Psych 202 Final

social psychology

area of psychology looking at how people affect one another and the power of the situation

situationism

view that our behavior and actions are determined by our immediate environment and surroundings

dispositionism

idea that behavior is determined by internal factors

internal factor

attribute of a person and includes personality traits and temperament

fundamental attribution error

failing to recognize that behavior can be due to other situational variables

halo effect

tendency to let the overall impression of an individual color the way we feel about them

collectivistic culture

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

individualistic culture

culture that focuses on individual achievement and autonomy

actor-observer bias

phenomenon of attributing other people's behavior to internal forces while attributing our own behavior to external/situational factors

alogia

reduced speech output (negative symptom of schizophrenia)

avolition

lack of motivation to engage in self-initiation and meaningful activity (negative symptom of schizophrenia)

asociality

social withdrawal (negative symptom of schizophrenia)

anhedonia

inability to experience pleasure (negative symptom of schizophrenia)

attribution

a belief about the cause of a result

self-serving bias

tendency to explain our successes as due to dispositional characteristics but explain failures as situational factors

just-world hypothesis

belief that people get the outcome they deserve

social role

pattern of behavior that is expected of a person in a given setting or group

social norm

group's expectation of what is appropriate and acceptance behavior for its members; expectations

script

a person's knowledge about the sequence of events

attitude

our evaluation of a person, an idea, or object

cognitive dissonance

psychological discomfort arising from holding two or more inconsistent attitudes, behaviors, or cognitions

justification of effort

suggests we value goals and achievements we put a lot of effort into

persuasion

process of changing our attitude towards something based on some kind of communication

elaboration likelihood model of persuasion

two methods for going about persuasion: central and peripheral; considers variables of the attitude change approach

central route of persusation

route of persuasion that is logic driven and uses data and facts to convince people of an argument's worthiness

peripheral route of persuastion

indirect route of persuasion that uses peripheral cues to associate positivity with the message

foot in the door technique

persuader gets a person to agree to bestow a small favor to buy a small item, only to later request a larger favor or purchase of a bigger item

confederate

a person who is aware of the experiment and works for the researcher

conformity

the change in a person's behavior to go along with the group, even if they do not agree with the group

asch effect

influence of the group majority on an individual's judgement

normative social influence

when people conform to the group to fit in, feel good, or to be accepted by the group

informational social influence

when people conform because they believe the group is competent and has the correct information, particularly when the task is ambiguous

obedience

change of an individual's behavior to comply with a demand by an authority figure

groupthink

modifications of opinions of members of a group to align with what they think is the group consensus

group-polarization

strengthening of an original group attitude after the discussion of views within the group

social loafing

involves a reduction in individual output on group tasks

deindividuation

situations in which a person may feel a sense of anonymity and therefore a reduction in accountability and sense of self when among others

prejudice

a negative attitude and feeling toward an individual based solely on one's membership in a particular social group

stereotype

specific belief or assumption about individuals based solely on their membership in a group, regardless of their individual characteristics

discrimination

negative action toward an individual as a result of one's membership in a particular group

self-fulfilling prophecy

expectation held by a person that alters their behavior in a way that tend to make it true

in-group

group we we identify with or see ourselves or belonging to

out-group

a group we identify as fundamentally different from us

in-group bias

preference for our own group over other groups

scapegoating

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

aggression

seeking to cause harm or pain to another person

hostile aggression

aggression motivated by feelings of anger with intent to cause pain

instrumental aggression

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

bystander effect

when a witness does not volunteer to help a person in distress

diffusion of responsibility

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

prosocial behavior

voluntary behavior with the intent to help other people

altruism

people's desire to help others even if the costs outweigh the benefits

empathy

capacity to understand another person's perspective, to feel with they feel

homophily

tendency for people to form social networks, including friendships, marriage, and other relationships with others who are similar

reciprocity

give and take in relationships

self-disclosure

sharing of personal information

triangle theory of love

defines types of love, including consummate love

consummate love

having all three component s of love, intimacy, passion, and commitment

liking

having intimacy but no passion or commitment

empty love

only commitment but not passion or intimacy

infatuation

only passion but not intimacy or commitment

compassionate love

no passion; intimacy and commitment; close friendships and family relationships

romantic love

no commitment, just intimacy and passion

fatuous love

no intimacy, just passion and commitment; i.e. long term affair

social exchange theory

theory that we keep of tally of costs and benefits of maintaining a relationship with others

stress

a process whereby an individual perceives and responds to events that they appraise as overwhelming or threatening to their well-being

stressor

demanding and threatening events

primary appraisal

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

secondary appraisal

judgement of the options available to cope with a stressor and how effective these options will be

eustress

good kind of stress associated with positive feelings, optimal health, and good performance

distress

excessive and debilitating stress

fight or flight

activation of sympathetic and endocrine systems with the arrival of a stressor, deciding whether to leave or take the challenge head on

general adaptation syndrome

nonspecific physiological response to stress, three steps

alarm reaction

body's immediate reaction upon facing a threat or emergency, analogous to fight or flight (1st step of general adaptation syndrome)

resistance

body adapts to the stressor, but also alert with less intensity (2nd step of general adaptation syndrome)

exhaustion

no longer able to adapt to the stressor, illness and disease take a toll on the body's organs (3rd step of general adaptation syndrome)

cortisol

common stress hormone

psychophysiological disorders

physical disorders or diseases whose symptoms are brought about or worsened by stress and emotional factors

immunosupression

decreased effectiveness or the immune system

psychoneuroimmunology

how psychological factors such as stress influence the immune system and functioning

lymphocytes

white blood cells that circulate in the body's fluids, important to immune response

hypertension

high blood pressure

type a

personality type that is a driven workaholic, always in a rush

type b

personality type that is more relaxed and laid back

negative affectivity

tendency to experience distressed emotional states involving anger, contempts, disgust, fear and nervousness

coping

mental and behavioral efforts that we use to deal with problems relating to stress

problem-focused coping

identifying the problem of a stressor, finding solutions, weighing costs and benefits, etc.

emotion-focused coping

efforts to reduce negative emotions, like avoiding the problem or positive comparisons with others, reappraisal

perceived control

our beliefs about our personal capacity to exert influence over and shape outcomes

social support

the soothing impact of family, friends

biofeedback

using electric equipment to accurately measure a person's neuromuscular and autonomic activity

pleasant life

day to day pleasures that bring joy, excitement

good life

identifying skills and abilities and using these to enrich our lives

meaningful life

a life with a sense of fulfillment

positive effect

pleasurable engagement with the environment improves psychological well-being

flow

particular experience that is so engaging that it becomes worth doing for its own sake

psychological disorder

syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotional regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction

etiology

study of treatment of psychological disorders

atypical

deviating from the norm; could signify the presence of a disorder but not necessarily

harmful dysfunction

an internal mechanisms breaks down and can no longer perform its normal function