Exam 2 social psych

Is stress always bad

No, stress can be positive and negative

Eustress

stress that motivates and helps with performance

Distress

stress that harms mental and physical health

Identify the negative impacts of having too much/ too little stress

causes issues with coping, no stress=no coping skills, moderate amounts of stress can predict life satisfaction later

What amount of adversity during childhood is “ideal” for
promoting resilience?

moderate amount

Internal locus of control definition and characteristics

 believing you can control your destiny through actions

-high motivation, resistant to social influence, perceive personal control

External locus of control definition and characteristics

 believing that external forces like fate, luck, or others control your outcomes

-Tend to not take on difficult tasks, trouble overcoming obstacles, perceive less personal control

Define intrinsic motivation.

motivation driven by enjoyment or interest in given task

Define the over-justification effect.

external reward diminish intrinsic motivation for a task

including offering money

What happens to intrinsic motivation after being rewarded for an
activity?

 external reward diminishes intrinsic motivation for a task

including offering money

Define learned helplessness.

belief that they have no control over the outcomes of their actions, leading them to stop trying to change their circumstances, even when opportunities for improvement are available.

What is the human counterpart to learned helplessness?

Depression

Why does learned helplessness occur

Trauma, related failure, or negative feedback loops

Define self-regulation.

Ability to control and manage one’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in long-term goals

What are the 3 pre-requisites of self-regulation?

self-awareness, self control, goal setting

Describe the Marshmallow Study.

Children who waited for two marshmallows to eat instead of

one (delayed gratification) showed better life outcomes in adulthood

What does successful self-regulation in the Marshmallow Study
predict in adulthood?

Higher academic achievement, financial stability, etc.

Describe the relationship between free will and self-regulation.

Represents the ability to control one’s thoughts and emotions, they have the choice to do one thing but choose the more advantageous option

does increasing self-awareness increase or decreased self-regulation?

 increased self-awareness increases self-regulation by encouraging better decision-making.

In what specific circumstances would increased self-awareness does not increase self-regulation

 in certain high-pressure situations, it might lead to anxiety and decreased regulation.

how can we impose self-awareness in experimental settings

methods like mirrors, video recordings, or self-reflection prompts

when might self-awareness prompt cheating?

individuals are reminded of their self- interest or are in situations where they feel their behavior is not being directly observed.

Define ego depletion

Willpower is a limited resource that can be used up

What are some causes of ego depletion?

delayed gratification, stress, distraction, alcohol, decision making, fatigue, multi-tasking, concentration

What are the consequences/effects of ego depletion?

 cheating, lying, avoidance, aggression, selfishness,

antisocial behavior, impulsivity and emotionally

What are some consequences of not believing in free will?

a breakdown in self-regulation like cheating, impulsive behavior and selfishness

Define self-determination theory.

Focuses on the intrinsic motivation to achieve autonomy, competence, and relatedness in life.

Describe the main principle of self-determination theory.

People are most motivated when they have the freedom to make

choices and are supported in their abilities.

What are the two central traits/dimensions of personality that
people tend to judge one another on?

warmth and competence

Describe the Halo Effect.

making generalized evaluations of a person based on a central trait like “you’re attractive I bet you’re nice”

How might the Halo Effect impact people’s judgements on
someone who is physically attractive?

unfair advantages for those who are physically attractive in social, academic, and professional situations

Describe autistic hostility.

how individuals on the autism spectrum may misinterpret social cues, leading to hostility or incorrect judgments

Define confirmation bias.

tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information that confirms one’s preexisting beliefs.

Define internal attribution (aka. Internal disposition). Provide an
example.

The tendency to explain behavior or events by blaming personal factors. ex. I failed the test because I didn’t study

Define external attribution (aka. External disposition). Provide an
example.

the belief that a person's behavior or an event is caused by the situation they are in. ex. blaming a traffic jam for being late to work

Individualistic cultures

The US and Western European countries

Collectivist cultures

Asian, African, and Latin American countries

What do individualistic cultures emphasize

Personal responsibility and internal attributions, attribute behavior to individual traits, personality, or intentions

What do collectivist cultures emphasize

Group harmony, interdependence, makes external attributions considering social context and group expectations

How do we tend to attribute behaviors towards ourselves?

Internal attributions about successes and external attributions for their failures, aka self-serving bias

How do we tend to attribute behaviors towards other people?

 We are more likely to make external attributions for our own behavior but internal attributions for others' behavior.

How does empathy impact attribution towards other people?

When we put ourselves in someone else’s shoes, we are more likely to make situational attributions

Define Fundamental Attribution Error. Provide an example

Tendency for people to overemphasize internal factors (like personality) when explaining others' behavior, while underestimating the role of external/ situational factors.

ex. person cuts in line, you think mean person, they were running late to a meeting

Define confirmation bias. Provide an example.

Tendency to search for or favor info in a way that confirms one’s beliefs or values

ex. you search up “are dogs better than cats” and press on the article that says dogs are better than cats because you like dogs more

How do people fulfill their own confirmation biases?

when they select information that supports their views, ignoring contrary information

Define selective attention. Provide an example.

 the process by which we focus on certain aspects of our

environment while ignoring others.

ex. listening to what your friend is saying when you’re in a noisy room

Define interpretation. Provide an example.

Process by which we assign meaning to the information we perceive. It involves making sense of stimuli based on our experiences, cultural background, and personal beliefs.

ex. person walking with head down, other person thinks they are sad, but some would think they are just lost in thought

Define self-serving bias. Provide an example.

Internal attributions about successes and external attributions for their failures

ex. good grade was due to studying hard, bad grade was due to bad teaching

How does the self-serving bias differ across cultures?

Individualistic culture: they did well because they are skilled at public speaking

Collectivist culture: they did poorly because the team didn’t practice enough together

Define self-fulfilling prophecy. Provide an example.

occurs when a belief about a person/ event leads to behaviors that cause the belief or expectation to come true

Define automatic inferences.

Conclusions that are reached without conscious effort or awareness, can occur in everyday conversation, social interactions, and technical applications. 

How accurate are automatic inferences, in reference to personality traits?

Somewhat accurate, accuracy varies depending on the context and the individual making the inference

How Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs operates

Psychological theory proposed by Abraham Maslow in 1943.

It suggests that humans are motivated by a series of hierarchical needs.

These needs are typically visualized as a pyramid, with basic needs at the bottom and higher needs at the top.

The theory suggests that individuals must fulfill lower-level needs before moving on to higher-level needs.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs order of levels

physiological needs

safety needs

love and belonging needs

self-actualization

What conditions make women feel lonely?

they lack close one-on-one relationships

What conditions make men feel lonely?

when isolated from group interactions

Define the sociometer hypothesis.

suggests that self-esteem is essentially a gauge or "sociometer" that monitors the degree to which individuals perceive themselves to be accepted or valued by others.

Describe the results of the self-esteem and choice of interaction
partners study when it comes to people with high self-esteem (Rudich & Vallacher, 1999)

They tend to choose interactions that are more positive

Seek out environments and people that reinforce their positive self-concept and feelings of belonging

Describe the results of the self-esteem and choice of interaction
partners study when it comes to people with low self-esteem (Rudich & Vallacher, 1999)

More likely to avoid interactions that could lead to rejection or negative evaluations

Gravitates towards situations with a lower likelihood of social rejection

Self-worth is fragile

Describe behavior confirmation. Provide an example.

A self-fulfilling prophecy where expectations lead people to act in ways that confirm those expectations.

ex. teacher expects student to struggle making them provide less support, leading the student to perform worse, confirming the teacher’s expectations

Describe high self-monitoring characteristics.

Can adjust behavior according to the context/ audience

Wide variety of social roles and relationships

Charismatic and able to navigate different social situations

Describe low self-monitoring characteristics.

Acts consistently across different situations

Less influenced by external expectations

Authentic and straightforward in interactions

Few social roles, less likely to adjust their behavior to please others

high self-monitoring friendship vs lower self-monitoring friendship

high: wide circle of friends

low: fewer friends

high self-monitoring relationships vs lower self-monitoring relationships

high: more attuned to their partners needs and preferences and might adjust their behavior to ensure relationship stays good

low: more authentic and straightforward relationship

Define self-verification theory.

people want to be seen positively but also accurately

How do people with low self-esteem respond to positive feedback about themselves over time?

they resist it and seem to prefer negative or “accurate” feedback

Provide examples of nonverbal behavior.

facial expressions, body language, posture

What is the purpose of nonverbal behavior versus verbal behavior?

establish and maintain relationships between people

What is the most important facial display for communicating
feelings during social interaction?

smiling

How do people create “psychological space”? When do people
engage in this behavior?

physical distance, emotional detachment, solitude

Why do we mimic the nonverbal behavior of other?

build social connection and rapport

When does behavioral mimicry make social interaction partners
uncomfortable?

business meetings, classrooms

What are the cultural differences in engaging in behavioral mimicry during social interaction?

individualistic - mimicry less pronounced, people prioritize being unique

collectivists - mimicry is a sign of respect, creates group unity

Under what circumstances do men typically feel jealous?

paternity uncertainty, sexual jealousy

Under what circumstances do women typically feel jealous?

emotional involvement with other women

How does perceived power influence intentions and behaviors
related to infidelity?

individuals who feel empowered or disempowered within a relationship may show different attitudes toward cheating

What evidence supports a genetic basis for homosexuality?

erotic plasticity

What is the most important factor to relationship commitment?

outcomes (rewards)

What is the most important factor in relationship
breakup/dissolution?

alternatives

what does CL stand for in the Social Exhange Theory

comparison level, if the outcomes exceed their CL, they are likely to be satisfied with the relationship. 

According to Social Exchange Theory, what arrangement of
outcome, comparison level, and alternative comparison level
predict the following:
• A satisfied, stable relationship

good outcome and CL, person is happy

According to Social Exchange Theory, what arrangement of
outcome, comparison level, and alternative comparison level
predict the following:

• A satisfied, unstable relationship

outcomes exceed CL, unstable because they perceive attractive alternatives

According to Social Exchange Theory, what arrangement of
outcome, comparison level, and alternative comparison level
predict the following:

• A unsatisfied, stable relationship

outcomes are less than CL, perceives alternatives are worse

Describe the closing time phenomenon. Provide an example.

psychological effect, makes people perceptions of potential romantic/ sexual partners more favorable as closing time approaches

ex. feels like last chance to meet someone and a sense of urgency, goes to person that they had noticed earlier but didn’t talk to,

what are the attachment styles

secure and anxious avoidant

secure attachment style

predict the greatest relationship satisfaction, intimacy, and

commitment

anxious attachment style

predict the lowest relationship satisfaction, intimacy, and

commitment

According to Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love, what are the 8 types of love?

intimacy, passion, commitment, romantic love, compassionate love, fatuous love and consummate love

component of intimacy

liking intimacy alone

component of passion

infatuation

component of commitment

empty love

component of compassionate love

intimacy and commitment

component of romantic love

intimacy and passion

component of fatuous love

passion and commitment

component of consummate love

passion, intimacy and commitment

How has the role of passionate love in marriage evolved over time?

tends to become the dominant form of love in marriage (intimacy + commitment), leading to deep emotional bonds and stability

Describe the mere exposure effect.

psychological phenomenon where people develop a preference for things because they are exposed to them more frequently.

applies to stimuli, faces, sounds, objects, and even

people.

How attractive are perfectly average computer composite faces?

combining of multiple faces, rated more attractive due to symmetry, showing health and genetic diversity

What is the waist to hip ratio?

.70 1.00 for women

When do women prefer feminized male faces?

during non-ovulation