Social Psychology and Personality - Comprehensive Notes

Attribution Theory and Person Perception

Attributions

  • Explanations people give for behaviors and mental processes.
  • Two Main Types:
    • Dispositional (Internal) Attributions
      • Related to personal qualities.
      • Example: "She succeeded because she's intelligent"
    • Situational (External) Attributions
      • Related to environmental factors.
      • Example: "He failed because the test was too difficult"
    • Question: Can you identify a recent situation where you made a dispositional vs situational attribution?

Explanatory Style

  • Pattern of how people explain events in their lives.
  • Two Primary Styles:
    • Optimistic Explanatory Style
      • Good events: Internal, stable, global.
      • Bad events: External, temporary, specific.
    • Pessimistic Explanatory Style
      • Good events: External, temporary, specific.
      • Bad events: Internal, stable, global.
    • Question: How might explanatory style affect someone's academic performance?

Attribution Biases

  • Actor/Observer Bias
    • Causes people to judge their own behavior differently from how they judge the behavior of others.
  • Fundamental Attribution Error
    • Tendency for people to attribute others' behaviors primarily to their personality or character traits, while underestimating the influence of situational factors or context, essentially judging others harshly based on their actions without considering the circumstances surrounding them.

Attribution Biases

  • Self-Serving Bias
    • Our tendency to attribute positive outcomes and successes to internal factors like our personal traits, skills, or actions.
    • Question: How might these biases affect workplace relationships?

Locus of Control

  • Internal Locus of Control: Belief that one controls their own fate.
    • "My efforts determine my success"
    • Associated with higher achievement
  • External Locus of Control: Belief that external forces control outcomes.
    • "Luck determines my success"
    • Can lead to learned helplessness
    • Question: How does your locus of control affect your approach to studying?

Perception

  • The Mere Exposure Effect: Increased liking of stimuli through repeated exposure.
    • Key aspects:
      • Unconscious process
      • No reinforcement needed
      • Works with various stimuli
    • Research Application Question: Design a study to test the mere exposure effect in social media advertising.
    • Cultural Connection: How might this effect influence music preferences across different cultures?

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

  • People can behave in ways that elicit behaviors from others that confirm their beliefs or perceptions about themselves or others.
  • Question: Analyze how teacher expectations might create a self-fulfilling prophecy in academic performance.
  • Research Design Question: How would you control for experimenter bias in a study on self-fulfilling prophecies?

Social Comparison

  • Social comparison is a type of person perception that occurs when people evaluate themselves based on comparisons to other members of society or social circles.
  • Types of Social Comparison:
    • Upward comparison (comparing to those perceived as better).
    • Downward comparison (comparing to those perceived as worse).
    • Relative Deprivation:
      • Perceived disadvantage based on comparisons.
    • Critical Thinking Question: How might social media influence social comparison processes?

Stereotypes and Cognitive Load

  • A stereotype is a generalized concept about a group.
  • Stereotypes can help reduce cognitive load when making decisions or judgments.
    • Stereotypes can be the cause and/or result of biased perceptions and experiences.
    • Frequently the basis of prejudiced attitudes and discriminatory behaviors.
    • Question: Evaluate how stereotypes might influence hiring decisions in workplace settings.
    • Cultural Application: Analyze stereotypes' role in cross-cultural communication.

Implicit Attitudes

  • Implicit attitudes: those that individuals hold but may be unaware of or may not acknowledge.
    • Research has focused on how implicit attitudes reflect negative evaluations of others, as demonstrated by:
      • just-world phenomenon: cognitive bias that leads people to believe that the world is fair, individuals get what they deserve.
        • Can result in blaming victims for their misfortunes, as it assumes that bad things happen to people because of their own actions.
        • Ex: If someone hears about a person losing their job, they might think, "They must not have been good at their work," rather than considering other factors like company downsizing or economic conditions.
        • How do cultural beliefs and societal norms reinforce this bias?
        • How might this phenomenon affect perceptions of justice and inequality across different cultures?

Implicit Attitudes

  • out-group homogeneity bias: tendency to perceive members of an out-group as being more similar to each other than members of one's own in-group.
    • can lead to stereotyping and oversimplified views of other groups.
    • Ex: A person might think, "All members of that club are alike and have the same interests," while recognizing the diversity and individuality within their own club.
    • How does this bias influence intercultural relations and the formation of stereotypes?
    • What role does cultural exposure play in mitigating or exacerbating this bias?
  • in-group bias: tendency to favor, show preference for members of one's own group over out-groups.
    • can lead to discrimination and preferential treatment of in-group members.

Implicit Attitudes

  • Ex: A teacher might give more attention and better grades to students who belong to the same cultural or social group as themselves, compared to students from different backgrounds.
  • ethnocentrism: tendency to view one's own culture, ethnic group, or social group as superior to others.
    • involves using one's own cultural norms and values as a standard to judge, evaluate other cultures.
    • Ex: An individual might believe that their country's customs and traditions are the "correct" way of doing things, and view other cultures' practices as strange or inferior.
    • How does ethnocentrism shape intercultural interactions and attitudes toward diversity?
    • What are the implications of ethnocentrism for global cooperation and conflict?

Belief Perseverance

  • Belief perseverance: occurs when a belief persists even if evidence suggests it is not accurate.
    • People experiencing belief perseverance may engage in confirmation bias, thereby clinging to an attitude or belief regardless of the evidence for or against it.
    • Question: How might belief perseverance affect scientific research?
    • Research Design: Develop a method to measure belief perseverance in political opinions.

Cognitive Dissonance

  • Cognitive dissonance: the mental discomfort that occurs when actions or attitudes are in conflict.
    • People are motivated to reduce the discomfort by changing either actions or attitudes to be more in line with each other.
    • Question: Analyze how cognitive dissonance might influence classroom behavior.

Social Norms

  • Social norms: define expectations and roles a society may have for its members in individual and social situations.
  • Social influence theory: social pressure to behave or think in certain ways can be normative or informational.
  • Persuasion: techniques applied to convince the self or others of particular ideas, actions, or beliefs.

Persuasion

  • Persuasion can depend on the route to persuasion.
    • The elaboration likelihood model outlines two main routes to persuasion: central and peripheral.
      • The halo effect is an example of a peripheral route to persuasion.
  • Persuasion can depend on how information is presented
    • demonstrated by the foot-in-the-door and the door-in-the-face techniques.

Conformity

  • Research on conformity clarifies the conditions that strengthen the likelihood of people adhering to unspoken rules, norms, or expectations.
  • Research on obedience clarifies the conditions that strengthen the likelihood of people complying with the directives of an authority figure.
  • Cultural phenomena such as individualism, collectivism, and multiculturalism can influence how one perceives and behaves toward oneself and others.

Culture

  • Cultural phenomena can influence how one perceives and behaves toward oneself and others.
  • Individualism: emphasizes the importance of personal autonomy, individual rights, and independence.
    • people are encouraged to prioritize personal goals, values, desires over the group.
    • Self-reliance, personal achievement, and self-expression are highly valued.
    • For example, individuals in individualistic cultures may focus on pursuing their own careers, personal development, and individual success.
  • Collectivism: emphasizes the importance of the group, community, or society over the individual.
    • people are encouraged to prioritize group goals, values, and cohesion over personal desires.

Culture

  • Loyalty, cooperation, and interdependence are highly valued.
  • For example, individuals in collectivist cultures may focus on maintaining strong family ties, contributing to the community, and working towards the collective well-being
  • Multiculturalism: recognizes and values the coexistence of diverse cultural, ethnic, and racial groups within a society.
    • emphasizes the importance of preserving and respecting different cultural identities, while promoting equal opportunities and social inclusion.
    • encourages intercultural dialogue, understanding, collaboration.
    • For example, a multicultural society may support cultural festivals, language preservation programs, policies that promote diversity and inclusion in education and the workplace.

Conformity

  • Being a member of a group can influence how one behaves or experiences mental processes via
    • group polarization
    • groupthink
    • diffusion of responsibility; Bystander effect
    • social loafing
    • deindividuation
  • Performing a mental or physical behavior in front of a group can lead to social facilitation.
  • People often overestimate the levels to which others agree with them, known as the false consensus effect; “False Consensus effect”

Conformity

  • Superordinate goals serve to unite disparate groups under a common goal and help reduce negative affect and stereotyping among groups.
    • Robber’s Cave experiment: conducted by Muzafer Sherif in 1954, involved two groups of boys at a summer camp kept apart to form group identities. The study demonstrated how intergroup conflict and hostility could be reduced through cooperation and the pursuit of common goals, highlighting the importance of superordinate goals in resolving intergroup tensions.
    • Social traps occur when individuals do not unite and act in their own self-interest to the detriment of the group.

Obedience

  • Research on obedience clarifies the conditions that strengthen the likelihood of people complying with the directives of an authority figure. For example the famous Milgram experiment suggests that people would go so far as to harm someone if a person of authority told them to do so.

Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

  • Study how people perform in the workplace. I/O psychologists study best practices in the management of work, relationships among people working together or for a common company or program, and how people feel about work (burnout).

Prosocial Behavior

  • Prosocial behavior, which involves actions intended to benefit others; helping, sharing, cooperating, has significant effects on both behavior, mental processes.
    • Increased Cooperation and Altruism: promotes cooperation and altruism w/in a community.
    • Social Norms and Expectations: reinforces positive social norms and expectations.
    • Enhanced Well-Being and Happiness: significantly boosts an individual's well-being and happiness.
    • Reduced Stress and Anxiety: reduce stress and anxiety levels.
    • Improved Cognitive Functioning: linked to improved cognitive functioning
    • Strengthened Social Bonds: fosters stronger social connections

Altruism

  • Altruism: selfless behavior. Some researchers suggest that people act in prosocial ways due to incurring social debt. The social reciprocity norm and the social responsibility norm explain this type of behavior.
    • norm of reciprocity: social rule, encourages individuals to return favors and help those who have helped them. This norm reinforces altruistic behavior by creating a sense of obligation to reciprocate acts
    • Social responsibility: ethical framework, suggests individuals/ organizations have an obligation to act for the benefit of society at large.often stems from altruistic motivations. When individuals and organizations adopt socially responsible practices, they are typically driven by a desire to make a positive impact on society and help others. In this sense, social responsibility can be seen as a broader, more structured application of altruistic principles.

The Bystander Effect

  • The bystander effect demonstrates that situational and attentional variables predict whether someone is likely to help another person.

Personality: Psychodynamic Theory

  • According to Psychodynamic theory, personality is driven by unconscious processes
    • Understanding the role of unconscious mind in behavior
    • Historical context: Freud's contributions
    • Discussion Question: How do unconscious processes influence daily decisions?

Ego Defense

  • Denial: Refusing to accept reality
    • Ex.: A person who has been diagnosed with a serious illness refuses to accept the diagnosis and insists that they are perfectly healthy.
  • Displacement: Redirecting emotions to a safer target
    • A person who is frustrated with their boss at work may come home and take out their anger on their family members instead of confronting the boss.
  • Projection: Attributing own feelings to others
    • A person who cheats on a test justifies their behavior by saying that everyone else was cheating too, and they needed to do it to keep up.
  • Rationalization: Creating logical explanations for behaviors
    • Example: A student blaming their poor test performance on an "unfair" exam

Ego Defense

  • Reaction Formation: Converting feelings to their opposite
    • A person who feels insecure about their abilities might behave in an overly confident and arrogant manner to mask their true feelings
  • Regression: Reverting to earlier developmental behaviors
    • A college student who is overwhelmed by stress might start sucking their thumb or cuddling with a childhood stuffed animal for comfort.
  • Repression: Pushing threatening thoughts to unconscious
    • A person who has experienced a traumatic event, such as an accident or assault, might unconsciously block the memory from their awareness, making it difficult to recall the event.
  • Sublimation: Converting negative urges into positive actions
    • A person with aggressive tendencies might channel their energy into competitive sports or rigorous physical exercise as a way to release their aggression constructively

Psychodynamic Personality

  • Psychodynamic personality psychologists assess personality using projective tests that are designed to probe the preconscious and unconscious mind.
  • According to humanistic psychology, personality focuses on unconditional regard and the self-actualizing tendency as primary motivating factors.

Psychodynamic Personality

  • Psychodynamic personality psychologists assess personality using projective tests that are designed to probe the preconscious and unconscious mind.
    • Rorschach Inkblot Test
    • Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
    • Purpose: Probing preconscious and unconscious mind
    • *Take a projective test

Humanistic Psychology

  • This is an approach that emphasizes the inherent goodness of individuals, their potential for growth, the importance of self-awareness, personal experiences.
  • Primary motivating factors:
    • Unconditional positive regard: accept, value a person w/out conditions or judgment. Involves providing an environment where people feel free to express themselves w/out fear of rejection, criticism.
      • Ex: A therapist listens to a client's experiences w/ empathy, understanding, accepting them as they are w/out imposing any conditions or judgments. Acceptance helps clients feel safe, supported, fostering personal growth, self-exploration.
      • Significance: Unconditional positive regard is crucial for fostering self-esteem and self-worth. It helps individuals develop a positive self-concept, which is essential for their emotional well-being and psychological growth.

Humanistic Psychology

  • Self-actualizing tendency: innate drive in everyone to realize their full potential & achieve personal growth, fulfillment. Involves the pursuit of meaningful goals, self-improvement, the realization of one's unique talents and capabilities.
    • Ex: Artist who dedicates themselves to their craft, continually striving to improve their skills and express their creativity, is exhibiting the self-actualizing tendency. They are driven by an internal motivation to achieve their highest potential and create meaningful work.
    • Significance: The self-actualizing tendency is central to Humanistic Psychology as it represents the ultimate goal of personal development. Achieving self-actualization leads to a sense of fulfillment and purpose, as individuals align their actions with their true values and aspirations.

Social-Cognitive Theory

  • Social-cognitive theory, developed by Albert Bandura, posits that personality is shaped by the interaction of cognitive, behavioral, and environmental factors. A key concept within this theory is reciprocal determinism, which suggests that these three factors influence each other in a dynamic and reciprocal manner.
    • Reciprocal determinism: the idea that an individual's behavior, cognitive processes (such as beliefs and attitudes), and environmental context all interact and influence each other continuously. This means that a person's actions can affect their environment, which in turn can influence their thoughts and behaviors, creating a cycle of mutual influence.
      • Ex: Alex actively participates in debate practices and competitions, putting effort into researching and developing arguments. Alex's enthusiasm and commitment to the debate team positively impact the team's overall performance and morale.

Self-Concept: Self-Efficacy and Self-Esteem

  • Self-Concept: refers to how individuals perceive themselves, including their beliefs, values, and attitudes about their own identity and abilities. It encompasses self-efficacy and self-esteem, both of which play crucial roles in shaping one's self-concept.
    • Self-Efficacy: As Alex gains experience and receives positive feedback from peers and coaches, their belief in their ability to debate effectively increases.
    • Self-Esteem: Winning debates and receiving recognition boosts Alex's self-esteem, making them feel valued and competent.
  • Environment Context: The supportive environment of the debate team, including encouragement from coaches and camaraderie among team members, reinforces Alex's positive self-concept. The praise and constructive feedback from coaches and peers create a positive learning atmosphere that encourages continuous improvement.

Trait Theories

  • Trait theories of personality conclude that personality involves a set of enduring characteristics that lead to typical responses to stimuli.
  • Typical Responses to Stimuli
    • According to trait theories, an individual's traits influence how they perceive and respond to various stimuli.
      • For example: Extraverted individuals are likely to seek out social interactions and feel energized by being around others, while introverted individuals may prefer solitary activities and feel drained by excessive socializing.
      • Highly conscientious individuals are likely to be organized and diligent in their work, whereas those low in conscientiousness may struggle with procrastination and disorganization.
      • Emotionally stable individuals tend to remain calm and composed in stressful situations, while those high in neuroticism may experience anxiety and emotional turmoil.

Trait Theories

  • Gordon Allport's Trait Theory: Allport identified three levels of traits:
    • Cardinal traits: These are traits that dominate an individual's entire personality. Cardinal traits are thought to be quite rare.
    • Central traits: Common traits that make up our personalities. Traits such as kindness, honesty, and friendliness are all examples of central traits.
    • Secondary traits: These are traits that are only present under certain conditions and circumstances. An example of a secondary trait would be getting nervous before delivering a speech to a large group of people.
  • Raymond Cattell's 16 Personality Factors: Cattell used factor analysis to identify 16 underlying personality traits, which he believed could be used to predict an individual's behavior across different situations.
  • Hans Eysenck's Three-Factor Model: Eysenck proposed that personality could be described using three major dimensions: extraversion-introversion, neuroticism-stability, and psychoticism.

Trait Theories

  • Trait theories of personality conclude that personality involves a set of enduring characteristics that lead to typical responses to stimuli.
  • Traits are relatively stable over time and across different contexts, making them key components in understanding an individual's consistent patterns of behavior, thoughts, and emotions.
  • Big Five personality traits, which include:;
    • Openness to Experience: Imagination, creativity, curiosity, and a willingness to try new things.
    • Conscientiousness: Organization, reliability, self-discipline, and goal-oriented behavior.
    • Extraversion: Sociability, assertiveness, energy, and positive emotions.
    • Agreeableness: Compassion, cooperation, trustworthiness, and empathy.
    • Neuroticism: Emotional instability, anxiety, moodiness, and vulnerability.

Motivation Theory

  • Motivation theory: explains what compels us to take certain actions. Some theories credit instincts, drive, or arousal levels for helping us get and stay motivated, others suggest that motivation is derived from certain human needs, our expectations, or a desire for external rewards.
  • Drive Reduction Theory, Clark Hull: motivation arises from biological needs that create internal drives. These drives push individuals to take actions that will reduce the drive and restore homeostasis (a state of balance).
    • Ex:Hunger; person feels hungry, their body experiences a drive to eat. This motivates to seek food, consume it, reducing the hunger drive & restoring homeostasis. Thirst; body signals a need for hydration. The drive to drink water motivates them to find a source of water and drink it, reducing the thirst drive and maintaining balance. Sleep;sleep-deprived, body generates a drive for sleep. This drive compels them to find a place to rest, allowing them to sleep and reduce the sleep drive.
    • Research Question: How could you design an experiment to test if sleep deprivation affects drive-reduction behaviors?

Motivation Theory

  • Arousal Theory Robert Yerkes/Dodson: individuals seek to maintain an optimal level of arousal. Arousal refers to a state of physiological and psychological alertness. According to this theory, people are motivated to engage in behaviors that help them achieve and maintain their optimal arousal level.
    • Ex: Curiosity and Exploration; A person with low arousal may seek out stimulating activities, such as exploring new places, trying new hobbies, or engaging in challenging tasks, to increase their arousal level and reach an optimal state.
    • Relaxation and Stress Reduction; A person experiencing high arousal, such as stress or anxiety, may engage in calming activities like meditation, reading, or taking a walk to lower their arousal level and achieve balance.
  • *Yerkes-Dodson Law: The Yerkes-Dodson Law, part of Arousal Theory, suggests that there is an optimal level of arousal for peak performance. For simple tasks, higher arousal levels can enhance performance, while for complex tasks, moderate arousal levels are most effective. For example, an athlete might perform better with higher arousal during a competition, but a student might perform best on a difficult exam with moderate arousal levels.

Self Determination Theory

  • A theory of human motivation emphasizing autonomy, competence, and relatedness for intrinsic motivation and well-being.
  • Ex: A student selects a subject they enjoy, feels capable, and connects with classmates, leading to higher motivation and satisfaction.
  • Current Study: Research by Ryan & Deci (2020) shows supporting autonomy in education boosts student engagement and performance.

Self Determination Theory

  • Framework that explores human motivation and personality; Deci, Ryan, SDT emphasizes the importance of intrinsic motivation—motivation that comes from within, rather than from external rewards or pressures.
    • Key Components:
      • Autonomy: The need to feel in control of one's own behaviors and goals.
      • Competence: The need to gain mastery of tasks and learn different skills.
      • Relatedness: The need to feel a sense of belonging and attachment to others.
    • Ex: A student who chooses to study a subject they are passionate about, feels confident in their abilities, and has a supportive social network is more likely to be intrinsically motivated and achieve higher satisfaction.
    • Current Study: Research by Ryan & Deci (2020) shows supporting autonomy in education boosts student engagement and performance.

Incentive Theory

  • A theory of motivation that suggests behavior is driven by external rewards and punishments. People are motivated to act by incentives that promise pleasure or reward, and to avoid incentives that bring pain or punishment.
  • Ex.:A student studies hard to receive good grades (reward) and avoid failing (punishment).

Instinct

  • Many non-human animals are motivated by instincts (innate, typically fixed patterns of behavior in animals in response to certain stimuli).
  • Humans do not seem to demonstrate instinctual behavior or mental processes.

Lewin’s Motivational Conflicts Theory

  • Choices create conflicts one must resolve as the basis of motivation. The types of conflicts faced include:
    • Approach-Approach Conflict: Choosing between two desirable options. Ex: Deciding between two job offers, both with attractive benefits.
    • Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict: Choosing between two undesirable options. Ex: Deciding between doing a disliked chore or facing a punishment for not doing it.
    • Approach-Avoidance Conflict: One option has both appealing and unappealing aspects. Ex: Accepting a high-paying job that requires relocation to a less desirable city.
    • Challenging Lewin

Sensation-Seeking Theory

  • One’s level of need for varied or novel experiences is the basis of motivation.
  • Four Types:
    • Experience seeking: Desire for new sensory or intellectual experiences.
      • Example: Traveling to different countries to explore diverse cultures and cuisines
    • Thrill/adventure seeking:Desire for excitement and risk. Example: Engaging in extreme sports like skydiving or bungee jumping.
    • Disinhibition: Preference for impulsive and spontaneous activities. Example: Joining a spontaneous party or social gathering without prior planning.
    • Boredom susceptibility: Tendency to become easily bored and seeking constant stimulation. Example: Frequently changing hobbies or activities to avoid monotony.

The Psychology of Eating

  • Complex motivated behavior
  • Intersection of physical and mental processes
  • Multiple factors influence eating behavior
  • Cultural and social implications
  • Hormones, such as ghrelin and leptin (regulated by the hypothalamus via the pituitary gland), regulate feelings of hunger and satiety.
  • External factors like the presence of food, the time of day, or social gatherings around meals also influence the behavior of eating.

Theories of Emotion

  • Emotion, or affect, is a complex psychological process that is distinguished from reasoning or knowledge.
    • reflect internal and external factors affecting an individual.
    • Early 20th-century psychological theories of emotion parsed the distinction between the physiological and cognitive experiences of emotion.
      • Some theories proposed that the physiological and cognitive experiences occurred in succession, while others proposed that they occurred simultaneously.
      • Other theories emphasize that the cognitive label is required to experience an emotion.
        • The facial-feedback hypothesis suggests that the experience of emotion is influenced by facial expressions, which supports theories that propose the physiological experience of emotion precedes the cognitive appraisal, and research testing this hypothesis has produced mixed results.

Early Theories of Emotion

  • Emotionality is associated with a range of psychological phenomena, including temperament, personality, mood, and motivation.
  • Physiological theories suggest that responses within the body are responsible for emotions.
  • Neurological theories propose that activity within the brain leads to emotional responses.
  • Cognitive theories argue that thoughts and other mental activities play an essential role in forming emotions.

James-Lange Theory

  • An external stimulus leads to a physiological reaction. Your emotional reaction depends upon how you interpret those physical reactions. For example, suppose you are walking in the woods and see a grizzly bear. You begin to tremble, and your heart begins to race.
  • The James-Lange theory proposes that you will conclude that you are frightened ("I am trembling. Therefore, I am afraid").

Cannon-Bard Theory

  • We feel emotions and experience physiological reactions such as sweating, trembling, and muscle tension simultaneously.
  • Ex.: Imagine you're walking through a dark alley late at night and suddenly hear a loud noise behind you. According to the Cannon-Bard Theory of emotion, developed by Walter Cannon and Philip Bard, both the emotion (fear) and the physiological response (increased heart rate, sweating) occur simultaneously and independently. In this situation, your brain perceives the noise as a threat and, at the same moment, triggers the experience of fear and the physiological reactions associated with fear.