Final Review Final Flashcards
Social Psychology
The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.
Attirbution theory
the theory that we explain someone’s behavior by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition
Fundamental attribution error
the tendency for observers, when analyzing another’s behavior, to understimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of persnal disposition.
attribute
feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events
peripheral route persuasion
occurs when people are influeced by incidental cues, such as a speaker’s attractiveness
central route persuasion
occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts
foot-in-the-door phenomenon
the tendency for peple who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request
role
a set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave.
cognitive dissonance theory
the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dossonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent. For example, when we become aware that our attitudes and our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissocnance by changing our attitudes.
culture
the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, calues, and traiditions shared by a group of people and trsmitted from one generation to the next
norm
an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior. Norms prescribe the “proper” behavior
conformity
adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.
normative social influence
influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval
informational social influence
influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality
social facilitation
improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others
social loafing
the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaininig a common goal than when individually accountable.
deindividuation
the loss of self-awareness and self-restaint occuring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity
group polarization
the enhancement of a group’s prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group
groupthink
the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives
prejudice
an unjustifiavle and usually negative attitude toward a group and its members. Prejudice generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action.
Stereotype
a generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people
discrimination
unjustifiavle negative behavior toward a group and its members
just-world phenomenon
the tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people t herefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get.
ingroup
“Us”–People with whom we share a common identity
outgroup
“Them”–those perceived as different or part from our ingroup
ingroup bias
the tendency to favor our own group
scapegoat theory
the theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame
other-race effect
the t endency to recall faces of one’s own race more accurately than facces of other races. Also called the cross-race effect and the own-race bias
aggression
any physical or verbal behavior inteded to hurt or destroy
frustration-aggression principle
the principle that frustration–the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal–creates anger, which can generate aggreassion
social script
culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations
mere exposure effect
the phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases linking of them
passionate love
an aroused state of intense positiove absorpotion in another, usually present at the beginning of a love relationship
companionate love
the deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined
equity
a condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it
self-disclorue
revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others
altruism
unselfish regard for the welfare of others
bystander effect
the tendency for any given by stander to be less likely to give aid if other bystander are present
social exchange theory
the theory that our social behavaior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs
reciprocity norm
an expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helepd them
social-responsibility norm
an expectation that people will help those dependent upon them
confilict
a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas
social trap
a situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally persuing their self-interst, become caught in mutually destructive behavior
mirror-image perceptions
mutual views often held by conflicting people, as when each side sees iself as ethical and peaceful and views the other side as evil and aggressive
superordinate goals
shared goals that override differences among people and requrie their cooperations
GRIT
Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-Reduction–A strategy designed to decrease international tensions
psychological disorders
a significant dysfuntcion in a person’s thoughts, feeling, or behaviors
medical model
the concept that diseases, in this case psychological disorders, have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and, in most cases, cured, often through treatment in a hospital
attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
A psychological disorder marked by the appearance by age 7 of one or more of three key symptoms: extreme inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity
DSM-V
The American Psychiatic Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, Fifth Edition
anxiety disorders
psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistend anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety
Generalized anxiety disorder
an anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous sytem arousal
panic disorder
an anxiety disorder marked by unpredicatable, minutes-long episodes of intense dread in which a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, chocking, or other frightening senstations
phobia
an anxiety disorders marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object, activity, or situation
obsessive-compulsive disorder
(OCD) an anxiety disorder charzcterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions), actions (compulsions), or both
Post-Traumatic stress disorder
an anxiety disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience
mood disorder
psychological disorder characterized by emotional extremes.
major depressive disorder
a mood disorder in which a person experiences, I nthe absence of drugs or another medical conditin, two or more weeks of significantly depressed moods or diminished interest or pleasure in most activities, along with at least four other symptoms
bipolar disorder
a mood disorder in which ap erson alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania
mania
a hyperactive, widly optimistic state in which dangerously poor judgement is common
schizophrenia
a group of severe disorders characterized by disoragnized and delusinal thinking, disturbed perceptoins, and inappropriate emotins and behaviors
psychosis
a psychological disorder in which a person loses contact with reality, experiencing irrational ideas and disotreted perceptions
delusions
false beliefs, often of persecution or gradeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders
anorexia nervosa
an eating disorder in which a person (usually an adolescent female) maintians a starvation diet despite being sifnificantly (15% or more) underweight
bulimia nervosa
an eating disorder in which a person alternated binge eating (usally of high-calorie foods) with purging (by vomiting or laxative use) or fasting
binge-eating disorder
significant binge-eating epidosdes, followed by distress, disgust, or guilt, but without the compensatory purging or fasting that marks bulimia nervosa
personality disorders
psychological disorder characteriazed by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning
antisocial personality disorders
a personality disorder in which a person (usually a man) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, evne toward friends and family membrs. May be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist
psychoterapy
treatment involving psychological techniques; constists of interactions between a trained therapist and somoen seeking to overcome psychological diffulties or achieve persoan growth
biomedical therapy
prescribed medications or procedured that act directly on the person’s physiology
eclectic approach
an approach to spcyhotherapy that depending on the client’s problems, uses techniques from various forms of therapy
psychoanalysis
sigmund freud’s therapeutic technique. Freud believed the patient’s free associations, resistance, dreams, and resferences–and the therapist’s interpretations of them–released previously repressed feelings, allowing the patient to gain self-insight
resitance
in psychoanalysis, the blocking from consciousness of anxiety-laden material
interpretation
in psychoanalysis, the analyst’s noting supposed dream meanings, resistances, and other significant behaviors and events in order to promote insight
tranference
in psychoanalysis, the patients transfer to the analyst of emotins linked, with other relationships (such as love or hatred for a parent)
psychodynamic therapy
therapy driving from the psychoanalytic tradition; vies individuals as responding to unconscious forces and childhood experiences, and seeks to enchance self-insight
insight therapies
a verity of therapies that aim to improve psychological functioning by increasing a person’s awerness of underluying motives and defenses
client-centered therapy
a humanistic therapy, developed by Carl Rogers, in which the threapist uses thecniques such as active listening within a genuine, accepting, empathic enviornment to faclilitate clients’ growth
active listening
empathic listeninig in which the lsitner echos, restates, and clarifies. A feature of Rogers’ client-centered therapy
unconditional psoitive reagard
a caring, accepting, nonjudgemental attidue, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients develop self-awerness and self-acceptance
behavior therapy
therapy that applies learning principles to the elimination of unwanted behaviors
conterconditioning
behavior therapy procedures that use classical conditioning to evoke new responses to stimuli that are triggering unwatned behaviors; include exposure therapies and aversive conditioning
exposure therapies
behavrioal techniques, such as systematic desensitization and virtual reality exposure thrapy, that treat anxieties by exposing people (in imagination or actual situations) to the things they fear and avoid
systematic desensitazion
type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimul. Commonly used to treat phobias
virtual reality exposure therapy
an anxiety treatment that progressively exposes people to electronic stimulations of their greatest fears, such as airplane flying, spiders, or public speaking
aversive conditiong
a type of counter-conditioning that associates an unpleasant state (such as nausea) with an unwanted behavior (such as drinking alcohol).
token economy
an operant conditioning procedure in which people earn a token of some sort of exhibiting a desried behavior and can later exchange the t oeks for various provileges or treats
cognitive therapy
therapy that teaches people new, more adaptive ways of thinkign; based on the assumption that thoughts intervene between evnts and our emotional reactions
cognitive-behavioral therapy
a popular integrative therappy that combines cognitive therapy (changing self-defeating thinking) with behavior therapy (changing behavior)
Group therapy
therapy conducted with groups rather than individuals, permitting therapeutic benefits from group interaction
family therapy
therapy that treats the family as a system. Views an individual’s unwanted behaviors as influenced by, or directed at, other family members
evidence-based practice
clinical decision making that integrates the bset available research with clinical expertise and patient characteristics and preferences
psychopharmacology
the study of the effects of drugs on mind and behavior
antipsychotic drugs
drugs used to treat schizophrenia and other forms of severe thought disorder
antianxiety drugs
drugs used to control anxiety and agitation
antidepressant drugs
drugs used to treat depression and some anxiety disorders. Different types of work by altering the availability of various neurotransmitters
electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
a biomedical therapy for severly depressed patients in which a brief electric current is sent through the brian of an anesthetized patient
repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation
the application of repeated pulses of magnetic energy to the brian; used to stimulate or suppress brain activity
psychosuregery
surgery that removes or destroys brain tissue in an effort to change behavior
lobotomy
a psychosurgical proceudre once used to calm uncontrollably emotional or violent patients. The procudre tcut the nerves connecting the frontal lobes to the emotion-controlling centers of the innver brian
resilience
the personal strenght that helps most people cope with stress and recover form adversity and even trauma
