Psychology 1001-Module 4-7 (Final Exam Review)

Actor-Observer Bias

Phenomenon of explaining other people’s behaviours are due to internal factors and our own behaviours are due to situational forces

Ageism

Prejudice and discrimination toward individuals based solely on their age

Aggression

Seeking to cause harm or pain to another person

Altruism

Humans’ desire to help others even if the costs outweigh the benefits of helping

Asch Effect

Group majority influences an individual’s judgment, even when the judgment is inaccurate

Attitude

Evaluations of or feelings toward a person, idea, or object that are typically positive or negative

Attribution

Explanation for the behaviour of other people

Bullying

A person, often an adolescent, being treated negatively repeatedly and over time

Bystander Effect

Situation in which a witness or bystander does not volunteer to help a victim or person in distress

Central Route Persuasion

Logic-driven arguments using data and facts to convince people of an argument’s worthiness

Cognitive Dissonance

Psychological discomfort that arises from a conflict in a person’s behaviours, attitudes, or beliefs that runs counter to one’s positive self-perception

Collectivist Culture

Culture that focuses on communal relationships with others such as family, friends, and community

Companionate Love

Type of love consisting of intimacy and commitment, but not passion; associated with close friendships and family relationships

Confederate

Person who works for a researcher and is aware of the experiment, but who acts as a participant; used to manipulate social situations as part of the research design

Confirmation Bias

Seeking out information that supports our stereotypes while ignoring information that is inconsistent with out stereotypes

Conformity

When individuals change their behaviour to go along with the group even if they do not agree with the group

Consummate Love

Type of love occurring when intimacy, passion, and commitment are all present

Cyberbullying

Repeated behaviour that is intended to cause psychological or emotional harm to another person that takes place online

Diffusion of Responsibility

Tendency for no one in a group to help because the responsibility to help is spread throughout the group

Discrimination

Negative actions toward individuals as a result of their membership in a particular group

Dispositionism

Describes a perspective common to personality psychologists, which asserts that our behaviour is determined by internal factors, such as personality traits and temperament

Empathy

Capacity to understand another person’s perspective, to feel what he or she feels

Foot-in-the-Door Technique

Persuasion of one person by another person, encouraging a person to agree to a small favour, or to buy a small item, only to later request a larger favour or purchase a larger item

Fundamental Attribution Error

Tendency to overemphasize internal factors as attributions for behaviour and underestimate the power of the situation

Group Polarization

Strengthening of the original group attitude after discussing views within the group

Groupthink

Group members modify their opinions to match what they believe is the group consensus

Homophily

Tendency for people to form social networks, including friendships, marriage, business relationships, and many other types of relationships, with others who are similar

Hostile Aggression

Aggression motivated by feelings of anger with intent to cause pain

In-Group

Group that we identify with or see ourselves as belonging to

In-Group Bias

Preference for our own group over other groups

Individualistic Culture

Culture that focuses on individual achievement and autonomy

Informational Social Influence

Conformity to a group form prompted by the belief that the group is competent and has the correct information

Instrumental Aggression

Aggression motivated by achieving a goal and does not necessarily involve intent to cause pain

Internal Factor

Internal attribute of a person, such as personality traits or temperament

Just-World Hypothesis

Ideology common in the United States that people get the outcomes they deserve

Justification of Effort

Theory that people value goals and achievements more when they have put more effort into them

Normative Social Influence

Conformity to a group norm to fit in, feel good, and be accepted by the group

Obedience

Change of behaviour to please an authority figure or to avoid aversive consequences

Out-Group

Group that we don’t belong to, one that we view as fundamentally different from us

Peripheral Route Persuasion

One person persuades another person; an indirect route that relies on association of peripheral cues (such as positive emotions and celebrity endorsement) to associate positivity with a message

Persuasion

Process of changing our attitude toward something based on some form of communication

Prejudice

Negative attitudes and feelings toward individuals based solely on their membership in a particular group

Prosocial Behaviour

Voluntary behaviour with the intent to help other people

Racism

Prejudice and discrimination toward individuals based solely on their race

Reciprocity

Give and take in relationships

Romantic Love

Type of love consisting of intimacy and passion, but no commitment

Scapegoating

Act of blaming an out-group when the in-group experiences frustration or is blocked from obtaining a goal

Script

Person’s knowledge about the sequence of events in a specific setting

Self-Disclosure

Sharing personal information in relationships

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Treating stereotyped group members according to our biased expectations only to have this treatment influence the individual to act according to our stereotypic expectations, thus confirming our stereotypic beliefs

Self-Serving Bias

Tendency for individuals to take credit by making dispositional or internal attributions for positive outcomes and situational or external attributions for negative outcomes

Sexism

Prejudice and discrimination toward individuals based on their sex

Situationism

Describes a perspective that behaviour and actions are determined by the immediate environment and surroundings; a view promoted by social psychologists

Social Exchange Theory

Humans act as naïve economists in keeping a tally of the ratio of costs and benefits of forming and maintain a relationship, with the goal to maximize benefits and minimize costs

Social Facilitation

Improved performance when an audience is watching versus when the individual performs the behaviour alone

Social Loafing

Exertion of less effort by a person working in a group because the individual performance cannot be evaluated separately from the group, thus causing performance decline on easy tasks

Social Norm

Group’s expectations regarding what is appropriate and acceptable for the thoughts and behaviour of its members

Social Psychology

Field of psychology that examines how people impact or affect each other, with particular focus on the power of the situation

Social Role

Socially defined pattern of behaviour that is expected of a person in a given setting or group

Stanford Prison Experiment

Stanford University conducted an experiment in a mock prison that demonstrated the power of social roles, socials norms, and scripts

Stereotype

Specific beliefs or assumptions about individuals based solely on their membership in a group, regardless of their individual characteristics

Triangular Theory of Love

Model of love based on three components: intimacy, passion, and commitment; several types of love exist, depending on the presence or absence of each of these components

Alarm Reaction

First stage of the general adaptation syndrome; characterized as the body’s immediate physiological reaction to a threatening situation or some other emergency; analogous to the fight-or-flight response

Asthma

Psychophysiological disorder in which the airways of the respiratory system become obstructed, leading to great difficulty expelling air from the lungs

Biofeedback

Stress-reduction technique using electronic equipment to measure a person’s involuntary (neuromuscular and autonomic) activity and provide feedback to help the person gain a level of voluntary control over these processes

Cardiovascular Disorders

Disorders that involve the heart and blood circulation system

Coping

Mental or behavioural efforts used to manage problems relating to stress, including its cause and the unpleasant feelings and emotions it produces

Cortisol

Stress hormone released by the adrenal glands when encountering a stressor; helps to provide a boost of energy, thereby preparing the individual to take action

Daily Hassles

Minor irritations and annoyances that are part of our everyday lives and are capable of producing stress

Distress

Bad form of stress; usually high in intensity; often leads to exhaustion, fatigue, feeling burned out; associated with erosions in performance and health

Eustress

Good form of stress; low to moderate in intensity; associated with positive feelings, as well as optimal health and performance

Fight-or-Flight Response

Set of physiological reactions (increase in blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate, and sweat) that occur when an individual encounters a perceived threat; these reactions are produced by activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine system

Flow

State involving intense engagement in an activity; usually is experienced when participating in creative, work, and leisure endeavours

General Adaptation Syndrome

Hans Selys’s three-stage model of the body’s physiological reactions to stress and the process of stress adaptation: alarm reaction, stage of resistance, and sage of exhaustion

Happiness

Enduring state of mind consisting of joy, contentment, and other positive emotions; the sense that one’s life has meaning and value

Health Psychology

Subfield of psychology devoted to studying psychological influences on health, illness, and how people respond when they become ill

Heart Disease

Several types of adverse heart conditions, including those that involve the heart’s arteries or valves or those involving the inability of the heart to pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs; can include heart attack and stroke

Hypertension

High blood pressure

Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis

Set of structures found in both the limbic system (hypothalamus) and the endocrine system (pituitary gland and adrenal glands) that regulate many of the body’s physiological reactions to stress through the release of hormones

Immune System

Various structures, cells, and mechanisms that protect the body from foreign substances that can damage the body’s tissues and organs

Immunosuppression

Decreased effectiveness of the immune system

Job Burnout

General sense of emotional exhaustion and cynicism in relation to one’s job; consists of three dimensions: exhaustion, depersonalization, and sense of diminished personal accomplishment

Job Strain

Work situation involving the combination of excessive job demands and workload with little decision making latitude or job control

Lymphocytes

White blood cells that circulate in the body’s fluids and are especially important in the body’s immune response

Negative Affectivity

Tendency to experience distressed emotional states involving anger, contempt, disgust, guilt, fear, and nervousness

Optimism

Tendency toward a positive outlook and positive expectations

Perceived Control

Peoples’ beliefs concerning their capacity to influence and shape outcomes in their lives

Positive Affect

State or a trait that involves pleasurable engagement with the environment, the dimensions of which include happiness, joy, enthusiasm, alternes, and excitement

Positive Psychology

Scientific area of study seeking to identify and promote those qualities that lead to happy, fulfilled, and contented lives

Primary Appraisal

Judgment about the degree of potential harm or threat to well-being that a stressor might entail

Psychoneuroimmunology

Field that studies how psychological factors (such as stress) influence the immune system and immune functioning

Psychophysiological Disorders

Physical disorders or diseases in which symptoms are brought about or worsened by stress and emotional factors

Relaxation Response Technique

Stress reduction technique combining elements of relaxation and meditation

Secondary Appraisal

Judgment of options available to cope with a stressor and their potential effectiveness

Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)

Popular scale designed to measure stress; consists of 43 potentially stressful events, each which has a numerical value quantifying how much readjustment is associated with the event

Social Support

Soothing and often beneficial support of others; can take different forms, such as advice, guidance, encouragement, acceptance, emotional comfort, and tangible assistance

Stage of Exhaustion

Third stage of the general adaptation syndrome; the body’s ability to resist stress becomes depleted; illness, disease, and even death may occur

Stage of Resistance

Second stage of the general adaptation syndrome; the body adapts to a stressor for a period of time

Stress

Process whereby an individual perceives and responds to events that one appraises as overwhelming or threatening to one’s well-being

Stressors

Environmental events that may be judged as threatening or demanding; stimuli that initiate the stress process