chap 8 Flashcards
what is the guiding principle of cognitive perspective?
people differ in how they perceive and interpret their social environment
what is field dependence?
“see the forest, not the trees” … people oriented, attend to social cues, looks for context
what is field independence?
“see the tree, not the forest” …
anti social preferences, ignores distractions, looks for details
what are the four examples of individual differences in interpretation of the social world?
- locus of control 2. attributional style 3. optimism/pessimism 4. implicit theories
what is personal construct theory?
assumes that people think about the world like amateur scientists … they hold theories about how the world works.. “things will work out for the best”
how is personal construct theory used?
people test their theories with data of life. They want to make sense of events “why did I flunk the test?”
How does George Kelly think of “personal constructs”?
help predict behaviour, implicit behaviour, very individualized, resistant to change, extremities, to understand person: know their constructs
what is locus of control?
general tendency to explain events in your life. (eg. feelings of luck, wishing, believe you can’t get sick, etc)
what are the two types of locus control?
- internal (i believe i can control what happens to me in my life)
- external (i believe fate is in the hands of others, a lot of god)
what is learned helplessness?
actions should have consequences, “if i put in effort i will get reward” vs “why bother? i never win”
.. if nothing goes your way you come to believe you are helpless
What three questions to ask self if you observe non-convince children between behaviour and outcome?
- is cause stable or unstable? (eg. it’s not gonna change)
- is cause internal or external? (eg. it’s about me)
- is cause global or specific? (eg. every part of my life)
What motivates optimism/ pessimism?
concerns of people expectancies for the future— people are motivated by goals
How much effort you put into goals is influenced by:
how much you want the goal (it’s value) and how confident/ doubtful you are that you can get it (expectancy)
-goal directed behaviour-
what is self-efficiency?
specific beliefs- can i successfully do the behaviours necessary to my goal?
what is optimism?
outcome expectancies - it’s going to work out fine!
what is pessimism?
it’s not going to work out
how would an optimistic person react when faced with a challenge?
perseverance, use more coping strats, “opportunity for growth”
optimism does not equal what?
control or self-efficacy
explain the Norem and Cantor (1986) defensive pessimism study
compared honour students with optimism vs def. pessimism expectations for their grades.
Def. pessimists got higher gpa than optimistic (same goals different strats)
explain Norem and Illingworth (1993) study on defensive pessimism
Opt & defen. pess study math ability, half opt & half pess told to tell feelings about test BEFORE test, def. pess had more anxiety & more distracted but did just as well as opt.
what is optimism/pessimism vs realism?
positive expectations of future: imagine desired outcome
negative expectations of future:
imagine undesired outcome
realistic orientation: imagine mix of desired and undesired outcomes
Which: optimism, pessimism or realism shows the best results for no PPD
with easy or difficult delivery, realism has an even score for PPD
how does defensive pessimism work?
expect negative outcome>become anxious>motivated to avoid failure
how does realistic orientation work when thinking positively?
think positive>become hopeful>have a backup plan just incase
how does realistic orientation work when thinking negatively?
think negative>become anxious>make a plan just in case
what is the implicit theory of intelligence?
- is intell fixed and immutable(entity)?
- is intell fluid and can be changed (incremental)?
what do entity theorists believe?
failure means one is stupid, they become defensive
-focusses on performance, avoid challenge
what do incremental theorists believe?
failure = one should be working harder, and they should try a diffferent way (seek mastery)
-focusses on learning, likes challenge