gen psych module 4 exam Flashcards
social psychology
think about, influence, and relate to other people
areas of social psychology
social cognition, social behavior, social influence, intergroup relations, close relations
social cognition
how people select, interpret, remember, and use social information
areas of social cognition
attribution, person perception, the self, attitudes
attribution
determining why people do what they do
attribution theories
internal v. external, stable v. unstable, controllable v. uncontrollable
how do you explain another persons behavior
we usually attribute others behaviors to internal causes even though that’s not always accurate
fundamental attribution error
people overestimate the importance of stable and internal traits and underestimate external situations when looking for an explanation on someones behavior
self serving bias
we attribute our own behavior to whichever explanation benefits us the most (you succeed = take credit, you fail = someones fault)
false consensus effect
overestimation of the degree to which everyone thinks and acts like we do
person perception
forming impressions, feelings, and attitudes about others
are first impressions important
the power of first impression - the primary effect
stereotype
general characteristics about groups characteristics even if not always accurate
why do we stereotype
biologically built to categorize
self fulfilling prophecy
expectations cause an individual to act in ways that make expectation come true
stereotype threat
type of self fulfilling prophecy that anxiety about being negatively stereotyped causes underperformance
attractiveness
human physical features that others rate as in high objective physical appeal
social identity
defining oneself in terms of group memberships - ingroup “your group”, outgroup “comparison group”
prejudice
prejudgement without good reason
discrimination
unjustifiable negative behavior towards a group and its members
the self
how we view ourselves
self esteem
degree to which we have positive or negative feelings about ourselves
social comparisons
evaluating ones own thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and abilities in relation to others
attitudes
our feelings or opinions on people, objects, and ideas
can attitude determine behavior
sometimes - when attitude is strong, when person is made aware of attitude, and when person has vested interests
self perception theory
attitudes follow behavior, doing becomes believing
cognitive dissonance
conflict or anxiety between who we are and who we want to be, 2 don’t complement each other
altruism
unselfish interest in helping another person
why do people help other people
reciprocity - do unto others what they will do for you, egoism - doing good because it benefits you, implicit rules of society - others are helping so I will help too
factors that influence helping behavior
mood, empathy, and the bystander effect (let someone else do it)
conformity
changing ones behavior to align with the group to group standard
informational social influence
the influence people have on us because we want to be right
normative social influence
the influence people have on us because we want to be liked
obedience
behavior that complies with the specific demands of an authority figure
deindividuation
being part of a group reduces ones sense of personal responsibility
social contagion
spread of behavior, emotions, and ideas
social facilitation
people perform better when others are present if the task is easy or well learned, perform worse infant of others if task is difficult or new
social loafing
tendency for people to underperform when in a group because of reduced accountability
group think
impaired group decision making that occurs when making the right decision is less important than conforming to the group
abnormality
any pattern of behavior that causes people significant distress, causes them to harm themselves or others, or interferes with their ability to function in daily life
most prevalent psychological disorder
depression
diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-V)
contains each known disorder, a description, symptoms, checklist of criteria, and other relevant facts
models of studying abnormal behavior
biological and psychological models
biologicals models
psychological disorders have a biological cause, also known as the medical model
psychological models
psychoanalysis, behaviorism, cognitive perspective, combination approaches
psychoanalysis
behavioral abnormality is the result of repressing undesirable thoughts, memories, and concerns
behaviorism
abnormal behaviors are learned through a series of rewards and punishments
cognitive perspective
abnormal behavior results from illogical thinking patterns
anxiety disorders
unrealistic or excessive anxiety, can be specific or free floating
types of anxiety disorders
phobias, OCD, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, PTSD
phobias
irrational fear that causes undue personal distress and/or interferes with normal functioning
social phobias
fear of interacting with others or being in a social situation
specific phobias
fear of something in particular
OCD
obsessions - intruding thoughts that occur again and again, compulsions - ritualistic behavior that reduces anxiety
panic disorder
sudden onset and extreme panic, impending sense of doom
generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
excessive anxiety or worry occur more days than not for at least 6 months that interferes with normal functioning and causes personal distress, can lead to depression + other disorders
PTSD
anxiety disorder that develops after exposure to a traumatic event, oppressive situation, abuse, or disaster
characteristics od PTSD
flashbacks, emotionally avoidant, desensitization, exaggerated startle response, difficulty concentrating, apprehensive and nervous, impulsive (sometimes aggressive) outbursts
psychoanalytic approach
anxiety disorders are the result of repressed feelings and thoughts
behavioral approach
anxiety disorders are learned overtime
cognitive approach
anxiety disorders are the result of illogical irrational thinking patterns
magnification
exaggeration of events, ideas, feelings
all or nothing thinking
must be perfect or completely ruined
overgeneralization
single negative event interpreted as a pattern.
minimization
only look at the bad, minimizing positive
mood disorders
disturbance in affect or emotion (AKA affective disorders)
major clinical depression
deeply depressed mood or inability to experience pleasure
depression
behaviors and thoughts change with depression, twice as likely to kill women, brought on by stressful events
bipolar disorder
cycling between manic episodes and depressive episodes
during manic phase
little need for sleep, speech is loud, extreme optimism/ self esteem, irritated easily, poor judgement, increased risk taking, increase in creativity
schizophrenia
long lasting psychological disorder characterized by disturbances in thinking, emotions, behavior, and perception
dopamine hypothesis
theory that it is excessive dopamine that causes schizophrenia
psycho therapy
talking about problems
biomedical therapy
medical procedure
insight therapies
aimed at understanding motives and actions - psychoanalysis, humanistic therapy
action therapies
aimed at changing behaviors - behavioral and cognitive therapy
sigmund freud
inventor of psychoanalysis
dream analysis
unconscious mind emerges in dream
free association
unconscious mind emerges in free flowing stream of ideas
resistance
patients unwilling to talk about certain things
