Personality and Social Psychology Flashcards

Flashcards of key terms and definitions related to Personality and Social Psychology

Nomothetic Approach

An approach in psychology that focuses on discovering general laws or principles that apply across large groups of individuals through quantitative methods.

Idiographic Approach

An approach in psychology that centres on the in-depth understanding of individual experiences using qualitative methods, emphasizing the uniqueness of each person.

Internal-Consistency Reliability

The degree to which items within a scale are correlated, measuring the same underlying construct, typically assessed using Cronbach’s alpha.

Interrater Reliability

The level of agreement between two or more independent observers or raters, essential for observational or qualitative assessments.

Test-Retest Reliability

The stability of scores over time when the same participants take the same test under similar conditions.

Content Validity

The extent to which a scale adequately covers all aspects of the construct.

Construct Validity

The degree to which a test measures the theoretical construct it purports to assess, including convergent and discriminant validity.

Criterion Validity

The extent to which a scale correlates with a relevant outcome (criterion), including concurrent and predictive validity.

Reverse-Coding

Rephrasing items so that agreement with the item reflects a low level of the construct being measured, and then recoding responses numerically to reduce acquiescence bias.

Self-Report Scale

A measurement tool where individuals provide direct information about themselves, usually in the form of questionnaires or surveys.

Observer Report

A report is when someone other than the individual being assessed provides information about the target’s behaviour or traits.

Personality Trait

A relatively stable, enduring pattern of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that distinguishes individuals from one another.

The Big Five Personality Traits

A widely accepted and empirically supported framework for understanding personality, consisting of Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that transmit signals across synapses in the brain, variations in their functioning are linked to individual differences in mood and behaviour.

Gray’s Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST)

A biologically grounded model of personality that explains individual differences in motivation, emotion, and behaviour in response to reward and punishment.

Cloninger’s Psychobiological Theory of Personality

A biopsychosocial model that integrates biological temperament traits with socially shaped character traits.

Eysenck’s Theory of Introversion-Extraversion

A biologically based theory of personality traits arise from differences in brain arousal systems, particularly the Ascending Reticular Activating System (ARAS).

Twin Studies

A behavioural genetic research method used to estimate the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors to individual differences in psychological traits.

Adoption Studies

A research design used to disentangle genetic and environmental influences, since adopted children share genes with their biological parents but environments with their adoptive parents.

Twin Adoption Studies

Involves examining monozygotic (MZ) twins who were separated at birth and raised in different adoptive families.

Molecular Genetic Studies

Studies that examine the actual genes and genetic variants that may contribute to individual differences in personality.

Rational Voter Model

Assumes that individuals behave rationally in the electoral context.

Expressive Utility

The psychological benefit derived from expressing one’s cultural identity or group membership through political beliefs and behaviours.

Ambivalent Sexism Theory

Includes hostile and benevolent sexism. Overtly negative attitudes toward women who are seen as challenging male power.

Structural Racism

Systemic inequalities embedded within social, political, and economic institutions.

The Myth of Racial Progress

Refers to the belief that racism is largely a thing of the past, and that racial equality has been mostly achieved.

Contact Hypothesis

Positive contact between members of different groups can reduce prejudice, provided certain conditions are met

The Irony of Harmony

Positive intergroup contact can lead to a decrease in disadvantaged groups’ awareness of inequality and reduce their motivation for collective action.

Willpower

The capacity to regulate impulses, emotions, and behaviours in pursuit of long-term goals.

Priming

The activation of certain associations in memory, often unconsciously, which influences subsequent perceptions and behaviours.

Attribution Theory

Explores how people explain the causes of behaviour, either internal or dispositional attributions

Heuristic

A mental shortcut or rule of thumb used for making judgments and decisions quickly and efficiently.

Representativeness Heuristic

Judging the probability of an event by how much it resembles a prototype or typical case.

Availability Heuristic

Estimating the likelihood of an event based on how easily examples come to mind.

Emotion

Is a complex psychological state involving subjective experience Physiological Response and behavioural or expressive Response

Rusbult’s Investment Model

Explaining relationship commitment and the likelihood of staying in a relationship. Model is predicted by satisfaction, investment and alternatives.

Equity Theory

Explains relationship satisfaction through the principle of fairness. Individuals feels most satisfied in relationships where the ratio of the inputs to outcomes is equal to their partner’s

Attachment Theory

Applies to infant-caregiver bonds but also to adult romantic relationships.

Social identity theory

Explains how individuals derive part of their self-concept from group memberships.

Minimal Group Paradigm

Is a research method to investigate the minimal conditions under which discrimination between groups occurs.

Social Cure Hypothesis

Social identities derived from group memberships play a protective and promotive role in the health and well-being

Black Sheep Effect

Where ingroup members derogate deviant or non-conforming members of their own group more harshly than similar outsiders

Group Decision Making

Key area in social and cognitive psychology that examines how people make judgments, solve problems, or reach conclusions as part of a collective system.

Hidden Profile Problem

Best possible decision is only apparent when unique unshared information held by individuals is put together

Organisational Identity

Shared understanding among members about who “WE ARE” as an organisation

Prosocial behaviour

voluntary actions intended to benefit others, including helping, sharing, donating, co-operating, and volunteering

Effective altruism

philosophy and social movement that uses evidence and reason to determine the most effective ways to help others, aiming to maximise the good from altruistic acts.

Multi-Level Model of Prosocial Behavior

Framework to understand prosocial behavior by integrating various influences across different timescales, levels of Micro Meso and Macro.