Social Psychology & Personality Flashcards

• These flashcards cover key concepts in social psychology and personality, including major figures, theories, and phenomena.

Abraham Maslow

• An American psychologist who developed the humanistic theory of personality.
• Proposed the hierarchy of needs, suggesting individuals aim for self-actualization after fulfilling basic needs.

Achievement Motivation

• The desire to excel, succeed, or accomplish challenging goals.
• Driven by competence, mastery, or recognition.

Actor-Observer Bias

• The tendency to attribute one's own behavior to external factors.
• Attributing others' behavior to internal factors, especially when observing rather than participating.

Affiliation Need

• A basic human motivation to seek social connections and belongingness.
• Driven by the desire for companionship and support.

Aggression

• Behavior intended to cause harm or injury to another individual physically or psychologically.

Agreeableness

• A personality trait reflecting compassion and cooperation.

Albert Bandura

• A psychologist known for his social-cognitive theory of personality.
• Developed self-efficacy theory.
• Researched observational learning (modeling), emphasizing cognitive processes and self-regulation.

Alfred Adler

• An Austrian psychiatrist and founder of individual psychology.
• Theorized about the importance of social dynamics and striving for superiority.
• Emphasized the influence of early childhood experiences on personality.

Altruism

• Selfless behavior motivated by concern for others' well-being.
• Performed without expecting personal benefit.

Approach-Approach Conflict

• A conflict that arises when choosing between two desirable options.

Approach-Avoidance Conflict

• A confict involving a single goal with both positive and negative aspects.

Arousal Theory

• A motivational theory suggesting people seek to maintain an optimal arousal level.

Attitudes

• Evaluations, feelings, or beliefs about people, objects, or ideas.
• Influence behavior and responses in the social world.

Attribution

• The process of explaining the causes of behavior and events.

Attribution Theory

• Explores how individuals explain the causes of behaviors and outcomes.
• Attributes causes to internal factors (personality) or external factors (circumstances).

Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict

• A conflict involving a choice between two unattractive outcomes.

Basal Metabolic Rate

• The minimum energy required for basic physiological functions at rest.
• Includes respiration, circulation, and cell metabolism.

Behavior Feedback Effect

• Changes in behavior can influence emotional experience and arousal.
• Actions can affect mood and subjective feelings.

Behavioral Approach

• A perspective focusing on observable behaviors and environmental influences.
• Uses learning principles (classical and operant conditioning) to explain behavior.

Belief Perseverance

• The tendency to maintain initial beliefs even after receiving contradictory information.

Bibb Latané

• A social psychologist who studied social loafing and the bystander effect.
• Known for research on diffusion of responsibility and helping behavior.

Big Five Factors

• Personality traits consisting of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.
• Captures major dimensions of individual personality differences.

Broaden & Build Theory

• Suggests positive emotions broaden awareness
• Encourages varied and exploratory thoughts and actions.

Burnout

• A state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress.

Bystander Effect

• Individuals are less likely to help in an emergency when others are present.
• Due to diffusion of responsibility and social influence.

Carl Jung

• A Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology.
• Developed theories on the collective unconscious and archetypes.

Carl Rogers

• An American psychologist and founder of client-centered therapy.
• Known for his humanistic theory of personality emphasizing unconditional positive regard.

Central Route Persuasion

• Persuasion through careful consideration of arguments and evidence.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

• Proposed by Leon Festinger.
• Individuals experience discomfort when attitudes are inconsistent with behavior.
• Seek consistency by changing attitudes or rationalizing behavior.

Collective Unconscious

• A concept by Carl Jung referring to shared, inherited unconscious memories and symbols.

Collectivism

• A cultural orientation prioritizing group interests and cooperation over the individual.

Companionate Love

• A deep and enduring emotional bond with intimacy, trust, and commitment.

Confirmation Bias

• The tendency to favor information confirming existing beliefs.

Conflict

• Perceived incompatibility of goals or values between individuals or groups.

Conformity

• Adjusting attitudes or behaviors to match a group or social norms.

Conscientiousness

• A personality trait characterized by organization, dependability, and discipline.

Culture

• Shared beliefs, values, norms, and customs of a group or society.
• Influences behavior, attitudes, and social interactions.

Defense Mechanisms

• Unconscious strategies used to protect against anxiety or threats.
• Distort reality or redirect emotions.

Deindividuation

• Loss of self-awareness in a group setting.
• Leads to reduced inhibitions and increased conformity.

Denial

• Refusing to accept reality or facts.

Discrimination

• Unjust treatment based on membership in a social category.

Disinhibition

• Lack of restraint and disregard for social conventions.

Displacement

• Redirecting emotional impulses to a safer target.

Display Rules

• Cultural norms that dictate acceptable expressions of emotion.

Dispositional Attribution

• Attributing behavior to internal traits.

Drive-Reduction Theory

• Biological drives create tension, motivating behaviors to reduce the drive and restore homeostasis.

Ego

• The rational component of personality mediating between the id, superego, and reality.

Emotion

• A complex state with subjective feelings, arousal, expressive behaviors, and cognitive appraisal.

Empirically Derived Test

• An assessment tool developed through systematic research and statistical analysis.

Equity

• A sense of fairness and balance in relationships.

Ethnocentrism

• Belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic group.

Explanatory Style

• How people explain why events happen to them.

Explicit Attitudes

• Consciously held attitudes that can be easily reported.

External Locus of Control

• The belief that external factors control one's fate.

Extraversion

• A personality trait characterized by sociability and assertiveness.

Extrinsic Motivation

• Engaging in activities to obtain external rewards or avoid punishment.

Facial Feedback Effect

• Facial expressions can influence emotional experience.

False Consensus Effect

• Overestimating the extent to which others share your beliefs and behaviors.

Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon

• Compliance with a small request leads to compliance with larger requests.

Free Association

• A psychoanalytic technique to reveal unconscious thoughts.

Frustration-Aggression Principle

• Frustration leads to aggressive behavior.

Fundamental Attribution Error

• Overemphasizing internal factors and underemphasizing external factors when explaining others' behavior.

Ghrelin

• A hormone produced in the stomach that stimulates appetite.

Glucose

• A primary source of energy for cells in the body.

Grit

• Perseverance and passion for long-term goals.

Group Polarization

• Group discussion intensifies initial attitudes.

Groupthink

• Prioritizing harmony over critical evaluation, leading to flawed decisions.

Halo Effect

• Impression in one area influences opinion in another area.

Hierarchy of Needs

• Maslow's theory suggesting a hierarchy of human motivations from basic needs to self-actualization.

Homeostasis

• The body's maintenance of a stable internal environment.

Humanistic Theories

• Emphasize inherent goodness and potential for growth.

Id

• The instinctual component of personality operating on the pleasure principle.

Implicit Attitudes

• Automatic and unconscious attitudes.

In-Group Bias

• Favoring one's own group over others.

Incentive

• A stimulus that motivates behavior.

Individualism

• Prioritizing individual rights and goals over the group.

Industrial-Organizational Psychology

• Applying psychological concepts to optimize behavior in workplaces.

Informational Social Influence

• Conforming because others are believed to have accurate information.

Ingroup

• A social group with which one identifies.

Ingroup Bias

• Showing positive attitudes toward ingroup members and negative attitudes toward outgroup members.

Instinct

• An innate, fixed pattern of behavior.

Internal Locus of Control

• The belief that one controls their own fate.

Intrinsic Motivation

• Engaging in activities for the inherent satisfaction.

John Darley

• Social psychologist known for research on the bystander effect.

Joseph LeDoux

• Neuroscientist known for research on the amygdala in emotional processing.

Just-World Phenomenon

• The belief that people get what they deserve.

Karen Horney

• Psychoanalyst known for theories on neurosis and feminist psychology.

Leon Festinger

• Social psychologist know for the theory of cognitive dissonance

Leptin

• Hormone produced by fat cells regulating energy balance.

Loose Culture

• Societies with weak social norms and greater tolerance for deviation.

Lowball Technique

• Offering an item at a lower price, then raising the price later.

Mere Exposure Effect

• Increased liking with repeated exposure.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

• A test assessing personality traits and psychological disorders.

Mirror-Image Perceptions

• Conflicting parties seeing each other negatively.

Motivation

• Processes that initiate and sustain goal-directed behavior.

Multiculturalism

• Promotes equal standing for all cultural traditions.

Narcissism

• Excessive self-admiration and lack of empathy.

Neuroticism

• Emotional instability, anxiety, and moodiness.

Normative Social Influence

• Conforming to gain social approval.

Norms

• Shared rules and expectations for social behavior.