Forces Shaping Behviour Flashcards
What is the Me-Self?
One of the two selves that sociologist Herbert Mead believed we create depending on the social setting we find ourselves in. Mead believed the Me-Self is our public self, guarded by the rules and expectations of the roles we play
What is Self-concept?
Our sense of who we are based on our ideas about our strengths, weaknesses, values, beliefs, hopes, dreams, achievements, and disappointments
What is I-Self?
One of the two selves that sociologist George Herbert Mead believed we created depending on the social setting we find ourselves in. Mead believed the I-Self Is our true self and is only revealed to those closest to us.
What is the culturally constructed concept?
An idea about the world and/or the people in it that is formed as a result of a person’s cultural upbringing
What is enculturation?
The learning process whereby we begin to learn the ideas, values, and beliefs of our culture
What is superego?
The term used by Sigmund Freud for the part of the unconscious mind that encourages us to do good things. It is the part of the mind most closely linked go our sense of self
What are defense mechanisms?
The term used by Sigmund Freud for the techniques that the human mind uses to deal with feelings of anxiety, frustration, tension or worry. Freud believed these techniques maintain our self-esteem by protecting our ego against negative feelings.
What is rationalization?
A defense mechanism by which we invent an excuse to explain a failure, loss, error or our bad behavior.
What is displacement?
A defense mechanism by which we lash out at someone because we have surprised anger or frustration from an earlier situation
What is Projection?
a defense mechanism by which we see negative traits and feelings in other people that we sense in ourselves but to which we can not openly admit
What is repression?
A defense mechanism by which we push unpleasant urges or thoughts out of our conscious minds and into our subconscious
What is individuality?
A psychological concept for the condition of being oneself and understanding who that self is in relation to others
What is identity crisis?
a period in a person’s life during which the person’s self-concept and beliefs are challenged
What is self-determination?
a psychological term for the ability to identify and achieve goals based on a foundation of knowing and valuing onself
What are self-enhancers?
people who see themselves more positively than others do and who tend to be emotionally well-adjusted
What are status-sets?
a sociological term for the many roles we play simultaneously in our lives
What is sociological perspective?
social self is the result of our interactions with others. The combination of the I-Self and the Me-Self causes us to behave according to the situation of a particular time/encounter
What is anthropological perspective?
our sense of self is “culturally constructed”. our personalities and sense of self are influenced by our culture and understanding of the people and the world around us
What is psychological perspective?
Freud: our personality and sense of self are influenced by unconscious sources that help us to develop our personality/sense of self
When our ego/sense of self is threatened, we will try to protect it by using various forms of defense mechanisms in order to restore equilibrium between our self-concept and our behaviour
What are psychological disorders?
a disease of the mind that makes it difficult to cope with the ordinary stresses of daily life
What is stereotyping?
Assuming that all members of a particular group share certain characteristics without considering the actual characteristics of individual group members
What is neurosis?
a type of psychological disorder. people suffering from a neurosis usually experience very high levels of anxiety or tension but are generally able to manage their daily affairs
What is agoraphobia?
a fear of leaving the home, or general fear of open space
What is phobia?
an irrational and often debilitating fear
What is claustrophobia?
a fear of enclosed spaces
What is obsessive compulsive disorder?
a disorder in which a person has an obsession (recurring, uncontrollable thought or impulse) to be compulsive (engage in meaningless, repetitive behaviour)
What is psychosis?
a type of psychological disorder. people suffering from a psychotic disorder often lose touch with the real world and require treatment to be able to live a “normal” life
What are delusions?
incorrect beliefs that a person holds even when faced with evidence to the contrary
What are hallucinations?
experiences in which a person sees or hears something that is not really there
What is antisocial personality disorder?
a relatively rare psychotic disorder whose symptoms involve pathological lying, taking pleasure in causing others pain, and a lack of guilt over one’s harmful actions
What is empathy?
The ability to understand or experience the thoughts or feelings of other people
What is race?
A term for a group of people, often with similar physical characteristics, who are assumed to share a common descent or origin. The term is no longer accepted by the American Anthropological Association
What is ethnicity?
a trait resulting from an individual’s relationship to a group with which the individual believes he or she shares a common ancestry
What are stage models?
theories claiming that individuals proceed through life in stages. at each stage, the individual must successfully resolve a set of conflicts before being able to move on to the next stage
What is conformity?
changing ones thoughts, feelings and behaviours to meet the expectations of a group or authority figure
What is dissonance?
an experience of confusion resulting from conflict between ones own belief and the beliefs of others
What is resistance?
in Atkinson et al.’s stage model, the act of deliberately rejecting a set of beliefs or values
What is immersion?
In Atkinson et al.’s stage model, the act of accepting a set of beliefs and incorporating them into one’s life
What is introspection?
in Atkinson et al.’s stage model, questioning both one’s own values and those of others while developing ethnic identity
What is synergistic articulation?
in Atkinson et al.’s stage model, resolving all previous conflicts and developing an ethnic identity with which one is at peace
What is acculturation theory?
a theory that identifies different categories or labels for the different ways people integrate their attitudes toward their ethnic group with their attitudes toward the larger society
What is collectivistic?
the term describing the practice of placing the welfare of the group or community above the freedoms of the individual
What is tiu lien?
“loss of face” in Asian cultures
What is systemic racism?
racism that is embedded into social institutions in contrast to racism that is directed from one individual to another
What are gender differences?
the physical differences that exist between males and females
What are gender roles?
the roles that society expects people to play based on their gender. Aggressive behaviour is part of the gender role for males in many societies
What is the consensus model?
A decision making model that allows everyone to have input. Many sociologists have found that women tend to favour this type of decision making model
What is corpus callosum?
a thick bundle of nerves that runs between the left and right hemisphere of the brian
What is the glass ceiling?
the invisible barrier that keeps women from rising to the highest levels of management within corporations
What is slapstick humour?
humour that involves physical stunts such as walking into doors
What is gallows humour?
humour that tends to focus on gory and sick situations
What is irony?
a way of expressing oneself in which one says the opposite of what one really means
What is incongruity?
the result of putting ideas together in an unexpected or illogical way
What are the issues associated with adolescent self-concept?
Erikson believed that adolescence have to face an identity crisis before they can move on towards self-awareness
self-awareness can only be achieved after going through intense back and forth struggle.
The adolescents has very high expectations of him/herself (dealing with the expectations of becoming an adult). on the other hand teens may experience poor self-concept. This is because the transition may lead to a new identity,may be a time of vulnerability or “dark feelings”
this confused state is vital for identity formation
Symptoms during the state may include moodiness, self-doubt, disturbed thinking. impulsivity, conflicts with parents, reduced ego strength strength and physical discomfort
What is the nature versus nurture debate?
the debate focuses on whether nature (inherited biological characteristics) or nurture (learned environmental forces) has more of an impact on personality development
what is the importance of the nature versus nurture debate to Canadian society
If nature controls human development, then corporate and government should spend money on improving nature.
For example, if mental illness such as schizophrenia are inherited, then it would make sense to fund some program that can alert adult carriers of the disease before they have children.
if nurture is the primary influence on human development, then spending should focus on the environmental factors most important to development.
What is the difference between Neurosis and Psychosis?
Neurosis: ~A category of relatively mild disorders
~like defense mechanisms since they are ways to escape feelings of anxiety
~they may last longer than defense mechanisms and interference with the enjoyment of life
Psychosis:~ serious mental illness which may prevent an individual from functioning adequately
What are the types of neurosis?
~anxiety neurotic
~hysterical reaction
~obsessive compulsive behaviour
~phobia
What is anxiety neurotic?
~there is chronic and acute
~has fearful expectations of dreadful things about to happen
~anxiety attacks lead to a variety of physical symptoms (ex. pounding heart, faintness, numbness)
~anxiety occurs without any obvious cause (cause is buried deep in subconscious)
What is hysterical reaction?
~psychological conflicts are converted to physical symptoms (paralysis)
~illness seems to temporarily solve their problem
~once an individual deals with repressed feelings then the physical problems disappears
What is obsessive compulsive disorder?
~persistent unwanted thoughts that stem from some sort of anxiety
~they may be aware of fear, but are unable to get rid of it. ex. obsessed with safety (locking doors), fear of failure, sexual desire, food manias, obsessed with particular objects
~kelptomania (objects) pyromania (fire)
~obsessions are often followed with a compulsion to perform an act that will relieve the anxiety (relocking the door)
What are phobias?
~extreme fears of certain objects or situations
~classified as phobias when they interfere with one’s life
~thought to be repressed fears by many
~Freud says they are defenses against anxiety
What are the types of psychosis?
~organic psychosis ~manic depression ~paranoid ~undifferentiated ~residual
What is organic psychosis?
an organic psychosis is the result of damage to the brain tissue. It can be caused by injury to the brain, untreated syphilis, or long-term heavy use of alcohol or drugs
What is manic depression?
People with manic depression experience extreme mood changes beyond the range considered normal. The manic stage is marked by confused and aggressive behaviour. The mood may appear to by joyous but its exaggerated gaiety and more of one of desperation. In the manic stage a person may appear to have unlimited energy and may have difficulty sleeping. During the Depressed state the individual may experience extreme fatigue and sadness. The person may display confused and aggressive behaviour. The person may become very withdrawn and may stop reacting to the environment. in this state an individual may feel completely lost with themselves and may even consider suicide.
What is paranoid?
delusions that people are persecuting them or delusions of grandeur. The individual may trust no one and may be anxious or angry about supposed tormentors
What is undifferentiated?
delusions, hallucinations, and incoherent and typical of schizophrenia however the individual does not really fit any other types
What is schizophrenia and the symptoms associated with it?
it is a complex mental disease which affects 1 in 100 people (occurs most frequently in 17-19 year olds)
Symptoms: may vary between individuals in severity and types. some individuals may experience multiple symptoms.
1. emotionally flat: fail to respond appropriately to a given situation
2. lose contact and interest in people, their environment and reality
3. have perpetual disorders: hallucinations, delusions
4. inconsistent illogical strange associations
5. strange fantasies and mannerisms
What are the types of schizophrenia?
~simple
~hebephrenic
~catatonic
What is simple schizophrenia?
the individual may be extremely withdrawn. may lose interest in people and the environment/situation and may become very passive and apathetic
What is hebephrenic schizophrenia?
the individual may exhibit childish and foolish behaviour such as uncontrollable giggling, regression to earlier types of behaviour. delusions or hallucinations. incoherent speech and inappropriate often silly emotions. the individual may be extremely withdrawn and behaviour may include odd expressions and mannerisms.
What is catatonic schizophrenia?
the individual may display bizarre physical movements, ranging from motionless stupor to violent hyperactivity and sometimes alternating between these two extremes.
may become rigid and mute, drawing into themselves
hold one position for hours without moving
fail to react to stimuli
What are characteristics of anti social personality disorder?
ASP personalities are chronic trouble makers, impulsive, grandiose, and poor self-observers who do not learn from punishment.
symptoms may vary in severity from pathological liars, white collar criminals or at the most severe end of the continuum, murderous felons. They often blame others for their problems and see themselves as victims. they are unable to feel empathy or guilt. And despite the horrendous nature of their crimes, they appear as normal average people who seldom lose their tempers and very little seems to bother them. They tend to have a calm and controlled appearance and an unrealistic belief they won’t get caught.
8 times as many men have ASP than women
What is the difference between Race and Ethnicity?
ethnicity describes the relation of an individual to a group with whom the individual believes he or she has a common ancestry. This ancestry is based on shared socio-cultural experiences. Race describes the common descent or origin of a group, often characterized by physical characteristics.Early 19 century terms such as negroid, caucasoid, monogloid, and austaloid were introduced by anthropologists to classify racial types. the problem with such characterization was that these perceptions became a body of prejudgments that distort our ideas about human differences and behaviour (leading to numerous inaccurate stereotypes)
What is acculturation?
it uses various categories or labels to describe how a person integrates her or his ethnic group identity with attitudes towards larger society such as traditionalists, marginal and asian american.
What is the stage model of minority identity development?
- conformity: there is conflict between the values of the dominant culture and the values of one’s own group. The individual sides with the dominant culture’s values.
- Dissonance: the individual becomes confused over the conflict between the dominant culture and his or her own group
- Resistance and Immersion: the individual actively rejects the dominant system and begins to accept her or his own cultural traditions and customs
- Introspection: the individual questions the values of both minority and majority culture
- synergistic articulation and awareness: the individual resolves all previous conflicts and develops a cultural identity that combines elements from both cultures
