Psych 101 ~ quiz chap 12+13

microexpressions

sudden, brief emotional expressions

autonomic nervous system

set of nerves closely associated with the spinal cord, controlling the heart, digestive system, and other organs

sympathetic nervous system

chains of neuron clusters just to the left and right of the spinal cord that arouses the body for vigorous action

parasympathetic nervous system

neurons whose axons extend from the medulla and the lower part of the spinal cord to neuron clusters near the organs; it decreases the heart rate and promotes digestion and the other nonemergency functions

James-Lange Theory

view that your perception of your body's reaction to a stimulus is the feeling aspect of your emotion

pure autonomic failure

condition in which the autonomic nervous system stops regulating the organs

Schachter and Singer's theory of emotions

proposal that the physiological state determine the intensity of the emotion, but a cognitive appraisal of the situation identifies the type of emotion

circumplex model

theory that emotions range along a continuum from pleasure to misery and along another continuum from arousal to sleepiness

broaden-and-build hypothesis

idea that a happy mood increases your readiness to explore new ideas & opportunities

emotional intelligence

ability to perceive, imagine, and understand emotions and to use that information in making decisions

positive psychology

study of the features that enrich life, such as happiness, hope, creativity, courage, spirituality, and responsibility

subjective well-being

self-evaluation of one's life as pleasant, interesting, satisfying, and meaningful

embarrassment

discomfort caused by mistakes, being the center of attention, or sticky situations

health psychology

study of how people's behavior influences health

cortisol

hormone that enhances metabolism and increases the supply of sugar to the cells

stress

nonspecific response of the body to any demand made upon it

general adaptation syndrome

the body's response to stressful events of any type

Type A personality

tendency to be highly competitive and hostile

Type B personality

tendency to be easygoing, less hurried, and less hostile

post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

result of severe stress marked by a prolonged anxiety & depression

problem-focused coping

method of coping with stress by attempting to improve the situation

reappraisal

reinterpreting a stressful situation to make it seem less threatening

emotion-focused coping

procedure of regulation one's emotional reaction to a stressful situation

inoculation

small-scale preview of an upcoming experience

reseilience

ability to handle difficult situations with a minimum of distress

altruistic behavior

helping someone without any direct benefit to yourself

prisoner's dilemma

situation where people choose between a cooperative act and a competitive act that benefits themselves but hurts others

bystander apathy

tendency to ignore someone's need when other people had an equal opportunity to help

diffusion of responsibility

idea that we feel less responsibility to act when other people are equally able to act

pluralistic ignorance

situation in which each person falsely assumes that others have a better-informed opinion

social loafing

tendency to "loaf" (or work less hard) when sharing work with other people

frustration-agression hypothesis

the main cause of anger and aggression is frustration - an obstacle that stands int eh way of doing something or obtaining something

rape

sexual activity without the consent of the partner

social perception & cognition

processes for learning about others and making inferences from that information

self-fulfilling prophecies

expectations that increase the probability of the predicted event

stereotype

belief or expectation about a group of people

prejudice

unfavorable attitude towards a group of people

implicit association test (IAT)

procedure of inferring prejudices or other attitudes by measuring reactions to combinations of categories

multiculturalism

accepting, recognizing, and enjoying the differences among groups and the unique contributions that each person can offer

attribution

set of thought processes we use to explain our own behavior and that of others

internal attributions

explanations of behavior based on someone's abilities, personality, or other characteristics

external attributions

explanations of behavior based on the situation, including events that would influence almost anyone

consensus information

how someone's behavior compares with other people's behavior

consistency information

how someone's behavior varies from one time to the next

distinctiveness

how someone's behavior varies from one situation to another

actor-observer effect

tendency for people to make internal attributions for other people's behavior and external attributions for their own

fundamental attribution error

making internal attributions for people's behavior even when we see evidence for an external influence on behavior

self-serving biases

attributions that we adopt to maximize credit for success and minimize blame for failure

self-handicapping strategies

acts to put oneself at a disadvantage to provide an excuse for failure

attitude

like or dislike that influences behavior

cognitive dissonance

state of unpleasant tension that people experience when they hold contradictory attitudes or when their behavior contradicts their attitudes

peripheral route to persuasion

if for any reason you associate something with feeling happy, you form a favorable attitude toward it

central route to persuasion

attitude change that requires investing enough time and effort to evaluate the evidence and reason logically about a decision

foot-in-the-door technique

persuasive technique that starts with a modest, easily accepted request and follows it with a larger request

bait-and-switch technique

first offers an extremely favorable deal, gets the other person to commit to the deal, and then makes additional demands

that's-not-all technique

persuasive technique in which someone makes an offer and then improves the offer before you have a chance to reply

nudges

acts intended to encourage beneficial actions, without using significant rewards or penalties

sleeper effect

delayed persuasion by an initially rejected message

forewarning effect

phenomenon in which informing people that someone will try to persuade them activated resistance and weakens the persuasion

inoculation effect

people who hear and reject a weak argument are then disposed to resist a stronger argument suggesting the same conclusion

conformity

altering one's behavior to match other people's behavior or expectations

group polarization

tendency for a group of people who lean in the same direction on an issue become more extreme after the group discusses the issue

groupthink

tendency for members of a group to suppress their doubts about a group's decision for fear of making a bad impression or disrupting group harmony