Chapter 2

Question 1

Define Spotlight Effect

Answer 1

• belief that others are paying more attention to our appearance and behavior than they really are

Question 2

Define Illusion of Transparency and give example

Answer 2

• illusion that our concealed emotions leak out and can be read by others
• Ex: facial expressions to show happy, sad, etc. mood

Question 3

Define Self-Concept and give example

Answer 3

• what we know and believe about ourselves; how we see ourselves
• I am a friend, I am humble, etc.

Question 4

Define Self-Schema

Answer 4

• belief about self that organizes and guides the processing of self-relevant information; how we define ourselves because of specific beliefs

Question 5

Define Self-Reference Effect

Answer 5

• when we process info more efficiently and remember it better when we can relate it back to ourselves

Question 6

Define Possible Selves

Answer 6

• ideas and images of what we dream or dread becoming in the future

Question 7

Define Social Identity

Answer 7

• any group membership by which one categorizes or defines oneself

Question 8

List 3 factors in the Development of the Social Self

Answer 8

1.) social comparisons
2.) success & failure
3.) others judgements

Question 9

Define Individualism and name what culture it most belongs to

Answer 9

• giving priority to one’s own goals over group goals; independent self
• western culture

Question 10

Define Collectivism and name what culture it mostly belongs to

Answer 10

• giving priority to goals of group; interdependent self
• asian culture

Question 11

Define what it is to predict our feelings

Answer 11

• affective forecasting; predicting how you will feel in the future

Question 12

Example of predicting our feelings

Answer 12

• “Daffodil Days”; book about students actually buying daffodils compared to how many just SAID they would
• we often “miswant”

Question 13

Define Planning Fallacy

Answer 13

• prediction about how much time will be needed to complete a future task

Question 14

Define Impact Bias

Answer 14

• how good or bad we will feel in the future; overestimating the lasting effects of emotional events

Question 15

Form of Impact Bias in response to negative events

Answer 15

Immune Neglect

Question 16

Define Immune Neglect and give an example

Answer 16

• form of impact bias in response to negative events, in which people fail to predict how much of their psychological immune system will speed up their recovery
• grief

Question 17

Define dual attitude system and explain both types

Answer 17

• differing implicit(automatic) and explicit(consciously controlled) attitudes toward the same object
  1.) implicit attitudes may change slowly, with practice that forms new habits
  2.) verbalized explicit attitudes may change with education and persuasion

Question 18

Define Self-Esteem

Answer 18

• a person’s overall self-evaluation or sense of self-worth

Question 19

Define Self-Efficacy and give an example

Answer 19

• a sense that one is competent and effective, distinguished from self-esteem which is one’s sense of self-worth
• sharpshooter in military may feel high self-efficacy because they are good at what they do but low self esteem

Question 20

Define Locus of Control

Answer 20

• individual’s perception about the underlying main causes of events in life; how much control a person feels that they have over their own behavior

Question 21

Define Attribution Theory

Answer 21

• relates to the way in which people use information to explain their own behavior and that of others

Question 22

List and define 2 types of Attribution in Attribution Theory

Answer 22

• dispositional(internal) attribution assigns cause of behavior to some internal characteristic of a person; such as personality traits
• situational(external) attribution assigns cause of behavior to some situation outside a person’s control; situational or environmental factors

Question 23

Define Self-Serving Bias

Answer 23

• a tendency to perceive oneself favorably

Question 24

A form of Self-Serving Bias

Answer 24

Self-Serving Attribution

Question 25

Define Self-Serving Attribution

Answer 25

• the tendency to attribute positive outcomes to oneself and negative outcomes to other factors

Question 26

Define Learned Helplessness

Answer 26

• a state that occurs after a person has experienced a stressful situation repeatedly; they come to believe that they are unable to control or change the situation so they do not try; even when opportunities for change become available

Question 27

Define Unrealistic Optimism (Unrealistic Positivity)

Answer 27

• when someone predicts that a personal future outcome will be more favorable than others

Question 28

Define Defensive Pessimism

Answer 28

• considered a coping technique used by individuals who set low expectations for situations regardless of prior success; these negative expectations are used to alleviate individuals’ anxiety about situations by motivating them to plan ways to avoid the chances of poor outcomes

Question 29

Define False Uniqueness Effect

Answer 29

• the tendency to underestimate the commonality of one’s abilities and one’s desirable or successful behaviors; ex: you are not the only one who may be good at something; there are others just as good or better

Question 30

Define False Consensus Effect

Answer 30

• the tendency to overestimate the commonality of one’s opinions and one’s undesirable or unsuccessful behaviors; Ex: stereotyping; just because one does something bad doesn’t mean they all do

Question 31

Define Downward Social Comparisons

Answer 31

• person experiencing something negative can enhance their subjective well-being through comparison with a less fortunate other; Ex: it could always be worse

Question 32

Define Impression Management

Answer 32

• conscious or subconscious process in which people attempt to influence the perceptions of other people about a person; orchestrating our behaviors in order to make a desired impression

Question 33

List 3 types of Impression Management

Answer 33

1.) self-handicapping
2.) self-presentation
3.) self-monitoring

Question 34

Define Self-Handicapping and give example

Answer 34

• creating or pointing out impediments to success to protect against negative evaluation in the case of failure
• Ex: I didn’t sleep well last night so I might not do as well on this speech

Question 35

Define Self-Presentation and list 3 strategies

Answer 35

• process of behaving in ways that attempt to present a desired impression of ourselves
  1.) behavioral matching
  2.) conforming to situational norms
  3.) flattery

Question 36

Define Self-Monitoring

Answer 36

• understanding how we present ourselves within different social situations and adjusting our behaviors to create a desired impression; code-switching