Social Psychology and Personality Lecture Notes

These flashcards cover key terms and concepts from the lecture on social psychology, personality, and psychological disorders.

Fundamental attribution error

Tendency to overestimate internal factors and underestimate situational factors when judging others.

Internal attribution

Behavior caused by personality or traits.

External attribution

Behavior caused by situation or environment.

Central route to persuasion

Uses logic, reasoning, evidence; effective when people are motivated.

Peripheral route to persuasion

Uses cues like attractiveness, emotion, celebrity influence.

Conformity

Adjusting behavior to match group norms.

Compliance

Changing behavior because someone asks you to.

Conversion

Changing private beliefs to match the group.

Normative social influence

Conforming to gain approval or avoid rejection.

Informational social influence

Conforming because the group seems correct.

Obedience

Following orders from an authority figure.

Bystander effect

People are less likely to help when others are present.

Implicit prejudice

Unconscious bias.

Explicit prejudice

Conscious, openly expressed bias.

Just-world belief

Belief that people get what they deserve.

Scapegoating

Blaming others for one’s own problems.

Fundamental attribution error

Tendency to attribute others' success to external factors and failures to internal factors.

Self-serving bias

Attributing one's successes to internal factors and failures to external factors.

Cognitive component of attitude

Beliefs that inform our attitudes.

Affective component of attitude

Feelings that inform our attitudes.

Behavioral component of attitude

Actions that inform our attitudes.

Milgram’s obedience study

65% of participants delivered the highest shock in a study of obedience.

Dysfunction in psychological disorders

Interference with daily life.

DSM

Classification manual for psychological disorders.

Phobias

Intense irrational fears.

Schizophrenia

Characterized by delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized thinking.

Dissociative identity disorder (DID)

Presence of two or more identities.

Epigenetics

Study of how genes are affected by the environment.

Bipolar disorder

Characterized by mood swings from mania to depression.