305 final textbook

gender stereotypes

beliefs that we hold about how men and women differ or are supposed to differ, not based on reality

minimalist

those who describe sex differences as small and inconsequential

maximalist

those who describe sex differences as comparable in magnitude to effect sizes in other areas of psychology, important to consider, and recommend that they shouldn’t be trivialized

perceptual sensitivity

the ability to detect subtle stimuli from the environment

surgency

a cluster of behaviours including approach behaviour, high activity, and impulsivity

negative affectivity

components such as anger, sadness, difficulty, and amount of stress

trust

the proclivity to cooperate with others, giving others the benefit of the doubt and viewing one’s fellow human beings as basically good at heart

tender-mindedness

a nurturant proclivity, having empathy for others and being sympathetic with those who are downtrodden

aggressiveness

tendency to engage in behaviours that cause harm to self or others, higher in men

rumination

repeatedly dousing on one’s symptoms or distress, key contributor to women’s more frequent experience of depression

people-things dimension

refers to the nature of vocational interests, one end prefers vocations that deal with impersonal tasks (machines, tools, materials) and other end prefers social occupations that involve thinking, caring, or directing others

systemizing

the drive to comprehend how things work

masculinity

on traditional measures, scales contain items reflecting assertiveness, boldness, dominance, self-sufficiency, and instrumentality

femininity

on traditional measures, scales contain items reflecting nurturance, empathy, and expression of emotions

instrumentality

personality traits that involve working with objects, getting tasks completed in a direct fashion, showing independence from others, and displaying self-sufficiency

expressiveness

the ease with which one can express emotions such as crying, showing empathy for others’ troubles and nurturance for those in need

gender schemas

cognitive orientations that lead individuals to process social information on the basis of sex-linked associations

hegemonic masculinity

involves traditional and culturally idealized notions of men as successful, self-reliant, socially dominant, tough and competitive, lacking in emotional sensitivity, and fearful of being feminine

unmitigated agency

associated with problems in relationships and psychological well-being. negative form of masculinity

unmitigated communion

associated with the subjugation of one’s own needs and an over-dependence on others. negative form of femininity

social categories

the cognitive component that describes the ways individuals classify other people into groups, such as ‘cads’ and ‘dad’. this cognitive component is one aspect of stereotyping

gender dysphoria

condition in which one’s sex or gender assigned at birth causes significant distress

socialization theory

argues that women and men become different because they’re reinforced by parents, teachers, and the media to be either masculine or feminine. one of the most widely held theories of sex differences

social learning theory

general theoretical view emphasizing the ways in which the presence of others influences people’s behaviour, thoughts, or feelings. often combined with learning principles, the emphasis is on how people acquire beliefs, values, skills, and attitudes trough social experiences

social role theory

states that sex differences originate because men and women are distributed differentially into occupational and family roles and children learn the behaviours that are linked to these roles

hormonal theories

argue that sex differences in behaviours arise not because of the social environment but because the sexes have physiological differences

cultural variations

within group similarities and between group differences which can be of any sort

two elements that explain cultural variances

a universal underlying mechanism and environmental differences in the degree to which the underlying mechanism is activated

evoked culture

human behaviors and cultural norms are biologically universal adaptations triggered by specific environmental cues.

egalitarianism

how much a particular group displays equal treatment of all individuals within that group

culture of honour

cultures where insults are viewed as highly offensive public challenges that must be met with confrontation, the degree to which this becomes the case rests with economics and the manner in which food is obtained

conformity

tendency to adapt behaviour in response to group pressure

authoritarianism

a trait marked by blind allegiance to conventional ideas, respect for submission to authority, and belief in aggression towards those who disagree or who are different

transmitted cultures

representations originally in the mind of one or more people that are transmitted to the minds of others

cultural variants that are forms of transmitted culture

differences in moral values, self-concept, and levels of self-enhancement

collectivism

cultural orientation that focus on relationships with others, interdependence, an communion

individualism

cultural orientation that focuses on uniqueness, independence, and agency

value orientation

An individual’s beliefs about the importance or primacy of personal versus collective (i.e., socially relevant) goals.

self-construal

the grounds for self-definition, the extent to which the self is defined indecently or interdependently with others

interdependence

involves how you are affiliated with, attached to, or engaged in the larger group of which you are a member

independence

involves how you differentiate yourself from the larger group and includes your unique abilities, personal internal motives, and personality dispositions

holistic

a way of processing information that involves attention to relationships, contexts, and links between the focal objects and the field as a whole

analytic

a way of processing information detached from its context and a reliance on rules about the categories to explain behaviour

acculturation

the process of adapting to the ways of life and beliefs common in the new culture

metapersonal self-contrusal

a self-concept involving definition of the self with a much broader context, such as the global community, humankind, the planet, or the cosmos

self-enhancement

the tendency to describe and present oneself using positive attributes. stable over time and hence is an enduring feature of personality

within-culture variations

differences in a particular culture that can arise from sources including SES, historical era, or racial context

cultural universals

features of personality that are common to everyone in all cultures such as basic emotional expressions

whorfian hypothesis

theory that language creates thought and experience

interpersonal relatedness

a personality factor that may be unique to eastern cultures, involves traits such as harmony and reciprocity in relationships

stress

the subjective feeling produced by uncontrollable and threatening events

interactional model

objective events happen to a person, but personality factors determine their impact. personality moderates (influences) the relationship between stress and illness

transactional model

personality can influence coping as in the interactional model, can influence how the person appraises or interprets the events, and can influence exposure to the events themselves

moderator

a variable that influences the direction or degree of relationship between other variables

health behaviour model

personality affects health indirectly through health promoting or degrading behaviours

mediation

when the effect of one variable on another goes through a third variable

predisposition model

suggests that associations may exist between personality and illness because a third variable is causing them both

illness behaviour model

personality influences the degree to which a person perceives and pays attention to bodily sensations and the degree to which a person will interpret and label those sensations as an illness

healthy neuroticism

increased hyper vigilance about one’s health especially when it’s paired with conscientiousness

stressors

events that are extreme, produce opposing tendencies in us, and are outside of our control

general adaptation syndrome

when a stressor appears people experience the alarm stage, if it continues, the resistance stage begins, and the third stage is exhaustion when the stressor remains constant

alarm stage

Consists of the flight-or-fight response of the sympathetic nervous system and the associated peripheral nervous system reactions. These include the release of hormones, which prepare our bodies for challenge.

resistance stage

when the body is using its resources at an above-average rate, even though the immediate fight-or-flight response has subsided. Stress is being resisted, but the effort is making demands on the person’s resources and energy

exhaustion stage

The third stage in Selye’s general adaptation syndrome (GAS). Selye felt that this was the stage where we are most susceptible to illness and disease, as our physiological resources are depleted

acute stress

results from the sudden onset of demands that seem to be beyond control, often experienced as tension headaches, emotional upsets, gastrointestinal disturbances, and feelings of agitations

episodic acute stress

repeated acute stress such as having to work at more than one job every day, needing to meet a recurring deadline

traumatic stress

a massive instance of acute stress, can potentially lead to PTSD

chronic stress

stress that does not end, can result in systemic diseases such as diabetes, decreased immune system functioning, or cardiovascular disease

additive effects

the effects of different kinds of stress that add up over time

primary appraisal

when the person perceives an event as stressful or not

secondary appraisal

when the person concludes whether they have the resources to cope with the demands of an event

attributional optimism

explanatory stye in which people make unstable, specific and external explanations for bad events

dispositional optimism

the expectation that in the future good events will be plentiful and bad events will be rare

optimistic bias

the average person rates risk as below what is truly average, leading to people ignoring or minimizing the risks inherent in life

positive reappraisal

a cognitive process whereby a person focuses on the good in what is happening or has happened to them, includes seeing opportunities for growth and seeing how one’s efforts can benefit people

problem focused coping

thoughts and behaviours that manage or solve the underlying cause of stress by giving one a sense of control

creating positive events

humour can have added benefit of generating positive emotional moments during stress

emotional inhibition

suppression of emotional expressions, often thought of as a trait

emotion focused coping

efforts to manage emotions generated by a stressful situation

relationship focused coping

efforts to manage social relationships during stressful periods

hardy personality

a sense of control, feeling committed and involved in life, and perceiving events as challenges rather than threats. people with this personality are better able to resist the negative effects of stress

competitive achievement motivation

subtrait in type A behaviour pattern. Type A people like to work hard and achieve goals, they’re at their best when they compete

time urgency

subtrait in the Type A personality, they hate wasting tie and are always in a hurry

hostility

tendency to respond to everyday frustrations with anger and aggression, to become irritable and feel frequent resentment, act rude and antagonistic. subtrait in type A behaviour pattern

frustration

high arousal subjective feeling when a person is blocked from attaining a goal

arteriosclerosis

hardening or blocking of arteries, the subsequent shortage of blood to the heart becomes a heart attack

type D personality

a concept in medical psychology characterized by a combination of high negative affectivity (e.g., worry, sadness, irritability) and high social inhibition (e.g., suppressing emotions due to fear of rejection)

high cortisol levels over time

contributes to negative effects such as increased inflammation in the arteries

personality disorder

an enduring pattern of experience and behaviour that differs greatly from the expectations of the individual’s culture, that usually manifests in more than one of the areas: the way a person thinks, feels, gets along with others, or controls behaviour

schizoid PD

a PD involving detachment from normal social relations, the person appears to have no need/desire for intimate relationships, friendship, or family

schizotypal PD

a PD involving acute discomfort in social relationships, they feel that they are different from others and don’t fit in the group, and tend to be suspicious of others and are seen as odd

paranoid PD

a PD involving extreme distrust of others, they assume that others are out to deceive them even when there’s no evidence, they feel that they have been injured by others, misinterpret social event and hold resentment for slights or perceived insults

ASPD (antisocial)

a PD involving a general disregard for others, aka sociopath or psychopath, they’re easily irritated, assaultive, reckless, irresponsible, glib (superficially charming)

BPD

a PD marked by instability in all aspects of life (relationships, emotions, behaviour, self-image), they have higher rate of childhood physical or sexual abuse, neglect, or early parental loss

histrionic PD

a PD involving excessive attention seeking and emotionality, they draw attention to themselves and may appear charming or flirtatious even inappropriately

avoidant PD

a PD involving pervasive feeling of inadequacy and sensitivity to criticism, they avoid situations where others have the chance to criticize them, even avoiding making new friends or going to new places

dependent PD

a PD involving excessive need to be taken care of, they act submissive and need lots of encouragement and advice from others

OCPD

a PD involving a preoccupation with order and perfection, attention to detail even for trivial things and devotion to work at the expanse of relationships

neurotic paradox

the fact that people with disorders or other problems with living often exhibit behaviours that exacerbate, rather than lessen, their problems

eye blink startle method

measuring how anxious someone is based on how fast and hard they blink when they hear a loud noise