Unit 4: Social Psychology

Flashcards on social psychology, personality, motivation, and emotion.

Attribution

The explanation people give for their own or others' behavior.

Dispositional Attribution

Explaining behavior based on internal factors (e.g., personality, intelligence, effort).

Situational Attribution

Explaining behavior based on external factors (e.g., environment, luck, social influences).

Explanatory Style

The habitual way a person explains events in their life.

Optimistic Explanatory Style

Attributing failures to external, temporary, and specific factors while attributing successes to internal factors.

Pessimistic Explanatory Style

Attributing failures to internal, stable, and global causes, leading to a sense of helplessness.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overestimate dispositional factors and underestimate situational factors when explaining others' behavior.

Actor-Observer Bias

The tendency to attribute our own behavior to situational factors but others' behavior to dispositional factors.

Self-Serving Bias

The tendency to attribute successes to dispositional factors and failures to situational factors.

Locus of Control

The extent to which people believe they control events in their lives.

Internal Locus of Control

The belief that one's actions directly influence outcomes.

External Locus of Control

The belief that external factors (e.g., luck, fate, or other people) determine outcomes.

Mere Exposure Effect

The tendency to develop a preference for things we are repeatedly exposed to.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

When people's expectations about themselves or others influence behavior in a way that makes those expectations come true.

Social Comparison Theory

The process of evaluating oneself by comparing to others.

Upward Social Comparison

Comparing oneself to someone perceived as better.

Downward Social Comparison

Comparing oneself to someone perceived as worse.

Relative Deprivation

Feeling deprived or disadvantaged when comparing oneself to others, even if one's situation has not changed.

Ghrelin

A hormone that increases hunger (secreted when the stomach is empty).

Leptin

A hormone that signals fullness and helps regulate long-term appetite.

Hypothalamus

The brain structure that regulates hunger and satiety by processing signals from ghrelin and leptin.

External Eating Cues

Environmental factors that influence eating behavior.

Emotion (Affect)

A complex psychological process influenced by internal and external factors, distinct from reasoning or knowledge.

Facial-Feedback Hypothesis

Suggests that facial expressions influence emotional experience.

Broaden-and-Build Theory of Emotion

Proposes that positive emotions broaden awareness and negative emotions narrow focus.

Display Rules

Cultural norms that dictate how and when emotions should be expressed.

Projective Tests

Personality assessments that use ambiguous stimuli to uncover unconscious thoughts.

Rorschach Inkblot Test

Individuals describe what they see in inkblots, revealing unconscious thoughts.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Individuals create stories based on ambiguous pictures, which reveal unconscious motives and conflicts.

Humanistic Psychology

Focuses on personal growth, free will, and self-actualization rather than unconscious conflicts.

Unconditional Positive Regard

Accepting and valuing a person without conditions or judgment.

Self-Actualization

The drive to fulfill one's highest potential and become the best version of oneself.

Self-Concept

The collection of beliefs about oneself, shaping identity and behavior.

Social-Cognitive Theory

A personality theory that emphasizes how thoughts, social interactions, and environment influence behavior.

Reciprocal Determinism

Bandura's idea that personality is shaped by the interaction between personal factors, behavior, and environmental influences.

Self-Efficacy

A person's belief in their ability to succeed in specific tasks.

Self-Esteem

A person's overall sense of self-worth and value.

Trait Theory

A perspective that views personality as a set of stable, enduring characteristics that shape behavior.

The Big Five Theory of Personality (OCEAN Model)

A widely accepted model that identifies five major personality traits: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

Personality Inventories

Standardized tests used to measure personality traits.

Factor Analysis

A statistical technique used to identify clusters of personality traits based on test responses.

Persuasion

Efforts to change beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors through communication.

Elaboration Likelihood Model

Describes two routes to persuasion: central and peripheral.

Central Route to Persuasion

Persuasion through logical arguments and critical thinking.

Peripheral Route to Persuasion

Persuasion through superficial cues like attractiveness or emotional appeal.

Halo Effect

The tendency to assume someone's positive traits in one area extend to other areas.

Foot-in-the-Door Technique

Gaining compliance by starting with a small request and then making a larger request later.

Door-in-the-Face Technique

Gaining compliance by starting with a large, unreasonable request, then following up with a smaller, more reasonable one.

Superordinate Goals

Shared goals that require cooperation between groups, reducing tension and conflict.

Social Trap

A situation where individuals act in their own self-interest, leading to negative outcomes for the group.

Individualism

Values independence and personal success.

Collectivism

Values group harmony and collective well-being.

Multiculturalism

A perspective that recognizes and values cultural differences in society.

Group Polarization

The tendency for group discussions to strengthen the group's existing opinions.

Groupthink

When a group prioritizes harmony over critical thinking, leading to poor decision-making.

Diffusion of Responsibility

The tendency to feel less responsible for taking action in a group setting.

Social Loafing

Putting in less effort when working in a group compared to working alone.

Deindividuation

Losing self-awareness and restraint in group situations.

Social Facilitation

Performing better on simple tasks in front of an audience, but potentially worse on complex tasks.

False Consensus Effect

The tendency to overestimate how much others agree with one's beliefs or behaviors.

Industrial-Organizational (I/O) Psychology

The study of human behavior in the workplace.

Burnout

Physical and emotional exhaustion due to prolonged work-related stress.

Stereotype

A generalized belief about a group of people.

Prejudice

A negative attitude toward a group and its members, often based on stereotypes.

Discrimination

Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members, influenced by prejudice.

Implicit Attitudes

Unconscious beliefs that affect behavior without awareness.

Just-World Phenomenon

The tendency to believe that people get what they deserve.

Out-Group Homogeneity Bias

The tendency to perceive members of an out-group as all the same while seeing in-group members as diverse.

In-Group Bias

Favoring members of one's own group over others.

Ethnocentrism

Judging another culture based on one's own cultural standards rather than understanding it on its own terms.

Belief Perseverance

The tendency to cling to initial beliefs even after they have been discredited.

Confirmation Bias

Seeking out information that supports preexisting beliefs and ignoring contradictory evidence.

Cognitive Dissonance

The psychological discomfort that occurs when a person's attitudes and behaviors conflict.

Social Norms

Unwritten rules about how to behave in society or specific situations.

Social Influence Theory

The idea that people's thoughts and behaviors are influenced by social pressure.

Normative Social Influence

Conforming to gain social acceptance or avoid rejection.

Informational Social Influence

Conforming because one believes others are correct.

Conformity

Adjusting behavior or thinking to align with group norms.

Obedience

Following direct commands from an authority figure.

Altruism

Helping others selflessly, even at a personal cost.

Social Reciprocity Norm

The expectation that people will help those who have helped them.

Social Responsibility Norm

The expectation that people will help those who depend on them.

Bystander Effect

The tendency to be less likely to help in an emergency when others are present, due to diffusion of responsibility.

Psychodynamic Theory

A psychological theory that emphasizes the role of unconscious drives and conflicts in shaping personality and behavior.

Unconscious Processes

Mental processes that occur outside of conscious awareness, including thoughts, feelings, and motivations.

Ego Defense Mechanisms

Psychological strategies used to protect oneself from unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or impulses.

Denial

Refusing to acknowledge or accept reality.

Displacement

Redirecting unacceptable impulses or feelings from the original source to a safer, substitute target.

Projection

Attributing one's own unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or impulses to others.

Rationalization

Creating false but plausible excuses to justify unacceptable behavior.

Reaction Formation

Behaving in a way that is the opposite of one's true feelings or impulses.

Regression

Returning to an earlier stage of development in response to stress or anxiety.

Repression

Unconsciously blocking unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or impulses from awareness.

Sublimation

Channeling unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable activities.

Drive-Reduction Theory

The theory that motivation arises from the desire to reduce internal drives, such as hunger or thirst.

The theory that motivation is influenced

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Suggests that there is a relationship between arousal and performance; Optimal performance occurs at intermediate arousal levels, depending on the complexity of the task.

Self-Determination Theory

Focuses on autonomy, competence, and relatedness as intrinsic motivators for behavior and growth.

Incentive Theory

Suggests that behavior is motivated by the pull of external goals, such as rewards.

Instinct Theory

Proposes that behavior is driven by innate patterns of behavior.