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113 Cards in this Set

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Field Theory
*Behavior is function of interaction between person and environment
*focus on immediate present
*conflicts in life space: approach-approach, approach-avoid, avoid-avoid
Zeigarnik effect
-out of field theory
-tendency to remember uncompleted tasks better than completed ones
-related to state of tension and disequilibrium but varies with amount of ego involvement in task
Approach-Approach conflict
-choose between two equally positive goal objects
-ambivalence first then as move toward one the other becomes less attractive
Avoidance-Avoidance conflict
-choose between two negatively valenced alternatives
-if can "leave the field" and move away from both then resolution, or avoid choice
-vacillate first then find an equilibrium to push equally away from both
-drawn to and repelled by same situation
-reaches stable equilibrum
Miller's work on Approach-Avoidance
-equilibrum first (halfway between approach and avoidance goals)
-as approach goals, intensity of each increases
-eventually avoidance response becomes stronger (avoidance gradient is steeper)
Bem's Self Perception Theory
when internal cues are difficult to interpret, we infer our thoughts/feelings from our behavior & situation
Schachter's epinephrine study
-supports self perception theory
-those unaware of drugs effect took on emotion of confederates
-when internal arousal was ambiguous, subjects observed own beh and external environ (reactions of others) to interpret their feelings
Two-factor theory of emotion
-to experience specific emotion one must have 1) physiological arousal and 2) cognitive interpretation of arousal
over-justification hypothesis
rewarding ppl for enjoyable activity (overrewarded) can undermine interest in activity
-related to intrinsic/extrinsic motivation
social comparison theory
-when ppl are uncertain about abilities they evaluate selves by comparing selves to similar others
-may make downward comparisons when self-esteem is at stake
self verification theory
-ppl need and seek confirmation of self-concept regardless of whether positive or negative
-prefer to be right than happy
-important implications for understanding depression
fundamental attribution error
when understanding behavior of others, tend to underestimate situation and overestimate personal factors.
actor-observer effect
when explaining our own behavior, we are more likely to blame situation, except to explain successes -then make personal attributions
self-serving bias
tendency to take credit for our successes but blame situational factors for failures, does not apply to depressed/low self-esteem
-categorizes attributions in three-dimensions
1) internal/external
2) stable/unstable
3) controllable/uncontrollable
later added:
4) intentional/unintentional
5) global/specific
-locus of control
-internal: view selves as cause (achievement-oriented, self-confident, less anxious)
-external: see external factors as cause
belief in a just world
-Lerner (think @ Robin/lawyer)
-ppl need to believe we get what we deserve and deserve what get
- explains tendency to "blame victim"
Locus of Responsibility
-Derald Sue
-measure of degree of responsibility or blame one places on ind or system
Derald Sue's contribution to attribution theory
-attributions are influenced by ethnicity and racial identity
-included locus of control and responsibility (internal/external)
-4 combos
Explore 4 worldviews influenced by ethnic and racial identity
1) IC-IR: dominant culture, therapist cultually encapsulated
2) IC-ER: assimilated minorities, active in therapy but demand action from therapist
3) EC-IR: marginalized minorities, blame self.
4) EC-ER: little control, blame self. Provide coping strategies
false consensus bias
tendency to overestimate the degree to which others agree/conform with our opinions, attributes and behavior
central traits
-a trait associated with other traits and therefore assumed to imply more about a person (ex. warm/cold)
exception to primacy effect
-when irrelevant activity intervenes between conflicting info or if told not to jump to conclusion, then most recent info has greatest impact (vs. info 1st heard/presented)
Rosenhan's "pseudopatient study"
-confirmation bias
-staff members did not recongnize pseudopx as not mentally ill while real px did
self-fullfiling prophecy
a person's expectations about the behavior of others can lead to fulfillment of those expectations
Pygmalion in the classroom study
-Rosenthal and Jacobson
-planted expectation of intellectual growth spurt in randomly selected students
-IQ score improvements shown
stereotyping vs. prejudice vs. discrimination
stereotype: belief
prejudice: feelings
discrimination: behavior
gender role stereotypes
1) characteristics ex. indepenent vs. dependent, assertive vs. sensitive
2) men more competent
3) mental health prof descriptions of "healthy adult/male vs. healthy female"
-while there are gender diff, stereotypes are stronger and more numerous than actual diff
authoritarian (prejudiced) personality
-conventional, rigid thinkers, sexually inhibited, submissive to auth, intolerant of differences
-domineering parents, harsh discipline
social identity theory
-strive to maintain and enhance our self-esteem
-social identity enhanced by believing in own group while belittling other groups (prejudice/discrim part of enhancing our self-esteem)
Sherif's Robber's Cave Study
-reduce intergroup hostility (arising from competition) with superordinate/shared goals
contact hypothesis
-contact between hostile groups can be reduced if the following conditions are met:
1) bt two equal-status groups
2) personal contact
3) cooperative activity
4) social norms must favor the above
(explains why desegration increased prejudice, these conditions were not met)
Misery loves miserable company
-high-fear arousal = greater need to affiliate w/others in similar sit
-except in survival sit, prefer to affiliate with successful survivors
-first-born higher need to affiliate
mere exposue
-repeated contact is sufficient to increase attraction, not necc positive
what is beautiful is good bias
physcially attractive people are generally believed to possess a variety of other desirable characteristics
self-disclosue increases liking when?
-if moderate and gradual
-appropriate to sit
-reciprocal - at same level
reciprocity in attraction
-like others who like us
-increased when others liking us are discriminate and/or first reacts negatively than warms up
emotion-in-relationships model (ERM)
-strong emotions result from deviating from partner's expectations, pos and neg
-explains strong emotions in beg of rel because et is unexpected
-unrealistic expectations = chronic negative emotion
bystander apathy
-Latane and Darley
-presence of others reduces helping of any one person
-greater #, greater the apathy
3 psychological factors cause bystander apathy
1. diffusion of responsibility
2. social influence
3. evaluation apprehension
(4. confusion of responsibility: if help may be blamed)
other factors affect prosocial behavior
-when victim obviously in distress and sit not ambiguous: increased
-when someone has already intervened: increased
-rural environ > urban due to "stim overload"
-Batson's innate "capacity for caring"
cultural differences in altruism
-Filipino, Kenyan ,Mexican children highest
-US children lowest
-high when cooperative families, many chores, older help raise younger children
-more likely to be prosocial if have siblings
non-zero-sum games
-no win/lose, if cooperate then min losses and max gains, however most compete
-Prisoner's Dilemma
instrumental vs. hostile aggression
-means to end vs. venting negative emotions
-behavior can be both
aggression greatly influenced by what?
-learning, esp. of adults who are important, powerful, successful, liked and familiar
-children imitate aggressive beh of adults
frustration-aggression hypothesis
-Miller and Dollard
-frustration always leads to aggression and aggression always preceded by frustration
-inhibition leads to displacement
-considered too simplitic since there are moderating factors in response such as character, cognitions, attributions etc.
catharsis model
-an aggressive act, or witnessing one, can reduse inclination to engage in other aggressive acts
-not supported but actually shown it increases aggressive beh
temperature and aggression
-high temps highly correlated with violent crimes
-people who never violent will display violence under sway of crowd
-sense of anonymity
-in lab settings and induced by intense environ stimuli (attn away from self)
Zimbardo's prison study
-assigned institutional roles have powerful effect on aggressive beh
-guards became abusive, prisoners became passive (prior normals)
autokinetic effect
in darkness a point of light appears to move in various directions
Sherif's study of conformity
in groups, estimates of light movement converged where individually the estimates varied widely
-informational conformity
Asch line study
no errors alone, but with peers instructred to give wrong answers, overall 35% conformed (75% conformed at least once)
-normative confromity
informational conformity
use other's beh as source of accurate info, to avoid making mistake, esp. if unsure of own accuracy
normative conformity
"going along" with group norm due to group pressure, desire to be accepted and avoid criticism
influences to conformity
-3-4 ppl in group
-unanimous majority toughest, just one dissenter can reduce conformity
-ambiguous situations
-group cohesiveness
-low self-esteem, low intell, high approval needs, authoritarianism
minority influence
a large group can change its opinions or beh based on the lead of one person
factors that increase minority influence
1. minority opinion is consistent
2. not rigid, imbalanced, or biased
3. not waver
4. not member of familiar social group arguing in favor of that group's interest, but seen as arguing for self alone
idiosyncrasy credits
"brownie points"
becoming accepted member of group provides crredits so that attempts to deviate or become leader will be more accepted
psychological reactance
conformity less likely to occur in situations where person feels their freedom to choose is threatened, will then act opposite to re-establish that freedom
conformity vs. compliance
conformity involves implicit group norms vs. agreeing to explicit group norms (compliance)
Techniques increasing compliance
1. foot-in-door: small request first then larger follows (desire for beh to remain consistent)
2. door-in-face: initial request so large sure to be rejected than follow with second.
3. low balling: securing agreement then reveal hidden costs
Miligram's study on obedience to authority: major conclusions
1. ppl willng to obey more than experts would guess
2. legitimate authority increases obedience
3. more likely to obey for anonymous victim than one present
4. obey if authority accountable for consequences
5. presence of others who don't obey decreases obedience
French and Raven studied what?
types of social power
1. reward
2. coercive
3. legitimate
4. referent
5. expert
-can hold several types of power, depending on sit
referent power
based on a person's attraction to or desire to be like the holder of power
what types of power in leaders are most effective?
combo of referent and expert
based more on char of person rhather than position or sit
social facilitation
presence of others enhances perf on simple tasks and impairs perf on complex tasks
-focus on ind performance
social loafing
-focus on group performance
-individual output declines when ppl are working as a group
-reduced when ind contrib are believed identifyable, or if task regarded as personally relevant or challenging
group polarization
-tendency of ind w/similar views to make more risky decisions
-"risky shift" effect
degree of group polarization related to what factors?
-repeated persuasive arguments
-if members know positions beforehand
- if "ingroup" - relevantly similar to each other
-tendency among group members to reach agreement, often impulsively and irrationally
factors assoc w/groupthink
1. high group cohesiveness
2. similar backgrounds
3. group isolation
4. presence of strong leader
5. lack of systematic decision making procedures
6. stressful sit
7. newly formed groups
ways to avoid groupthink
1. bring in ppl not part of group
2. encourage criticism of leader and leader refrain from strong positions
3. assigning "devils advocate"
-generate large number of ideas
-more quantity and quality when brainstorm individually
conjunctive task
group product determined by ind. with poorest perf, "weakest link"
disjunctive task
group perf determined by ind with best perf (best idea adopted)
compensatory task
group prduct determined by perf of average member (same grade on group perf)
successful mediation involves what 3 components
1. neutral site and time limited
2. clarify issues and identify alt solutions
3. foster trust by helping see agreement is possible
mediator vs. arbirtrator
arbitrator has authority to strongly recommend or dictate a final agreement to abide by
semantic differential scale
rate objects in terms of favorableness, power or activity.
bogus pipline method
-addresses social desirability in test taking
-fake mechanical device supposedly records true feelings
social distance scale
-measures attitudes toward different ethnic groups
relationship between attitude and behavior
moderated by a number of variables
when attitudes are better predictors of behavior
1. if measures are specific rather than general
2. attitudes are well-informed
3. obtained through experience
4. attitude readily accessible to awareness
behavioral intention
attitudes and norms don't affect behavior directly but rather our intentions that are not always acted upon
Cognitive dissonance
-when cognitions are inconsistent we experience tension and to reduce it we may change additudes, cognitions or reduce importance of conflict
insufficient justification
-causes dissonance
-i.e. can't attribute actions to sufficient reward
four steps necessary for arousal of dissonance and subsequent attitude change
1. negative consequences
2. personally responsible
3. produce physiological arousal
4. attribute arousal to own behavior
Heider's balance theory
-we desire consistency between attitudes and feelings toward others
-ex. if friend likes someone you don't you are pressured to change attitude toward friend or the other person (also pressure if agree with someone you dislike)
sleeper effect
credible communicator produces more immediate attitude change, however over time the impact decreases and that of the non-cedible communicator increases.
-forget source but remember message
McGuire's inoculation theory
-presenting a weakened version of an opposing point of view builds up resistance to full presentation later
amout of discrepancy necessary for a persuasive message
-moderate, too discrepant is too radical and not discrepant enough doesn't warrant change
-more credible communicator can take a more extreme position, to a limit
arousing fear's effect on attitude change
-not much except when provide specific instructions on how to avoid danger
to prevent primacy or recency effect when providing two-sided arguments
1. second message must immed follow first and attitude assessment taken right away, or
2. period of time between two messages and between last message and attitude measurement
what aspects of audience affect ability to be persuaded?
only low self-esteem, not intelligence or gender
elaboration likelihood model
-two routes to persuasive communication: central and peripheral
-central route: think carefully about message, when not distracted and well-informed, easily learned, positive
-peripheral route: focus less on content and more on other cues (i.e. attractiveness, emot tone, symbols), when distracted, uninformed.
environmental (ecological) psychology
study of effect of physical environment on behavior
important effects of crowding
-enhances current feelings
-effects depend on level of distraction
-social facilitation effects
-men more sensitive to crowding although research is inconsistent
personal space
-need increases gradually until 21 yo
-cultural differences
-> space needed for low self esteem and high authoritarianism
-Americans require more
-men need more although research inconsistent
what is most psychologically damaging about noise stress?
1. unpredictability
2. uncontrollability
also, neg affects performance and social behavior (increase aggression, reduce altruism)
effects of tv viewing
-read less
-poorer academically
-less time family interactions
-linked to aggressive beh and tolerance for aggression
-reinforces traditional sex-role stereotypes
jury size and conviction
-fewer than 12 more likely to convict
child witnesses
-children age 5-10 less accurate witnesses than adults, but NOT with regard to sexual abuse
judge giving jury instructions
-enhances jurors recall and interpretation of evidence (i.e. instruct to disregard will actually make them consider it more)
introduction of graphic evidence in trial
-lowered juror's standards of proof and brought out pro-prosecution biases
features of defendants
jurors and judges more lenient to physically attractive defendants, except when attractiveness aided in carrying out crime then harsher
reconstructive memory
-after we observe something, additional info becomes integrated into our memory of event (whether T or F)
Type A behavior pattern
-competitive striving for achievement
-time urgency, hostility, aggression
health and Type A
initially like to heart disease, but now believed the "hostility complex" (cynical mistrust and contemp for others, willingness to express these feelings) aspect of some type A more correlated
factors of hardiness to stress
1. sense of personal control over events (strongest research support)
2. commitment or sense of purpose
3. healthy optimism toward challenges, i.e. make you stronger
buffering hypothesis
under stress, high perceived levels of social support serve to protect against negative effects of stress on health
perceived barriers
-most influential variable for predicting and explaining health-related behaviors