)

Projection

Take your own threatening impulses and unacceptable qualities & attribute them to others (e.g. He’s always mean to me, he thinks I’m the one cheating)

Rationalization

Offering self-justifying explanations in place of real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one’s actions (E.g. He’s not good enough for me. I knew he was bad when I met him)

Reaction Formation

Ego unconsciously switches and ppl act the opposite of unacceptable impulses (e.g. Ur seeing that girl right? Good! you need more girl friends.)

Regression

Retreating to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy still remains (e.g. secretly thumb sucking)

Repression

Banishing anxiety arousing thought, feelings & memories from conscious. (e.g. forgets u saw him cheating)

Sublimation

Transferring unacceptable impulses into social valued motives (e.g. arrange a meet up with the girl and become genuine friends)

Projective Tests

psychological assessment that presents ambiguous stimuli and ppl tell a story about it to uncover unconscious thoughts, feelings & desires

Rorschach Inkblot Test

People interpret 10 inkblots & their interpretations are analyzed

Humanistic Psychology

Viewing personality with a focus on potential for healthy personal growth, fulfilment, self-actualization & self-determination (e.g. people meet their needs in Maslow’s hierachy, and everyone can become self-actualized & the complete person with a purpose)

Unconditional Positive Regard

Need for acceptance & love from others no matter of our actions & failures, and positive self-regard of ourselves → help develop self awareness & self acceptance (e.g. parents always love you no matter what → willing to try new hobbies, feel valued)

Self-actualizing tendency

Motivation to fulfill potential & become a fully functioning person (e.g. know you can achieve a lot → study very hard now to achieve dream & purpose later)

Social Cognitive Theory

Behavior is influenced by people’s traits (personality & thinking) & the environmental social context (e.g. like art because it’s calming & cuz everyone else is doing it)

Reciprocal Determinism

Person’s personal factors, behavior & environment all affect one-another in 2 way relationships (e.g. Personal factor: Ur very stressed → behavior: look for calming activity → environment: Art store → behavior: try art)

Self-concept

our thoughts & feelings about ourselves, “who am I” shaped by experiences & social influences (e.g. I am an artist)

Self-efficacy

Belief that you can do something & are competent, task-specific (e.g. I can draw a portrait of my cat well)

Self-esteem

Our feelings of high/low self-worth (e.g. I cant do anything im useless)

Traits

Characteristic & consistent behavior/disposition to feel/act in certain ways, assessed by self-report inventories & peer reports (e.g. Shes always been optimistic seen childhood)

Personality Inventories

Questionaires where people respond to assess a wide range of feelings & behaviors to assess selected personality traits (e.g. MBTI)

Factor Analysis

Identifies clustered and correlated items that form traits (e.g. talk a lot, like social situations, take charge loudly → extraversion)

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

Originally used to identify emotional disorders, now for screening purposes & personality

The Big Five Theory/Big Five Factors

Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism (Emotional stability)

Drive Reduction Theory

Physiological needs creates an aroused state (drive) to motivates you to satisfy the need and reduce drive (e.g. food → hungry → eat food)

Arousal Theory

Finding the optimal levels of stimulation motivates behavior (e.g. Too stressed → high arousal → listen to music → lower arousal)

Optimal Level of Arousal

Level of mental stimulation where physical performance, learning, temporary feelings of wellbeing are maximized (e.g. just enough stress → work hard, X burnout)

Yerkes-Dodson Law

People preform best an a moderate level of arousal, too little, too much performance decreases (e.g. just enough stress → work hard, X burnout)

Self-Determination Theory

People need to feel autonomous, competent and connected to others to grow (e.g. power, enough abilities, liked by others → run for club leader)

Intrinsic Motivation

Motivation from internal factors, you actually want to do it for its own sake (e.g. I really want to draw because I love it)

Extrinsic Motivation

Motivation from external factors, to receive promised rewards/avoid punishment ( e.g. I better draw my sketchbook so I don’t get detention)

Lewin’s Motivational Conflicts Theory

Situations wehere individuals face competing desires/goals (e.g. I wanna eat mcdonalds but i dont wanna be fat)

Approach-approach

decision between 2 good options, least stressful (e.g. Should I go to Space mountain or grizzly bear)

Avoidance-avoidance

decision between 2 bad options (e.g. Should I fail psych or precalc)