Final Flashcards
What is social psychology
Seeks to understand, explain and predict how peoples thoughts, feelings and behaviours are influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of others
Who said “It is not so much the kind of person a man is, as the kind of situation in which he finds himself that determines how he will act.”
Milgram 2004
What is social cognition
How people perceive, interpret and categorize their own and others social behaviours
What are attitudes
Relatively stable and enduring evaluations of things and people
What model do we use to interpret attitudes
ABC model: affective component (how we feel), behavioural component, and cognitive component (what we believe)
What 2 theories explain why Our attitudes change
Cognitive dissonance and self perception theory
What is cognitive dissonance
Emotional discomfort as a result of holding contradictory beliefs or holding a belief that contradicts behaviour ~ we change our beliefs to justify our actions
What is self-perception theory
When uncertain, we infer what our attitudes are by observing our own behaviour
What is attitude specificity
The more specific an attitude, the more likely it is to predict behaviour
What is attitude strength
Stronger attitudes predict behaviour more accurately than weak or vague attitudes
What 2 factors determine how much attitude will effect behaviour
Attitude specificity and attitude strength
What is social desirability
Attitudes that mirror what we think others desire in a person
What is implicit attitude
An attitude of which the person is unaware
What are stereotypes
Generalized impressions based on social categories
What is prejudice
Negative stereotypical attitudes toward all members of a group
What contributes to stereotypes and prejudice
Categorize based on similarities, evolutionary perspective, realist conflict theory and social identity theory
What is evolutionary perspective
Stereotypes and prejudice may have had some adaptive value
What is realistic conflict theory
Amount of actual conflict between groups determines the amount of prejudice and tension between groups
What is social identity theory
Emphasizes social cognitive factors in the onset of prejudice~ social categorization, social identity, social comparison
What is the central route to persuasion
Focuses on content, factual info and logic to change attitudes
What is the peripheral route to persuasion
Focus on superficial information to change attitudes (attractiveness)
What are a few persuasion strategies
Source: is knowledgeable, relatable and likeble
Foot in the door: get them to agree to something small so they agree to something larger later
Door in the face: ask for something very big knowing you will get turned down, but then ask for the smaller item you really wanted
Appeals to fear: ads make it seem like something bad will happen
What are attributions?
Casual explanations of behaviour
What are dispositional/ internal attributions
The behaviour was caused because of the person
What are situational/external attributions
The behaviour was caused by situation ~ we tend to rely on situational attributions when explaining our own behaviour
Explain fundamental attribution error
The tendency to use dispositional attributions to explain the behaviour of other people
What is the actor - observer effect
We tend to make situational attributions about our own behaviour and personal attributions about the behaviour of others.
What are exceptions to the actor observer effect
Self-serving bias - tendency to attribute successes to dispositional causes and failures to situational causes
When don’t we attribute others’ behaviour to their disposition but rather to their situation?
When don’t we attribute our behaviour to our situation vs. our disposition?
What are norms
Social rules about how members of a society are expected to act
What are social roles
A set of norms ascribed to a persons social position
Define descriptive norms
Agreed on expectations about what members of a group do
Define injunctive norms
Agreed on expectations about what members of a group ought to do
What is conformity
The tendency to yield to social pressure
What did the asch studies reveal
Conformity effect is not strong when group size is less than 4 members
What is obedience
The act of following direct commands, usually given by an authority figure
What are factors that reduce obedience
Salience of a victims suffering, proximity or closeness to the victim, responsibility, modeling a non obedient person
When are additive tasks tackled most productively
When the group size increases
What rates the productivity of conjunctive tasks
The group is only as productive as its weakest member
What rates the productivity of a disjunctive task
The strongest member as these tasks require one solution
What are divisible tasks
Simultaneous performance of several tasks
What is social facilitation
Improvement in performance because others are present (both physical and mental tasks)
What is group polarization
Initial attitudes become more intense with group interaction
What is altruism
Self sacrificing behaviour carried out for the benefit of others
What is the bystander effect (apathy)
The more people present, the likely any one person will attempt to help
What is diffusion of responsibility
we are less likely to assist in a large group because responsibility to help is shared
What are the 3 levels of attraction
Cognitive, affective, behavioural
What are 5 factors to liking
Similarity, Proximity, self disclosure, situational factors, physical attractiveness
What as the stages of a loving relationship
Exploration stage - the partners try out the possible rewards and costs of a relationship
Bargaining stage - they implicitly negotiate the terms of the relationship
Institutionalization stage - shared expectations emerge and the relationship is exclusive
What are the 3 types of relationships
Secure attachment - are comfortable, do not fear becoming too close or being abandoned; 53% of adults
Avoidant - uncomfortable, have difficulty trusting others; 26% of adults
Anxious-ambivalent - insecure and worry that their partners do not really love them and will leave; 20% of adults
What is stress
Response to a situation that threatens or appears to threaten ones sense of well being
What is a way we can measure stress
Social readjustment rating scale (srrs): assigns life change units to various events that can occur in ones life
What is the tend and befriend response
Females are more likely to have extensive and well-maintained social networks than are males and take support from social connections and friendships when coping with stressful events
What is the General adaptation syndrome (gas)
1) Alarm
Body’s reaction to initial exposure to stressor (fight-or-flight)
2) Resistance
Body’s attempt to stabilize if stressor continues
May result in vulnerability to disease
3) Exhaustion
Further exposure to stressor depletes energy and resistance
What is the cognitive response to stress
Primary appraisal
•appraisal of stressor (how big a stressor is it)
Secondary appraisal
•appraisal of resources and one’s ability to deal with stresso
What are 4 styles of dealing with stress
•Optimistic Explanatory Styles
•Pessimistic Explanatory Styles
•Optimistic Brand of Pessimism
•Defensive Pessimists
What are the 3 personalities of dealing with stress
Hardy, or stress-resistant personality - welcome challenges, take control, view stressors as growth opportunities
Type A personality - style resulting in continual stress
Personality traits: competitive, impatient, angry, hostile
Type B - experience lower levels of stress
Personality traits: more relaxed, less aggressive, less hostile
What is psychoneuroinmunology
Studies links between stress, the immune system and health
When is stress a good thing
Eustress - optimal stress level
Promotes physical and psychological health
Inoculation - dealing with small levels of stress to improve functioning in increasingly stressful situations
What is PTSD
Anxiety disorder in response to a traumatic event
What are symptoms of PTSD
1) Memories, dreams, or nightmares about event
2) Avoid activities, thoughts, feelings, conversations that are reminders of the event
3) Depression, anxiety, guilt, fear, helplessness
4) Sleep problems; may feel detached from others
What are the 4 classifying factors of abnormal psychology
Deviance, distress, dysfunction, danger
What is the international classification of diseases
System used by most countries to classify psychological disorders; published by the World Health Organization and currently in its tenth edition
What is the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders
Manual used to diagnose mental disorders in North America. Provides a categorical list of symptoms for all 400 mental disorders
What is the neuroscience model of looking at abnormal psychology
Genetic inheritance, hyper/hypo neurotransmitters, viral infection, hormones, brain structure abnormality
What is the cognitive behavioural model of abnormal psych
Disorders as result of learned behaviour, and conditioning
What is major depressive disorder
a disorder characterized by a depressed mood that is significantly disabling and is not caused by such factors as drugs or a general medical condition
What are anxiety disorders
Disabling levels of fear or anxiety that are frequent, severe, persistent, or easily triggered
Most people with one anxiety disorder experience another one as well
What is generalized anxiety disorder
Anxiety under most life circumstances; diffuse worry
•Restlessness, edginess, easily tired
-Difficulty concentrating
•Sleep problems
What percentage of people develop social anxiety disorder
7.1%
Who is more likely to develop social anxiety disorder and PTSD - woman or men?
Woman
How many Canadians suffer from at least one phobia in Canada
7.7%
What is OCD
Persistent unwanted thoughts and repetitive ridged behaviours
What are some explanations for OCD
Low seritorin, overactive brain, learning that compulsions relieve distress
What are some explanations to generalized anxiety disorder
Malfunctioning GABA feedback system, intolerance of uncertainty theory
What is acute stress disorder
Lasts less than a month and begins within 4 weeks of the event
What is the timeline of PTSD
lasts more than a month, may begin shortly after or years after the event
What may cause PTSD
Experiences, increase cortisol and norepinephrine, damaged hippocampus or amygdala
What are the psychomotor symptoms of schizophrenia
•Strange movements
•Catatonia - extreme psychomotor symptoms
•Stupor
•Rigidity
•Posturing
•Waxy flexibility
What are some explanations to schizophrenia
Genetic predisposition, excessive dopamine, small temporal lobes and frontal lobes, structural abnormalities of hippocampus amygdala and thalamus
What is somatic symptom disorder
excessive thought, feelings, and behaviours related to somatic symptoms; health related anxiety
What are 3 essential features of all therapies
1) a sufferer who seeks help
2) a trained socially accepted healer
3) series of contacts with the goal of changing attitudes emotional states or behaviours
How many North Americans seek therapy per year
20 million
What is the Canadian mental health act
Outlines patient rights and conditions for involuntary admittance to hospitals
What are the 4 major types of psychotropic drugs
Antianxiety drugs, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics
What is electroconvulsive therapy (ect)
Used to treat depression by sending an electrical current through the brain, producing a brain seizure
What is vagus nerve stimulation
Electrical impulse sent through the vagus nerve to the brain help reduce depression implanted under the skin
What is transcranial magnetic stimulation
Non invasive -sends electrical current into the prefrontal cortex to reduce depression
What is the name of the 5 100 year old treatment that drilled a hole into the skull
Trephining ~ releases evil spirits
What are some pros to biological treatment
bring relief when other approaches have failed
Research offers promising options
What are some criticisms to biological treatment
• Undesirable side effects
• Does not consider interaction between biological and non-
biological factors such as environment and experience
What are a few types of psychodynamic therapies
Psychoanalysis, short term psychodynamic therapy, relational psychoanalytic therapy
What does psychodynamic therapy focus on
Past emotional trauma
What is free association
Discussions initiated by client with therapist probing to uncover relevant unconscious events
What are the therapist interpretations from free association
Resistance: block free associations or change in subject
Transference:shift feelings for figures from childhood to therapist
What is catharsis
Reliving of past repressed feelings to resolve conflicts~ accompanied by intellectual insight
What is the psychodynamic technique of working through
Repeatedly examine an issue to improve clarity
What are the strengths of the psychodynamic approaches
• First practitioners to demonstrate the value of systematically applying
both theory and techniques to treatment
• First to suggest the potential of psychological instead of biological
treatment
• Their ideas have served as a starting point for many other psychological
treatments
What are criticisms to psychodynamic approaches
Effectiveness not supported by research
What is behavioural therapies
Abnormal behaviour is learned in the same way adaptive behaviours arelearned
What is the goal of behavioural therapies
Discover specific problem causing behaviours and replace them with healthy behaviours- often effective with phobias or anxiety
What are modelling techniques
Therapists exhibit appropriate behaviours so client can imitate, rehearse, and incorporate the behaviours into their lives
What are strengths to behavioural approaches
Widely studied in research and strongly supported, effective for numerous problems
What are cons to behavioural approaches or therapy
Changes sometimes require later therapies to sustain, not effective w/ generalized anxiety
What are the major therapy approaches
Behavioural, psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioural, humanistic
What is Ellis’s rational-emotive therapy
goal is to identify irrational assumptions that lead to disordered emotional and behavioural responses
What are the 4 steps of Ellis’s rational-emotive therapy
1) Point out irrational assumptions
2) Model the use of alternative assumptions
3) Uses cognitive restructuring
4) Effective for anxiety and assertiveness problems
What is Becks cognitive therapy
Widely used for depression- identify negative thoughts and guide them to apply alternative ways of thinking
What are strengths to cognitive behavioural therapies
Well supported by research-good for treating depression, generalized and social anxiety, panic disorder
What are criticisms of cognitive-behavioural therapy
Role of cognition is unclear
What are humanistic and existential therapies
Attempt to bring out full potential
What do existentialists believe
accept responsibility for our lives and choices
Emphasize present events, focus on helping clients see themselves accurately and acceptingly
How does gestalt therapy work
guide clients toward self-acceptance by challenging and frustrating them
What are strengths of humanistic approaches of therapy
Appealing to clinicians, emphasize positive human qualities
What are criticisms to humanistic therapy
Difficult to research
Are particular therapies effective for particular problems?
•Behavioural: phobias
•Cognitive-behavioural: social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and depression
•Drug: schizophrenia and bipolar
