Factor analysis: Statistical procedure to identify clusters of related traits.
The Big Five:
Traits:
Openness to experience: appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas, curiosity, and variety of experience.
Conscientiousness: tendency to show self-discipline, act dutifully, and aim for achievement; planned rather than spontaneous behavior.
Extraversion: energy, positive emotions, assertiveness, sociability, talkativeness, and the tendency to seek stimulation in the company of others.
Agreeableness: tendency to be compassionate and cooperative rather than suspicious and antagonistic towards others.
Neuroticism: tendency to experience unpleasant emotions such as anger, anxiety, depression, and vulnerability.
Support/Criticism: Examines the validity and limitations of the Big Five model.
Psychodynamic Perspective
Structure of personality
Id: Pleasure principle.
Ego: Reality principle.
Superego: Morality.
Defense mechanisms
Repression: Blocking unacceptable thoughts from consciousness.
Projection: Attributing one's own thoughts, feelings, or motives to another.
Displacement: Diverting emotional feelings (usually anger) from their original source to a substitute target.
Reaction Formation: Behaving in a way that's exactly the opposite of one's true feelings.
Regression: Reversion to immature patterns of behavior.
Rationalization: Creating false but plausible excuses to justify unacceptable behavior.
Identification: Bolstering self-esteem by forming an imaginary or real alliance with some person or group.
Development
Psychosexual stages: Oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stages.
The good & bad: Considerations regarding the psychodynamic perspective, including its contributions and limitations.
Humanistic perspective
Grew out of
Carl Rogers Person-centered theory
Self-concept: A collection of beliefs about one's own nature, unique qualities, and typical behavior.
Congruence: The degree of disparity between one’s self-concept and one’s actual experience.
Incongruence:
Maslow’s theory of self-actualization
Hierarchy of needs: Physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.
Self-actualization: the realization or fulfillment of one's talents and potentialities, especially considered as a drive or need present in everyone.
The good and Bad
Chapter 12: Social Psychology
What is it? Study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others.
Person perception
Definition: The process of forming impressions of others.
Bias:
Attractiveness stereotype: The tendency to attribute positive qualities and desirable characteristics to attractive people.
Big Five: Attractive people are often rated higher on the Big Five personality traits, especially extraversion and conscientiousness.
Competency: Perceived as more competent.
Income: Attractive individuals tend to earn higher incomes.
Elections: Attractive candidates are more likely to win elections.
Baby health outcomes: Even infant health is perceived more positively for attractive babies.
What do we find attractive: Facial symmetry, youthfulness, and features that are typical of the population.
Halo effect: A cognitive bias in which our overall impression of a person influences how we feel and think about their character.
Stereotypes: Widely held beliefs that people have certain characteristics because of their membership in a particular group.
Most common Examples include stereotypes based on gender, race, age, and occupation.
Memory of stereotype consistent vs inconsistent Information that confirms a stereotype is more easily remembered than information that contradicts it.
Attribution processes
What are they? The process of explaining one's own behavior and the behavior of others.
Internal vs External
Internal attributions: Ascribe the causes of behavior to personal traits, abilities, and feelings.
External attributions: Ascribe the causes of behavior to situational demands and environmental constraints.
Bias:
Actor-Observer bias: The tendency to attribute one's own actions to external causes while attributing other people's behaviors to internal causes.
Why? People have more information about their own situations and are more aware of external factors influencing their behavior.
Self-serving bias: The tendency to attribute one's successes to personal factors and one's failures to situational factors.
Why? To maintain self-esteem.
Conformity
Solomon Asch experiment: A series of studies directed by Solomon Asch studying if and how individuals yielded to or defied a majority group and the effect of such influences on beliefs and opinions.
Percentage of critical trials in which people conformed: Participants conformed on approximately 37% of the critical trials.
Line experiment: Participants were asked to judge which of three lines matched a standard line in length.
Determinants of conforming: Group size, unanimity, and culture.
Obedience
Milgram electric shock study: An experiment that study focused on the conflict between obedience to authority and personal conscience
Percentage of people that gave severe shocks: Approximately 65% of participants administered the highest level of shock (450 volts).
Stanford Prison experiment
What happened? A study of the psychological effects of becoming a prisoner or prison guard. The experiment was conducted in the basement of the psychology department at Stanford University
Bystander effect
What is it? A social psychological phenomenon that refers to cases in which individuals do not offer help to a victim when other people are present.
What case inspired this research by what researchers? The murder of Kitty Genovese inspired research by Bibb Latané and John Darley.
Chapter 14: Psychological Disorders
Medical Model
Diagnosis: Distinguishing one illness from another.
Etiology: The apparent causation and developmental history of an illness.
Prognosis: A forecast about the probable course of an illness.
Criteria of Abnormal Behavior
Deviance: behavior that violates social norms
Maladaptive behavior: behavior that impairs daily functioning
Personal distress: Subjective feelings of suffering and unease.
Psychodiagnosis
DSM: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - used for the classification of psychological disorders.
Categorical approach: Individuals are either classified as having a disorder or not having a disorder.
Anxiety Disorders
Disorders
GAD: Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Phobias: Persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation that presents no realistic danger.
Panic: recurrent attacks of overwhelming anxiety that occur suddenly and unexpectedly
OCD: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
PTSD: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Etiology
Bio Factors: Genetic predisposition, neurotransmitter imbalances.
Conditioning & learning: Classical and operant conditioning can lead to the development of anxiety disorders.
Cognitive Factors: Negative thought patterns and cognitive distortions.
Mood Disorders
Disorders
Major Depressive Disorder: Persistent feelings of sadness, loss of interest, and inability to experience pleasure.
Bipolar: Experience of both depressed and manic periods
Etiology
Genetic: Mood disorders have a genetic component.
Neuro: Neurotransmitter imbalances, particularly serotonin and norepinephrine.
Cognitive: Negative cognitive styles and dysfunctional beliefs.