chapter 10 Flashcards
characterization of the ego as an entity that carefully controls the information so as to promote its own positive image
totalitarian ego
the quality of constructing mental models with one’s interests and perspective at their center
egocentric
in greenwald’s theory of the totalitarian ego, taking crediti for causing good outcomes to happen while avoiding accepting the blame for bad outcomes
beneffectance
the tendency of people to search for information that supports their point of view in preference to challenging information
confirmation bias
information about how closely an ongoing process is to meeting a standard
feedback
a mechanism for controlling the action of a system that involves feedback as to whether or not it is meeting its goals
feedback loop
a field of study that focuses on communication and control in systems, particularly in relation to the system’s self-governance
cybernetics
a mechanism for controlling the action of a system in which the discrepancy between a goal and its attainment is reduced (negated) through feedback
negative feedback loop
a portion of a feedback loop that judges the difference between the current state of affairs and the desired goal
comparator
a mental process described by the social-cognitive psychologist George Kelly, in which a person thinks about a problem (circumspects), decides enough time has been spent on it (preemption), and makes a decision about how to act (control)
circumspection-preemption-control cycle
in terms of social-cognitive theory, a concept or idea, such as trusting others, which is applied in too many cases or to too many situations
dilated constructs
in terms of social-cognitive theory, limiting concepts to very small areas of life
constricted constructs
a type of mental model, in Kelly’s theoretical system, that is rigid and is not easily changed
tight constructs
a type of mental model, in George Kelly’s theoretical system, that is like a “first draft” and may be readily revised in the future
loose constructs
a state within a person, or a long-term trait, that describes a condition in which the individual closely observes his or her own mental processes or behaviors
self-monitoring
an adaptive type of pessimism in which a person imagines bad outcomes in order to motivate herself or himself toward higher achievement
defensive pessimism
high-level control exerted by the personality system in general, some of which involves conscious self-control, and other portions of which involve unconscious mechanisms
personal control
a state in which concepts that are naturally associated in memory are divided from one another through the establishment of mental barriers and the ideas then operate independently of the ideas to which they had been related previously
dissociated
a theory proposed by Ernest Hilgard in the 1970s to re-explain earlier ideas of dissociation and automatism-dating from the 1890s- in more contemporary psychological language
neo-dissociationism
an introspective feeling that one has involuntarily responded to an instruction, such as hearing the direction to move one’s head, and then having it move without willing it to do so
classic suggestion effect
a hypnotic participant who is especially able to enter into the trance state and is especially talented at carrying out mental tasks under hypnosis
hypnotic virtuoso
a defense mechanism that involves the conscious blocking out or expelling thoughts that one wishes to avoid thinking about
suppression
full facial expressions of basic emotions that occur in roughly a quarter of a second or less and then disappear
micro-expressions
the unconscious forgetting or blocking out of unpleasant or threatening ideas that one wishes to avoid thinking about
repression
a defense mechanism in which the individual maintains a claim in the face of obvious information to the contrary
denial
a defense mechanism in which the person sees his or her own unpleasant attributes in another person while being unable to see them in him or herself
projection
a research finding that people often believe more others agree with them than is actually the case
false consensus effect
a defense mechanism in which a person employs a plausible, but false, reason for explaining her or his behavior that covers up a real but more unpleasant or threatening reason
rationalization
a defense mechanism in which someone acts opposite to their real inclinations in order to hide them-for example, is intentionally generous in order to mask feelings of stinginess
reaction formation
