Psychology 1101 Exam 2
Heuristics are
serve as quick rules of thumb for judgements. Stereotypes influence the way we think about other people
sexual scripts
sets of implicit rules that specify proper sexual behavior for a person in a given situation, varying with the person's gender, age, religion, social status, and peer group
Humanistic Perspective
stress a person's capacity for personal growth and positive human qualities. Humanistic psychologists believe that we all have the ability to control our lives and to achieve what we desire.
Conditions of worth:
the conditions a person must meet in order to regard himself or herself positively
Defense mechanism
the conflicts that erupt among the demands of the id, the superego and reality create a great deal of anxiety for the ego. These are tactics the ego uses to reduce anxiety by the unconsciously distorting reality Defense mechanisms are unconscious; we are not aware that we are calling on them
companionate love
the deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined
Fist Impressions
the first impression can have lasting effects. First impressions can be so powerful because of primary effects. That is the tendency to attend to remember what they learned first A number of studies have shown that first impressions can be correct
Attribution
the process by which we come to understand the causes of others behavior and form an impression of them as individuals
The social Identity theory:
theory in which the formation of a person's identity within a particular social group is explained by social categorization, social identity, and social comparison
Gordon Allport
trait theory of personality; 3 levels of traits: Interest in issues beyond their own experience ▪ A sense of humor ▪ Common sense (He wanted to focus on lives in the present not on our childhood experiences)
Persuasion
trying to change someone's attitude, and often his or her behavior
Attribution Theory
views people as motivated to discover the underlying causes of behavior as part of their effort to make sense of behavior
Ways to approach personality
1) whole person 2) Focus on characteristic
Misgendering
A form of sexist language in which gendered language that does not match a person's gender identity is used or when a person's gender identity is misidentified by some other means
What makes a relationship last:
Accommodation: respond constructively, even after negative behaviors Willingness to sacrifice Derogration of alternativeness
social role theory
Alice Eagly proposed that to understand gender, we must recognize the larger social and cultural institutions surrounding gender identity Social role theory Social role theory: is a theory of gender development that acknowledges the physical differences between sexes that historically led men and women to perform different tasks; but it also piints out the ways that these differences color social expectations and create and support sical structures that limit opportunities for both sexes. Eagly proposed that these differences resulted in a division of labor between the sexes (with women being more involved in the home and with childrearing and men being more likely to work outside the home.)
Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory: Albert Bandura
Bandura's social cognitive theory states that behavior, environment and person/cognitive factors are all important in understanding personality
Walter Mischel
Believes human behaviour is largely determined by the situation rather than traits His view is called situationism, the idea that personality and behavior often vary considerably from one context to another)
Theories of Gender Development
Biological- genes, hormones, prenatal hormones, brain structures (focus on how biological factors determine gender development but also how such factors contribute to gender development interaction with experiences) Evolutionary psychology: this approach to gender views the differences between the sexes through the lens of natural selection and adaptation Sexual Selection: means that the male and female members of a species differ from each other becuase of differences in competition and choice Women are the sex that gives birth and as such they ought to do the choosing Men on the other hand show characteristics that are thought to be well suited for competing
Factors associated with prosocial behavior:
Biology Empathy Personality Agreeableness Narcissism Being in a good mood Socioeconomic status Media
Can behavior predict attitude: two theories
Cognitive Dissonance Theory: another concept introduced by Festinger, the psychological discomort caused by having two inconsistent thoughts (According to this theory we feel uneasy when we notice an inconsistency between what we believe and what we do) Self-Perception Theory: take on how behavior influences attitude. This theory states that individuals make inferences about their attitudes by observing their behavior
Elements of persuasion
Elements of persuasion: The communicator: the person doing the persuading, they can change people's attitudes or convince them to act The medium: another persuasion factor is the medium or technology used to get the message across. Is it presented in print, TV, Twitter or youtube. The Target: The audience or target of the message can play a role in message persuasiveness. Younger people are likely to change their attitudes than older people. The Message: the message itself. What kind of message is persuasive?
The psychodynamic perspective
Freud Personality results from unconscious conflicts - personality developed in childhood and typically does not change ID- unconscious, pleasure principle Superego- conscience Ego- resolves conflictt between the ID and superego, reality principle (can make decisions when to follow the id and superego)
Psychosexual stages of personality in development: Freud
Freud belived that human beings go through universal stages of personality development and that at each developmental stage we experience sexual pleasure in one part of the body more than in others. Oral stage Anal stage Phallic stage
Gray's Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory
Gray theorized that two neurological systems, the BAS and the BIS, explain differences in an organism's attention to environmental rewards and punishments and in this way shape personality BAS: is sensitive to rewards in the environment, predisposes one to feelings of positive emotion, and underlies the trait of extraversion BIS: is sensitive to punishments and is involved in avoidance learning; it predisposes the individual to feelings of fear and underlies the trait of neuroticism
Alder's Individual Psychology
Human drive is not sexuality, but a striving for superiority. Adler's individual psychology- people are motivated by purposes and goals-thus perfection, not pleasure, is the key motivator in human life.
Evaluating the Humanistic Perspective:
Humanistic perspectives emphasize that the way we perceive ourselves and the world around us is an essential element of personality.
The role of social cognition: CAPS Model-
Information processing + emotional experiences across situations—-> behaviors
Locus of control- can be internal or external
Internal- you feel like you are in control of your sources and behaviors External- feel like someone else is shaping your choices or behaviors
social psychology
Is the interest in how individuals influence groups and how groups influence individuals
Beliefs matter for the implications of this:
Lower passion can predict lower commitment Unless you believe that passion can be recovered
Maslow's Approach: Humanistic approach
Maslow believed that we can learn the most about human personality by focusing on the very best examples of human beings- self-actualizers
Henry Murray
Murray embraced the psychodynamic notion of unconscious motivation Murray coined the word personology- to refer to the study of the whole person. He believed that to understand a person we have to know the person's history, including the physical, psychological, and sociological aspects of the person's life. He believed that our motives are largely unknown to us
Karen Horney
Neo-Freudian; offered feminist critique of Freud's theory she believed that the need for security not sex is the prime motivation in human existence
The Five Factor Model of personality:
Neuroticism- is related to feeling negative emotion more often than positive emotion in ones daily life (Negative and can impact one's health) Extraversion- more likely to engage in social activities. Openness to experience- is related to liberal value, open-mindness, tolerance, and creativity Agreeableness- generosity, altruism, religious faith Conscientiousness- a key factor in a variety of life domains, better work performance Researchers in personality psychology have found that there are essentially five broad personality dimensions that are represented in the natural language; these dimensions also summarize the various ways psychologists have studied traits.
Relationships evolve over time:
Passion tends to fade Shift toward companaionate love
Close relationships:
Physical attractiveness Facial Symmetry "Average" is attractive
Physical Attractiveness and other perceptual cues
Physical attractiveness is a powerful social cue Attractive individuals are generally assumed to have a variety of other positive characteristics, including being better adjusted, socially skilled, friendly, likeable, extraverted, and likely to achieve superior job performance (Led to beautiful is good stereotype)
Minority Stress Model
Prejudice+discrimination=negative mental health outcomes It is hard to be a minority in our society Sexual minorittes have worse psycholigcal outcomes than their heterosexual counterparts Bisexual people have worse psycholigcal outcomes than their gay and lesbian counterparts (this is becuase of idenitity denial)
Freud made a number of important contributions-
Proposed that childhood is crucial to later functioning, that development might be understood in terms of stages and that unconscious processes might play a significant role in human life
Close relationships: What predicts relationship formation?
Proximity Similarity
Group decision making: Three aspects of group decision making bear special mention:
Risky Shift: is the tendency for a group decision to be riskier than the average decision made by the individual group members. Risky shift means that after group discussion people start to move toward a riskier choice than their first decision. Group polarization: is the solidification and further strengthening of an invidduals position as a consequence of a group discussion or interaction Group think: refers to the impaired group decision making that occurs when making the right decision is less important than maintaining group harmony. Intergroup relations: Conlicts between groups, especially ethnic and cultural groups are rampant around the world.
Rogers approach: Humanistic
Rogers believed that, similarly, each person is born with natural capacities for growth and fulfillment. Finally, we are all born with a need for positive regard from others. We need to be loved, liked, or accepted by people around us. As children interacting with our parents, we learn early on to value the feeling that they value us, and we gain a sense of self-worth.
unconditional positive regard
Rogers's construct refers to the individual's need to be accepted, valued, and treated positively regardless of the person's behavior.
What makes a relationship last
Social exchange theory Costs Vs. Benefits Equity
Critics of the psychodynamic perspective:
Some critics say that psychodynamic theorists overemphasize the influence of early family experiences on personality and do not acknowledge that people retain the capacity for change and adaptation throughout life. Some also say that Freud and Jung put too much faith in the unconscious mind's ability to control behavior
strong vs weak situations
Strong- clear behavioral cues; highly structured (Funerals, exams, what you should do in an elevator) less room for personality to predict behavior because such strong things on what you should be doing. Weak- ambiguous, less structured, no predetermined strong guidelines (picnic)
The Hexaco Model
The HEXACO model is an alternative to the Five-Factor Model. The HEXACO model includes six traits, five of which are variants of the traits included in the Big Five (Emotionality [E], Extraversion [X], Agreeableness [A], Conscientiousness [C], and Openness [O]). The sixth factor, Honesty-Humility [H], is unique to this model.
successful persuasion
The foot in the door technique- involves making a smaller request at the beginning aand saving the biggest demand for last. Door in the face technique- involves making the biggest pitch first
why we would be committed to stay in unsatisfactory relationships
The investment model
Identity denial: for those who are bisexual
The situation in which an individual is not recognized as a member of an important situation in-group
The bystander effect
The tendency for an individual to be less likely to help in an emergency when other people are present - even when anonymous they will also not help
A pattern of enduring distinctive thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that characterize the way an individual adapt to the world...
Thoughts, Feelings, Behaviors
Exerting personal control
When people believe that they have control over their actions, they are less likely to conform
gender differences
Women live longer Men tend to be more physically aggressive (Overt Agression) Relational aggression (much more suddle, gossip, getting in the way of a relationship) Women tend to be more empathetic (Theory of mind)
Attitudes
are our opinions and beliefs about people, objects, and ideas, how we feel about the world Can attitudes predict behavior: When the person's attitudes are strong When the person shows a strong awareness of an attitude and rehearses practices When the person has a vested interest
Transgender
biological sex does not align with gender identity today Being transgender does not require a physical transition Hormone therapy Gender-affirming surgery Being transgender is not, itself, a disorder Gender dysphoria There are other types of transitions besides biological Using a preferred name, pronouns Social, biological, medical, physical> changes one may go through Risks for poor mental health outcomes
gender queer
denoting or relating to a person who does not subscribe to conventional gender distinctions but identifies with neither, both, or a combination of male and female genders.
elaboration likelihood model
dentiifes two pathways of persuasion: a central route and a peripheral route. The central route: works by engaging the audience thoughtfully with a sound, logical argument (more persuasive when people have the ability and motivation to pay attention) The peripheral route: involves factors that are not relevant to the logic or quality of the argument (can be like a commercial)
Cisgender
describes a person whose gender indentity fits with the sex they were assigned at birth (most people are cisgender)
Dan McAdams
developed the life story approach to identity. His work centers on the idea that each of us has a unique life story, representing our memories of what makes us who we are.
Concensual Validation:
explains why people are attracted to others who are similar to them. Our own attitudes and behavior are supported when someone elses attitudes and behaviors are familiar. Their attitudes/behaviors validate ours.
social psychologists
explore how we view and affect one another
androgynous
having both male and female characteristics
Identity Categories
heterosexual/straight Gay/lesbian Homosexual is not used Pansexual- attracted to people regardless of gender Bisexual- attracted to two or more genders Asexual Queer** can mean something different to alot of people
social contagion
imitative behavior involving the spread of behavior, emotions, and ideas
One way that stereotypes can influence an individuals is through self-fulfilling prophecy-
in this expectations can cause individuals to act in ways that serve to make the expectations come true
Resisting Persuasion
inoculation- this means that just as administering a vaccine inoculates individuals from a virus by introducing weakened or dead version of rgat virsus to the immune system, giving people a weak version of a persuasive message and allowing them time to argue against it can help individuals avoid persuasion.
Attributions vary along three dimensions
internal/external causes, stable/unstable causes, controllable/uncontrollable causes Internal/external causes: Internal attributions are causes inside and specific to the person, such as his or her traits and abilities. External attributions are causes outside the person, such as social pressure, aspects of the social situation, the weather, and luck. Stable/unstable causes: Whether the cause of behavior is relatively enduring and permanent or temporary influences attributions.
Conformity
is a change in a person's behavior to coincide more closely with a group standard. When we conform we do something we might not have done otherwise because everyone else is doing it. Conformity is at work when we obey the rules and regulations that allow society to run smoothly. It can alsp be a powerful way to increase group cohesion. Conformity is a powerful social force. You can feel the pressure of conformity for yourself.
Stereotype
is a generalization about a group's characteristics that dpes not consider any variation from one individual to another.
Prejudice:
is an unjustified negative attitude toward an individual based on the individual's membership in a particular group.
Discrimination
is an unjustified negative or harmful action toward a member of a group simply because the person belongs to that group.
social exchange theory
is based on the notion of social relationships as involving an exchange of goods, the objective of which is to minimize costs and maximize benefits. (equity- doing a fair share, to keep balance between partners)
Obedience
is behavior that complies with the explicit demands of the individual in authority. We are obedient when an authority figure demands that we do something and we do it.
social cognition
is the area of social psychology that explores how people select, interpret, remember, and use social information (essentially it is the way in which individuals think in social situations)
repression
is the most powerful persuasive defense mechanism To reduce the anxiety caused by unacceptable id impulses, repression pushes these impulses back into the unconscious
mere exposure effect
is the phenomenon that the more we encounter someone or something the more probable it is that we will start liking the person or thing even if we do not realize we have seen it before.
ethnocenstrism
is the tendency to favor one's own ethnic group over other groups. It is not simply taking pride in one's group; it involves assertin the group's superiority over other groups. Consequently, ethnocentrism implies that ethnic outgroups are not just different: they are worse than one's group. Hence, ethnocentrism may underlie prejudice.
Affectionate love, Companionate love:
is the type of love that occurs when individuals desire to have the other person near and have a deep caring affection for the person.
altruism
means giving to another person with the ultimate goal of benefiting that person, even it incurs a cost to oneself (Unslefing interest in helping another person)
Egoism
means helping another person for personal gain, such as to feel good or avoid guilt. When a person behaves kindly toward another and expects something in return (reciprocity)
social facilitation
occurs when an individual's performance improves because of the presence of others. Presence of other individuals arouses us. The arousal produces energy and facilitates our performance in groups.
Social cognitive perspectives:
on personality emphasize the influence of conscious awareness, beliefs, expectations and goals Social cognitive psychologists explore the person's ability to reason; to think about the past, present, and future and to reflect on the self They emphasize the person's individual interpretation of situations and thus focus on the uniqueness on the self they investigate how more specific factors, such as beliefs, relate to behavior and performance)
Group Influence: Deindividuation:
one process that sheds light on the behavior of individuals in groups in deindividuation, which occurs when a person part of a group reduces personal identity and erodes the sense of personal responsibility.
to love (romantic love)
or passionate love is love with strong components of sexuality and infatuation and it often predominates in the early part of a love relationship.
gender identity
our sense of being male or female
Defining feature of a steryotype:
over gernalized, we apply it to members of a group broadly without knowing anything or everything about them Dimensiosn of stereotypes: Agency- how assertive we are, generally things you associate with leadership, taking initiative (Men may be more associated with this) Competence- intellectual ability, how intelligent you are, cognitive understanding (Historically associated with men) Communion/warmth- being caring, friendly, warm, trustworthy (Women more associated
Jung's Analytical Psychology
personal unconscious and collective unconscious
trait theories
personality consists of broad enduring dispositions that tend to lead to characteristic responses. We can describe people in terms of the ways they behave such as whether they are outgoing, friendly, private or hostile
Proximity and Similarity:
proximity is a strong predicato of attraction. You are more likely to become attracted to someone you pass in the hall every day than to a person you rarely see.
social loafing
refers to each person's tendency to exert less effort in a group because of reduced accountability for individual effort. The effect of social loafing is lowered in group performance. (the larger the gorup the more likely it is that an indiivdiual can load without detection)
Non-binary
refers to the gender identity of a person who identifies as existing outside the typical "male vs. Gemale" dichotomy (may identity as both male and female or as neither)
person perception
refers to the processes by which we use social stimuli to form impressions of others. One important social cue is face
gender
refers to the psychological experience of being male or female that is informed by social beliefs about the characteristics thought to indicate masculinity or femininity (Such as how a person looks, talks and behaves)
Social Neuroscience
refers to the study of social thoughts, feelings, and behavior that incorporates a range of measures of brain and body functioning
fundamental attribution error
refers to the tendency of observers to overestimate the importance of internal traits and underestimate the importance of external factors when they explain and actors behavior ( this error is not universal)
Gender expression:
refers to the way a person presents themselves or their subject sense of their gender, including how they dress, wear their hair...
Social Identity
refers to the way we define ourselves in terms of our group membership. (may include identifying with a religious group, a country, a social organization and many other groups) identified five distinct types of social identity: ethnicity and religion, personal relationships, vocations and avocations, political affiliations, and stigmatized groups.
intersectionality
says that we have gender identites but that is one circle, but there are many more things outside of that circle.