Psych 2035 Midterm 1 Notes PDF - The University of Western Ontario

lOMoARcPSD|50799915 Psych 2035 Midterm 1 Notes Understanding Yourself and Others (The University of Western Ontario) Scan to open on Studocu Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university Downl...

lOMoARcPSD|50799915 Psych 2035 Midterm 1 Notes Understanding Yourself and Others (The University of Western Ontario) Scan to open on Studocu Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university Downloaded by Catherine Gao ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|50799915 Psych 2035 Midterm #1 Notes Chapters 1, 2, 6 and 7 Chapter 1: Adjusting to Modern Life Paradox of Progress  The technological advances that have taken place in the past century have not led to perceptible improvement in our collective health and happiness  People tend to struggle with their identity, having a clear vision of the future, loneliness etc. The Sense for Direction  People are desperate for a sense of direction and purpose in their lives  Engage in self-realization programs and purchasing self-help books What is Psychology?  Psychology: the science that studies behaviour and the physical and mental processes that underlie it, and is the profession that applies the accumulated knowledge of this science to practical problems  Behaviour: any observable response or activity by an organism  Mental processes have a critical influence on behaviour  Also studies the physiological processes that underlie behaviour  Clinical psychology: the branch of psychology concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems and disorders  Adjustment: the psychological processes through which people manage or cope with the demands of challenges or everyday life The Scientific Approach to Behaviour  Empiricism: knowledge should be acquired though observation  Types of research methods: experimental and correlational  Experiment: research method by which the investigator manipulates one variable (independent) under carefully controlled conditions and observes whether any changes occur in a second variable (dependent)  Experiments allow researchers to draw cause-effect conclusions, although some variables cannot be explored due to ethics or practical realities  Correlation: exists when two variables are related to each other  Correlation coefficient: a numerical index of the degree of relatedness between two variables (how strongly and the direction)  Naturalistic observation: researcher engages in careful observation of behaviour without intervening directly with the subjects  Case study: in-depth investigation of an individual subject  Surveys: structured questionnaires on interviews, designed to solicit information about specific aspects of participants’ behaviour, attitudes, or beliefs Downloaded by Catherine Gao ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|50799915  Correlational research allows psychologists to explore questions they couldn’t have with an experiment, but cannot make conclusions about two variables being related The Roots of Happiness  Subjective well-being: individuals’ personal assessments of their overall happiness or life satisfaction  Factors that are unrelated to happiness: money, age, gender, parenthood, intelligence and attractiveness  Factors that are somewhat related to happiness: health, social relations, religious belief, leisure activity, culture  Factors that are very related: relationship status, work, genetics and personality  Objective realities are not as important as subjective feelings  Affective forecasting: efforts to predict one’s emotional reactions to future events  Hedonic adaptation: occurs when the mental scale that people use to judge the pleasantness-unpleasantness of their experiences shifts so that their neutral point, or baseline for comparison, is changed Developing Sound Study Habits  Should set up a schedule for studying to avoid leaving it until minute  Should find a place to study where you can concentrate  Should set realistic study goals and reward yourself when you meet them  Overlearning: continued rehearsal of material after you have first appeared to master it  Testing effect: testing enhances retention  Distributed practice leads to greater retention than massed practice  Retention is better when information is well organized  How deep you process the information is more important than how you study  Mnemonic devices: strategies for enhancing memory  Mnemonic devices include acrostics (phrases) and acronyms (words), link method (mental image), method of loci (imaginary walk along a familiar path) Chapter 2: Theories of Personality Personality  Personality: an individual’s unique constellation of consistent behavioural traits  Personality trait: a durable disposition to behave in a particular way in a variety of situations Five-Factor Model of Personality  Vast majority of personality traits derive from just five higher-order traits  Extraversion: outgoing, sociable, upbeat, generally more positive outlook on life  Neuroticism: anxious, hostile, insecure, vulnerable  Openness: curiosity, flexibility, imaginativeness  Agreeableness: sympathetic, trusting, cooperative, modest  Conscientiousness: diligent, disciplined, well organized, dependable Downloaded by Catherine Gao ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|50799915 Psychoanalytic Theory  Psychodynamic theories: all the diverse theories descended from the work of Sigmund Freud that focus on unconscious mental forces  Psychoanalysis: treatment of mental disorders by lengthy verbal interactions going deep into the patient’s lives  3 components of personality structure: id, ego, superego  Id: the primitive, instinctive component of personality, operates according to the pleasure principle  Ego: the decision-making component of personality that operates according to the reality principle  Superego: moral component of personality that incorporates social standards about what represents right and wrong  Conscious: consists of whatever one is aware at a particular point in time  Preconscious: contains material just beneath the surface of awareness that can be easily retrieved  Unconscious: contains thoughts, memories and desires that are well below the surface of conscious awareness but that nonetheless exert great influence on one’s behaviour Conflict and Defense Mechanisms  Defense mechanisms: largely unconscious reactions that protect a person from painful emotions such as anxiety and guilt  Rationalization: involves creating false but plausible excuses to justify unacceptable behaviour  Repression: involves keeping distressing thoughts and feelings buried in the unconscious  Projection: involves attributing one’s own thoughts, feelings, or motivates to another  Displacement: involves diverting emotional feelings (usually anger) from their original source to a substitute target  Reaction formation: involves behaving in a way that is exactly the opposite of one’s true feelings  Regression: involves a reversion to immature patterns of behaviour  Identification: involves bolstering self-esteem by forming an imaginary or real alliance with some person or group  Excessive dependence on defense mechanisms is associated with impairments in mental health Psychosexual Stages of Development  Psychosexual stages: developmental periods with a characteristic sexual focus that leave their mark on adult personality  Fixation: a failure to move forward from one stage to another as expected, caused by excessive gratification or excessive frustration of certain needs  Oral stage: main source of erotic stimulation is the mouth (age 0-1)  Anal stage: main source of erotic pleasure is bowel movements (age 2-3)  Phallic stage: genitals are the focus of the child’s erotic energy (age 4-5) Downloaded by Catherine Gao ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|50799915 o Oedipal complex: children manifest erotically tinged desires for their other-sex parent, accompanied by feelings of hostility toward their same-sex parent  Latency and genital stages: the child’s sexual urges are supressed or latent (age 6-12) and after puberty sexual urges reappear Jung’s Analytical Psychology  Unconscious consists of two layers: personal and collective  Personal unconscious: houses material from one’s own life that has been repressed or forgotten  Collective unconscious: storehouse of latent memory traces inherited from people’s ancestral past that is shared with the entire human race  Archetypes: emotionally charged images and thought forms that have universal meaning Alder’s Individual Psychology  Foremost human drive is striving for superiority  Compensation: involves efforts to overcome imagined or real inferiorities by developing one’s abilities Behavioural Perspectives  Behaviourism: theoretical orientation based on the premise that scientific psychology should study observable behaviour  Tend to view personality as a collection of response tendencies that are tied to various stimulus situations  Response tendencies are shaped through classical conditioning, operant conditioning and observational learning Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning  Classical conditioning: type of learning in which a neutral stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was originally invoked by another stimulus  Unconditioned stimulus: a stimulus that evokes an unconditioned response without previous conditioning  Unconditioned response: an unlearned reaction to an unconditioned stimulus that occurs without previous conditioning  Conditioned stimulus: a previously neutral stimulus that has acquired the capacity to evoke a conditioned response through conditioning  Conditioned response: a learned reaction to a conditioned stimulus that occurs because of previous conditioning  Conditioned and unconditioned response often involve the same behaviour  Extinction: the gradual weakening and disappearance of a conditioned response tendency Skinner’s Operant Conditioning  Operant conditioning: a form of learning in which voluntary responses come to be controlled by their consequences  Voluntary responses are emitted, involuntary responses are elicited Downloaded by Catherine Gao ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|50799915  Positive reinforcement: occurs when a response is strengthened because it is followed by the arrival of a pleasant stimulus  Negative reinforcement: occurs when a response is strengthened because is it followed by the removal of an unpleasant stimulus  Extinction: refers to the gradual weakening and disappearance of a response  Punishment: occurs when a response is weakened because it is followed by the arrival of an unpleasant stimulus Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory  Observational learning: occurs when an organism’s responding is influenced by the observation of others (models)  Self-efficacy: one’s belief about one’s ability to perform behaviours that should lead to expected outcomes Humanistic Perspectives  Humanism: a theoretical orientation that emphasizes the unique qualities of humans, especially their free will and their potential for personal growth  Humanistic theories believe that: o 1. Human nature includes an innate drive towards personal growth o 2. Individuals have the freedom to chart their courses of action and are not pawns of their environment o 3. Humans are largely conscious and rational beings who are not dominated by unconscious, irrational needs Roger’s Person-Centered Theory  Self-concept: a collection of beliefs about one’s own nature, unique qualities, and typical behaviour  Incongruence: disparity between one’s self-concept and one’s actual experience  Psychological health is rooted in a congruent self-concept Maslow’s Theory of Self-Actualization  Hierarchy of needs: a systemic arrangement of needs, according to priority, in which basic needs must be met before less basic needs are aroused o Physiological needs, safety and security needs, belongingness and love needs, esteem needs, cognitive needs, aesthetic needs, need for self-actualization  Needs for self-actualization: the need to fulfill one’s potential Eysenck’s Biological Theory  Personality is largely determined by one’s genetic inheritance  Views personality structure as a hierarchy of traits Recent Research in Behavioural Genetics  Twin studies: researcher’s assess hereditary influence by comparing the resemblance of identical twins and fraternal twins on a trait Downloaded by Catherine Gao ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|50799915  Heritability ratio: an estimate of the proportion of trait variability in a population that is determined by variations in genetic inheritance Evolutionary Approach to Personality  Evolutionary psychology: examines behavioural processes in terms of their adaptive value for members of a species over the course of many generations  Hindsight bias: the common tendency to mold one’s interpretation of the past to fit how events actually turned out Narcissism  A contemporary empirical approach to personality  Narcissism: a personality trait marked by an inflated sense of importance, a need for attention and admiration, and a sense of entitlement  Grandiose narcissism: arrogance, extraversion, immodesty, aggressiveness  Vulnerable narcissism: hidden feelings of inferiority, introversion, neuroticism and a need for recognition  Terror management theory: culture helps humans deal with fear of death by providing ways to view the world  Self-esteem also serves as a terror management function Culture and Personality  Continuity has been apparent in cross-cultural comparisons of the trait structure of personality  Perceptions of national character tend to be highly inaccurate  Individualism: involves putting personal goals ahead of group goals and defining one’s identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group memberships  Collectivism: involves putting group goals ahead of personal goals and defining one’s identity in terms of the groups to which one belongs Key Concepts in Psychological Testing  Psychological test: a standardized measure of a sample of a person’s behaviour  Standardization: refers to the uniform procedures used to administer and score a test  Test norms: provide information about where a score on a psychological test ranks in relation to other scores on that test  Reliability: refers to the measurement of consistency of a test  Validity: refers to the ability of a test to measure what it was designed to measure  Self-report inventories: personality scales that ask individuals to answer a series of questions about their characteristic behaviour  Projective tests: ask people to respond to vague, ambiguous stimuli in ways that may reveal the respondents’ needs, feelings, and personality traits o Are not transparent to subjects o May be sensitive to unconscious, latent features of personality o Have little scientific evidence Downloaded by Catherine Gao ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|50799915 Chapter 6: The Self Self-Concept  Self-concept: a collection of beliefs about one’s own basic nature, unique qualities and typical behaviour  Possible selves: one’s conceptions about the kind of person one might become in the future  Possible selves can be positive or negative, once self-concept is established people want to maintain it  Goal setting can be effective in helping mental health Self-Discrepancies  Actual self: qualities you actually possess  Ideal self: characteristics you could like to have  Ought self: traits you believe you should possess  Self-discrepancy: consists of a mismatch between the self-perceptions that make up the actual self, ideal self, and ought self  People experience higher self-esteem when they live up to their own standards (ideal and ought self)  Self-discrepancy with the ideal self causes dejection-related emotions (sadness)  Self-discrepancy with the ought self causes agitation-related emotions (guilt)  Can change your behaviour to match your ideal self, or bring your ideal self to be more in line with your abilities to deal with self-discrepancies  People tend to focus more on their positive features o maintain a good image of themselves Factors Shaping the Self-Concept  Social comparison theory: proposes that individuals compare themselves with others in order to assess their abilities and opinions  People also engage in social comparison to improve their skills and maintain their self- image  Reference group: a set of people who are used as a gauge in making social comparisons  Upward social comparison: reference group is perceived to be superior to you  Downward social comparison: reference group is perceived to be worse off than you  People tend to evaluate themselves as being be better than they really are  Self-concept is shaped significantly by feedback an individual gets from important people in their life  Michaelangelo phenomenon: partner’s role in “sculpting” into reality the ideal self of a loved one  Social context is important in developing self-concept, will be different in different situations  Self-concept is shaped by cultural values, meeting cultural expectations increases one’s self-esteem  Individualistic and collectivistic cultures shape different self-conceptions Downloaded by Catherine Gao ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|50799915  Independent view of the self: perceive themselves as unique, self-contained, and distinct from others  Interdependent view of the self: see themselves as connected to others and believe harmonious relationships are of most importance Self-Esteem  Self-esteem: one’s overall assessment of one’s worth as a person  People with low self-esteem tend to have a less clear self-concept  Trait self-esteem: ongoing sense of confidence people have regarding their abilities and characteristics, tends to remain constant  State self-esteem: how individuals feel about themselves in the moment, dynamic and changeable  High self-esteem is strongly related to happiness  People with high self-esteem respond better to criticism and are less likely to give up on tasks  Sociometer: self-esteem is a subjective measure of one’s interpersonal popularity and success  People with low self-esteem often have negative expectations about their performance  Narcissistic individuals tend to exploit self-enhancement opportunities, whereas high self-esteem individuals can moderate them  High self-esteem individuals have more realistic and secure positive self-views than narcissists Development of Self-Esteem  Parenting plays a role in self-esteem development  4 parenting styles based on acceptance and control  Authoritative parenting: high emotional support and firm, but reasonable, limits (high acceptance, high control)  Authoritarian parenting: low emotional support with strict limits (low acceptance, high control)  Permissive parenting: high emotional support with few limits (high acceptance, low control)  Neglectful parenting: low emotional support and few limits (low acceptance, low control)  Authoritative parenting has highest self-esteem scores Ethnicity, Gender, and Self-Esteem  Pattern of ethnic differences in individualism closely matches patterns of ethnic differences in self-esteem  Blacks have higher self-esteem than whites, and whites have higher self-esteem than Asians, Hispanics and Native Americans  Males have higher self-esteem for physical appearance, athleticism, personal self, and self-satisfaction  Females have higher self-esteem for behavioural conduct, and moral/ethical self-esteem Downloaded by Catherine Gao ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|50799915 Cognitive Processes  Automatic processing: default mode for handling information (mindlessness)  Controlled processing: spending cognitive resources when important decisions arise (mindfulness)  Selective attention: high priority is given to information pertaining the self  Spotlight effect: tendency to think people notice you more than they really do  People strive to understand themselves Self-Attributions  Self-attributions: inferences that people draw about the causes of their own behaviour  Attributions are made on three dimensions: internal/external, stable/unstable, controllable/uncontrollable  Internal attributions: ascribe the causes of behaviour to be personal dispositions, traits, abilities, and feelings  External attributions: ascribe the causes of behaviour to situational demands of environmental constraints  Stable cause: one that is mostly permanent and unlikely to change (ex. sense of humor, laws)  Unstable cause: one that is variable and subject to change (ex. mood, weather)  Sometimes events are in your control (ex. the amount of effort you put in), sometimes they are not (ex. your aptitude for music) Explanatory Style  Explanatory style: the tendency to use similar casual attributions for a wide variety of events in one’s life  Can be optimistic, usually attributes setbacks to external, unstable and specific causes, tend to have better control over future events  Can be pessimistic, usually attributes setbacks to internal, stable and global causes, tend to have lack of control over future events Self-Assessment  Self-assessment motive: reflected in people’s desire for truthful information about themselves  People have difficulties evaluating their own abilities  Self-distorting bias occurs when: o We fail to recognize our own lack of skill in a given domain o We miss recognizing the genuine skill enacted by others o We remain unaware of how adequate we are when it comes to the ability in question  Impact bias: occurs when people misjudge the eventual intensity and duration of their emotional response to some future event  Focalism: the tendency to overemphasize how much one will think about an event in the future Downloaded by Catherine Gao ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|50799915  Distorting expectations by impact bias and focalism can alter one’s ability to accurately engage in self-assessment Self-Enhancement  Self-enhancement: the tendency to seek positive (and reject negative) information about oneself  Can appear as an observed response or behaviour, a process, a personality trait, or an underlying motive  Better-than-average-effect: tendency to hold flattering views of one’s personal qualities Downward Comparisons  Downward social comparison: a defensive tendency to compare oneself with someone who’s troubles are more serious than one’s own  Associated with increases in mood and self-esteem  Can make downward comparisons to past selves to promote self-enhancement Self-Serving Bias  Self-serving bias: tendency to attribute one’s successes to personal factors and one’s failures to situational factors  One’s degree of self-control to make unbiased judgements is usually overridden by one’s automatic drive towards self-enhancement  Friendship places limits on self-serving bias Basking in Reflected Glory  Basking in reflected glory: tendency to enhance one’s image by publicly announcing one’s association with those who are successful  Cutting off reflected failure: protecting self-esteem by distancing themselves from those who are unsuccessful Self-Handicapping  Self-handicapping: the tendency to sabotage one’s performance to provide an excuse for possible failure  Lack of effort for a test is a good example of self-handicapping Self-Regulation  Self-regulation: the process of directing and controlling one’s behaviour to achieve desired goals  Self-regulation develops early and remains relatively stable  When self-regulation is strengthened, people are less vulnerable to ego depletion effects  Self-control can be increased by being in a good mood, ingesting sugar, and exposure to nature scenes Self-Efficacy Downloaded by Catherine Gao ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|50799915  Self-efficacy: refers to one’s belief about one’s ability to perform behaviours that should lead to expected outcomes  Increasing self-efficacy is an effective way to improve health and treat a variety of psychological problems  Four sources of self-efficacy: mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, persuasion and encouragement, interpretation of emotional arousal  Mastery experiences: mastering new skills, persisting through failure experiences to eventual success helps to learn self-efficacy  Vicarious experiences: watching others perform a skill you want to learn  Persuasion and encouragement: getting encouragement from other’s can help push you to complete a task, but it is less effective  Interpretation of emotional arousal: physiological responses that accompany feeling and interpretations Self-Defeating Behaviour  Self-defeating behaviours: seemingly intentional actions that thwart a person’s self- interest  Three categories: deliberate self-destruction, trade-offs, and counterproductive strategies  Deliberate self-destruction: people want to harm themselves and choose courses of action that will foreseeably lead to that result  Trade-offs: people foresee the possibility of harming themselves but see it as a necessary accompaniment to achieve another goal  Counterproductive strategies: a person pursues a desirable outcome but misguidedly uses an approach that is bound to fail Self-Presentation  Public self: an image presented to others in social interactions  People have different public selves in different situations o People who see themselves as being similar across different social roles are more well-adjusted Impression Management  Spotlight effect: people think they are noticed and evaluated more than they are  Guilty by association effect: people erroneously assume their social standing suffers as a result of embarrassing actions by those they associate with  Face: the idealized image people try to create in the minds of others  Impression management: the usually conscious efforts of people to influence how others think of them  Ingratiation: behaving in ways to make oneself likeable to others  Self-promotion: playing up your strong areas in hopes of earning respect  Supplication: when individuals try to present themselves as weak and dependent to get favors from others Downloaded by Catherine Gao ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|50799915  Negative acknowledgement: candidly admitting to possessing some negative quality Self-Monitoring  Self-monitoring: refers to the degree to which people attend to or control the impressions they make on others  High self-monitors are more concerned about making a good impression, perceive themselves as flexible and pragmatic  Low self-monitors are more likely to express their true beliefs, see themselves as having strong principles and being in line with them Building Self-Esteem  Recognize that you are in control of how you see yourself  Learn more about yourself  Don’t let others set your goals for you, or set the standard by which you evaluate yourself  Set reasonable and realistic goals, and don’t compare yourself to the best  Take credit for successes and realize that your failures may not always be your fault  Appreciate your strengths and work on shortcomings that are changeable rather than dwelling on ones that are out of your control  Work on developing new strengths that help you have more meaningful connections with people  Maintain a positive and supportive outlook when you approach people, instead of trying to “cut them down to your size” Chapter 7: Social Thinking and Social Influence Forming Impressions of Others  Person perception: the process of forming impressions of others  Five key sources of observable information: appearance, verbal behaviour, actions, non- verbal messages, situational cues  Bad impressions tend to be stronger than good ones  Snap judgements: made quickly, based on only a few bits of information and preconceived notions, tend to be less accurate  Systematic judgments: take time to observe a person in a variety of situations and compare them to others in those situations, more accurate, important when forming more meaningful relationships Attributions  Attributions: inferences that people draw about the causes of their own behaviour, others’ behaviour and events  Three key dimensions: internal/external, stable/unstable, controlled/uncontrolled  Can also be intentional/nonintentional  People are most likely to make attributions when: o Others behave in unexpected or negative ways Downloaded by Catherine Gao ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|50799915 o When events are personally relevant o When they are suspicious about another person’s motives Perceiver Expectations  Confirmation bias: the tendency to seek information that supports one’s beliefs while not pursuing disconfirming information  Individuals selectively recall facts that that fit their view of others  Confirmation bias may be decreases by intentionally presenting people with information that is inconsistent with their perceptions and preferences  When information is difficult to perceive it can also reduce confirmation bias  Self-fulfilling prophecy: occurs when expectations about a person cause him or her to behave in ways that confirm their expectations Cognitive Distortions  Social categorization: people classify objects and people based on their distinctive features (ex. race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, etc.)  Tend to overestimate the difference between groups and underestimate the difference within groups  Ingroup: people who are similar to you are classified as part of your ingroup (“us”)  Outgroup: people who are dissimilar to you (“them”)  Outgroup homogeneity effect: we perceive people outside of our group as “all alike” and those within our group as “diverse”  Stereotypes: widely held beliefs that people have certain characteristics because of their membership in a particular group  Stereotyping can be reduced by putting in effort to respond in an open and friendly manner to those who are different from them, and by imagining an encounter with oneself and an outgroup member o But imagined contact must be positive and high quality  Fundamental attribution error: the tendency to explain other people’s behaviour as the result of personal, rather than situational, factors  Attribution process: o Step 1: Make a personal attribution based on observation of one’s behaviour (automatic, mindless) o Step 2: Become aware of situational influences on this observed behaviour (effortful, mindful) o Failure to engage in step 2 can result in fundamental attribution error  Defensive attribution: tendency to blame victims for their misfortune, so that one feels less likely to be victimized in a similar way Themes in Person Perception  Efficiency: people tend to exert no more cognitive effort or time than is necessary o People can make judgements quickly o Error-prone Downloaded by Catherine Gao ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|50799915  Selectivity: people see what they expect to see  Consistency: people are likely to lock in their first impressions o Primacy effect: occurs when initial information carries more weight than subsequent information o Cognitions that contradict each other create tension and discomfort Prejudice  Prejudice: negative attitudes towards people in a group  Discrimination: behaving differently, usually unfairly, toward members of a group  Modern discrimination: people may privately harbor racist or sexist attitudes but only express them when they feel it is justified or safe to do so  Aversive racism: indirect form of racism that occurs when conscious endorsement of equality ideals conflicts with unconscious, negative reactions to minority group members Causes of Prejudice  Authoritarian personality: prejudice toward any group perceived to be different from oneself  Right-winged authoritarianism is characterized by: o Authoritarian submission: exaggerated respect to those in power o Authoritarian aggression: hostility towards targets sanctioned by authority o Conventionalism: strong adherence to values endorsed by authorities  Authoritarians view outgroups as threatening to their cherished traditional values and see themselves as being more moral than others  Social categorization predisposes people to divide the social world into ingroups and outgroups  Ultimate attribution error: perceives negative characteristics as being personality based and due to group membership  Competition between groups: perceived threats to one’s group, such as conflict over scarce resources  Social identity theory: self-esteem is partly determined by one’s social identity (or collective self) which is tied to one’s group memberships  Threats to collective self-esteem of a group can cause: o Ingroup favorism o Outgroup denigration  Stereotype threat: occurs when individuals are the targets of a stereotype by others to characterize the group they belong to o Feelings of stereotype vulnerability can undermine group members performance on standardized tests, and other measures of academic achievement Reducing Prejudice  Requires an intentional shift from automatic to controlled processing, can be changed by paying careful attention to what and how you think Downloaded by Catherine Gao ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|50799915  Prejudice is decreased if groups have to work together towards a common goal  Cooperative efforts made to reach these goals must have a successful outcome  Group members must have opportunities to make meaningful connections with each other  Group members must be brought together in a way that ensures everyone has equal status Persuasion  Persuasion: involves the communication of arguments and information intended to change another person’s attitudes  Attitudes: beliefs and feelings about people, objects, and ideas  Four elements of the behaviour process: o Source is the person who sends a communication, receiver is the person to whom the message is sent o Message is the information transmitted by the source, channel is the medium through which the message is sent  Expertise, trustworthiness and likability are important in the effectiveness of a communicator (or source)  Two-sided arguments, fear arousal, and generation of positive feelings are ways of making messages more effective  Need for cognition: tendency to seek out and enjoy effortful thought, problem-solving activities, and in-depth analysis  Forewarning can reduce the impact of an argument (if people are expecting to be persuaded)  Elaboration likelihood model: an individual’s thoughts about a persuasive message (rather than the actual message itself) determine whether attitude change will occur  Messages that receive greater and deeper processing are more resistant to persuasion Social Pressure  Conformity: occurs when people yield to real or imagined social pressure  Solomon Asch’s classic study demonstrated that people conformed easily to wrong answers given by others in a mock perception test  To a point, conformity increases as group size increases (peaks at 7 members)  Compliance: occurs when people yield to social pressure in their public behaviour, even when their private beliefs have not changed  Normative influence: operates when people conform to social norms for fear of negative social consequences  Informational influence: operates when people look to others for how to behave in ambiguous situations  Bystander effect: tendency for individuals to be less likely to provide help when others are present than when they are alone  Obedience: a form of compliance that occurs when people follow direct commands, usually from someone in a position of authority Downloaded by Catherine Gao ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|50799915  Stanley Milgram’s classic study showed that people’s tendency to obey is strong, even when they are asked to hurt another person  Agency theory: people will obey an authority only if they are seen as legitimate, and will take control for their actions Seeing Through Compliance Tactics  Consistency principle: once people agree to something, they will tend to stick with it  Foot-in-the-door technique: involves getting people to agree to a small request to increase the chances that they will agree to a larger request later  Self-perception theory: people sometimes infer their attitudes by observing their own behaviour  Lowball technique: involves getting someone to commit to an attractive proposition before its hidden costs are revealed  Reciprocity principle: the rule that one should pay back in kind what one receives from others  Door-in-the-face technique: involves making a large request that is likely to be turned down in order to increase the chances that people will agree to a smaller request later Key Terms Chapter 1 Adjustment: psychological processes through which people manage or cope with the demands and challenges of everyday life Affective forecasting: efforts to predict one’s emotional reactions to future events Behaviour: any observable response by an organism Case study: in-depth investigation of an individual subject Clinical psychology: concerned with diagnoses and treatments of psychological problems and disorders Control group: group of similar subjects in an experiment that does not receive the treatment Experimental group: group of similar subjects that does receive some form of treatment Correlation: when two variables are related to each other Downloaded by Catherine Gao ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|50799915 Correlation coefficient: the degree to which two variables are related, gives strength and direction Dependent variable: variable that is thought to be affected by manipulations of the independent variable: condition or event than an experimenter varies in order to see its impact on anther variable Empiricism: knowledge should be acquired through observation Experiment: research method in which the experimenter manipulates one variable under carefully controlled conditions and observes whether changes occur in a second variable as a result Hedonic adaptation: when the mental scale that people use to judge the pleasantness- unpleasantness of their experiences shifts so that they’re neutral point (baseline for comparison) is changed Mnemonic devices: strategies for enhancing memory Narcissism: personality trait marked by inflated sense of importance, need for attention and admiration, a sense of entitlement and tendency to exploit others Naturalistic observation: researcher engages in careful observation of the subjects without intervening directly with the subjects Overlearning: continued rehearsal of material after you have first appeared to have mastered it Psychology: studies behaviour and the physiological and mental processes that underlie it Subjective well-being: individuals’ personal assessments of their overall happiness or life satisfaction Surveys: structured questionnaires on interviews designed to solicit information about specific aspects of participants’ behaviour, attitudes, and beliefs Chapter 2 Archetypes: emotionally charged images and thought forms that have universal meaning Behaviourism: scientific psychology should focus on observable behaviour Classical conditioning: type of learning in which neutral stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus Collective unconscious: storehouse of latent memory traces inherited from people’s ancestral past that is shared with the entire human race Collectivism: involves putting group goals ahead of personal goals and defining one’s identity in terms of the groups to which one belongs Individualism: involves putting personal goals ahead of group goals and defining one’s identity in terms of personal attributes Conditioned response: learned reaction to conditioned stimulus because of previous conditioning Conditioned stimulus: previously neutral stimulus that has acquired the capacity to evoke a conditioned response Conscious: consists of whatever one is aware of at a particular point in time Preconscious: contains material just below the surface of awareness that can be easily retrieved Unconscious: thoughts, memories, and desires that are well below the surface of conscious awareness but have great influence on one’s behaviour Downloaded by Catherine Gao ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|50799915 Defense mechanisms: largely unconscious reactions that protect a person from painful emotions such as anxiety and guilt Displacement: diverting emotional feelings from their original target to a subject target Repression: keeping distressing thoughts and feelings buried in the unconscious Projection: involves attributing one’s own thoughts, feelings, or motives to another Reaction formation: involves behaving in a way that is the exact opposite of one’s true feelings Regression: involves a reversion to immature patterns of behaviour Identification: bolstering self-esteem by forming an imaginary or real alliance with some person or group Id: pleasure principle Superego: moral principle Ego: reality principle Evolutionary psychology: examines behavioural processes in terms of their adaptive value for members of a species over the course of many generations Twin studies: researchers assess hereditary influence by comparing the resemblance of identical twins and fraternal twins on a trait Heritability ratio: an estimate of the proportion of trait variability in a population that is determined by variations in genetic inheritance Extinction: gradual weakening and disappearance of a conditioned stimulus Operant conditioning: form of learning in which voluntary responses come to be controlled by their consequences Positive reinforcement: response is strengthened because it is followed by the arrival of a pleasant stimulus Negative reinforcement: response is strengthened because it is followed by the removal of a negative stimulus Fixation: failure to move forward from one stage to another as expected Psychosexual stages: developmental periods with a characteristic sexual focus that leave their mark on adult personality Hierarchy of needs: systematic arrangement of needs, according to priority, in which basic needs must be met before less basic needs are aroused Need for self-actualization: the need to fulfill one’s potential Hindsight bias: common tendency to mold one’s interpretation of the past to fit how it actually turned out Humanism: emphasizes the unique qualities of humans, especially their free will and potential for personal growth Incongruence: the disparity between one’s self-concept and one’s actual experience Self-concept: collection of beliefs about one’s own nature, unique qualities, and typical behaviour Oedipal complex: children manifest erotically tinged desires for their other sex parent, accompanied by hostilities toward their same-sex parent Personality: an individual’s unique collection of consistent behavioural traits Personality trait: a durable disposition to behave in a particular way in a variety of situations Projective tests: ask people to respond to vague, ambiguous stimuli in ways that may reveal the respondents’ needs, feelings or personality traits Downloaded by Catherine Gao ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|50799915 Psychological test: standardized measure of a sample of a person’s behaviour Psychodynamic theories: theories derived from Sigmund Freud that focus on unconscious mental forces Punishment: response is weakened by the arrival of an unpleasant stimulus Reliability: measurement consistency of a test Validity: how well the test measures what it is supposed to measure Self-efficacy: one’s belief about their ability to perform behaviours that should lead to expected outcomes Self-report inventories: personality scales that ask individuals to answer a series of questions about their characteristic behaviour Test norms: provide information about where a score on a psychological test ranks in relation to other scores on that test Unconditioned response: unlearned reaction to an unconditioned stimulus Unconditioned stimulus: stimulus that evokes an unconditioned response without previous conditioning Standardization: uniform procedures used to administer and score a test Chapter 6 Basking in reflected glory: tendency to enhance one’s image by publicly announcing one’s association with those who are successful Self-enhancement: tendency to seek positive (and reject negative) information about oneself Downward social comparison: defensive tendency to compare oneself with someone whose troubles are more serious than one’s own Self-serving bias: tendency to attribute one’s own success to personal factors and one’s failures to situational factors Self-handicapping: tendency to sabotage one’s performance to provide an excuse for possible failure Self-regulation: process of directing and controlling one’s behaviour to achieve desired goals Self-defeating behaviours: seemingly intentional actions that thwart a person’s self-interest Public self: an image presented to others in social situations Impression management: refers to usually conscious efforts by people to influence how others think of them Ingratiation: behaving in ways to make oneself likeable to others Self-monitoring: refers to the degree to which people attend to and control the impressions they make on others Possible selves: one’s conceptions about the kind of person one might become in the future Social comparison theory: proposes that individuals compare themselves with others in order to assess their abilities and opinions Self-discrepancy: consists of a mismatch between the self-perceptions that make up the actual self, ideal self, and ought self Reference group: set of people who are used as a gauge in making social comparisons Self-esteem: one’s overall assessment of one’s worth as a person Self-attributions: inferences that people draw about the causes of their own behaviour Downloaded by Catherine Gao ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|50799915 Internal attributions: causes of behaviour are personal dispositions, traits, abilities, and feelings External attributions: causes of behaviour are situational Explanatory style: the tendency to use similar causal attributions for a wide variety of events in one’s life Chapter 7 Person perception: the process of forming impressions of others Confirmation bias: tendency to seek information that supports one’s beliefs while not pursuing disconfirming information Self-fulfilling prophecy: occurs when expectations about a person cause him or her to behave in ways that confirm the expectations Stereotypes: widely held beliefs that people have certain characteristics because of their membership in a particular group Fundamental attribution error: tendency to explain other people’s behaviour as the result of personal, rather than situational factors Defensive attribution: tendency to blame victims for their misfortune, so that one feels less likely to be victimized in a similar way Primacy effect: initial information carries more weight than subsequent information Prejudice: negative attitude toward members of a group Discrimination: involves behaving differently (unfairly) toward members of a group Persuasion: communication of arguments intended to change a person’s attitudes Attitudes: beliefs and feelings about people, objects, and ideas Source: person who sends a communication Receiver: person to whom the message is sent Message: information transmitted by the source Channel: medium through which the message is being sent Need for cognition: tendency to seek out and enjoy effortful thought, problem-solving activities, and in-depth analysis Elaboration likelihood model: an individual’s thoughts about a persuasive message determine whether attitude change will occur Conformity: occurs when people yield to real or imagined social pressure Compliance: occurs when people yield to social pressure in their public behaviour, even though private beliefs have not changed Normative influence: operates conform to social norms for fear of negative social consequences Informational influence: operates when people look to others for how to behave in ambiguous situations Bystander effect: tendency for individuals to be less likely to provide help when others are present than when they are alone Obedience: a form of compliance that occurs when people follow direct commands, usually from someone in a position of authority FITD technique: involves getting people to agree to a small request to increase the chances they will agree to a larger request later Downloaded by Catherine Gao ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|50799915 Lowball technique: involves getting someone to commit to an attractive proposition before its hidden costs are revealed Reciprocity principle: one should pay back in kind what one receives from others DITF technique: involves making a large request that is likely to be turned down in order to increase the chances that people will agree to a smaller request later Downloaded by Catherine Gao ([email protected])