Unit 4

4.1 Attribution Theory and Person Perception

Attribution Theory: Why behaviors happen

• Dispositional Factors

  • Internal

  • Relatively Unchanging

• Situational Factors

  • External

  • Temporary

• Fundamental Attribution Error: Overestimating the effect of dispositional factors in an individual’s behavior

  • Minimizes the effect of situational factors

Explanatory Style: How we describe why these behaviors happen

• Optimistic Explanatory Style

  • External causes

  • Relatively temporary causes

  • Specific

• Pessimistic Explanatory Style

  • Personal causes

  • Permanent causes

  • Pervasive causes (globally true)

*Nothing changes about the behavior itself, this is how we explain the WHY a behavior occurs

Cognitive Biases: Influence the way we attribute our behaviors and thoughts

• Availability Heuristic

  • Distorts estimates of how likely something is to occur

  • What information is relevant and has been presented to you

  • Doesn’t take time to look at all aspects

• Representativeness Heuristic

  • Distorts how typical an example is of an entire category

  • Generalizes fallacy to all things - Base rate fallacy

• Confirmation Bias

  • Focus on supportive examples

  • Dismisses non-supportive examples

• Anchoring Heuristic

• Belief Perseverance

  • Hanging on to what we believe even when presented with evidence that says otherwise

• Overconfidence Bias

  • Excessive belief in our own abilities

  • Belief we did better than others without evidence

  • Belief we are correct

Locus of Control

• Internal: Life events or conditions are the result of one’s own efforts and abilities

  • One has control over what happens to them

  • Cultural Influences

    • Individualistic cultures: taking credit for one’s achievements

  • Can lead to self-blame and frustration when things beyond one’s control

• External: Life events or conditions result from things outside of one’s control

  • Things happen and there’s not much that can be done about them

  • Cultural Influences

    • Collectivist cultures: encourages sharing credit for achievement

  • Can lead to not accepting appropriate responsibility for failures, learned helplessness

• How much a person feels they had to do with those situations and events

Mere Exposure Effect

• Frequency = Familiarity = Positivity

• Self Fulfilling Prophecy: A false belief about a situation brings out new behavior, thus making the false come true

  • Belief may be false

  • Living up/down to beliefs

Social Comparison: Comparing oneself with others for self evaluation

• Can make a person feel better or worse based on who they are comparing themselves with

• Relative Deprivation: Feeling fine about something we accomplished until we learn about the achievements of someone else

4.2: Attitude Formation and Attitude Change

Stereotype: Generalized belief about a group, member of a group, or social category

• Heuristics in thinking that alleviate cognitive load

• Many can develop into schemas

• Most are negative and exaggerated

• Prejudice: Negative attitude in advance of having any experience with a person/group

  • Strong negative emotions → Hatred

  • Discrimination: When someone is hostile towards the rejected group

    • Takes these prejudices and acts on them

Implicit attitudes and Biases: can occur with little or no conscious awareness

• Ex: employment based on last names

• Just-World Phenomenon: When the person sees the world as a fair place

  • Good things happen to good people; bad things happen to bad people

  • Help us reduce anxieties with difficult realities

• Can lead to discrimination

  • In Group Bias: Tendency to view our own group as having favorable attributes and likability

  • Out Group Bias: Tendency to see members in other groups has having unfavorable attributes and characteristics

  • Ethnocentrism: Tendency to see our own ethnicity as the correct and most just in COMPARISON to other groups

Belief Perseverance: Tendency for us to maintain a belief even when it can be disapproved with evidence

Confirmation Bias: Seeking out evidence that confirms our pre-existing beliefs and dismissing evidence that clashes

• Powerful factor in how we maintain our attitudes and beliefs

Cognitive Dissonance: When we have two things in our mind that are fundamentally at odds with each other, thus creating a state of imbalance

• Feeling uncomfortable, a dissonant chord (Dissonance)

• Can either change behavior to align with our beliefs or change the beliefs to align with our behavior

4.3: Psychology of Social Situations

• Behavior differs based on the situation

Social Norms: Expectations of how we should behave at that time or place

• Unwritten rules that affect your behavior

Social Influence Theory: We might vary our behavior in different situations because we are conforming with how others are acting

• Feelings social pressure

• Normative Social Influence: To feel more fit in

• Informational Social Influence: Based on the information you have received

  • Thinks that they know something that you don’t

Persuasion: Convincing a person to change attitudes

• Central Route: Change attitudes by using facts, details, and logic

• Peripheral Route: Change attitude by using emotion connected/attractiveness

• Elaboration Likelihood Model (Central and Peripheral Route)

  • Halo Effect: When we assume one positive aspect of a person suggests other aspects are positive too

• Foot in the Door: Small request (agreed) → larger second request

• Door in the Face: Large request (refused) → smaller second request

*Remember Types of Research Design

• Non-Experimental Methodology

  • Case studies, correlation, naturalistic observation, meta-analysis

  • Used to look for relationships or predict/describe a behavior

• Experimental Methodology

  • Manipulating variables and random assignment

  • Proves cause and effect - that a hypothesis is correct

  • Random Assignment

Conformity: adjusting of one’s opinions, judgements, or actions so that they are more consistent with others or the norms

• Outright compliance or more subtle

• Asch “Line” Experiment

  • Group of confederates that were tested for an individuals willingness to go along with a seemingly wrong answer

  • Certain percentage went along with the wrong answer based on what others said

  • Takeaways: Normative and Informational Social Influence both affect the participant answers

  • Conformity weakened if one person answered correctly

• Zimbardo Stanford Prison Experiment

  • Findings: Unexpected early termination

  • Random assignment of prisoners and guards

  • Role Playing affected the prisoners and guards

    • Behaved according to expectations

  • Controversial - harming participants?

  • APA Ethnical Guidelines had not been implemented yet

    • Before: Informed Consent and Institutional Review Board

    • During: Anonymity, Protection from Harm, Limited Deception

    • After: Debriefing

Milgram “Shock Treatment” Experiment

• Background: Could the Nazi’s excuse happen elsewhere (I was just following orders)

• Use of confederates and deception (Experimenter, Teacher-actual subject, Student-wired up to shock)

• Deception: Teacher thinks they are shocking the learner, given 36 opportunities

  • Teacher could not see student

• Learner's responses were scripted to simulate distress, prompting ethical concerns about the extent of authority in such scenarios and sampling bias

• Learned obedience comes from perceived legitimacy of authority

  • Titles, uniforms, location

• Diffusion of responsibility, social norms, personality traits are all involved in obedience

Social Psych Phenomena - How does the situation affect my behavior?

• One’s culture affects individual behavior

  • Individualistic vs collectivism

  • Ethnocentrism vs multiculturalism

Groupthink: Happens when group members do not speak up with concerns about a decision when they care more about the group’s well being over your own interests

Group Polarization: Happens when one attends a group meeting and after, the attitudes are strengthened about the issues from the meeting

Diffusion of Responsibility: How likely one is to help others in need, often influenced by the presence of group members who may also assist. (Group Rule)

• Bystander Effect

Social Facilitation - HELPS

• When an individual performs better at a task when being observed than alone

Social Loafing - HINDERS

• Person puts in less effort because they believe the others are their to do the work too

Deindividuation: When individuals lose awareness of their sense of self-restraint when they are anonymous

• Often connected with anti-social behavior

• Ex: Cyberbullying

Conflict

• Superordinate Goals: When a goal of the group becomes more important that the goals of the individual

  • Can lessen conflict

  • Unified

• Social Traps: When a group looks to their own interests ahead of an action that would benefit the entire group

  • Ex: littering, not paying taxes

Altruism: The selfless concern for the well-being of others, which often involves putting the needs of the group before one's own interests.

• Diffusion of Responsibility: Effect the presence of others has on our decision to help

• Bystander Effect: Less likely to help because we may assume that others will

• Situational Variables: include presence of others and our cost/benefit analysis applied to the situation

  • Reciprocity Norm

    • If we incur social debt from another, we are more likely to help them

    • Reciprocate help to those who would have helped us

  • Social Responsibility Norm

    • One should assist those in need when possible - do the right thing

    • More promoted in a collectivist culture

• Attentional Variables: Whether or not we notice

I/O Psychology: Study of the workplace

1. Best Practices of Management

   1. Treatment from boss

2. Relationships Among Workers

   1. Does everyone do their part? Do you get along with them?

3. How People Feel About Work

   1. Workload amount

   2. Balanced vs. Burnout

Standard Deviation: Measure of variation compared to the mean

4.4: Psychodynamic and Humanistic Theories of Personality

Personality: Patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting

• Persistent in life and influences behaviors

• Way to describe who you are to those in your life, way you think and act in different situations

Sigmund Feud - Psychoanalytic Approach

• Childhood

• Unconscious

• Sexual and aggressive impulses

• Anxiety driven defense mechanisms

• Id, Ego, and Superego

  • Id: only in the subconscious

  • Ego and superego are present in both

Neo-Freudians - Psychodynamic Approach

• Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Karen Horney

• Childhood

• Unconscious

• Sexual and aggressive impulses

• Anxiety-driven defense mechanisms

Unconscious: Below the surface, what we are unaware

Conscious: Above the surface, sense of right and wrong

Id:

• Earliest to develop

• Entirely in the unconscious mind

• Operates on pleasure principle

• Strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive needs

• Moves to make sure your desires are met

Ego:

• Reality check

• How we will respond to the real world and understanding consequences

• Mostly in conscious mind

• Operates on reality principle

• Wants to realistically bring pleasure over pain

• Considers both sides, makes final decision to make sure desires are met in a safe manner

Superego:

• Develops around 5 years old

• Voice of conscious - strive for perfection and proud of our decisions

• Both conscious and unconscious mind

• Moral compass - wants to help people

• Focuses on how we should behave

• What is ideal and will keep up morally grounded?

Anxiety Reducing Defense Mechanisms: Helps us see how our unconscious helps us in stressful situations

1. Denial: Refusing to believe a painful reality

2. Displacement: Shifting tension to a less threatening target

3. Projection: Attributing unacceptable impulses onto someone else

4. Rationalization: Giving a logical reason to justify unacceptable behavior

5. Reaction Formation: Unacceptable impulses are replaced with their opposites

6. Regression: Resorting to an earlier stage of development

7. Repression: Pushing unwanted memories into the unconscious

8. Sublimation: Aggressive drives are channeled into something acceptable

Assessing Personality - Projection Tests

• Inkblot test

  • Looking for trends in your answers

  • Can reveal unconscious aspects of your personality

• Thematic Appreciation Test (TAT): A projective psychological test that uses ambiguous images to elicit a person's thoughts and feelings, helping to uncover underlying needs and desires by having them share a story

Who are you?

• Abraham Maslow wants us to ask ourself how we go about reaching our full potential

  • Self Actualization: we continue to GROW into the person we want to become

    • We want to reach our full potential

    • Constantly growing, takes time

    • Developed idea by studying those who were living a meaningful life

• Carl Rogers wants us to live up to our ideal self and understand we are basically good

  • Unconditional Positive Regard

    • Looks for in trusted relationships

    • Gains = can let our guard down and be true to ourself

    • Leads to a person centered perspective in personality

Humanistic Theory: Growing to become the best person we can be in order to reach our full potential

4.5: Social-Cognitive and Trait Theories of Personality

Albert Bandera (Bobo Doll)

• Much of what we learn is through watching and imitating others - social aspect

• How we think about something also plays a role - cognitive aspect

• Reciprocal Determinism: Behaviors, cognitions, and environment interacting in our personality

  • Behaviors - actions/choices often based on observation and imitation

  • Environmental Factors - opportunities that are often impacted by social and cultural influences

  • Internal Cognitions - your thoughts, emotions, beliefs

  • All three of these things result in Reciprocal Determinism

  • A change in one of these factors may influence the others - continuous loop

Self Esteem: Feelings of self-worth

Self Efficacy: Your belief in your ability

Self Concept: Thoughts and feelings that answer “Who Am I?”

Traits: Enduring characteristics

• Consistent throughout life, predictable to those that know you best, stable in different situations

• Gordo Allport

  • Determined personality could be described in <7 terms

  • Organized into cardinal, central, and secondary traits

• Factor Analysis

  • Use of statistic procedure to cluster similar traits into one overarching trait

  • Ex: lively, sociable, and outgoing would cluster into extraversion

  • Hans Eysench

    • Used factor analysis to establish two pairs for traits

    • Extraversion vs aversion

    • Emotionality vs Stability

  • Paul Coasta and Rober McCrae

    • Developed the Big Five

    • Dimensions appear across all cultures and are considered the most current

• Big Five Personality Traits (OCEAN)

  • Openness to Experience

    • Low Scores: Prefers routine, resistant to new ideas, not very cerative

    • High Scores: Prefers variety, imaginative, takes on new challenges

  • Conscientiousness

    • Low Scores: Disorganized, procrastinates, impulsive

    • High Scores: Disciplines, organized, thorough

  • Extraversion

    • Low Scores: Reserved, avoids spotlight, quiet

    • High Scores: Sociable, talkative, outgoing

  • Agreeableness

    • Low Scores: Suspicious, uncooperative, self-centered

    • High Scores: Trusting, empathetic, helpful

  • Neuroticism: Emotional Stability

    • Low Scores: Calm, handles stress well, stable emotions

    • High Scores: Anxious, worrisome, insecure

4.6: Motivation

Drive Reduction Theory: Generally, we are only motivated because we don’t have what we want

• In a state of imbalance

  • Balance - homeostasis

• This creates drives that we with to achieve

• We don’t like it when things take us out of homeostasis → needs

• Homeostasis disturbed → biological need is created → drive is developed, urge to fill the need → behavior is performed → homeostasis restored

Optimal Arousal Theory

• King of like goldilocks

• Not to stimulated yet stimulated enough

• “Just Right” is an upside down parabola

  • Differs for each person

  • Becoming too aroused can lead to our mind shutting down → performance decreases

• Yerkes-Dodson Theory: The more aroused we are, the dumber we are

  • Ex: mind goes blank during a presentation

  • Inhibits frontal lobe activity (memory and problem-solving)

Instincts

• You can only see behavior, not an instinct

• Fixed action patterns of behavior in animals, not so much in humans due to free will

  • Innate, bred into certain animals through eons of evolutionary adaptation

Factors of the Upside down Parabola

• How well do you know the task?

• Are you a thrill seeker or adventure seeker?

• Disinhibition: reduced ability to tell ourselves no, that is not a good idea

  • Wouldn’t feel the higher stimulation

• Boredom Susceptibility

Intrinsic Motivation: Reason you do something comes from within you

• Is not empirical

• Usually emotional and psychological

• Ex: pride, curiosity, altruism, guilt, adventure

Extrinsic Motivation: Reason you do something comes from outside of you

• Empirical

• Can be a primary or secondary reinforcer (reference to Skinner)

• Ex: food (primary), money (secondary)

Lewin’s Motivational Conflicts Theory: Having to make choices

• Approach-Approach Conflict: Wanting two things but only being able to have one

  • Ex: accepted to 2 ivy leagues

• Approach-Avoidance Conflict: Wanting something but also not wanting it or not a part of it

  • Ex: getting the college letter in the mail and wanting to open it but not wanting to be rejected

• Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict: Not wanting either choice but having to choose at least one unpleasant thing

  • Ex: cost of college vs missing out on education

• Is it ethical to cause stress to participants?

  • No, you want to limit unpleasantness applied to research participants

Hunger: neurological event, chemical imbalance, emotional need, social pressure combined. All of these interacting these with each other

• Gestalt: The whole is more than the some of its parts

• Physical Processes

  • Empirical

  • Can see if a stomach is empty or full - observable

  • Quantifiable research methods (Comparable)

• Mental Processes

  • Desire to eat is not empirical

  • What tastes good is a perception

    • Not empirical

  • Press is not empirical

  • Qualifiable research methods (Describable)

• Aspects to hunger

  • Social pressure - how our body should look in comparison to others

  • Social context - situation one is in

  • Emotion: grief - some people don’t eat, some people overeat

  • Emotion: excitement - some people eat more vs less when they are celebrating

  • Conditioning: classical - given a treat when you get hurt is associated

  • Conditioning: operant - special treat for good behavior

  • External: food presentation - how it looks can alter our perception

  • External: food availability - does it being easily available make you want it more?

• Hunger Hormones

  • Ghrelin

    • Associated with being hungry - increased appetite

    • Released by the stomach and stimulates appetite

    • Ghrelin makes your tummy go “ghrrr”

  • Leptin

    • Associated with satiety - decreased appetite

    • Released from the small intestine and stops hunger

    • Leptin makes you “lean”

4.7: Emotion

Components of Understanding Emotion

1. Stimulus: Thing that is causing you to react

2. Physiological Arousal: Involves Autonomic Nervous System

3. Experiencing Emotion: How are you feeling

4. Later introduced - Cognitive Appraisal: Why a person is feeling this way?

Theories:

• Stimulus → Physiological Arousal → Emotion

• Stimulus → Physiological Arousal and Emotion at the same time

Later Theories:

• Stimulus → Physiological Arousal + Cognitive Appraisal → Emotion

Facial-Feedback Hypothesis: Muscles in your face send sensory input to your brain to simulate emotion

• Smile = feelings of happiness

• Frown = feelings of sadness/frustration

Broaden and Build Theory

• Barbara Frederickson - positive psychology’s influence on understanding emotion

• Positive emotions set us up for success and broaden our awareness, thinking, and actions

• Resources we gain through positive emotions increase our overall well-being

• Negative emotions reduce our awareness and overall mindset

• Proposes that positive emotions lead to broader range of thought

Expressing Emotions

• Gestures, facial expressions, and tones of voice help us express

• Universal facial expressions

• Culture teaches you how to express emotions and how much to express

Universal Facial Expressions

• Paul Ekman and Wallace Friesen

• Universal or learned?

• Traveled to New Guinea and conducted studies observing the facial expressions of the local population in response to various emotional stimuli

• Results showed that facial expressions were universal

• Fear, Happiness, Anger, Disgust, Surprise, Sadness

  • Eyebrows are the most important part to focus on when expressing emotions

Display Rules

• Socially learned expectations that help regulate the expression of emotion

• Emotional expression differs by culture

• Cultures teach us how to express our emotions and how much to express

• Individualistic (more vividly expressed) vs Collectivist (relies on context to display emotion, less extreme) cultures