AP Psychology Unit 4: Social Psychology and Personality

Attribution Theory

Explanation individuals create for the cause of behaviors and events

Dispositional Attribution

Internal

Assigning a cause of behavior to inherent qualities, traits, or characteristics of an individual

Situational Attribution

External

Assigning cause of behavior to external factors beyond the individuals control.

Explanatory Style: Optimistic

Tends to be external and specific

The perspective that a situation is temporary, there are aspects they can control, and it's not their fault.

Explanatory Style: Pessimistic

Internal and stable

The perspective of a situation as feeling permanent, completely their fault when it probably isn't, and there is nothing they can do to change their situation, even if there is.

Fundamental Attribution Error

Judging others.

Tendency to over-emphasize dispositional factors and underestimate situational factors.

Actor-observer Bias

Others vs. self

Tendency to attribute own actions to situational factors and attribute others’ actions to dispositional factors.

Normally, it happens when we perceive a situation as negative.

Self-serving Bias

Judging self

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

Locus of Control

How we perceive we have control over the events that affect our lives.

Internal Locus of Control

Personal decisions, efforts, abilities, hard work.

You do have control

External Locus of Control

Fate, luck, others, circumstances.

You don’t have control

Mere Exposure Effect

After we see a stimulus over time we will develop a preference for that stimulus.

Repeated stimulus has to do with familiarity.

Self-fulfilling Prophecy

When an individual’s expectations about another person or situation influence the outcome.

Expectation leads to fulfillment

Social Comparison

Individuals determine their value based on comparison with others.

Upward comparison: jealousy/motivation

Downward comparison: scorn/gratitude

Relative Deprivation

When we perceive we are worse off relative to others. We perceive ourselves as inferior.

Stereotype

A generalized belief about a group, a member of a group, or a social category.

• Mental shortcuts (heurisitics)

  • Our experiences, what we learn, and what we observe, build our schema.

Prejudice

When a stereotype can lead to a negative attitude in advance of having experience with a person or group.

• Negative emotions

  • Discrimination

Discrimination

When someone is hostile towards the rejected group

Just-world Phenomenon

When a person sees the world as a fair place. This attitude helps reduce anxiety when difficult realities confront us.

Out-group Homogeneity Bias

The tendency to see members in other groups as having unfavorable attributes and characteristics.

In-group Bias

When we tend to view our own group as having favorable attributes and likeability.

Ethnocentrism

We tend to see our own ethnicity or social group as being the correct and most just compared to other groups.

Belief Perseverance

The tendency for us to maintain a belief, even when someone can refute or disprove the belief with evidence or facts.

Cognitive Dissonance

When we have two things in our mind that are fundamentally at odds with each other, it creates a state of imbalance.

• Psychological discomfort.

Social Norms

Implicit or explicit rules that govern the behavior of individuals within a society or group and dictate acceptable or unacceptable behaviors, guiding how individuals interact with each other.

Social Influence Theory

Examines how individuals’ thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are shaped by the presence, opinions, and actions of others.

Informational Social Influence

Occurs when individuals conform to the behavior of others because they believe those others have accurate knowledge and that conforming will help them make correct decisions.

Based on the desire to be right.

Normative Social Influence

Occurs when individuals conform to a group’s expectations to gain social approval or avoid social disproval.

Driven by the desire to fit in and be liked by others.

Persuasion

Involves changing someone’s attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors through argument, reasoning, or appeal. It can occur through various routes.

Central Route to Persuasion

Direct

Careful and thoughtful consideration of the true merits of the information presented. Used when the audience is motivated and has the ability to think about the message.

Leads to more enduring attitude changes.

Peripheral Route to Persuasion

Distract

Less cognitive effort and is influenced by superficial clues, such as the attractiveness or credibility of the source.

Used when the audience is either unmotivated or unable to process the message deeply, leading to temporary attitude changes.

Halo Effect

cognitive bias where the perception of one positive trait (e.g., attractiveness) influences the perception of other unrelated traits (e.g., intelligence or kindness).

Foot-in-the-door Technique

Involves getting a person to agree to agree to a small initial request, followed by a larger request.

Leverages the principle of consistency.

Door-in-the-face Technique

Involves making a large, unreasonable request that is likely to be refused, followed by a smaller, more reasonable request.

Leverages the principle of reciprocity.

Conformity

Tendency to adjust your behavior, attitudes, or beliefs to align with those of the group or social norm

Asch Conformity experiment

Obedience

Hierarchy

Following orders or directions from an authority figure.

Individualism

Emphasis on personal growth, personal achievement, personal development.

Collectivism

Emphasis on group goals, interdependence, importance of group development. Wellbeing of the group is more important than the individual.

Multiculturalism

Integrates different cultures without excluding their traditional values.

Group Polarization

Tendency for group discussions to amplify the increasing leanings of the group members leading to increased extreme positions.

Groupthink

• Unanimity

• Interpersonal pressure

• Self-censorship

• Defective decision-making strategies

• Group cohesion

• Isolation

• Poor leadership

• Stress

Diffusion of Responsibility

When many are responsible for one thing, so no one takes action.

Bystander effect

Bystander effect

Occurs when individuals in a group feel less personally accountable for their actions because responsibility is shared among all members.

Social Loafing

The tendency for individuals to exert less effort when working in a group compared to when working alone. this occurs because individuals feel their contributions are less noticeable.

Deindividuation

Psychological state where individuals lose self-awareness and personal accountability in groups, leading to behavior that is uncharacteristic and often uninhibited. During large-scale events like protests or riots, individuals may engage in vandalism or violence, behaviors they would not typically exhibit if they were alone or easily identifiable.

Social Facilitation

The tendency for people to perform tasks better when they are in the presence of others. This effect is particularly noticeable with simple or well-learned tasks.

Social Inhibition

Performance in complex or new tasks may worsen under observation.

False Consensus Effect

Cognitive bias were individuals overestimate the extent to which their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors are shared by others. This bias leads to the assumption that others think and behave similarly to themselves.

Superordinate Goals

Objectives that require cooperation between groups or individuals, transcending individual differences, and promoting unity.

Social Trap

Occurs when individuals or groups pursue short-term gains that ultimately lead to negative long-term consequences for the group as a whole. These situations often involve a conflict between individual interests and collective welfare.

Industrial-Organizational Psychology

I-O psychologists apply psychological principles and research methods to the workplace to improve productivity, work quality, and the well-being of employees. They study and address issues related to human behavior in organizational settings.

Burnout

A gradually intensifying pattern of physical, psychological, and behavioral dysfunctions in response to a continuous flow of stressors.

Altruism

An individual who acts to benefit others without expecting any personal gain or reward. It is motivated by genuine concern for the welfare of others.

Social Reciprocity Norm

Social rule that encourages individuals to repay, in kind, what another person has provided. The expectation that people will respond to each other in similar ways, creating mutual benefit and cooperation.

Social Responsibility Norm

The societal expectation that people should engage in positive social behavior to contribute to the welfare of their community as a whole.

Conscious Mind

Information we’re aware of

Preconscious Mind

Mental processes that can be accessed through therapeutic techniques.

Unconscious Mind

All mental processes that are outside of consciousness.

The Psyche: Id

Primitive, instinctual part of the personality that operates on the pleasure principle, seeking immediate gratification of basic drives and desires such as hunger, sex, and aggression.

The Psyche: Ego

Operates on the reality principle, mediating between the unrealistic demands of the id and the external world’s constraints. It employs reason and problem-solving to achieve the id’s desires in socially acceptable ways.

The Psyche: Superego

Represents internalized societal and parental standards of right and wrong. It strives for perfection and judges actions, producing feelings of pride or guilt.

Repression

Involves unconsciously blocking unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or desires from conscious awareness. A person who has experienced a traumatic event might have no conscious memory of the event, repressing it entirely.

Regression

Reverting to behaviors characteristic of an earlier stage of development when faced with stress or conflict.

Projection

Attributing one’s own unacceptable thoughts or feeling to others, making them external rather than internal.

Displacement

Shifting emotional impulses from a threatening target to a safer more acceptable one.

Reaction Formation

Converting unacceptable impulses into their opposites, acting in a way that is diametrically opposed to one’s true feelings.

Rationalization

Creating logical but false explanations for behaviors or feelings that are actually driven by unconscious motives.

Denial

Refusing to accept reality or facts, blocking external events from awareness because they are too threatening.

Sublimation

Channeling unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable or constructive activities.

Psychodynamic Personality Psychologists

All theories that were based on Freud and his followers: Calr Sung, Melanie Klein, Alfred Adler, Anna Freud, Erik Erikson.

Projective Tests

Psychosocial assessment tools present ambiguous stimuli to individuals, encouraging them to project their unconscious thoughts, feelings, and desires onto these stimuli. The rationale behind the projective test is rooted in psychoanalytic theory, which posits that individuals may reveal aspects of their personality and internal conflict through tier responses to ambiguous prompts.

Rorschach Inkblot Test

test consists of a sense of symmetrical blots where subjects state what they see.

Thematic Apperception Test

Involves describing ambiguous scenes to learn about a person’s emotions, motivation, and personality.

Humanistic Theory

Psychological perspective that emphasizes the study of the whole person and the uniqueness of each individual. It focuses on human potential, self-fulfillment, and personal growth. Humanistic psychologists believe that people are inherently good and have an innate drive to make themselves and the world better.

Unconditional Positive Regard

Acceptance and nonjudgemental behavior from the therapist allows the space the client needs throughout the exploration process.

Self Actualization Tendency

A motivational force that drives people to improve themselves and become the best version of themselves

Ideal Self

How people would like to be like

Real Self

How people actually are

Social-Cognitive Theory

Emphasizes the interaction between individuals and their environment. It posits that learning occurs in a social context and can happen through observation, imitation, and modeling.

Reciprocal Determinism

Proposes that behavior, personal factors, and environmental influences all interact and influence each other bidirectionally.

Self-concept

Perception, description, and evaluation of oneself.

Self-efficacy

Perception of capabilities.

Individuals’ belief in their ability to succeed in specific situations or accomplish tasks.

Task-specific

Self-esteem

The degree to which self-concept is perceived to be positive.

Sense of self-worth or personal value.

Broader evaluation.

Trait Theory

focuses on identifying and measuring individuals' personality characteristics (traits). Proposes that traits are relatively stable over time and influence behavior.

Big Five Theory of Personality

Openness to experience

Conscientiousness

Extraversion

Agreeableness

Emotional Stability

Openness to Experience

Opposite: Close-minded

Inventive/curious vs. consistent/cautious

Conscientiousness

Opposite: Lack of direction

Efficient/organized vs. extravagant/careless

Extraversion

Opposite: Introversion

Outgoing/energetic vs. Solitary/reserved

Agreeableness

Opposite: Antagonistic

Friendly/compassionate vs. Critical/judgemental

Emotional Stability

Opposite: Neuroticism

Resilient/confident vs. Sensitive/nervous.

Objective Tests

Use the Likert scale, also self-reported.

Personality Inventories

Self-reported tests. It is assumed the test taker knows the most about themselves.

• Social desirability bias

• Self-fulfilling prophecy.

Factor Analysis

Mathematical procedure that reduces confounding variables which may affect personality inventory.

Motivation

Framework to understand why we do what we do.

Drive-reduction Theory

Suggests that motivation arises from physiological needs that create an aroused state or drive, which pushes an organism to reduce that need and achieve homeostasis.

• Behaviors are performed to satisfy these needs and restore balance.

Homeostasis

Physiological state of balanced internal conditions. The body’s tendency to search for internal balance.

Arousal Theory

People are motivated to maintain an optimal level of arousal, which varies from person to person.

Optimal Arousal

Optimal arousal levels will lead to the best performance.

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Proposes a relationship between arousal levels and performance, suggesting that moderate levels of arousal lead to optimal performance on tasks.

• Both very high and very low levels of arousal can impair performance.

Self-determination Theory

Focuses on intrinsic motivation and the human need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness.