UNIT 4 PSYCH - Social and Personality Pillar

Attributions: how people explain behavior and mental processes of themselves and others

Dispositional attribution: person’s internal qualities, personality

situational attribution: external circumstances

attribution theory: explaining behaviors by crediting either the situation or person’s disposition

fundamental attribution theory: tendency to blame a person’s actions on their disposition and not considering the situation

actor-observer bias: when its others—blame the person, but when its you—blame the situation

self-serving bias: self only—our successes are because we are awesome and our failures are someone else’s fault

social comparison: evaluate ourselves based on comparisons to society and social circles

upward comparison: compare yourself to others better than you (want to be like them)

downward comparison: compare to someone who is worse off (at least i dont have it as bad as them)

relative deprivation: judge what we lack relative to others

ethnocentrism: tendency to see your own group as more important than others

outgroup homogeneity bias: perception that out-group members are similar, while in-group members are diverse

just-world phenomenon: belief that world is just and people get what they deserve

cognitive dissonance: 2 opposing thoughts conflict with the other causing discomfort, makes people find ways to justify situation (ex. a smoker who knows smoking is bad for their health but continues to smoke)

normative social influence: conform to gain approval from group

informational social influence: we conform to others because we think their opinions are correct

central route to persuasion: change people’s attitudes through logical arguments, leads to long term behavior change

peripheral route to persuasion: change people’s attitudes through incidental cues or emotional appeals, leads to temporary behavior change

group polarization: more time spent with like-minded individuals, stroger your opinion will become

groupthink: desire for harmony in a group causes everyone to go along with the same thinking, ignoring other possibilities

social loafing: when people exert less effort in a group

social facilitation: when people perform better on simple/well-learned tasks in presence of others

false-consensus effect: overestimating the degree to which everyone thinks/acts the way we do

superordinate goals: 2 or more groups work together to achieve a common goal, creates cohesiveness

social trap: people put their own needs before the group needs resulting in a bad outcome

industrial/organizational psych: psych of work—best practices, relationships in the workplace or with company, how you feel about job

id: hidden true wants and desires (devil on shoulder)

superego: moral consciousness (angel on shoulder)

ego: part of mind that deals with everyday reality

displacement: take feelings out on something else (can’t yell at mom, go yell at sister)

projection: attribute personal shortcomings on to others (man blames his affair on his wife)

reaction formation: transform unacceptable motive into his opposite

sublimation: replace unacceptable impulse with socially acceptable one

projective tests: ambiguous stimuli known to reveal your unconscious—inkblots and thematic apperception tests, not reliable due to subjectivity

openness: open to change

conscientiousness: organized

extraversion: sociable

agreeableness: trusting and helpful

neuroticism: high levels=mood swings

self-actualization: fulfilling your full potential as person

reciprocal determinism: interaction of behavior, cognitions, and environment that make up you

self-efficacy: belief that you can succeed

self-concept: how you view yourself in relation to others

instinct theory: innate, fixed patterns in response to stimuli like nest building

drive reduction: psychological need created drive to motivate you to satisfy need (ex. getting food because you’re hungry

arousal theory: seeking thrill activities

yerkes-dodson law: humans seek optimum levels of arousal

sensation seeking theory: need a varied amount of novel experiences to be happy

facial feedback hypothesis: smiling makes you happier

broaden and build theory: everyday positive emotions leads to better well being

universal emotions: happiness, anger, sadness, disgust, surprise, fear—seen across all cultures

display rules: social norms of how to display certain emotions