Psych Set 3

Coercive Persuasion

"Brains washing"

4 Components of Social Cognition

*Scripts *Stereotypes *Attributions *Attitude

How do individualist cultures compare with collectivist culture

----In individualist cultures, the independence of the individual often takes precedence over the needs of the group, and the self is often defined as a collection of personality traits. Define the self as autonomous; gives priority to individual, personal goals; values independence; leadership achievement; self-fulfillment; give more weight to an individual's attitudes and preference than to group norms as explanations for behavior; attend to benefits and attend to benefits and costs of relationships if costs exceed advantages, a person is likely to drop a relationship ----In collectivist cultures, group harmony often takes precedence over the wishes of the individual, and the self is defined in the context of relationships and the community. Define the self as an interdependent part of goals; gives priority to the needs and goals of the group; value group harmony, duty, obligation, security; give more weight to group norms than to individual attitudes as explanations of behavior; attend to the needs of group members, if a relationship is beneficial to the group but costly to the individual is likely to stay

What conditions contribute to reducing prejudice? How does our awareness of these conditions help to explain continuing prejudice in the United States?

-Both sides must have equal legal status, economic opportunities, and power -Authorities and community institutions must provide moral, legal, and economic support for both sides. -Both sides must have many opportunities to work and socialize together, formally and informally. -Both sides must work cooperate, working together torward a common goal

What is "entrapment"? How is it important to other forms of social influence?

-Entrapment is when individuals escalate their commitment to a course of action in order to justify their investment in it. Is there an example? -. Greek military police interview: Soldier asked to guard outside interrogation cell. He does. Then he is asked to guard inside the interrogation cell. He does. Then he is asked to help beat up prisoner. He does. Once he has obediently followed these orders and has become actively involved, the soldier finds his actions easier to carry out. He justifies his behavior by thinking "I am torturing this person; therefore, he must have done something wrong." (ref. pg. 261)

What can we conclude from research concerning the influence of parents on the development of their offspring? Does this conclusion surprise you?

-The shared environment of the home has relatively little influence on most personality traits, the shared environment being the family you grew up with and the experiences and background you shared with your siblings and parents. The influence of genetics is much greater. -Few parents have a single child-rearing style that is consistent over time and that they use with all their children. -Even when parents try to be consistent in the way they treat their children, there may be little relation between what they do and how their children turn out. Parents influence their children in lots of ways that are unrelated to the child's personality and on traits that are highly heritable

What circumstances enhance the probability of altruistic behavior, especially when it defies social pressures

-When you perceive the need for intervention or help -Cultural norms encourage you to take action -You have an ally -You become entrapped

anxiety disorders

-generalized anxiety disorder -phobia -panic attack

Why do people obey authorities readily?

-obvious consequences of disobedience (e.g. arrested, fired) -hope to gain advantage/promotion or expect to learn from the authority's greater knowledge/experience -dependent on authority and respect the authority's legitimacy -don't want to "rock the boat," appear rude, fear being rejected/disliked

Factors of Obedience

-perceiving another's authority as legitimate -believing that another has power over us -expecting that the authority can monitor our obedience

Reinforcement Trap

-when 2 or more people mutually reinforce each other's bad behavior resulting in unhappy and dysfunctional relationships that are difficult to change -mom and son yelling at each other example

Four Components of Persuasion

1) Source- You have to be likable to get your point accross 2) Message- (attention, emotion, information, and repetitive) if you keep saying global warming will kill us all. You will listen 3) Medium- how the message is going to spread (direct vs indirect) no one will listen to a mass emailer, but one on one is more influential 4) Audience- liberals will love global warming crap, need to frame message to match audience

Three sides of personality

1)ID 2)EGO 3) SUPEREGO

What different approaches could we take to defining psychological disorder? As one kind of approach, what is the "DSM"? What concerns have critics raised about the use of the DSM in psychological diagnosis?

2 definitions on defining a psychological disorder according to the book 1) harmful to oneself or others as judged by the community or culture to which it occurs 2) dysfunctional - because the person is not performing their evolutionary function ex) evolution has prepared us to feel afraid when we are in danger so we can escape. So, this can be defined as a "harmful dysfunction" Mental disorder- any behavior or emotional state that causes an individual great suffering, is self-destructive and impairs ability to get along with others or unable to control the impulse to endanger others DSM-Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Disorders - provides a clear diagnostic category so that clinicians and researchers can agree and study what disorder they are talking about. - the DSM lists the symptoms of each disorder and if possible typical age of onset, predisposing factors, course of disorder, prevalence, sex ratio. Issues with DSM : 1) Overdiagnosis ex. ADHD is diagnosed 10 times more in the US than Europe another example Childhood Bipolar Disorder- a psychiatrist was paid to publish an inconclusive study on CBD which was later removed from the DSM 2)Diagnostic Labeling - A person given a diagnosis people primarily see them according to that label. Ex) a teenager labeled with Oppositional Defiant disorder - but maybe he is 'defiant' because he is being mistreated by parents or parents have not set limits. 3)confusion of serious Mental disorders with normal problems. 4)Illusion of objectivity - Many decisions on what to include as a disorder is not based on empirical evidence but a group consensus

Why do critics argue that not all cases of dissociative identity disorder are real? What do their concerns indicate about social influences on psychological disorders?

Argument against: methods of bringing the "alter" would be interrogating without break. Sometimes up to 8 hours- skeptical psychologists countered that the interrogators were actively creating a new personality through suggestion and intimidation The "dissociative" amnesia" that the children supposedly develop to cope all remember their traumatic experience even with their other alter. SO, DID as evidence suggest is a homegrown culture-bound syndrome(Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was released and all of a sudden the number of cases increased). It is only diagnosed by clinicians that actually believed in it mainly in US and Canada. Social-cognitive explanation is that this phenomenon is an extreme form of the ability to present different aspects of our personality to others. Thus, indicating a strong influence of social interactions on psychological disorders and their diagnosis

SYSTEMATIC DESENSITIZATION

Behavioral Therapy: a client's fear of an object or event is reduced by learning to associate such an event with relaxation. (Done using classical conditioning)

CONTINGENCY MANAGEMENT

Behavioral Therapy: the client and therapist together design a reinforcement strategy to eliminate (or extinguish) undesirable behavior and reinforce desirable behavior (Done using operant conditioning)

BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION

Behavioral Therapy: the systematic application of learning principles to change a person's behavior (Done using relearning or counterconditioning)

MODELING or SKILLS TRAINING

Behavioral Therapy:desired behaviors are modeled and the client is helped to imitate and use these behaviors in everyday situations. (Done using cognitive social learning theory)

How did the psychodynamic theories of Freud's followers diverge from his perspective

Carl Jung stated that all human beings share a vast collective unconscious, containing universal memories, stories, symbols, and images which he called archetypes. The object-relations school emphasizes the importance of the infant's first two years of life and the baby's formative relationships, especially with the mother. The central problem in life is to find a balance between the need for independence and the need for others. The way we react to separations and losses is largely determined by those experiences in the first two years of life

Solomon Asch Experiment

Did the comparing of the lines test. The right answer was obvious, a whole group would purposefully choose the wrong line. Then the one guy who was not in on it would choose the wrong line cuz everyone else did.

What unique advantages are offered by the use of drugs in therapy? What risks accompany such treatments

Drugs have no doubt rescued many patients from depression, emotional despair and helped countless people live with chronic problems. There are many unknown risks that accompnay treatments, such as their long-term effects, and the "mixing"/interacting of multiple drugs at at ime. When drugs are tested, they are tested over intervals of weeks and months (cannot wait too long or the market that makes the drug wont make that much money), and because of this, the yearly-effect/the long-term effect always remains unkown

WHAT IS MENTAL HEALTH according to the big boys of psych

Freud: the ability to love well and to work well Maslow: striving toward self-actualization Rogers: openness to experience and trust in oneself Erikson: mastering age-relevant developmental challenges

How important are the influences of heredity characteristics in determining adult personality?

Hereditary influences about 50% of human characteristics when growing up

Stanley Milgram Experiments

How far will one go to inflict harm on others due to obedience. (Nazis in Germany)

Unconditioned Positive Regard

Humanistic Therapy :A method where the psychologist unconditionally agrees with the client. It is refraining from saying "everyone loves you." This would show that you devalue their thoughts. You show that you agree with them and that you empathize with them. You would respond with "you feel very alone"

PERSON-CENTERED THERAPY

Humanistic Therapy: the therapist is nondirective and helps the client recognize her strengths and think about the solutions to her problems

Under what conditions is therapy likely to be helpful? When is it likely to be harmful? How important, for example, is the client's motivation? What kinds of therapeutic approaches have been found to be most helpful

It all depends on what problems/emotional disorder is the client undergoing. One of the main best choice method to use is behavior cognitive therapy, because it not only changes the behavior of the client, but also the mindset of him/her. Medication proves to only help short-term. Motivation is important in these cases. There has been many failures due to the lack of motivation the client had on carrying out the behavior or cognitive program. HOWEVER, REMEMBER- there is no one "right" approach to any problem

What is the "just-world hypothesis"? How does this belief influence how people respond to everyday events? How does it contribute to blaming the victim of wrongdoing?

Just-world hypothesis states that the world is fair and that justice is served, bad people are punished, and good people are rewarded. Often, this belief is thrown into doubt, especially when bad things happen to good people. To restore the belief, people often blame the victim. Maybe there was something the victim did to deserve what happened or to provoke it

BEHAVIORAL THEORY of Personality

Personality is shaped by . . . • reinforcement that may be intended or unintended • the examples of other people • expectations for consequences of actions from watching others • intrinsic as well as extrinsic reinforcement

Why is personality consistent over time? (According to the different personality theories)

Psychoanalytic: personality systems developed since childhood Humanistic: self-chosen goals, and a unique self-concept Trait: inborn traits that endure Behavioral: social environments that provide consistent reinforcements

How does the concept of "reciprocal determinism" help in understanding the influences of individual traits and the environment in shaping personality

Reciprocal determinism, in social cognitive learning theories, is the two-way interaction between aspects of the environment and aspects of the individual in the shaping of personality traits. Your temperament, habits, and beliefs influence how you respond to others, whom you hang out with and the situation you seek

Bystander Apathy

The belief of people in crowds that others will act, so they don't act

Therapy inevitably involves a relationship between a client and a therapist. How does the therapeutic alliance affect psychological healing

Therapeutic alliance is the trusted bond shared between the client and the therapist. They both respect, understand and agree on each others goals and the treatment that the therapist will supply. As a result, this allows the client to improve and heal more effectively

Personality Disorders (the 3 kinds)

These disorders include character disturbances involving rigid, maladaptive behavior that is socially dysfunctional -antisocial personality -borderline personality disorder -schizophrenia

What is the vulnerability-stress approach to understanding depression? Is this a good general approach to psychological disorders?

Vulnerability-Stress Approach -> how a person's vulnerabilities(genetic predispositions[severe depression is mildly heritable], personality traits, or cognitive habits[generally believing that their bad situation is permanent) may interact with external stressors - stressful events such as violence, sexual abuse, death of important figure [infants that are separated from primary caregiver have some immune deficiency] or job loss to produce specific mental disorders such as depression. The combination of these two factors explain why some can simply roll with the punches and others are knocked down flat- this is a good general approach because it takes into account the variations in experiences of people both current and past.

SELF-SERVING BIAS

We attribute our successes to dispositional influences, and our failures to situational influences

FUNDAMENTAL ATTRIBUTION ERROR

We overestimate dispositional influences and underestimate situational influences when judging the causes of others' acts

reference group

Who do you identrify yourself with. baby boomers, college kid.

Persuasion

a deliberate attempt to influence another's attitudes and behavior through communication

SCHIZOPHRENIC DISORDERS

a loss of contact with reality, involving confused and disconnected: thoughts, emotions, and perceptions as well as bizarre behavior

PERSONALITY

a person's unique patterns of thinking,feeling, and acting

ATTITUDE

a relatively enduring belief and feeling about people, objects, or ideas

DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS (What is it and what are the types)

a significant disturbance in consciousness or identity -amnesia -Fugue State -Dissociative Identity Disorder

TRAIT

a typical pattern of behavior and motivation How we typically perceive personality

dispositional attribution

attributing behavior to characteristics of the person

situational attribution

attributing behavior to factors external to the person

ATTRIBUTIONS

beliefs about the causes of events

STEREOTYPES

beliefs about the characteristics of members of a group

DSM-V

book that defines psychological abnormality (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th Ed.)

How is your Mental health shaped?

by your unique combination of internal resources/ vulerabilities and stessful and supportive circumstances

ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY

character pattern of antisocial behavior, lack of social emotions,manipulating others, and impulsivity

COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY

combines behavioral therapy with a focus on motivational processes, interpretations, self-understanding, expectations, and other cognitive influences (Good against countering depression)

OBEDIENCE

complying with the directions of a recognized authority, even though one thinks or feels differently

HUMANISTIC THEORY

emphasizes the uniqueness, dignity, and value of each person. Personality is shaped by each person's striving to fulfill their unique potential(self-actualization)

BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER

erratic and negative emotionality and inability to regulate emotions, impulsivity, intense but unstable relationships

BIPOLAR DISORDER

extreme mood swings between depression and mania

GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER

general anxiety without knowing its source

Conformity

giving in to the pressures of others, even though one thinks or feels differently (not always bad, not always good)

Diffusion of responsibility

how the presence of others diminishes one's feelings of personal responsibility.

SCRIPTS

knowledge structures of routine social events. Meeting Script-we know to say our names, shake hands, ask about each other when we meet. Different from culture to culture. Italians kiss eachother

Anxiety Disorder

marked by a general apprehension that one is in danger, and maladaptive behaviors are used to reduce anxiety

Identification

mentally associating oneself with another person or group in one's thoughts, feelings, or actions

Ego

negotiates between the desires of the id and the real world. -Controls Id and Super Ego -determines what you practically need to do to fulfill desire. -developes in preschool when you need to learn to share and stuff

Social Comparison Theory

people evaluate their opinions by comparing them with the opinions of others whom they respect

Kinds of OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDERS

poor ways anxiety is dealt with OBSESSION-persisting in specific thought patterns COMPULSION- persisting in specific behaviors HOARDING BEHAVIOR- storing of meaningless stuff which is unmanageable and interferes with your lives

MAJOR DEPRESSION

prolonged sadness, loss of interest in activities, hopelessness, and fatigue

Amensia

psychological loss of memory

FUGUE STATE

psychological memory loss combined with moving to a new environment

Zimbardo Experiment

researcher made a mock prison with guards and prisoners. Prisoners were totally dependent on the guards. Each group fell into their roles well. The more submissive the prisoner the harsher the guards were towards them

What is the scientist - practitioner gap with respect to evaluating the effectiveness of psychotherapy? Why is bridging this gap important?

scientists can explain and identify a problem. However, a practitioner may not know how to remedy it.

ID

seeks immediate gratification of needs, wishes, and desires. Can be satisfied through fantasies (in infants, innate, can be irrational)

PANIC DISORDER

sudden, intense attack of terror

Super Ego

the moral authority within the personality. (the Westboro of your mind) -seeks (moral) perfection -suppresses ID -irrational -develops late Preschool

groupthink

the tendency for people in groups to suppress disagreement for the sake of harmony

cognitive dissonance

the tension that arises when a person has contradictory or conflicting attitudes. *Also arise when attitudes conflict with behavior

DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER

two or more distinct personalities in separate consciousness

WHAT IS A DEFENSE MECHANISM

unconscious processes that distort reality in order to reduce anxiety or threatening thoughts

PHOBIA

unrealistic fear of certain situations or objects

Implications for Psychoanalytic Therapy. Strategies of psychoanalytic therapists

• bringing unconscious material to conscious awareness, so one can cope with it more competently (Free Association) • helping the client gain insight into problems and behavior (Insight Therapy, Interpretation) • historical approach: looking back into a client's history for origins of current difficulties

"BIG FIVE" PERSONALITY FACTORS (Traits)

• emotional stability (vs. neuroticism) • extroversion (vs. introversion) • openness (routine or variety, independent or conformity) • agreeableness • conscientiousness (tidiness?) Once grown up, they don't change that much

Basic assumption of Psychoanalytic Theory

• many important influences on personality are unconscious • uncomfortable memories and feelings may be repressed, and thus eliminated from conscious awareness early experiences have a formative influence on personality development

Why do we become attracted to people?

• physical proximity "exposure effect": we are attracted to something the more we are exposed to it • physical attractiveness("halo effect": we believe that people with one attractive feature also have other attractive features) • similarity (people who are like us)

Types of defense mechanisms and their definitions

• repression- the unconscious blocking of unacceptable thoughts, feelings and impulses • projection-the misattribution of a person's undesired thoughts, feelings or impulses onto another person who does not have those thoughts, feelings or impulses • displacement-the redirecting of thoughts, feelings, and impulses directed at one person or object, but taken out upon another person or object(considered sublimation if done constructively) [yelling at wife if boss is a dick] • regression- the reversion to an earlier stage of development in the face of unacceptable thoughts or impulses (kids begin to rewet the bed when a new baby is born in the family) • denial- the refusal to accept reality or fact, acting as if a painful event, thought or feeling did not exist

Basic Assumptions of Humanistic Theory

• the individual is seen as positive, creative, and seeking health and wholeness • in order to understand another's personality, one must see the world from the other's point of view • emphasis on the individual's self-chosen goals • emphasis on the self

Factors that heighten conformity pressure:

• we disagree with a unanimous comparison group • we respect members of the comparison group(social comparison theory) • we feel incompetent or insecure • our behavior or judgments can be observed by others