psych unit 4 vocab

Attribution theory

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

Discrimination

in social psychology, unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members.

Fundamental attribution error

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

Ingroup

"us"—people with whom we share a common identity.

Ingroup bias

the tendency to favor our own group.

Just-world phenomenon

the tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get.

Other-race effect

the tendency to recall faces of one's own race more accurately than faces of other races.

Outgroup

"them"—those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup.

Personality Psychology

the study of individuals' characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Prejudice

an unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members.

Scapegoat theory

the theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame.

Social Psychology

the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.

Stereotype

a generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people.

actor-observer bias

the tendency for those acting in a situation to attribute their behavior to external causes, but for observers to attribute others' behavior to internal causes. This contributes to the fundamental attribution error (which focuses on our explanations for others' behaviors).

person perception

how we form impressions of ourselves and others, including attributions of behavior.

Attitudes

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

Central route persuasion

occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts.

Cognitive dissonance theory

the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent.

Foot-in-the-door phenomenon

the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request.

Peripheral route persuasion

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

persuasion

changing people’s attitudes, potentially influencing their actions.

Conformity

adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.

Informational social influence

influence resulting from one's willingness to accept others' opinions about reality.

Normative social influence

influence resulting from a person's desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval.

Norms

understood rules for accepted and expected behavior.

obedience

complying with an order or a command.

Culture

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.

Deindividuation

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity.

Group polarization

the enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group.

Groupthink

the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives.

Social facilitation

improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others.

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.

loose culture

a place with flexible and informal norms.

tight culture

a place with clearly defined and reliably imposed norms.

Frustration-Aggression Principle

the principle that frustration—the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal—creates anger, which can generate aggression.

Companionate love

the deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined.

Equity

a condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it.

Mere exposure effect

Passionate love

the phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them.

Self-disclosure

the act of revealing intimate aspects of ourselves to others.

Altruism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others.

Bystander effect

the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present.

Conflict

a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas.

GRIT

Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-Reduction—a strategy designed to decrease international tensions.

Mirror-image perceptions

mutual views often held by conflicting people, as when each side sees itself as ethical and peaceful and views the other side as evil and aggressive.

Reciprocity norm

an expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them.

Self-fulfilling prophecy

a belief that leads to its own fulfillment.

Social exchange theory

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

Social trap

a situation in which the conflicting parties, by each pursuing their self-interest rather than the good of the group, become caught in mutually destructive behavior.

Social-responsibility norm

an expectation that people will help those needing their help.

Superordinate goals

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation.

Personality

an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Psychodynamic Theories

theories that view personality with a focus on the unconscious and the importance of childhood experiences.

Collective Unconscious

Carl Jung's concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species' history.

Defense Mechanisms

in psychoanalytic theory, the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality.

Ego

the largely conscious, "executive" part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality. The ego operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id's desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain.

Free Assocation

in psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing.

Id

a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. The id operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification.

Projective Test

a personality test, such as the Rorschach, that provides ambiguous images designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics.

Psychoanalysis

Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts.

Rorschach Inkblot Test

the most widely used projective test; a set of 10 inkblots, designed by Hermann Rorschach; seeks to identify people's inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots.

Superego

the part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations.

Terror-management Theory

a theory of death-related anxiety; explores people's emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes.

Unconscious

according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware.

Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow's pyramid of human needs, beginning at the base with physiological needs that must first be satisfied before higher-level safety needs and then psychological needs become active.

Humanistic Theories

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

Self-Actualization

according to Maslow, one of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one's potential.

Self-Transcendence

according to Maslow, the striving for identity, meaning, and purpose beyond the self.

Unconditional Positive Regard

a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients develop self-awareness and self-acceptance.

Empirically Derived Test

a test (such as the MMPI) created by selecting from a pool of items those that discriminate between groups.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests. Originally developed to identify emotional disorders (still considered its most appropriate use), this test is now used for many other screening purposes.

Personality Inventory

a questionnaire (often with true-false or agreedisagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits.

Trait

a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act in certain ways, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports.

Big Five Factors

five traits--openess, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism--that describe personality.

Behavioral Approach

focuses on the effects of learning on our personality development.

Reciprocal Determinism

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment.

Social-Cognitive Perspective

views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people's traits (including their thinking) and their social context.

Collectivism

giving priority to the goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly.

Individualism

giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications.

Narcissism

excessive self-love and self-absorption.

Self

in contemporary psychology, assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Self-Efficacy

one's sense of competence and effectiveness.

Self-Esteem

one's feelings of high or low self-worth.

Self-Serving Bias

a readiness to perceive oneself favorably.

Spotlight Effect

overestimating others' noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us).

Drive-Reduction Theory

the idea that a physiological need creates an aroused state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need.

Homeostasis

a tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state; the regulation of any aspect of body chemistry, such as blood glucose, around a particular level.

Incentive

a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior.

Instinct

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

Motivation

a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior.

Physiological Need

a basic bodily requirement.

Yerkes-Dodson Law

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

Achievement Motivation

a desire for significant accomplishment, for mastery of skills or ideas, for control, and for attaining a high standard.

Affiliation Need

the need to build relationships and to feel part of a group.

Extrinsic Motivation

a desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment.

Intrinsic Motivation

a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake.

Ostracism

deliberate social exclusion of individuals or groups.

self-determination theory

the theory that we feel motivated to satisfy our needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness.

Basal Metabolic Rate

the body's resting rate of energy output.