Exam 6
Describe the factors that affect our attributions of our own actions, and the actions of others. Be sure you can explain the covariation model of situational vs. dispositional attributions.
-Attribution: inference about the cause of a person's behavior •Situational attributions attribute the external situation as cause ex: "He was lucky that the wind carried the ball into the stands") •Dispositional attributions attribute someone's internal disposition as cause ex: "He's got a great eye and a powerful swing" covariation model (1) consistent (does he usually wear a cheese hat?); (2) consensual (are other people wearing cheese hats?); and (3) distinctive (is this the only goofy thing the man does?). Low Consistency+High Consensus High Distinctiveness= Situational Attribution High Consistency+Low Consensus Low Distinctiveness= dispositional attribution
Using the Thematic Apperception Test as an example describe the characteristics of a projective measure of personality.
-Many of the TAT drawings tend to elicit a consistent set of themes, such as successes and failures, competition and jealousy, conflict with parents and siblings, feelings about intimate relationships, aggression, and sexuality. -Different people tell very different stories about the images. In creating the stories, the respondent is thought to identify with the main characters and to project his or her view of others and the world onto the other details in the drawing. -Debatable about bias and reliability of study
Projective Measures of Personality
-Open ended when people give information about what they are doing -designed to reveal inner aspects of individuals' personalities by analysis of their responses to a standard series of ambiguous stimuli. •Rorschach Inkblot Test -a projective technique in which respondents' inner thoughts and feelings are believed to be revealed by analysis of their responses to a set of unstructured inkblots •Thematic Appreciation Test -a projective technique in which respondents' underlying motives and concerns and the way they see the social world are believed to be revealed through analysis of the stories they make up about ambiguous pictures of people. •Sentence Completion Test -open ended with brief prompts
What is the trait approach to personality? What is a trait?
-Trait: a relatively stable disposition to behave in a particular and consistent way -Ex: introvert will want to stay home versus go to big party -Ask people how to describe another person like sibling or best friend -The trait approach to personality uses such trait terms to characterize differences among individuals.
Are traits stable?
-Traits don't really predict behavior -Even if you score high, you won't be at the extreme- fall in the middle -Situations can be powerful determinants of behavior -Research on the Big Five indicates the rather interesting finding that people's personalities tend to remain fairly stable through their lifetime: Scores at one time in life correlate strongly with scores at later dates, even decades later -In general, people become slightly more conscientious in their 20s (got to keep that job!) and a bit more agreeable in their 30s (got to keep those friends!). Neuroticism decreases with age, but only among women
What are the problems with the psychodynamic theory of personality?
-focus on provocative after-the-fact interpretation rather than testable prediction. -Very pessimistic outlook on development -Very subjective -Most kids aren't feeling conflicted all the time
What are the disadvantages of being in a group? Be sure you can define all the definitions of the effects of being in a group on decision making.
-group don't value or listen to expertise of their members and rather look to the most dominant person in the room -common knowledge effect: focus group discussion all information we all share. Great way to affiliate with other people but tend to not converse about what we don't know about. Groups would do better if they pulled people with different knowledge -group polarization: moderate groups tend to make extreme decisions than they would make alone -groupthink: the tendency for groups to reach consensus in order to facilitate interpersonal harmony
What are the advantages of being in a group?
-more trust in a group, leading to more cooperation -Exclusion increases loneliness, depression -Get people involved in groups- go to church, youth groups, book club Give sense of belonging
The ultimatum game emphasizes the role of perceived fairness in making decisions. Explain how. Are humans the only animals to make decisions based on perceived fairness?
-one player divides prize and second player can reject offer, and they will both get nothing or accept -if humans are economicaly rational, we would accept any offer above 0 however we pericived fairness while deciding, causing us to reject if its not fair in our eyes. - we would rather both of us get nothing than to get less than the other person -also shown in animals: monkey saw another monkey got a better food for doing less work, so the monkey threw a fit and threw cucumbers at scientist
Are women choosier than males when it comes to selection of a sexual partner? What research supports your answer?
-sex is a greater investment for women, due to risk to bear children and propagates more bias in reputation (slut vs player) -however, it's not about women, its about power -speed dating experiment showed that when you switched men to be sitting while women move from table to table, men are more choosy.
What is flow?
-state of flow: between anxiety and boredom -- Ex: working on interesting project, lose track of time, just challenging enough that you have to work but not so far outside range that it causes ability
How many dimensions of personality are there?
5 factors
What are the advantages and disadvantages of stereotypes?
:Stereotyping is the process of drawing inferences about individuals based on their category membership. Ex: stereotype dr as above average intelligence shows it's not always negative - helps you make quick assumptions and decisions -useful when varaiblity is low Behavioral confirmation: the tendency of targets to behave as observers expect them to behave. Perceptual confirmation: the tendency of observers to see what they expect to see, ex: with stertype that black people are more athletic and white people are more intelligence, they made those assumptions based on discripvtion, scewing perception of the game -Subtyping is the tendency of observers to think of targets who disconfirm stereotypes as "exceptions to the rule"
Is personality inherited? What do twin studies show?
Behavioral Genetics-The greater similarity in personality, the greater the overlap in genes -Variability among individuals: 40% from genes; 60% from environment •The Big Five Factors have a heritability score between .35-.49-Very little impact of environment Twins Study proved that identical twins living apart are more likely to have similar personality than fraternal twins living together
According to psychodynamic theories, how does personality develop? What are the stages?
Freud argued that, as a result of adult interference with pleasure-seeking energies, the child experiences conflict. At each stage, a different bodily region dominates the child's subjective experience. Problems and conflicts encountered at any psychosexual stage, Freud believed, will influence personality in adulthood. 1. Oral: The stage in which experience centers on the pleasures and frustrations associated with the mouth, sucking, and being fed. 2. Anal: The stage in which experience is dominated by the pleasures and frustrations associated with the anus, retention and expulsion of feces and urine, and toilet training. 3. Phallic: The stage in which experience is dominated by the pleasure, conflict, and frustration associated with the phallic-genital region, as well as coping with powerful incestuous feelings of love, hate, jealousy, and conflict. 4. Latency: The stage in which the primary focus is on the further development of intellectual, creative, interpersonal, and athletic skills. 5. Genital: The time for the coming together of the mature adult personality with a capacity to love, work, and relate to others in a mutually satisfying and reciprocal manner. -If you get stuck in stage can you lead to mental illness or bad habit -Suggests that behavior is driven by these conflicts -Ex: girls notice they don't have penis and are jealous
Using the MMPI as an example, describe the characteristics of an objective measure of personality.
Gave MMPI to specific disordered people and asked pattern of responding for this kind of disorder/personality -Ex: difference in groups between men and women for i love mechanic magazines
What were the results of Milgram's studies of obedience? What factors influenced the likelihood that a person would be obedient?
Obedience is the tendency to do what authorities tell us to do. Milgrim lead study making partipants think there were giving electric shock to someone who made mistakes. when the learner cries in pain, many partipants will listen to the authrorative scientist and keep doing the test. -its not about punishment its about authority, a man in white coat with clip board telling you must continue prompted 62 people obeyed till end -The experimenter's calm demeanor and persistent instruction suggested that he, and not the participants, knew what was appropriate in this particular situation, so the participants typically did as ordered. REASONS -Decreased sense of personality responsibility -No direct contact, not friends with learner- psychological distance from learner -Dehumanization of victim-Jews are not humans not aryan Progressive eslation of requests- the slippery slope of obedience ex: Started with mild shock
•What are the Big Five, and what are the dimensions of each?
Openness to experience high: imaginative, variety, independent low: down to earth, routine, conforming conscientiousness high: organized, careful, self-disciplined low: disorganized, careless, weak-willers extraversion high: social, fun loving, affectionate low: retiring, sober, reserved agreeableness high: softhearted, trusting, helpful low: ruthless, suspicious, uncooperative neuroticism high: worried, insecure, self pitying low: calm, secure, self-satisfied can predict future, social media presense- people high on C will work well and live longer -No overlap- some one with wide range of characters doesn't relate to neuroticism
Are there personality differences between males and females? (base your answer on research, not personal opinion.)
Overall, men and women seem to be far more similar in personality than they are different -Evolutionary perspective- women stay in cave and men hunt Men have more aggressive traits- social role theory Some of these differences evolved play out now In westernized society, men aren't required to kill but plays out in other ways More aggressive in workplace Truth- men and women may more alike than difference -Differences are based on gender roles -Girls are told they aren't meant to play with guns, but rather dolls -Jam kids into identified gender roles -Without stereotypes enforces, we have more similarities than differences
•What makes a person susceptible to social influence? Define the three basic motives.
Social influence is the ability to change or direct another person's behavior •Hedonic motive Pleasure-seeking -Ex: somebody has something you want so they are more likely to control you like 50 shades -not chewing gum because gov threatens jail •Approval motive We want others to accept and like us -evelutationary, it could be life-threatening to be rejected by others -Alter behavior in order for that person to accept and like us. This is why we don't act on impulses or urges we have •Accuracy motive act in accordance with Attitudes and beliefs. relies on both an attitude, which is an enduring positive or negative evaluation of a stimulus ("Apples taste good") and a belief, which is an enduring piece of knowledge about a stimulus ("Apples are in the fridge").
What factors influence the decisions people make in the Prisoner's Dilemma game? (refer to your text for more information to answer this question.)
Staying silent is only beneficial if the other person cooperates also if one of you signs and the other refuses, then the one who signs will go free, and the one who refuses will get 3 years in prison. --applying to society: paying taxes we could all cooperate or risk being cheated by a free rider/be that freerider
Use your text to describe the difference between the BAS and BIS. What kinds of behavior would you predict?
The behavioral activation system (BAS), essentially a "go" system, activates approach behavior in response to the anticipation of reward. -The extravert has a highly reactive BAS and will actively engage the environment, seeking social reinforcement and being on the go. -The behavioral inhibition system (BIS), a "stop" system, inhibits behavior in response to stimuli signaling punishment. -The anxious or introverted person, in turn, has a highly reactive BIS and will focus on negative outcomes and be on the lookout for stop signs. -you can have conflicting traits at the same time ex: introvert can be low on BAS (less motivated to seek out potentially rewarding social situations) and high on BIS (more likely to steer clear of others for fear of some form of punishment, such as outside criticism).
how do you define a group?
a collection of people who have something in common that distinguishes them from others. -the members can generally trust that other members will be nice to them. ex: family, religion, school Prejudice is an evaluation of another person based solely on his or her group membership. we are positively prejudice towards people in our own group
What is altruism? What is reciprocal altruism? Do you believe anyone is altruistic?
altruism: intentional behavior that benefits another at a potential cost to oneself, ex: squirrels alarming others against predators even though puts themselves more at risk- however can not be completely altruism as they have kin selection meaning they are promoting survival of own genes reciprocal altruism: behavior that benefits another with the expectation that those benefits will be returned in the future, -merely cooperation extended over time—and cooperating is one of the most selfish things a smart animal can do! -we tend to help kin more than stagners but we still provide altriusm to strangers
•What are the benefits of cooperation? What are the risks?
def: behavior by two or more individuals that leads to mutual benefit ex: supermarket has different suppliers, all help carry firewood to be faster and easier risks: potential costs and benefits of cooperation in everyday life. -risk is that people will free ride off of you -The prisoner's dilemma game illustrates the risk of cooperation. Mutual cooperation leads to a moderate benefit to both players, but if one player cooperates and the other one doesn't, the cooperator gets no benefit and the noncooperator gets a large benefit.
Differentiate the humanistic and the existentialist approaches to personality.
existentialist: a school of thought that regards personality as governed by an individual's ongoing choices and decisions in the context of the realities of life and death. -humans feel angst aka why am i here - must learn to tolerate pain of existence ex: Personality and choices are driven by facing dual reality of being alive and having to die humanistic: •Positive, optimistic view of human nature; goodness and potential for growth believe in flow and self actualizing tendency
How can factor analysis be used to distinguish the dimensions of personality?
factor analysis: sorts trait terms or self descriptions into small number of factors based on how people rate themselves -two dimensions of emotional/stable and introverted/extraverted -Everyone can be described by these dimensions of personality -Nice and clean - yet it is too simple, our personalities are more complex -later proposed third factor of psychoticism y being either impulsive or hostile -16 factor theory
Describe the door-in-the-face technique of persuasion. Use the concepts of normative influence and norm of reciprocity to explain why this is an effective strategy to influence another person.
influence strategy that involves getting someone to accept a small request by first getting them to refuse a large request. norm of reciprocity: the unwritten rule that people should benefit those who have benefited them normative influence: occurs when another person's behavior provides information about what is appropriate Ex: staring at tree, stopped by seeing others doing it -people will sometimes refuse small gifts precisely because they don't want to feel indebted to the gift giver -Because the researchers had made a concession, the norm of reciprocity demanded that the students make a concession too—by saying yes. And fully half of them did.
How do deindividuation and diffusion of responsibility affect the behavior of people in groups?
lynching, rioting, looting are results of deindividuation and diffusion deindividuation: when immersion in a group causes people to become less concerned with their personal values -the bigger the mob correlates to more violence diffusion of responsibility: the tendency of individuals to feel diminished responsibility for their actions when they are surrounded by others who are acting the same way. -in large group, less likely to live tips, give charity, exert effort -this can result in bystander effect
How would you differentiate objective vs. projective techniques for measuring personality? (Think about the main differences between these types of tests, not just examples of the different tests).
main differences- -opened ended vs not -ADD Objective-same answers from the same questions •Personality Inventories- indicate if trait applies to you •Self Reports: a method in which people provide subjective information about their own thoughts, feelings, or behaviors, typically via questionnaire or interview. •Actuarial approach aka MMPI 1 and 2 -a well-researched clinical questionnaire used to assess personality and psychological problems through true and false statements -Gave MMPI to specific disordered people and asked pattern of responding for this kind of disorder/personality -Not relying on belief or asking people any open ended questions •The California Psychological Inventory -Assesses normal personality characteristics •20 dimensions •The Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory -Very popular in occupational settings -Research on predictive validity isn't strong
Compare and contrast passionate love and companionate love. Describe what happens in relationships over time.
passionate love: n experience involving feelings of euphoria, intimacy, and intense sexual attraction companionate love: an experience involving affection, trust, and concern for a partner's well-being -typically passionate love brings people together and the ability to have companionate love will keep people together -arranged marriages prove you don't need passionate love to succeed -Presence / absence of •intimacy•Passion•Commitment
How would you define personality?
psychological differences among people -Important and relatively stable aspects of behavior -An individual's characteristic style of behaving, thinking, and feeling -How we measure, define, and how does it work in different social situations
In psychodynamic theory of personality, describe the three systems that interact (and may be in conflict) that make up the structure of personality.
regards personality as formed by needs, strivings, and desires largely operating outside of awareness—motives that can produce emotional disorders. 1. id= he part of the mind containing the drives present at birth; it is the source of our bodily needs, wants, desires, and impulses, particularly our sexual and aggressive drives. -operates according to pleasure principle, which motivates us to seek immediate gratification of any impulse ex: if you only felt id, you would grab the food at a restaurant when hungry rather than waiting for waiter 2. superego= the mental system that reflects the internalization of cultural rules, mainly learned as parents exercise their authority. -guidelines, internal standards, codes of conduct -feel guilty or shame if we disobey superego ex: Morality- you don't just take something you really like if its not your 3. ego= the component of personality, developed through contact with the external world, that enables us to deal with life's practical demands. - operated according to reality principle the regulating mechanism that enables us to delay gratifying immediate needs and function effectively in the real world. -mediator between id and superego -The ego helps you resist the impulse to snatch others' food and also finds the restaurant and pays the check. ex: no peeing on the subway
What is the self-actualizing tendency?
self-actualizing tendency: the human motive toward realizing our inner potential -the need to be good, to be fully alive, and to find meaning in life. --Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs •Engagement in tasks that match our abilities cause a state of focus called flow.
•How is the social cognitive approach to personality fundamentally different from the other approaches?
social cognitive approach: views personality in terms of how a person thinks about the situations encountered in daily life and behaves in response to them. -How people think about situations in daily life and our response to them -We have innate characteristics but strong determinant of behavior is context -Supported through two factor theory ex: Silly with abby versus serious in class contrast with existential approach to be driven to act based on death and life in personality
What is the fundamental attribution error (aka correspondence bias)? Actor-observer bias?
tendency to make dispositional attribution even if person's behavior was caused by situation -Situational causes can be complex or situation Ex: cross the street when see pitbull- assume its dispositional because pitbull Maybe it's situational because apartment is across the street yet we can make automatic dispotiation that they don't like pitbulls
Discuss the person-situation controversy as it applies to personality.
the question of whether behavior is caused more by personality or by situational factors. -Mischel argued that personality traits do not predict a lot about behavior -The average correlation between trait and behavior is only about .30. -can't use child's honesty about about cheating to examine if they will rob a bank- not consisdent
What is stereotype threat?
the target's fear of confirming the observer's negative stereotypes Ironically, this fear may cause targets to behave in ways that confirm the very stereotype that threatened them. In one study
What is conformity? Describe Ash's studies of conformity and include information about groups to explain why someone will go along with an obviously incorrect answer to a question.
the tendency to do what others do, and it results in part from normative influence -ash conducted expierment with a bunch of actors and one real partiapnts where they would match printed line to standard line -all actors gave same wrong answer, leading 75% of participants to conform -Found: we are social creatures and we will conform to the group. We want to be liked and go along with group even if we don't believe what people are seeing
What is social cognition?
the ways in which people think about others and how these ideas impact behavior -•We make inferences about others based on the categories to which they belong and the things they do and say Ex: vaccine from weird guy with dyed hair or professional guy with lab coat -Dr dress in white lab coats and that means they are more likely to administer vaccine well -If guy doesn't look like a dr, not somebody who you would believe has a lot of information
What is a defense mechanism? Be sure to know and be able to identify the defense mechanisms described in your text.
unconscious coping mechanisms that reduce the anxiety generated by threats from unacceptable impulses Repression: Removing painful experiences and unacceptable impulses from the conscious mind: "motivated forgetting." ex: Not lashing out physically in anger; putting a bad experience out of your mind. Rationalization: Supplying a reasonable-sounding explanation for unacceptable feelings and behavior to conceal ex: Dropping calculus, allegedly because of poor ventilation in the classroom Reaction formation Unconsciously replacing threatening inner wishes and fantasies with an exaggerated version of their opposite. ex: Being rude to someone you're attracted to. Projection: Attributing one's own threatening feelings, motives, or impulses to another person or group. ex: Judging others as being dishonest because you believe that you are dishonest. Regression: Reverting to an immature behavior or earlier stage of development, a time when things felt more secure, to deal with internal conflict and perceived threat. ex: college kids coming home for break and not doing laundry Displacement: Shifting unacceptable wishes or drives to a neutral or less threatening alternative. ex: Slamming a door; yelling at someone other than the person you're mad at. Identification: Dealing with feelings of threat and anxiety by unconsciously taking on the characteristics of another person who seems more powerful or better able to cope. ex: A bullied child becoming a bully. Sublimation: Channeling unacceptable sexual or aggressive drives into socially acceptable and culturally enhancing activities. ex: Diverting anger to the football or rugby field, or other contact sport.
What factors are important in attraction? What factors are important in physical attraction? Do opposites attract?
•Attraction (feeling of preference) -Caused by situational, physical, and psychological factors. -opposites don't actually attract 1. proximity- we like what is close by -likely going to date people close by -The more proximal people are, the more likely we are to see them; and every time we see people, they become a bit more familiar to us. 2.mere exposure effect: the tendency for liking of a stimulus to increase with the frequency of exposure to that stimulus -From pictures to shapes - increase rating of liking simply by having seen it previously 3. arousal -Can be misinterpreted as attraction aka take date on roller coaster -Increased heart rate, blood pressure- comes from physiological arousal which can conflate with excitement with attraction physical attraction: Body shape, symmetry, and age are all common factors. -these factors are also predictors of good genes and good parenting. -we look for bilateral symmetry, youth, and hour glass for women and triangle for men -similartiy is key in picking partners because its nice to be validated on beliefs and agree on stuff
Why might someone prefer to work in a group rather than individually? (Hint: social loafing)
•People tend to expend less effort when in a group than when alone --Diffusion of responsibility: Tendency for individuals to feel less responsibility for their actions when they are surrounded by others who are acting the same way
