Unit 4 AP Psych

Attribution - The process of explaining the causes of behavior or events.

Dispositional Attributions - Attributing behavior to internal traits, such as personality or intelligence.

Situational Attributions - Attributing behavior to external factors, like environment or circumstances.

Explanatory Style (optimistic or pessimistic) - A person’s habitual way of explaining events, either in a positive (optimistic) or negative (pessimistic) manner.

Actor/Observer Bias - The tendency to attribute others’ behavior to internal causes while attributing our own behavior to external factors.

Fundamental Attribution Error - The tendency to overemphasize personality traits and underestimate situational influences when explaining others’ behavior.

Self-Serving Bias - The tendency to credit success to internal factors and blame failures on external factors.

Internal Locus of Control - Believing that one’s actions directly influence outcomes.

External Locus of Control - Believing that external forces, like luck or fate, determine outcomes.

Mere Exposure Effect - The phenomenon where repeated exposure to something increases our liking of it.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy - When expectations about a person or situation cause that expectation to come true.

Social Comparison - Evaluating oneself in relation to others to determine social and personal worth.

Relative Deprivation - The perception of being worse off compared to others, leading to dissatisfaction.

Stereotype - A generalized belief about a group of people.

Prejudice - A negative attitude towards a group based on stereotypes.

Discrimination - Unfair treatment of individuals based on group membership.

Implicit Attitudes - Unconscious beliefs or feelings that influence behavior.

Just World Phenomenon - The belief that the world is fair and people get what they deserve.

Out-Group Homogeneity Bias - The tendency to see members of other groups as more similar to each other than they really are.

In-Group Bias - Favoring one’s own group over others.

Ethnocentrism - Judging other cultures by the standards of one’s own culture.

Belief Perseverance - Clinging to beliefs despite contradictory evidence.

Confirmation Bias - The tendency to seek out and interpret information in ways that confirm existing beliefs.

Cognitive Dissonance - The discomfort felt when holding conflicting thoughts or beliefs.

Norms - Socially accepted rules for behavior.

Social Influence Theory (Normative or Informational) - The idea that people conform either to gain approval (normative) or because they believe others know better (informational).

Persuasion (central and peripheral) - Persuasion occurs through logical argument (central route) or superficial cues (peripheral route).

Halo Effect - The tendency to let an overall impression of a person influence specific judgments about them.

Foot-in-the-Door - A persuasion technique where agreeing to a small request increases the likelihood of agreeing to a larger one later.

Door-in-the-Face - A persuasion technique where making a large request first increases the chances of agreeing to a smaller request afterward.

Conformity - Adjusting one’s behavior to align with group norms.

Obedience - Following orders from an authority figure.

Individualism - Prioritizing personal goals and independence over group needs.

Collectivism - Prioritizing group goals and interdependence over individual needs.

Multiculturalism - Valuing and respecting cultural diversity within a society.

Group Polarization - The tendency for group discussions to amplify the group's existing opinions.

Groupthink - A group’s desire for harmony leads to poor decision-making by suppressing dissent.

Diffusion of Responsibility - When individuals in a group feel less personally accountable for taking action.

Social Loafing - People exerting less effort in a group than they would alone.

Deindividuation - Losing self-awareness and self-restraint in group settings, often leading to impulsive behavior.

Social Facilitation - Improved performance on tasks in the presence of others.

False Consensus Effect - Overestimating how much others agree with our opinions.

Superordinate Goals - Shared goals that require cooperation among groups to achieve.

Social Traps - Situations where individuals act in their own self-interest, leading to negative outcomes for the group.

Industrial-Organizational Psychology - The study of human behavior in workplace settings.

Altruism - Helping others selflessly without expecting anything in return.

Social Reciprocity Norm - The expectation that people will return favors.

Social Responsibility Norm - The expectation that individuals will help those who are dependent on them.

Bystander Effect - The tendency for people to be less likely to help when others are present.

Psychodynamic Theory of Personality - Freud’s theory that personality is shaped by unconscious desires and conflicts.

Ego Defense Mechanisms - Psychological strategies used to protect oneself from anxiety.

Projective Tests - Personality assessments that use ambiguous stimuli to reveal unconscious thoughts (e.g., Rorschach inkblot test).

Humanistic Theory of Personality - Focuses on self-growth and personal fulfillment.

Unconditional Positive Regard - Accepting and valuing a person without conditions.

Self-Actualizing Tendency - The drive to reach one’s full potential.

Social Cognitive Theory of Personality - Emphasizes the role of environment, cognition, and behavior in personality development.

Reciprocal Determinism - The idea that behavior, personal factors, and environment interact and influence each other.

Self-Concept - An individual’s perception of themselves.

Self-Efficacy - Confidence in one’s ability to succeed in specific situations.

Self-Esteem - One’s overall sense of self-worth.

Trait Theory of Personality - Suggests that personality is made up of stable traits.

Big Five - A model of personality that includes agreeableness, openness, extraversion, conscientiousness, and emotional stability.

Motivation - The drive to achieve goals or satisfy needs.

Drive Reduction Theory - Behavior is motivated by the need to reduce biological drives (e.g., hunger, thirst).

Arousal Theory - People seek optimal levels of arousal for performance.

Yerkes-Dodson Law - Performance is best at moderate levels of arousal.

Self-Determination Theory - Suggests that motivation is driven by autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Intrinsic Motivation - Doing something for its own sake, rather than external rewards.

Extrinsic Motivation - Doing something for external rewards or consequences.

Incentive Theory - Behavior is motivated by external rewards.

Instincts - Innate biological behaviors that promote survival.

Lewin’s Motivational Conflicts Theory - Describes how conflicting motivations influence decision-making.

Sensation Seeking Theory - People vary in their need for novel and intense experiences.

Ghrelin - A hormone that stimulates hunger.

Leptin - A hormone that regulates hunger by signaling fullness.

Pituitary Gland - The "master gland" that regulates hormones.

Emotion - A complex response involving physiological arousal, behavior, and cognition.

Theories of Emotion - Various explanations of how emotions are experienced and expressed.

Facial Feedback Hypothesis - Facial expressions can influence emotions.

Broaden-and-Build Theory of Emotion - Positive emotions expand thinking and build personal resources.

Universal Emotions - Basic emotions (e.g., happiness, sadness, fear) recognized across cultures.