Social Psychology: Self, Traits, Aggression, Helping, and Motivation

What is mirror self-recognition?

The ability to recognize oneself in a mirror; it is used to study the development of self-awareness in infants and animals.

What are the three broad aspects of self?

The social actor, motivated agent, and autobiographical author.

What does it mean to have a sense of self as a social actor?

It means understanding yourself in terms of social roles and relatively characteristic traits.

What parts of an adult self-concept fit the social actor?

Traits and social roles/reputations, such as being conscientious at work or agreeable as a friend.

What is the motivated agent?

The motivated agent is the self viewed as having goals and values and intentionally pursuing desired outcomes.

What developmental change occurs around ages 5-7?

Children become more intentional and systematic in their goal pursuit.

What is narrative identity?

An internalized, evolving story of the self that ties together the past, present, and goals for the future.

What is a redemptive narrative?

A narrative that tracks movement from suffering or a negative experience toward an enhanced state or a sense of value.

What evidence did class give for the value of self-narratives?

Coherent narratives were linked with greater well-being, purpose, and positive self-views.

What are the three criteria for a personality trait?

Consistency, stability, and individual differences.

Why are traits usually studied as continuous dimensions rather than categories?

People can vary in how much of a trait they have; categories can oversimplify those continuous individual differences.

What are the Big Five personality traits?

Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

What does Openness in the Big Five refer to?

Openness to new/different ideas, experiences, behaviors, feelings, and values.

What does Conscientiousness in the Big Five refer to?

Competence, orderliness, dutifulness, achievement orientation, self-discipline, deliberation.

What does Extraversion in the Big Five refer to?

Sociability/gregariousness, warmth, assertiveness, activity, excitement-seeking, positive emotionality.

What does Agreeableness in the Big Five refer to?

Straightforwardness, altruism, compliance, trust, modesty, tender-mindedness.

What does Neuroticism in the Big Five refer to?

Anxiety, anger, depression, self-consciousness, impulsivity, vulnerability.

What is the HEXACO model?

A personality model that includes Honesty-Humility as a trait.

What are the three major negative traits emphasized in the Dark Triad?

Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy.

What is the Dark Triad?

Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy—three negative personality traits discussed together outside the Big Five model.

What is aggression?

Any behavior intended to harm another person who does not want to be harmed.

How does aggression differ from violence?

Violence is a form of aggression, but aggression does not have to be violent.

Is thinking about hurting someone automatically aggression?

No, the definition requires behavior; thoughts/fantasies alone are not sufficient.

What age group is identified as most aggressive?

Toddlers are identified as the most aggressive, with about 25% described as aggressive.

What age group is most likely to commit murder according to the lecture?

18-24-year-olds.

What are hostile cognitive biases?

Biases that lead people to interpret ambiguous situations as hostile or expect others to respond in hostile ways.

What external factors contribute to aggression?

Frustration and alcohol.

What was the key lesson of the Bobo doll experiment?

Children can learn aggression through observational learning/modeling.

What four features/targets were included in effective aggression interventions?

Bodily states, mental meanings, multifaceted targets, and early development.

What did class say about violence over time?

On the whole, violence has declined over time.

What is pluralistic ignorance?

When people look to others' behavior to interpret an ambiguous situation and mistakenly conclude that help is not needed.

What is diffusion of responsibility?

When responsibility for helping is perceived as shared among several people, making each individual feel less responsible to act.

How is diffusion of responsibility different from pluralistic ignorance?

Pluralistic ignorance is about interpreting whether help is needed; diffusion of responsibility is about who is responsible for acting.

What two personality factors were emphasized as linked to helping?

Agreeableness and prosocial personality orientation.

What are the two evolutionary roots of helping discussed?

Kin selection and reciprocal altruism.

What is tend-and-befriend?

A stress response involving tending to others and seeking/maintaining social affiliation.

What is the difference between egoistic and altruistic motives?

Egoistic helping is motivated by outcomes for the helper, whereas altruistic helping is motivated by concern for the person in need.

What is the empathy-altruism model?

The idea that empathic concern for another person can produce helping motivated by concern for that person rather than self-focused benefits.

What four factors increase helping behavior?

Reduced anonymity, an unambiguous need for help, an unambiguous ability to provide help, and similarities between helper and helpee.

What two factors discussed in class affect whether people adopt goals?

Whether the goal is valuable/meaningful and whether it is attainable.

What is the key difference between the deliberative and implemental phases?

The deliberative phase is about deciding whether/what goal to pursue; the implemental phase is about carrying out the chosen goal.

What can goal activation affect?

Behavior, judgment, perception, and feelings.

Why were follow-up studies needed in the Balcetis & Dunning research?

The follow-ups tested whether the original finding reflected a genuine bias in perception rather than an alternative explanation.

What is the key takeaway from the Balcetis & Dunning studies?

Goals/desires can influence perception, attention, and interpretation of ambiguous information.

Give an example of promotion focus.

Studying to earn a high grade or pursuing an opportunity to gain a positive outcome.

Give an example of prevention focus.

Studying to avoid failing or taking precautions to prevent a negative outcome.

What is intrinsic motivation?

Motivation that comes from the activity itself being interesting, enjoyable, or satisfying.

What is extrinsic motivation?

Motivation driven by an outcome or pressure outside the activity itself.

What does pre-commitment mean in this context?

Making a decision or arrangement in advance that helps prevent a tempting option from interfering with the goal.

What is ego depletion?

The idea that exerting self-control can temporarily reduce later self-control capacity; the evidence is debated and the effect does not always replicate.

Can self-control develop?

Yes, practicing self-control can improve self-control.

What is the negative-state relief model?

Helping can reduce a helper's own negative emotional state.

What is the arousal: cost-reward model?

Helping decisions can be influenced by arousal and the perceived costs and rewards of available responses.

What are the four temptation-countering strategies?

Remind yourself why the goal/action is valuable, use pre-commitment, use rewards and punishments, increase distance from temptations.

What is the cybernetic model?

The model compares actual progress with desired progress, influencing effort based on progress outcomes.

What is the marshmallow task used for?

To study self-control and delayed gratification.

What is the role of values in clinical psychology regarding goals?

Values work is connected to identifying meaningful goals.

What is the significance of the Balcetis & Dunning studies?

They illustrate how motivated perception can bias interpretation of ambiguous stimuli.

What is the effect of greater-than-expected progress in the cybernetic model?

It can allow a person to coast or reduce effort.

What happens with lower-than-expected progress in the cybernetic model?

It can prompt increased effort.

What is Self-Determination Theory?

Self-Determination Theory (SDT)

What are the three basic psychological needs in SDT?

Autonomy, Competence, Relatedness

How does satisfying basic psychological needs affect motivation?

It enhances intrinsic motivation.

What are the types of extrinsic motivation?

External regulation, introjected regulation, identified regulation, integrated regulation.

What is the undermining-intrinsic-motivation study?

A study showing that external rewards can decrease intrinsic motivation.

What is the main takeaway from the undermining-intrinsic-motivation study?

External rewards can undermine intrinsic motivation.

What is the cultural differences in autonomy support study?

A study examining how different cultures support autonomy and its effects on motivation.

What is the main takeaway from the cultural differences in autonomy support study?

Cultural context influences the support of autonomy and motivation.

What are the three aspects of the self?

Social Actor, Motivated Agent, Autobiographical Author

What are the three Dark Triad traits?

Machiavellianism, Narcissism, Psychopathy

How is aggression defined?

Intended harmful behavior that the target does not want.

What are kin selection and reciprocal altruism?

Kin selection favors helping relatives; reciprocal altruism favors helping others with the expectation of help in return.

What is the difference between egoistic and altruistic motives for helping?

Egoistic motives benefit the helper; altruistic motives concern the well-being of others.

What factors can increase helping behavior?

Less anonymity, clear need, clear ability, similarity.

What two factors influence goal adoption?

Value and attainability.

What is the difference between the deliberative and implemental phases?

Deliberative phase involves deciding on a goal; implemental phase involves carrying it out.

What did the Balcetis & Dunning studies show?

Perception can be influenced by motivational factors.

What is the difference between promotion focus and prevention focus?

Promotion focus aims for gains; prevention focus aims to avoid losses.

What is the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation?

Intrinsic motivation is driven by the activity itself; extrinsic motivation is driven by outside outcomes.

What is the marshmallow task designed to study?

Delay of gratification and self-control.

What are four strategies for counteracting temptation?

Value reminder, pre-commitment, rewards/punishments, distance.

What topics must you know for the SDT test?

Theory name, three needs, motivation effects, intrinsic/extrinsic continuum, and class studies.