Intro Psychology: Exam 3

Gordon Allport

-18,000 personality descriptors -Trait theory -- 3 levels/types of traits: cardinal, central, secondary -cardinal=big overarching principles (not everyone has) -central=guide behavior in many situations (e.g. honesty) -secondary=vary from situation to situation (e.g. passion)

Big Five/Five-Factor Theory

-5 most important/recognizable/universal personality traits -OCEAN=openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, neuroticism -O: low=shallow/close-minded. high=creative/open-minded -C: low=careless/impulsive. high=cautious/organized/resp. -E: low= quiet/solitary. high=social/talkative/energetic -A: low=hostile/cold/quarrelsome. high=kind/cooperative -N: low=stable/calm/collected. high=unstable/anxious/worried

weapon bias

-Amado Diallo -- African-American man who was gunned down by white policemen while reaching for his wallet. officers thought he was reaching for a gun. -racial stereotypes lead people to see weapons when there aren't any -in studies, people will more likely mistake tools for weapons when primed with a black face than a white face

DSM multiaxial system

-Axis I=primary diagnosis (major disorder) -Axis II=personality disorder -Axis III=related/relevant medical problems -Axis IV=social/environmental problems -Axis V=overall functioning

DSM

-Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders -300 mental disorders -used widely in the US -DSM-IV -includes: mood, anxiety, psychotic, personality, etc. -lists symptoms and diagnostic criteria for each disorder -multiaxial system

Cognitive/learning/behavioral theories of personality

-George Kelly: personal construct theory-behavior depends of individual interpretation of situation -Skinner's "radical behaviorism" -Bandura: bobo doll, social/cognitive interplay, observational learning -a little bit too rational/downplay of emotions

explanation for Milgram's findings

-I volunteered -Yale affiliation -He volunteered -I'm getting paid -"Painful, not dangerous" -It could have been me

psychodynamic theory of personality

-Sigmund Freud -unconscious forces and early experience (infancy/childhood) result in unconscious conflicts that determine personality -emotions/urges ("instincts") that are not consciously recognized that cause behavior -unconscious is beyond our recognition but comes to the surface at certain times: dreams, Freudian slips, behaviors

stereotype

-a preconceived expectation or belief about how members of a certain group think or act. -a cognitive schema that organizes information about people based on group membership. -automatic and outside awareness -"mental shortcut" for social information

tend and befriend

-affiliative neurocircuitry in response to a threat -oxytocin, vassopressin, and opiod peptides are lower when alone and stressed; these low levels push people to find social connection to relieve stress -e.g. women holding hand of spouse when told they would be given an electric shock experienced least stress

associations with successful suicide

-age=old -gender=men -mood=depression with hopelessness -motivation=death -method=high lethality -circumstances=precautions against discovery

associations with suicide attempts

-age=young -gender=women -mood=depression with anger -motivation=attention, help -method=low lethality -circumstances=intervention likely

factors that decrease conformity

-another ally present -dissent w/in the group -higher self-esteem -smaller group size

cognitive dissonance

-anxiety resulting from the contradiction between 2 attitudes or between attitude and behavior -creates a desire to resolve anxiety which is accomplished by changing behaviors/attitudes or by rationalizing/trivializing discrepancies

hazing/rites of passage

-anytime people must experience struggle to be part of group there is an increase in loyalty/commitment -people would not normally choose pain, resulting in cognitive-dissonance which is resolved by inflating the importance/value of group membership

Thomas & Chess -- temperament

-babies show differences that indicate different personalities -activity level, emotionality, sociability -easy babies, slow-to-warm-up babies, difficult babies -these categorizations predicted behavior in preschool, elementary, high school and beyond

Psychical factors for liking

-body type: male=upside down triangle, female=triangle -facial symmetry and averaged faces -age: generally prefer younger people -female: high eyebrows+large eyes+small chin=baby face= younger/more attractive (indication of fertility) -male: low eyebrows, more mature (indicates more resources)

Solomon Asch-line judgment study

-brought subject into lab with several other confederates -asked which two line lengths matched (answer obvious) -confederates all report the wrong answer -37% of participants conform to the group and report incorrect response even though the answer is obvious

attributions

-causal explanations for events or action including others' behavior

Johari window

-concept in the study of personality that is based on the differences between self reports and others reports -open=known to self and others -blind spot=known to others, not known to self -hidden=known to self but not to others -unknown=not known to others or self -overall not a lot of agreement between self and others assessment or personality

"topographical model" of mind

-conscious=awareness ("above water") -preconscious=not currently aware but could be accessed, e.g. long-term memory ("just below surface") -unconscious=cannot easily be retrieved ("deep below")

major depressive disorder

-depressed/often irritable mood or loss of interest in pleasurable activities over long period of time -symptoms: emotional (sad, hopeless--nothing makes them feel better), motivational (loss of interest--don't want to do anything), cognitive (poor concentration, worthless, guilt, thoughts of death), somatic (appetite/weight change, sleep, lack of energy)

projective personality tests

-designed to subvert our tendencies to want to present ourselves in a certain way -Rorschach inkblot test -Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) -not very reliable/consistent or very accurate

course/progression of depression

-develops over days, weeks, months -even if left untreated, most episodes remit after 6 mos -20-30% of cases symptoms last for months or years -can occur as single episode -recurrent: multiple episodes w/full interepisode recovery -recurrent w/recovery: always mildly depressed -chance of recurrence increases if more than one episode occurs

actor-observer bias

-differences in attribution between self and others -others lateness=laziness/disorganization;own lateness=traffic

attributional factors

-dispositional=personal factors=things w/in people (moods, abilities, traits, efforts) -situational=external factors=outside events (weather, accidents, other people's actions)

high-ball technique

-e.g. lowering from an initial (overinflated) price to make the customer agree to buy because they feel like they got a "deal"

low-ball technique

-e.g. offer lower price than will actually sell for and only mention additional price/fees after customer agrees -verbal commitment makes it harder to say no when price is raised

attitude-accessibility

-ease with which memories related to an attitude are retrieved -predicts how much behavior will be consistent with attitude

social norms

-expected standards of conduct that indicate which behaviors are appropriate in a given situation -e.g. waiting in line, face elevator door, walk on sidewalk

bystander intervention effect

-failure to offer help by those who observe someone in need -Kitty Genovese -- brutally murdered; cried for help; no one called police -aka bystander apathy -Darley & Latane -involves diffusion of resp., eval apprehension, anonymity

attitudes

-feelings, beliefs, and opinions that guide evaluation/judgment and behavior -can be implicit (subconscious, easily-accessed) or explicit(reportable)

Bipolar I disorder

-fluctuating moods: extreme change in moods usually over months; alternating between depression and mania -first manic episode usually occurs during early 20s -90% of people have recurrent episodes -best treatment is lithium, sometimes in combo with serotonin and cognitive therapies -equal between men and women

psychosexual stage: genital

-focus: intercourse, emotional -poor intimacy/relationships

psychosexual stage: phallic

-focus: masturbation, Oedipal/Electra complex (penis envy) -fixation: vanity, recklessness, gender confusion

psychosexual stage: oral

-focus: mouth -fixation: passive, dependent, oral behavior (smoking/talking)

psychosexual stage: latency

-focus: none

psychosexual stage: anal

-focus: toilet training -fixation: tidy, fastidious, obstinate

biological components of personality

-genetic influences can predispose people for certain personality traits -heritability estimates ~40-60% (environment also plays a role)

roots of altruism

-genetic promotion: inclusive fitness, kin selection -reciprocal altruism: expectation that altruism will one day be returned (selfish in expectation of later benefit) -social learning: modeling by observing adults/parents -empathy

biological influences on psychopathology

-genetics: more likely to develop disorder if parent has one -environmental: elements can cause brain damange, e.g. exposure to lead-based paints

Hans Eysenck

-heirarchical model: superordinate> traits> habitual responses -2 continuums: emotional control/stability and physiological arousal (intro/extraversion)

Factors related to obedience

-higher conformity if another peer/teacher present -lower conformity/obedience at a nondescript location vs. Yale -lower conformity/obedience if authority further away (e.g. experimenter is over phone) -lower conformity/obedience if teacher must see/touch learner

rates of suicide

-higher in men than women -increase as people age (esp. in males, not quite in females) -3rd leading cause of death in adolescents -80% of people give some type of warning

Freudian structure of the psyche

-id=completely submerged in unconscious; innate forces of sex/aggression; operates on pleasure principle; impulsive -ego=reality principle; understanding of social norms; moderates id/superego -superego=internalizes values/morals; conscience; feels guilt/shame -the id/superego are always in conflict, resulting in anxiety

"just world" hypothesis

-idea that people get what they deserve/that the world is fair -stems from a need for order/predictability -often leads to blaming of victims (e.g. rape or Abu Ghraib)

factors that increase conformity

-identification with group/group members -group size of 6-7 -lower self-esteem -groups reinforce conformity (ostracize dissenters)

methods of reducing stereotypes

-increasing contact with outgroup individuals (exposure) -activities that promote cooperation (e.g. sports teams) -deemphasize group membership -provide role models

primacy effect

-initial impressions have a stronger influence on opinion or judgment of personality

Seligman learned helplessness

-investigated learning in relation to depression -noticed that depressed people were apathetic -designed apparatus that delivered electric shock to dogs: -#1: dogs could jump over barrier and escape shock -#2: dogs could not escape shock; dogs attempted but learned escape was impossible -#3: when placed back in original apparatus, dogs no longer tried to escape shock, even though they could -dogs had learned that they couldn't escape and thus didn't even try; this was related to depression/depressive thoughts

Neo-Freudians

-keep ideas of influence of early development/unconscious -rid of most psychosexual concepts -criticize misogynistic elements

negative effects of stereotypes

-limits our ability to understand individual people/differences -can lead to discrimination/prejudice -weapon bias -may negatively influence behavior of stereotyped group/stereotype threat/self-fulfilling prophecy

deindividuation

-loss of self-awareness in a group setting -e.g. crowd/mob mentality -risky shift effect

Raymond Cattell

-narrowed allport's adjectives to 16 source traits and then also surface traits

Festinger study

-participants paid $1 or $20 to lie about a boring task -$20 was enough for most people to justify lie -$1 wasn't enough to justify lie, people experienced cog-diss, and thus actually changed their beliefs as they later reported actually enjoying the boring activity

Sternberg's triangular theory of love

-passion=erotic attraction; feeling "in love" (intense) -intimacy=confiding in other; sharing feelings (gentle) -commitment=intention to remain -3 aspects combine to form different kinds of love -nonlove, infatuated, liking, empty, romantic, companionate, fatuous, consummate

evaluation apprehension

-people are anxious about social blunders and thus are less likely to help in ambiguous situations -people do not want to look foolish if help is unnecessary, but as need for help becomes more clear, they're more willing to intervene

psychosexual stages theory

-people pass through different stages; each stages is associated w/a sexual conflict/focus and the conflict is not overcome during this stage people will have a fixation as adults -inappropriate behaviors/negative personality traits are a result of incomplete development at some stage

confirmation bias

-people tend to seek out or attend to information that confirm their bias/stereotype. -people create "subtypes" for exceptions rather than accepting as evidence counter to their stereotype

door-in-face

-people will more likely agree to a smaller request after refusing a larger one

foot-in-the-door

-people will more likely comply with a larger/undesirable request if already agreed to a smaller one -e.g. first ask to sign a petition, then ask for a donation

other theories of personality

-phrenology -graphology -lumpers vs. splitters

Advantages of social interaction

-protection/safety -division of labor -easier to find mates

benefits of stereotypes

-protects own self-esteem -creates in-groups and out-groups & people have an increased sense of belonging to the in-group -deals with limitation in mental/social processing -allows for seemingly more predictabilty

Situational factors for liking

-proximity: increases familiarity and liking (e.g. college dorm) -people like things that are familiar to them: people they know, mirror-images (vs. true photo) of themselves. -people are neophobic

factors of person perception

-quick judgments:acquaintance? danger?desire to meet/know? -personal appearance: clothing, grooming -nonverbal behaviors: posture, gestures, expressions, gait

ego: defense mechanisms

-rationalize=explain away behavior/thoughts -projection=projecting negative emotions onto others -reaction formation=acting opposite of how actually feeling -sublimation=channeling urges into socially acceptable behavior -repression=refusing to acknowledge unacceptable thoughts

Phillip Zimbardo--Stanford Prison Study

-recruited 24 young, healthy, normal men--randomly assigned as prisoners or guards -remodeled lab to resemble jail -had to stop experiment after 6 days because the guards became violent and prisoners were submissive/acted up -amazed at how extreme behavior could become based solely on artificial roles/situation

Humanist theories of personality

-role of choice and emphasis on personal experience/belief -people are driven by a desire to achieve their potential -people move towards self-actualization

parasocial attachments

-social attachments that are not "real" -e.g. developing strong connection with fiction TV characters -don't involve any actual personal reciprocity but oftentimes are still important to people

Stanley Milgram-obedience to authority

-subject=teacher delivering (fake) shocks to learner (confederate) -Milgram didn't believe people would administer the highest shock as learner would exhibit distress -whenever subject hesitated Milgram would insist that they continue -65% of subjects administered highest shock (XXX)

suicide warning signs

-talking about death/disappearing -writing letters/saying goodbyes -giving things away -making final arrangements -having a method and means

self-serving bias

-tendency to explain one's own failures as a result of situational factors and one's successes as due to dispositional factors

fundamental attribution error

-tendency to explain other people's behavior by overemphasizing personality (dispositional) and underemphasizing situations (situational)

nonconscious behavioral mimicry

-tendency to mimic partner in a conversation in body posture or gestures -way of establishing connection between people

manic episode

-the "high" of bipolar disorder -emotional: euphoria, elevated mood, irritability -cognitive: expansive, grandiosity, racing thoughts, distractible, on top of the world, feel unstoppable -somatic: little sleep, agitation -motivational: excitement, talkative -extreme end of spectrum: people have delusions/think they possess powers -mania feels good and thus leads people to not seek treatment

self-fulfilling prophecy

-the elderly are reinforced/primed with negative stereotype and they tend to act in ways that reaffirm those stereotypes -s-fp: occurs when we become part of a group we currently hold negative stereotypes of about (when we grow old) -elderspeak

importance of personality

-useful shorthand -why people are the way they are -helps predict behavior

objective personality tests

-usually questionnaires; rely on self-report -NEO-PI (Big 5) -Myers-Briggs -California Personality Inventory (CPI) -Minn. Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2)

social inhibition

-when the presence of others decreases performance -conditions: complex tasks, novices, low identifiability, low group cohesion

social facilitation

-when the presence of others enhances performance -occurs under conditions of: simple tasks, professional, high identifiability, high group cohesion

Defining abnormality

1. Does behavior/thought deviate from cultural norms? (universal and cultural specific standards) 2. Is the behavior/thought maladaptive? 3. Is the behavior/thought causing the individual personal distress? -a person has a mental illness when they have disturbed thoughts/behavior/emotions that are unexpected in their cultural context and associated with significant personal distress and impairement

psychosexual stages

1. oral (age 1); 2. anal (age 2); 3. phallic (age 3-5); 4. latency (age 5-puberty); 5. genital (adolescence)

implicit association test

a psychological test that uses reaction times to determine people implicit associations and comment on potential stereotypes/prejudices

personality

a stable set of characteristics and tendencies that influence an individual's response to a variety of circumstances

fight or flight

a sympathetic nervous system response to a threat at the HPA axis.

prosocial behavior

behavior that benefits others without benefiting yourself (favors, assistance, compliments, pleasantness, cooperation)

negative cognitive triad of depression

depressed people are negative about themselves, everything around them (current situation), and the future

anonymity

it's easier not to feel obligated to help when people can remain anonymous

social snacking

looking at photographs/mementos elicits positive feelings

social loafing

occurs when people can slack off because no one person feels individually responsible.

outgroup homogeneity effect

outgroup members seem less varied than ingroup

stereotype threat

people primed with negative stereotypes (race, sex) tend to preform worse on standardized testing

matching hypothesis

people tend to like people who are similar to themselves, including in attractiveness

social pain theory

social rejection activates the same brain region as physical pain and thus it elicits a similar response. aka pain overlap theory.

norms of reciprocity

the idea that when we receive things, we are obligated to give something back

compliance

the tendency to do things requested by others

discrimination

unjustified/innapropriate treatment of people based on attitudinal (usually negative) responses associated with stereotypes

diffusion of responsibility

within a large group of people, no one person feels responsible to help. people often feel that someone else will help.