AP Psychology - Unit 4 key terms: Social Psychology and Personality

attribution

the way in which people assign responsibility for certain outcomes

dispositional attribution

assumes that the cause of a behavior or outcome is internal

example: failing a test, the student believes it is their own fault for poor work habits

situational attribution

assigns the cause to the environment or external conditions

example: failing a test, the student believes it is caused by external factor like bad instruction

explanatory style

how people explain good and bad events that happen to themselves and to others

i.e. optimistic/pessimistic

self-serving bias

sees the cause of actions as internal (dispositional) when the outcomes are positive and external (or situational) when the results are negative.

fundamental attribution error

the tendency to overemphasize internal, dispositional factors (like personality) and underestimate situational factors when explaining the behavior of others. In essence, we tend to blame people for their actions, rather than considering external circumstances

actor-observer bias

when a person behaves badly themselves, they attribute their bad behavior to the situation while when someone else behaves badly, they attribute the other person’s bad behavior to their character or disposition.

locus of control

internal locus of control = you believe you have control over events

external locus of control = you dont believe you have control

interpersonal attraction

tendency to positively evaluate a person and then gravitate toward that person. based on the characteristics of the person to whom we are attracted; may be subject to environmental and social influences as well.

positive evaluation

the fact that we all like to be positively evaluated and, therefore, we tend to prefer the company of people who think highly of us.

shared opinions

thought of as a form of social reinforcement. if we are praised and rewarded by a person for our opinions, we tend to prefer their company

mere exposure effect

people tend to prefer people and experiences that are familiar

self-fulfilling prophecy

a person initially has a false belief about a situation, which evokes a new behaviorm which makes the false belief come true.

Rosenthal Effect

a person's expectations about another person or group can influence that person's or group's performance. In essence, if someone believes another person will succeed, that person is more likely to perform better than if they're told they will struggle

social comparison theory

suggests that people evaluate themselves by comparing their own opinions, abilities, and other characteristics to those of others. This theory helps individuals assess themselves and their place in society

societies

organizations of individuals

culture

common set of beliefs

social identities

the way people categorize themselves and others based on group memberships, often including aspects like ability, age, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. These identities shape how individuals perceive themselves and interact with others, influencing behaviors and attitudes. 

personal identities

the way individuals perceive and describe themselves, including their values, beliefs, and behaviors

intersectionality

the concept that individuals' experiences of discrimination and privilege are shaped by the interplay of multiple, overlapping social identities such as race, gender, class, sexual orientation, and disability

primary group

closest group that individuals create with one another

secondary group

group of friends and acquaintances who perhaps have shared interests or values

example: person may take classes at school with classmates who have shared interest in the material or take part in a running group with others who share a passion for running

in groups

groups of individuals with a shared identity

example: teachers with other teachers

out groups

groups of individuals without a shared identity

example: teachers with accountants

reference group

a group that people use as a standard to compare themselves to, influencing their attitudes, behaviors, and self-concept. These groups serve as a benchmark for evaluating one's own abilities, beliefs, and opinions.

Examples: friends, family, colleagues, or even imaginary groups

stereotypes

assumptions about a characteristic of an entire group

prejudice

a pre-conceived belief about a person or group based on group membership

Discrimination

engaging in unjust treatment of a person or group based on prejudicial belief

implicit bias (/implicit attitude)

negative attitude against a specific social group, implicit because the person is not consciously aware of their negative beliefs but that bias manifests in their speech and actions

outgroup homogeneiry bias

when a person perceives of all members of an outgroup as more similar than they actually are while members of one’s in group are diverse

ingroup bias

favoring members of one’s ingroup over others

just-world phenomenon

one believes that people get what they deserve

ex.: if you count ur money on the street you deserve to get robbed

belief perseverance

affects problem solving, a person sees only the evidence that supports a particular position, despite evidence on the contrary.

cognitive dissonance

people are motivated to reduce tension produced by conflicting thoughts or choices. occurs when attitudes and behaviors contradict eachother.

social norms

the unwritten rules and expectations about appropriate behavior within a specific social group or context

social influence theory

proposes that society place pressure on its members to conform to certain standards of behavior or thought

normative

where people refer to others who they believe follow the norms

informational

where people refer to others who they believe have more information

persuasion

the process by which a person or group can influence the attitudes of others.

elaboration likelihood model

explains when people will be persuaded by the content of a message (like the logic of its argument), and when people will be influenced by other, more superficial characteristics like the length of the message or the appearance of the person delivering it.

conformity

the modification of behavior to make it agree with that of a group

stanley milligram experiment

famous study conducted by Stanley Milgram in the 1960s that examined obedience to authority. Participants were instructed to administer electric shocks to another person (who was actually an actor) under the guidance of an authority figure.

collectivist culture

emphasizes the importance of the group over the individual.

individualist culture

emphasizes the importance of individual achievement, personal goals, and self-reliance over the collective or group

groupthink

when members of a group are so driven to reach unanimous decisions that they no longer truly evaluate the repercussions or implications of their decisions

mindguard

a member of a group who acts as a filter, preventing information that challenges the group's dominant perspective from reaching the decision-makers.

group dynamics

general term for some of the phenomena we observe when people interact

social facilitation

an increase in performance on a task that occurs when that task is performed in the prescence of others

social inhibition

when the prescence of others makes performance worse

social loafing

reduced effort group members put into a shared task as a result of the size of the group

group polarization

occurs when a judgment or decision of a group is more extreme than what individual members of the group would have reached on their own

peer pressure

person feels unduly influenced by peers to engage in behaviors they otherwise would not do

altruism

behavior where individuals act to benefit others, even at a personal cost, without expecting any direct reward or recognition

helping behavior

actions individuals take to voluntarily benefit others, encompassing a range of prosocial actions like sharing, helping, and comforting. It's a type of prosocial behavior, distinguished from altruism, which is helping without expectation of reward. 

bystander effect

individuals are less likely to offer help to someone in need when other bystanders are present.

diffusion of responsibility

each person addumes that someone else will (or should) help or call the police

false consensus effect

when people believe their ideas and positions are more common than they actuallt are

social traps

when people engage in behaviors that lead to negative outcomes but once the ball is rolling, its hard to stop.

superordinate goal

common goal that requires different groups to cooperate and work together, often to achieve a shared outcome that benefits all involved. These goals are typically seen as more important than individual group goals, and their achievement can reduce conflict between groups. 

GRIT (graduated and reciprocated initiatives in tension-reduction)

a conflict resolution strategy where one party initiates small, cooperative actions to de-escalate tensions, hoping the other party will reciprocate, leading to a gradual decrease in hostility. 

burnout

a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion resulting from prolonged stress or work overload.

ex. you studying for this ap psych exam

equity theory

proposes a view whereby workers evaluate their efforts versus their rewards. job satisfaction is often based on this concept.

human factors research

studies how humans interact with machines and environments to improve safety, efficiency, and usability. It's essentially an applied field that uses psychological principles to design products and systems that work better with human capabilities and limitations. 

hawthorne effect

indicates that workers being monitored for any reason work more efficiently and productively.

psychoanalytic/psychodynamic

emphasizes the influence of unconscious motives, childhood experiences, and internal conflicts on behavior

free association

therapist actively listens while the patient relaxes and reports anything that comes into his mind, no matter how absurd it might seem. the therapist analyzes this seemingly random jumble of thoughts, looking for themes that may demonstrate some of what lies in the unconscious

id

encompasses all of the basic human needs and desires

• ex: food/sex

operates one pleasure principle

pleasure principle

the drive within the id to seek immediate gratification of instinctive desires. This principle, also called the pleasure-pain principle, motivates individuals to pursue pleasure and avoid pain.

superego

internal representation of all of society’s rules, morals, and obligations.

polar opposite of the id

ego

part of the mind that allows a person to function in the environment and be logical.

• works as intermediary between id and superego

operates on reality principle

reality principle

that set of desires that can be satisfied only if the means to satisfy them exists and is available.

• describes how the ego balances the pleasure principle (seeking immediate gratification) with the demands of the real world.

• ego's ability to recognize and act on the constraints of reality to achieve a goal, rather than impulsively acting on immediate desires.

repression

the process by which memories or desires that provoke too much anxiety to deal with are pushed into the unconscious.

displacement

directs anger away from the source of the anger to a less threatening person or object.

ex: a boy who is angry with his dad may not want to show hostility to his father, instead he yells at a friend or stuffed animal; displaying his rage in a way that does not make his situation worse

reaction formation

Another defense mechanism by which the ego reverses the direction of a disturbing desire to make that desire safer or more socially acceptable.

example: a person who unconsciously hates the poor my consciously experience this feeling as a strong desire to help the homeless

Compensation

Making up for failures in one area through success in others

Rationalization

Creating logical excuses for emotional or irrational Behavior

regression

reverting back to childish behaviors

denial

The refusal to acknowledge or accept unwanted beliefs or actions

sublimation

the channeling or redirecting of sexual or aggressive feelings into a more socially acceptable Outlet

projection

when a person attributes feelings or beliefs to another person when they are actually the person's own feelings or beliefs

basic anxiety

• Karen Horney

The feeling of being alone in an unfamiliar or hostile World, a central theme in childhood

Persona

the mask the person presents to the outside world

shadow

opposite of persona, the deep, passionate inner person (includes a person’s dark side)

anima

animus

anima = female side to personality

animus = male side to personality

self

a force that balances all of the opposing forces and desires of the mind

personal unconscious

comprised of repressed memories and clusters of thought

collective unconscious

a shared, inherited reservoir of universal experiences and symbols that exist in all humans.

• Carl Jung

• These shared elements are manifested as archetypes, universal patterns of behavior, thoughts, and emotions that are believed to be present in all cultures. 

archetypes

behaviors and memories in the collective unconscious

inferiority complex

exaggerated feeling of inadequacy or incompetence that stems from childhood experiences of perceived inferiority.

• individuals with this may strive for superiority or overcompensate in order to overcome their feelings of deficiency.

projective tests

personality assessments that present ambiguous (open to interpretation) stimuli with the aim of revealing hidden emotions and internal conflicts projected by an individual.

inventory-type tests

participants answer a standard series of questions

Rorschach inkblot test

and thematic apperception test (TAT)

A sequence of 10 inkblots, each of which the participant is asked to observe and then characterize, 

for example a participant might see one ink blot as a bat; another participant may see it as two people staring at each other. Sometimes people seem multiple images in a single ink block the different descriptions of the ink block, such as form and movement of objects are scored to yield an evaluation of the individual's personality

humanistic theories of personality

Emphasize the uniqueness and richness of Being Human. They focus on subjective reality and subjective mental events

self-actualization

Becoming, in a creative way, the person you are capable of being. According to humanistic theories, it is the ultimate purpose for existence

self concept

our mental representation of who we feel we truly are

incongruence

discrepancies between our self-concept and our actual thoughts and behaviorm as well as feedback from out surroundings.

conditions of worth

other people’s evaluation of our worth

can distort our self concept

unconditional positive regard

people, particularly children, should be loved despite failures,

social-cognitive theories of personality

Based on the assumption that cognitive constructs are the basis for personality. We bring constructs, such as expectations, to every social situation. These constructs are developed and modified through learning in Social environments

self-efficacy

a person’s beliefs about their own abilities in a given situation.

Basically, the belief that you can do a particular task greatly increases the chances that you actially do it.