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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