AP Pysch Unit 4 Social Psychology and Personality

attribution

explaining one's behavior by identifying internal/external factors (personality/environment)

dispositional attribution

explains behavior on internal factors (personality traits)

situational attribution

explains behavior on external factors (environmental influences)

explanatory style

cognitive way people explain to themselves why events happened

optimism

tendency to expect good outcomes.

pessimism

tendency to focus on the negative and expect the worst

fundamental attribution error

tendency to overemphasize internal factors when explaining others behavior, while understanding situational influences.

actor-observer bias

People attribute their own actions to external factors but explain others behaviors using internal characteristics.

self-serving bias

tendency to attribute personal success to internal factors (effort) while blaming failures on external circumstances

internal locus of control

belief that ones actions/decisions influence life outcomes

external locus of control

belief that external factors (luck) determine life outcomes.

person perception

the process of forming impressions of others

mere exposure effect

repeated exposure to stimuli increases the liking of them

self-fulfilling prophecy

a person's expectations influence their behaviors in a way that causes expectations to come true.

social comparison

the comparison of oneself to others in ways that raise one's self-esteem

upward social comparison

comparing ourselves to people who are better than us, for inspiration

downward social comparison

comparing ourselves to people who are worse than us, to feel better about ourselves

relative deprivation

comparing yourself to other and thinking that you are worse off/lacking resources (you don't get extra credit but friend does)

streotype

A generalized belief about a group of people

prejudice

A negative attitude toward a person based on their group

discrimination

unfair treatment of people, results in a disadvantage for them.

implicit bias

attitudes or stereotypes that influence someones thoughts on a certain group

just-world phenomenon

believe on good things happen to good people/bad things happen to bad people

out-group homogeneity bias

our tendency to see out-group members as being pretty much all alike but not in group members

out-group

any group with which an individual does not belong

in group bias

the tendency to favor one's own group

in-group

group where someone belongs and feels a sense of loyalty

ethnocentrism

Belief in the superiority of one's group

belief perseverance

sticking to our initial beliefs even when evidence contradicts them

cognitive dissonance

when someone holds in conflicting beliefs, leads to changing their attitude

social norms

shared exceptions, unwritten rules

social influence theory

behaviors are shaped by expectations of others

normative social influence

conformity to a group norm to fit in and be accepted by the group

informational social influence

changing belief bc they think the other people have accurate knowlegde

persuasion

influencing ones attitudes through reasoning/appeal

the elaboration likelihood model

persuasion that explains how people process persuasive messages through 2 routes (central/peripheral)

central route persuasion

careful evaluation of logical arguments/evidence, leads to long lasting attitude change

peripheral route persuasion

people are influenced by incidental cues, a speaker's attractiveness, short-term

halo effect

judging a book by its cover

foot-in-the-door

agreeing to a small request, increasing likelihood of agreeing to a larger one later.

door-in-the-face

large unreasonable request first then smaller one that is more likely to be accepted

conformity

adjusting thoughts, behaviors to match those of a group

normative social influence

conforming to fit in or avoid standing out

informational social influence

conforming bc you think the group knows better than you

obedicence

following orders from an authority figure

individualism

The unique importance of each individual

collectivism

giving priority to the goals of one's group rather than over the individual

multiculturalism

valuing and respecting differences in culture.

group polarization

group discussions amplifying opinions

groupthink

desire for conformity, leads to poor decision making

diffusion of responsibility

individual feeling less personal accountability for their actions, leads to decreased effort

social loafing

putting in less effort when working in a group

deindividuation

loss of self awareness and accountability in group setting, impulsive behavior

social facilitation

people perform better on simple tasks and worse on complex task in the presense of others

false consensus effect

overestimate how much others share beliefs and behaviors

superordinate goals

shared goals, require cooperation people groups to help overcome difference, promoting unity

social traps

decisions by groups that seem good at the time, produce short-term benefits, but hurt them in long-term

employment selection and recruitment

help companies find right people, developing fair practices,monitoring employees well-being

work-life balance

balance between work and personal responsibilities

worker burnout

exhaustion caused by overwork, leads to reduces motivation

prosocial behavior

positive, constructive, helpful behavior

altruism

selfless concern for others, leads to helping behaviors

social debt

obligation to repay others for their help

social-reciprocity norm

expecting people will help those who have helped them

social-responsibility norm

expecting people to help those in need regardless if they will receive benefits in return

bystander effect

tendency for people to be less likely to help in an emergency

situational variables

factors affecting presence of others and the situation in

attentional variables

Factors affecting focus and attention.

personality

unique, thoughts/feelings that characterize a person

the pyschodynamic theory of personality

shaped by unconscious drives, childhood experiences and inner conflicts

conscious

thoughts, feelings that we are actively aware

preconscious

memories, info we aren't currently aware of but can easily be brought to conscious

unconscious

thoughts, memories outside of consciousness influences behavior w/o realization

ego defense mechanisms

unconscious strategies, used to cope with stress

denial

refusing to accept reality

displacement

redirecting negative emotions, from original source to a safer source.

projection

attributing unwanted thoughts, feelings to someone else

rationalization

justifying behaviors with logical but false explanations to avoid underlying reasons.

regression

reverting to earlier stage of development when faced with stress/anxiety

repression

unconscious blocking of distressing thoughts, memories from conscious awareness

sublimation

Channeling unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable activities.

projective test

a personality test that lets people trigger their unconscious thoughts, feelings onto their responses

unconditional positive regard

Accepting and valuing a person without conditions, self-growth

self-actualizing tendency

striving toward personal development and self-improvement

reciprocal determinism

someones behavior and personal factors influencing and shaping each other

self-concept

a sense of one's identity and personal worth

self-efficacy

Belief in one's ability to succeed.

self-esteem

one's feelings of high or low self-worth

trait theory

identifies consistent patterns on how we think, feel and behave

trait

specific characteristic of an individual

the big five theory

a trait theory that identifies five main characteristics that account for most individual differences in personality (OCEAN)

openness to experience

curiosity, creativity, high openness, experiences

conscientiousness

organized, dependable, goal-oriented

extraversion

energy and sociability

agreeableness

kindness and cooperation

neuroticism

emotional stability

personality tests

questioners, people answer questions about their own thoughts, feelings and behaviors

factor analysis

identify patterns in responses to ensure questions measure the right trait

standardization in a test

ensures test is administered and scored the same

reliability in a test

test produces consistent results