AP Psychology: Social and Personality Pillar

SOCIAL PSYCH

how we think about, influence, and relate to others

Attributions

• how ppl explain behv & mental processes of themselves & others

Dispositional attribution

• person’s internal qualities –personality

Situational attribution

• external circumstances

Attribution theory

•  we explain behaviors by crediting the situation or the person’s internal disposition (personality)

Fundamental attribution error:

• Tendency to blame a person’s disposition (personality) and not consider the situation (that guy cut me off b/c he’s a jerk – not that his wife could be in labor)

Actor-observer bias:

• when its others – blame the person, when its you, blame the situation

Self-serving bias

• self only – our successes are bc we’re awesome, our failures are someone else’s fault

Self-fulfilling prophecy

• a belief that leads to its own fulfillment (I expect you all to pass, you know this, you study – fulfilling my prophecy)

Social comparison:

• we evaluate ourselves based on comparisons to society and social circles

Upward comparison

• compare to ppl you think are better then you (I want to be like them)

Downard comparison

• compare to someone you think is worse off than you (at least I don’t have it as bad as them)

Relative deprivation

• judge what we are lacking relative to others

Explanatory Style:

• how ppl explain good and bad events in their lives and others – either optimistic (pos) or pessimistic (neg)

External locus of control

• chance / outside forces control your fate

Internal locus:

• control your own fate

Mere exposure effect:

• repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them (the more time you spend around something the more you like it)

Attitude formation and change:

• Stereotype: generalized concept about a group (a label)

  • Reduces cognitive load (mental effort) when making decisions

  • Usually the basis of prejudice and discrimination

Prejudice

 neg. reaction towards a person/group w/o any advance experience w/ that group (a belief / emotion)

Discrimination

• different treatment of a person/ group than how you would treat others (a behavior)

Implicit attitudes

unconscious bias

Ingroup bias

• tendency to favor our own group

Ethnocentrism

•  tendency to see your own group as more important than others

Outgroup homogeneity bias:

• perception that out-group members are similar, while the in-group members are diverse 

Just-world phenomenon:

•  tendency for ppl to believe that the world is just and therefore ppl get what they deserve (homeless ppl)

Belief perseverance

•  stick to your original belief even when given evidence to disprove it

Cognitive dissonance

• two opposing thoughts conflict w/ each other, causing discomfort (dissonance), which makes us find ways to justify the situation (cult that was going to be abducted by aliens, smokers)

Social norms

• define expectations & roles for individuals and social situations

Social influence theory

•  ppls thoughts and actions are influenced by others

Normative social influence

we conform to gain approval or to not stand out from the group (be part of the norm)

Informational social influence

• e conform to others b/c we think their opinions must be right (change answers to math hw)

Elaboration likelihood model

• 2 ways to persuade 

Central route to persuasion

•  change 

  people’s attitudes through logical arguments and explanations. Leads to long term behavior change

Peripheral route to persuasion

change people’s attitudes through incidental cues (like a speaker’s attractiveness). Can also use emotional appeals. Leads to temporary behavior changes

Halo effect

•  overall impression of a person  / thing is influenced by a single pos. trait or characteristics

Foot in the door phenomenon

• complying w/ a small request then leads to going along w/ a larger request (can I have $5? Yes. Now can I have $25?)

Door in the face phenomenon:

• a large request is turned down, when then leads you to be more likely to comply w/ a small request (can I have $100? Heck no! How about $20? Okay) 

Conformity:

change in a person’s behv to more closely match the group classic experiment  – showed lines of different lengths, confederates gave wrong answers to see if others would go along w/ it

factors influence conformity:

1. Person is insecure

2. Group has 3 or more ppl

3. Group is unanimous

4. Person admires group

5. Person has no prior commitment to a response

6. Others observe their behavior

7. Cultural expectations (collectivistic)

Obedience

complying w/ an order or command - classic experiment: participants were to “teach” another individual using shocks. ~65% of participants would administer lethal shocks to another person simply b/c they were told

• factors that influence obedience:

1. Proximity of authority figure

2. Legitimacy or prestige of the figure

3. Distance from the victim

4. Role models for defiance

Culture influences

• conformity and obedience:

Collectivistic

• encourages social and group ties (more conformity / obedience)

Individualistic:

• Encourages individuality (less conform / obedience)

Group polarization

• the more time spent w/ a group the stronger their thoughts / opinions will become (must have same opinion already)

Groupthink

• desire for harmony w/in a group leads to everyone going along w/ the same thinking, ignoring other possibilities or bad ideas

Bystander effect (diffusion of responsibility)

•  the more ppl around the less likely we are to help someone in need (Kitty Genovese)

Deindividuation

• loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that encourage anonymity (mob mentality)

Social loafing

• tendency for ppl in a group to exert less effort when pooling their effort together (tug of war)

Social facilitation

• perform better on simple or well learned tasks in the presence of others         

False-consensus effect:

• we overestimate the degree to which everyone else thinks / acts the way we do

Superordinate goals:

•  two or more groups work together to achieve a common goal, creates cohesiveness

Social trap

•  ppl put their own needs before the group needs, results in bad outcome (choose 5 or 15 demo)

Industrial / Organizational Psych:

• psych of work – best practices, relationships in the workplace or w/ company, how you feel about job (burnout)

Altruism (prosocial behavior)

 unselfish interest in helping other ppl – happens bs of Social reciprocity norm and social responsiblity norm

Social reciprocity norm

• we give so we can get (help me and I’ll help you)

Social responsibility norm

• act in ways that benefit the community (moral sense of good)

STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT (ZIMBARDO):

• classic “experiment” where individuals were assigned to be guards / prisoners. w/in days they took on their roles and went too far. Highly unethical

Psychodynamic explanation:

• personality is largely unconscious, and shaped from early childhood experiences

id

• our hidden true wants and desires (devil on your shoulder) our moral conscious (angel on your shoulder)

superego

•  our moral conscious (angel on your shoulder)

ego

• part of the mind / personality that deals w/ every day reality – what ppl see – mediates bw the id and super ego (its you!)

Defense mechanisms

egos attempt to protect your from threats

Repression

•  push memories back into the unconscious mind (sexual abuse is too traumatic to deal w/ so you repress it)

Regression:

• go into an earlier development period in the face of stress (during exam week you start to suck your thumb)

Denial

Rationalization:

Displacement

Projection

Reaction formation:

Sublimation:

Projective Tests:

Traits

• enduring personality characteristics, people can be described by these – have strong or weak tendencies. They are stable, genetic, and predict other attributes.

BIG FIVE personality

•  (acronym OCEAN) You vary on each of these: Extraversion,Conscientiousness,Openness,Agreeableness,Neuroticism

Openness

• high levels = imaginative, independent, like variety; low = not open to change

Conscientiousness:

• organized, careful, disciplined; low = disorganized and messy

Extraversion

•  high levels = sociable, likes being center of attention, meeting new ppl - (opposite is introversion: shy, timid, reserved)

Agreeableness:

• high levels =  soft hearted, trusting, helpful; low levels = suspicious, not a team player

Neuroticism

• (emotional stability): high levels = mood swings, easy to stress; low = emotional stable, handles stress

Personality inventories

special name for a test that uses factor analysis: statistical procedure used to identify similar

Humanistic explanation: 

• Emphasized personal growth and free will. 

• Self-actualization

• Emphasis on unconditional positive regard:  attitude of acceptance regardless of circumstances

Self-actualization:

• fulfilling your full potential as person – self-actualized ppl are self aware, caring, spontaneous, open, secure

Social-cognitive explanation:

• Behavior is a complex interaction of inner process and environmental influence – which influences personality

• Emphasizes conscious awareness, beliefs, expectations, and goals

RECIPROCAL DETERMINISM:

• interaction of behavior, cognitions, and environment make up you.

{Joe is shy which makes him anxious in social situations (personal factor) – he just moved to a new school (environment) – so he doesn’t talk to others much during lunch and bw classes (behavior). These factors reinforce each other.}

Self-efficacy:

belief that one can succeed, so you ensure you do through actions - this influences your

Self-concept

• how you view yourself in relation to others – which influences your triangle and self-efficacy

INSTINCT THEORY:

• innate, fixed patterns in response to stimuli (nest building, mating) (explains animal motivation) 

DRIVE REDUCTION:

 physiological need creates aroused tension (drive) that motivates you to satisfy the need (driven by homeostasis:  equilibrium). “I’m hungry, I seek out food to decrease my hunger”

Approach approach conflict:

• win – win situation; conflict is which win you have to choose (you can eat out at ONE of your two favorite restaurants – you can only choose one though)

Approach avoidance conflict:

• win – lose situation; outcome has positive and negative aspects – conflict is you having to deal with it

Avoidance avoidance conflict

• lose – lose; both outcomes are bad but you have to choose one (clean your room or do your homework)

SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY:

• motivated intrinsically or extrinsically

Intrinsic motivation:

• inner motivation – you do it b/c you like it

Extrinsic motivation

• motivation to obtain a reward (trophy)

INCENTIVE THEORY:

• driven by external rewards (extrinsic motivation)

AROUSAL THEORY:

• sometimes we’re driven to increase arousal through curiosity, experimentation, thrill seeking – 2 associated theories:

YERKES DODSON LAW):

• : humans seek optimum levels of arousal –easier tasks requires more arousal, harder tasks need less. Best is moderate levels

SENSATION SEEKING THEORY:

• need a varied amount of novel (new) experiences to be happy, so we seek it out – 4 types: , thrill-seeking, experience-seeking, and disinhibition, and boredom

Experience seeking:

•  (desire to try new things)

Thrill / adventure seeking

• attraction to risky things (sky diving)