Untitled Flashcards Set

Abraham Maslow

Psychologist known for creating the hierarchy of needs, prioritizing human motivations.

Achievement motivation

The drive to excel, achieve, and reach goals.

Aggression

Any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone.

Albert Bandura

Psychologist known for the social learning theory and Bobo doll experiment, demonstrating observational learning.

Altruism

Unselfish concern for the well-being of others.

Attitudes

Feelings, often influenced by beliefs, that affect behavior toward objects, people, and events.

Behavior feedback effect

The tendency for behavior to influence emotions and perceptions.

Big Five personality factors

A model of personality traits including openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.

Bystander effect

The tendency for individuals to be less likely to help someone in need when others are present.

Cannon-Bard Theory

The theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers physiological responses and the experience of emotion.

Central route to persuasion

Persuasion that occurs when people focus on arguments and respond with favorable thoughts.

Cognitive dissonance

The discomfort experienced when holding two conflicting beliefs or attitudes.

Collectivism

A cultural orientation that prioritizes group goals over individual ones.

Companionate love

Deep, affectionate attachment between people whose lives are intertwined.

Conflict

A perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas.

Conformity

Adjusting behavior or thinking to align with a group standard.

Defense mechanisms

Psychological strategies used unconsciously to protect oneself from anxiety.

Deindividuation

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

Discrimination

Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members.

Drive reduction theory

The idea that a physiological need creates an aroused state that drives an organism to satisfy the need.

Ego

According to Freud, the rational part of personality that mediates between the id and superego.

Extrinsic motivation

A desire to perform a behavior due to external rewards or punishments.

Facial feedback effect

The tendency of facial expressions to influence emotions.

Foot-in-the-Door phenomenon

The tendency for people who agree to a small request to later comply with a larger request.

Frustration-aggression principle

The idea that frustration leads to aggression.

Fundamental attribution error

The tendency to overestimate personal traits and underestimate situational factors when explaining others’ behavior.

Grit

Passion and perseverance in pursuing long-term goals.

Group polarization

The tendency for group discussions to strengthen the group’s prevailing attitudes.

Groupthink

The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony overrides realistic decision-making.

Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow’s model of human motivation, prioritizing physiological needs, safety, love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.

Homeostasis

The tendency to maintain a balanced internal state.

Humanistic Theory

A psychological perspective that emphasizes personal growth and self-actualization.

Id

According to Freud, the unconscious, impulsive part of personality that seeks pleasure.

Incentive

An external stimulus that motivates behavior.

Individualism

A cultural orientation that prioritizes individual goals over group goals.

Informational social influence

Conforming because of a desire to be correct when uncertain.

Ingroup

The group to which a person belongs and identifies.

Ingroup bias

The tendency to favor one’s own group.

Instinct

An innate, fixed pattern of behavior in response to stimuli.

Intrinsic motivation

A desire to perform a behavior for its own sake.

James-Lange Theory

The theory that emotions arise from physiological arousal.

Just-World Phenomenon

The belief that the world is just and people get what they deserve.

Mere exposure effect

The phenomenon that repeated exposure to stimuli increases liking of them.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

A widely used personality test designed to assess psychological disorders.

Mirror image perceptions

Reciprocal views of opposing groups that each sees itself as good and the other as bad.

Motivation

The processes that initiate, direct, and sustain goal-directed behavior.

Normative social influence

Conforming to gain social approval or avoid rejection.

Norms

Socially accepted rules of behavior.

Obedience

Compliance with orders from an authority figure.

Ostracism

Exclusion from a group.

Other-race effect

The tendency to better recognize faces of one’s own race.

Outgroup

A group one does not identify with.

Passionate love

Intense, emotional love typically present at the beginning of a relationship.

Peripheral route to persuasion

Persuasion influenced by incidental cues, like attractiveness.

Personality

An individual’s characteristic pattern of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Personality inventory

A questionnaire used to assess personality traits.

Personality trait

A characteristic pattern of behavior or disposition.

Persuasion

The process of changing attitudes or beliefs.

Physiological need

A basic bodily requirement for survival.

Prejudice

An unjustifiable negative attitude toward a group.

Projective test

A personality test using ambiguous stimuli to reveal inner feelings.

Psychoanalysis

Freud’s theory of personality and therapeutic technique.

Psychodynamic theories

Theories that view personality as influenced by unconscious motives and childhood experiences.

Reciprocal determinism

Bandura’s idea that behavior, cognition, and environment interact.

Reciprocity norm

The expectation to return favors.

Regression

A defense mechanism where one reverts to an earlier stage of development.

Rorschach inkblot test

A projective test using inkblots to analyze personality.

Scapegoat theory

The tendency to blame others for one’s problems.

Schachter-Singer Two-Factor Theory

The theory that emotions depend on physiological arousal and cognitive labeling.

Self-actualization

The realization of one’s full potential.

Self-concept

One’s perception of themselves.

Self-esteem

One’s overall sense of self-worth.

Self-serving bias

The tendency to credit successes to oneself and blame failures on external factors.

Sigmund Freud

The founder of psychoanalysis, known for theories on the unconscious mind.

Social cognitive perspective

A theory that emphasizes how environment, behavior, and cognition interact.

Social exchange theory

The idea that relationships are based on cost-benefit analysis.

Social facilitation

Improved performance on tasks in the presence of others.

Social loafing

The tendency to put in less effort in group tasks.

Social psychology

The study of how individuals think about, influence, and relate to others.

Social responsibility norm

The expectation to help those in need.

Social trap

A situation where individuals harm the group by acting in their own interest.

Solomon Asch

Psychologist known for his conformity experiments.

Spotlight effect

Overestimating how much others notice about us.

Stanley Milgram

Psychologist known for obedience studies involving authority figures.

Stereotype

A generalized belief about a group.

Superego

According to Freud, the moral part of personality.

Superordinate goals

Shared goals that require cooperation.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

A projective test where people create stories about ambiguous pictures.

Unconscious

According to Freud, thoughts and feelings outside of awareness.