Social Psychology and Personality Lecture Notes

These flashcards cover key concepts from the lecture on Social Psychology and Personality, focusing on how behavior is attributed, cognitive biases, behavior in social contexts, and various psychological theories.

Attribution Theory

A framework for understanding how we explain the causes of behavior by identifying dispositional (internal) and situational (external) factors.

Dispositional Factors

Internal factors related to a person's character or personality used to explain behavior.

Situational Factors

External factors relating to the environment or circumstances used to explain behavior.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overestimate the influence of dispositional factors and underestimate the influence of situational factors in others' behavior.

Explanatory Styles

The way in which individuals explain causes of events; can be optimistic or pessimistic.

Cognitive Bias

A predictable pattern of thinking that distorts judgment and reasoning.

Heuristic

A mental shortcut or rule of thumb that allows for quick decision-making without deep analysis.

Locus of Control

A person's belief about how much control they have over events in their lives, influenced by upbringing and culture.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

A belief or expectation that influences a person to act in ways that cause the belief to come true.

Mere Exposure Effect

The phenomenon where repeated exposure to an object leads to increased liking of that object.

Social Comparison

The process of evaluating one's opinions, abilities, and worth against others.

Relative Deprivation

The feeling of being worse off compared to those one compares themselves to.

Implicit Bias

Attitudes or stereotypes that unconsciously affect understanding, actions, and decisions.

Belief Perseverance

The tendency to hold on to a belief even when presented with contradictory evidence.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information that confirms preexisting beliefs.

Cognitive Dissonance

The mental discomfort experienced when holding two conflicting beliefs or when behavior contradicts beliefs.

Social Norms

Unwritten rules and expectations about how to behave in specific contexts.

Obedience

A form of social influence involving direct commands from an authority figure.

Conformity

Adjusting behaviors or beliefs to align with those of a group or social norms.

Altruism

Selfless concern for the well-being of others.

Prosocial Behavior

Behavior intended to benefit others or society as a whole.

Industrial-Organizational Psychology (I/O)

The study of human behavior in work settings, focusing on management practices, worker relationships, and burnout.

Drive Reduction Theory

The theory suggesting that motivation arises from biological needs leading to drives that prompt behaviors for homeostasis.

Optimum Arousal Theory

The theory proposing that individuals are motivated to find the right level of arousal for optimal performance.

Reciprocal Determinism

The concept that personal, behavioral, and environmental factors interact to shape an individual's personality.

The Big Five Personality Traits

A model identifying five key dimensions that describe human personality: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism.

Defense Mechanisms

Unconscious strategies used by the ego to reduce anxiety and protect the individual from distress.