AP Psych- Unit 4 Social Psychology

social psychology

concerned with the way individuals' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by others

person perception

forming impressions of others

attribution theory

we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition

dispositional attributions

ascribe the causes of behavior to personal traits, abilities, and feelings

situational attributions

ascribe the causes of behavior to demands of the time or place (environmental constraints)

pessimistic explanatory style

tendency to view setbacks as personal, permanent, and will continue indefinitely

optomistic explanatory style

tendency to view setbacks as temporary and blame them on outside forces; might attribute bad experiences to bad luck

fundamental attribution error

the tendency for observers, when analyzing another's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition

actor-observer bias

the tendency to blame our actions on external factors (situational), and blame the actions of others on internal factors or traits (disposition)

self-serving bias

attribute one's success to internal factors and failures to external factors

internal locus of control

We control our own fate

external locus of control

outside forces determine our fate

mere exposure effect

the phenomenon that repeated exposure to things increases liking of them

self-fullfilling prophecy

a belief in something causes it to come true

social comparison

Process of evaluating oneself by comparing to others

relative deprivation

the perception that one is worse off than those with whom one compares themself to

attitude

feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events

prejudice

unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group of people

stereotype

A generalized belief about a group of people

discrimination

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members

implicit prejudice

unconscious bias or attitudes towards a group of people

explicit prejudice

conscious and openly expressed negative beliefs/attitudes about a group of people

just-world phenomenon

people get what they deserve and deserve what they get

in-group

people you identify with (us)

out-group

people you don't identify with (them)

Belief Perservation

clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

cognitive dissonance

when our attitudes and behaviors don't line up

cognitive dissonance theory

the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort we feel when our actions are inconsistent with our thoughts (change action, attitude, or rationalize our attitude about the action) [ex. stealing]

norms

unwritten, social rules

normative social influence

Going along with others in pursuit of social approval or belonging (ex. wearing similar clothes as your friends)

informative social influence

Going along with others because their ideas and behavior make sense, the evidence in our social environment changes our minds (ex. deciding which side of the road to drive on)

central route persuasion

a way of convincing someone to take action based on evidence of the values of the outcome (ex. decision based on research)

peripheral route persuasion

occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker's attractiveness

halo effect

tendency to make a decision based on a single trait or attitude (ex. celebrity endorsements)

Foot-in-the-Door phenomenon

the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request (ex. free trial --> buying product)

Door-in-the-Face Phenomenon

the tendency for people to comply to a smaller request after rejecting an initially larger one (ex. asking for $100 then $20)

cultural individualism

value personal independence and achievement - what works best for you

cultural collectivism

value group goals, social identity, and commitments - what works best for the family

Multiculturalism

values diverse cultures and how they are interacting together within society

bystander effect

the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to help if other bystanders are present (ex. Kitty Genovese murder case)

Deindividuation

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity (ex. mob mentality- feeling empowered when part of a group rather than alone)

social loafing

the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable (ex. group projects)

social facilitation

improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others (ex. home team advantage)

social impairment

reduced performance on difficult or unpracticed tasks in the presence of others (ex. stage fright)

false consensus effect

cognitive bias where individuals overestimate the extent to which their beliefs, behaviors, or opinions are shared by others

superordinate goal

shared goal that overrides differences among people and requires cooperation (ex. Robber's cave experiment w/ the rival teams)

social trap

a situation in which a person or group of people work to attain a short-term goal, which will ultimately have long-term consequences for the larger population (ex. chemical companies disposing of waste in the ocean + prisoner's dilemma)

group polarization

a phenomenon where in the decisions and opinions of people in a group setting become more extreme than their actual, privately held beliefs after discussion within the group

groupthink

you want to get along with the group rather than having an adverse view (ex. The Challenger disaster)

industrial-organizational (IO) psychologists

focus on workplace dynamics

altruism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others, or engaging in kindness acts without expecting anything in return

social exchange theory

our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs

Social Reciprocity Norm

an expectation that people will help those that have helped them

social responsibility norm

people will help those in need of help

aggression

any behavior intended to harm someone physically or emotionally

influences on sexual attraction

proximity, physical attractiveness, and similarity

Conformity

refers to adjusting our behavior or thinking to fit in with a group standard (Asch's experiment- people being asked to match the length of a line to one of three other lines- 1/3 complied)

influences on conformity

made to feel incompetent, group of 3+ people, status of those in the group, and everyone agrees in group

Obedience

yielding to real or imagined pressure from another or an authority figure (Milgram's Experiment- shocking students and analyzing the teacher while an authority figure applies pressure on him; 2/3 complied)

Stanford Prison Experiment

Zimbardo's role conformity experiment - participants quickly internalized their roles and began to exhibit extreme and abusive behaviors

personality

our characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

psychodynamic theory

view of human behavior as a dynamic interaction between the conscious and unconscious mind

unconscious

the part of the mind that Freud believed we had no knowledge of; its mostly hidden

conscious "ego"

reality principle; conscious mediator between the id and superego

preconscious "superego"

morality principle; your conscience, wants perfection (angel)

unconscious "id"

pleasure principle; demands immediate gratification that is usually not beneficial (devil)

defense mechanisms

tactics that reduce or redirect anxiety by distorting reality

regression

retreating to an earlier psychosexual stage, go backwards in behavior

reaction formation

switching unacceptable impulses into their opposite

projection

disguising one's own threatening impulses by attributing them to others

rationalization

self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one's actions

displacement

shifting sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person

sublimination

transferring of unacceptable impulses into socially valued motives

denial

refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities

repression

the exclusion of distressing memories, thoughts, or feelings from the conscious mind

projective tests

a personality test that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics

Rorschach Inkblots

Provides information about a person's thought processes, perceptions, motivations, and attitude toward their environment

Thematic Apperception Test

people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes

MMPI

test used for diagnosing disorders

Myers-Briggs Test

16 personality types based on combinations of 4 different tendencies

Humanistic theories

view personality with a focus on the potential for healthy personal growth

humanistic theorists

emphasize the ways people strive for self-determination and self-realization

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

1) physiological, 2) safety, 3) love/belonging, 4) esteem, 5) self-actualization

unconditional positive regard

showing complete support and acceptance of a person, no matter what that person says or does, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients to develop self-awareness and self-acceptance

traits

Patterns of behavior or a tendency to feel/act in a certain way

Big 5 personality inventory Test

Openness to experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism (OCEAN)

social cognitive approach

describes the influence of individual experiences, the actions of others, and environmental factors on individual health behaviors

reciprocal determinism

refers to the interacting influences of behavior, cognition, and environment

self

center of personality, organizer of thoughts, feelings, and actions

self-efficacy

one's sense of competence and effectiveness

person-situation controversy

Debate on whether it's the situation someone is in or the personality of the person that determines their behavior

motivation

a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior

drive reduction theory

when a physiological need increases, so does our psychological drive to reduce it

homeostasis

the body's way of staying balanced

arousal theory

We are motivated to maintain an optimum level of arousal

Yerkes-Dodson Law

that performance increases with arousal only up to a point, beyond which performance decreases

Sensation-seeking theory

such behavior is a personality trait defined by the search for experiences and feelings that are thrill seeking

self-determination theory

argues that people are motivated to learn, grow, and change their lives if their 3 basic needs are met- competence, connection, and autonomy

instinct

a complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned