Ch 11-12 Psychology Flashcards

social psychology

how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

fundamental attribution error

the tenancy to assign too much weight to personality and too little to situations when explaining others' behaviors

attitude

feelings, often based on beliefs, that affects our responses to objects, people, and events; ex) if you believe someone is friendly and kind, more likely to act warmly toward them and have positive feelings for them

peripheral route persuasion

uses unimportant cues to trigger quick, emotional judgments. Uses characteristics of a speaker (beauty, charm, expertise). Works when unmotivated or unable to process the message.

central route persuasion

uses evidence and arguments to try to motivate careful, logical thinking. Works best when people are highly involved or analytical thinkers

attitudes and behavior

\________ will affect our __________, (and vice versa) but not always: they are most likely to when external influences are minimal and when attitude is stable, specific to the behavior, and easily recalled

foot-in-the-door phenomenon

getting someone to agree to do a small favor makes it more likely they'll agree to something bigger in the future

role-playing

Acting according to a certain role can lead you to adopt attitudes consistent with that role; e.g. Stanford prison study

cognitive dissonance

"if I choose it, I must want it"; dissonance between attitude and behavior = discomfort; the discomfort a person feels when their behavior does not align with their values or beliefs

conformity

process whereby people change their beliefs, attitudes, actions, or perceptions to more closely match those held by groups to which they belong or want to belong or by groups whose approval they desire

normative social influence

sensitive to social norms because can be rejected or excluded if we are different; where a person changes their public behavior but not their private beliefs; conform to fit in

informational social influence

people do things in a certain way because it reflects an accurate or effective perspective on reality; where a person conforms to gain knowledge, or because they believe that someone else is 'right'; assume people know more than you do so you conform

social facilitation

Responses on a task are stronger in the presence of others

social loafing

the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when working with others to reach a common goal; ex. group projects

deindividualization

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint when in a group that provides arousal and anonymity; ex. online discussion

group polarization

strengthening of a group's pre-existing attitudes due to discussions within the group

groupthink

process within a group of people where desire for harmony or conformity results in irrational or dysfunctional decision making

obedience

behavior that is ordered by another person or group

prejudice

an unfair negative attitude toward a group and its members; includes 3 parts, stereotypes, emotions, and discrimination

stereotype

members of a group share certain attributes

discrimination

predispositions to action

just-world phenomenon

belief that good is rewarded and evil is punished

explicit vs. implicit attitudes

\_______ are attitudes we are aware of and _________ attitudes are attitudes that we are not aware of and may influence our behavior without us knowing it

cognitive roots of prejudice

we naturally try to simplify the world, so we sort things into categories (i.e. race/ethnicity); we can overestimate similarities and underestimate differences within a category (e.g. other-race effect)

social roots of prejudice

includes just-world phenomenon, ingroup and outgroup dynamics, and ingroup bias

ingroup

people with whom we share a common identity

outgroup

those who are not like us

ingroup bias

we tend to favor our own group over other people, as we tend to like people who are like us; can involve favoritism in hiring, sharing resources, providing support

scapegoat theory

prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame

other-race effect

people are generally better at recognizing faces of their own race, compared to faces of different races; overestimate similarities and underestimate differences within a category

self-fufilling prophecy

perceiver's expectancy may influence their behavior to elicit expected actions from the target person

costs of prejudice

distorted information processing, as stereotypes affect what is noticed and how it is interpreted, can confirm biases and ambiguous action s may be interpreted as consistent with expectations; oversimplification (excessive uniformity), negativity, self-fulfilling prophecies, stereotype threat

stereotype threat

An increased pressure if member of a minority group is facing a stereotype - they fear if they do poorly on task, it will confirm unfavorable belief about their group; can lead to in fact performing more poorly

bystander effect

the reduced likelihood of helping due to the presence of other bystanders

personality

Characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and behaving

psychodynamic theories of personality

view human behavior as a dynamic interaction between the conscious and unconscious mind; Freud: there are the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious, with 3 systems (id, superego, ego), and defense mechanisms to help manage these conflicts

psychoanalysis

the idea that much of what we do is influenced by factors outside of our conscious awareness; Freud that helping people to access unknown thoughts and feelings could relieve symptoms (free association - saying whatever comes to mind)

unconscious; preconscious

unacceptable ideas and feelings; acceptable ideas and feelings capable of coming conscious

id

Aggressive and sexual drives, inherited from animal ancestors (instincts)

ego

The reality principle, mediates between the id and superego (reality)

superego

The conscience, derived from parents and societal restrictions (morality)

psychosexual stages

the childhood stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) during which, according to Freud, the id's pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones ** see chart

Oedipus(/Electra) complex

psychological fixation of the phallic stage (3-6, genitalia); attraction towards opposite-sex parent, hatred toward same-sex parent

fixation

Freud: a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved

defense mechanisms

develop to help manage conflicts in psychoanalytical theory

repression

the main defense mechanism; keeps unwanted feelings/impulses from consciousness

critiques of psychodynamic approach

hypothesis is not testable, there is a heavy use of case studies, and ignored/de-emphasized contextual and social influences

inferiority complex

early feelings of insecurity drive behavior and personality (Alfred Adler theory of personality)

collective unconscious

certain universal symbols and ideas (archetypes) are present in the unconscious of everyone; Karl Jung's theory of personality

hierarchy of needs

Maslow: basic needs need to be met first, before higher, more comped needs can be addressed

self-actualization

the need to move toward realization of potential, a basic need; personality reflects the hierarchy of needs

unconditional positive regard

basic view of humanistic personality: within this it allows us to develop self-awareness and a more realistic and positive self-concept

self-concept

personality is organized by a set of perceptions about abilities and characteristics that arises from social interactions; the drive or positive regard faced with conditions of worth may lead to incongruence

critiques of humanistic approach

Concepts (e.g. potential for growth, self-actualization) are vague ad difficult to examine; too optimistic?

trait

stable predisposition to act/behave certain way; Person's typical (average) style of behavior & emotion

factor theories of personality

clusters of behavior tendencies that tend to occur together (like "risk taking"-ness); uses factor analysis

Big Five (OCEAN)

trait approach: openness (to experience), conscientiousness (organization, determination, self-control), extraversion, agreeableness (helpful, trusting), neuroticism (highly emotional, upset)

openness

to experience: high on _______ includes active imagination, willingness to consider new ideas, divergent thinking, intellectual curiosity; low on: prefer familiar, do not seek out new experiences, down-to-earth, conventional

conscientiousness

high of: organized, planners, determined, high on self-control; low: careless, easily distracted, undependable, low on self-control

extraversion

high on: energetic, optimistic, friendly, assertive; low on: reserved, independent, even-paced, quiet

agreeableness

high on: helpful, trusting, sympathetic, prefer cooperation; low on: skeptical, critical, irritable, prefer competition

neuroticism

high on: are easily upset, highly emotional, worried, self-conscious; low on: calm, well-adjusted, comfortable, even-tempered

research on the big five

by adulthood, traits are fairly stable (although neuroticism decreases); around 40% of traits are attributable to genetic makeup; describes a range of cultures well; won't necessarily predict specific behaviors

reciprocal determination

Personality traits interact with our social world to result in particular behaviors (social-cognitive theory)

social-cognitive perspective

interactions between environments, interpretations, and behaviors

locus of control

amount of perceived control over environment; impacts our enduring personality traits (social-cognitive theories)

self-efficacy

An individual's belief that he or she is capable of performing a task.

Oral Stage

Birth - 1 year; zone - mouth; consequences - Passive, gullible, immature, and/or manipulative personality

Anal Stage

1 - 3 years; zone - bowel and bladder elimination; consequence - Obsessively organized or neat OR reckless, careless, defiant, disorganized

Phallic Stage

3 - 6 years'; zone - genitalia; Oedipus or Electra complex

Latency Stage

6 - puberty; zone - dormant sexual feelings; consequence - sexual unfufillment

Genital Stage

puberty - death sexual interests mature; consequences - sexual problems, unsatisfactory relationships