Social Psychology and Personality

person perception

how we form impressions of ourselves and others, including attributions of behavior

social identity

the “we” aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answers to “Who am I?” that comes from group memberships

attributions

how we explain the causes of events

explanatory style

interpreting good and bad events in optimistic or pessimistice ways

attribution theory

we explain someone’s behavior by crediting either the situation (a situational attribution) or the person’s stable, enduring traits (a dispositional attribution)

fundamental attribution error

tendency for observers, when analyzing others’ behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition

cultural awareness

the way we explain others’ actions matters

actor-oberver bias

tendency for those acting in a situation to attribute their behavior to external causes, but for observers to attribute others’ behavior to internal causes. this attributes to the fundamental attribution error

prejudice

an unjustifiab;e and usually negative attitude toward a group and its members. generally negative emotions, stereotyped beliefs, and a predisposition to discriminatory action

stereotypes

a generalized belief about a group of people. sometimes are true, but often overgeneralized. can decrease the effort it takes to make judgements

discrimination

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members. microaggressions.

colorism

people with farker skin tones experience more discrimination and prejudice

just-world phenomenon

tendency for people to believe the world is just and people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get

ingroup

“us” — people with whom we share a common identity

outgroup

“them” — those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup

ingroup bias

tendency to favor our own group

scapegoat theory

prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame

ethnocentrism

tendency to view our own ethnic or racial groups as superior

outgroup homogeneity

uniformity of attitudes, personality, and appearance

other-race effect

tendency to recall faces of one’s own race more accurately than faces of other races

attitudes

feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predisposes us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events

foot-in-door phenomenon

tendency for people who have first agreed to a sma;l request to comply later with a larger request

door-in-face effect

start with an unreasonable request and after being rejected, the next request seems more acceptable

role

a set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position should behave

cognitive dissonance theory

we act ti decrease the discomfort (dissonance) when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent (ex. attitude and actions clashing)

persuasion

changing people’s attitudes, potentially influencing their actions

peripheral route persuasion

occurs when people are influencEd by incidental cues, such as a speaker’s attractiveness

central route persuasion

occurs when interested people’s thinking is influenced by considering evidence and arguments

norms

a society’s understood rules for accepted and expected behavior. they prescribe “proper” behavior in individual and social situaitons

social contagion

the spontaneous spread of behaviors

mood linkage

mood sharing

positive herding

when positive reviews of a movie/product generate more positive reviews

conformity

adjusting our behavior/thinking to coincide with a group standard

normative social influence

influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval

informative social influence

influence resulting from a person’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality

obedience

complying with an order or a command

Stanley Milgrim

kindess conflicted with obedience, and obedience usually won

social facilitation

in the presence of others, improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks, and worsened performance on difficult tasks

social loafing

tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable

deindividuation

loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity

group polarization

enhancement of a group’s prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group (happen when like-minded people segregate

groupthink

mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides realistic appraisal of alternatives

culture

enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one gen to the next

tight culture

a place with clearly defined and reliably imposed norms

loose culture

a place with flexible and informal norms

culture shock

when we don’t understand what’s expected/accepted

aggression

any physical of verbal behavior meant to harm someone physically or emotionally (antisocial behavior)

monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene

involved in breaking down neurotransmitters (low amounts=act aggressively when provoked

frustration-aggression principle

principle that frustration—the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal—creates anger that can lead to aggression

aversive stimuli that can evoke hostility

hot temperatures, physical pain, personal insults, foul odors, cigarette smoke, crowding

social script

a culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations

mere-exposure effect

tendency for repeated exposure to novel stimuli to increase our liking of them

reward theory of attraction

we will like those whose behavior is regarding to us, including those who are both willing and able to help us achieve our goals

passionate love

an aroused sate of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the start of a romantic relationship

compassionate love

the deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives intertwine

equity

condition where people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they get

self-disclosure

act of revealing intimate aspects of ourselves to others.

altruism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others

diffusion of responsibility

any single listener=less likely to help

bystander effect

tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present

social exchange theory

theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim being to maximize benefis and minimize costs

reciprocity norm

an expectation that people will help, not hurt those who have helped them

social-responsibility norm

an expectation that people will help those needing their help (even is costs outweigh benefits)

conflict

a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas

social traps

a situation where two parties, by each pursuing their self-nterest rather than the good of the group, become caught in mutually destructive behavior

mirror-image perceptions

mutual views often held by conflicting parties, as when each side sees itself as ethical and peaceful and views the other side as evil and aggressive

self-fulfilling prophecy

a belief that leads to its own fulfillment

GRIT

graduated and reciprocated initiatives in tension reduction; a strategy designed to decrease international tensions

psychodynamic theories

theories that view personality with a focus on the unconscious mind and the importance of childhood experiences

humanisitc theories

inner capacities for growth+self-fulfillment

personality

an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

trait theories

look at characteristic patterns of behavior

social-cognitive theories

explore integration between people’s traits and their social context

psychoanalysis

Freud’s theory that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the technique used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions

unconscious

according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings and memories. according to contemporary psychologists, info processing where we are unaware

free association

in psychoanalysis, a method of exploring where the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing

id

reservoir of unconscious psychic energy, that according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification

libido

a life energy force that fuels our pleasure-seeking

ego

the partly conscious, “executive” part of personality that mediates among the demands on the id, the superego, and reality. operates on the reality principle; satisfying the id’s desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain

superego

the partly conscious part of personality that represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgements (the conscience) and for future aspirations

Oral (0-18 months)

delay gratification (feeding)

Anal (18-36 months)

self control (potty training) (OCD)

Phallic (3-6 years)

power +self esteem + discovery (inferiority vs. superiority complex)

latency (6 years- puberty)

dominant sexual feelings (learning)

Genital (puberty +)

sexual interests mature (adulthood, finding mates)

defense mechanism

in psychoanalytic theory, the ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

repression

basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

regression

retreating to an earlier psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated

reaction formation

switching unacceptable impulse into opposites (behave opposite of true feelings

projection

seeing traits you don’t like in yourself in other people and calling people out on it rationalization

rationalization

offering self-justifying explanations in place of real, more threatening unconscious reasons for one’s actions(ex. could have done it if they really wanted to)

displacement

shifting sexual/aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object/person (yelling at an inferior for no reason)

sublimation

transferring of unacceptable impulses into socially valued motives

denail

refusing to believe or even perceive painful realitites

manifest content

remembered parts of dreams that are a censored expression of the dreamer’s unconscious wishes (latent content)

Alfred Alder (Neo-Freudian)

believed that a lot of behavior is driven in attempts to overcome childhood inferiority feelings that triggers desires for love and security

Karen Horneye (Neo-Freudian)

agreeed that childhood is important but that social tensions are crucial for personality formation and not sexual tensions. tried to balance Freud’s masculine bias

collective unconscious

Carl Jung’s concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our specie’s history

false consensus effect

tendency to overertimate the extent of others who share our beliefs and behaviors

terror-management theory

a theory of death-related anxiety; explores people’s emotioal and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death