Midterm Flashcards
Positive Psychology
The science and study of psychological
strengths and positive emotions
PERMA
Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Achievement, Meaning
Reality negotiation
The ongoing processes by which people arrive at
agreed-upon worldviews or definitions.
Collectivistic Cultures
Sharing, cooperation, duty to the group,
interdependence between members of a
group, the “we” is important
Individualistic Cultures
Individual achievement, competition,
personal freedom, autonomy, the “me” is
important
Backbone of psychology is
good science
Learned helplessness
a mental state in which an organism forced to bear
aversive stimuli, or stimuli that are painful or otherwise
unpleasant, becomes unable or unwilling to avoid
subsequent encounters with those stimuli, even if they are “escapable,” presumably because it has learned that it cannot
control the situation
high validity
They should accurately measure what they
purport to measure
High realibility
Should consistently measure
Face Validity
Participants are pretty sure they know what is
being measured
Social Desirability
Participants answer the way they
think will reflect more positively on
them
Construct Equivalence
Are the constructs we measure equivalent
across cultures
Do the words from different language
sufficiently translate
Linguistic Equivalence
Metric Equivalence
Is the method of measurement equivalent
across cultures
Which part of the nervous system is for fight or flight
Sympathetic
What are the 3 parts of subjective well being
Life satisfaction
Positive emotions
Relative lack of negative emotions
Which part of the nervous system is for rest and digest
Parasympathetic
What is strong vagal tone associated with
Better physical health, better well being
Idiographic
An understanding of a particular individual; What specific/unique aspects of this person contribute to his or her well
being?
Nomothetic
A general understanding of the nature or cause of something in
the form of general principles or laws; What general principles can we use to explain the well being of most people
who are flourishing
Self-Determination Theory
people who routinely have the three needs fulfilled are happier, healthier, more productive,
more creative, and more likely to be intrinsically motivated
What are the 3 needs of the self determination theory
Competence: need to be effective in dealing with environment
Relatedness: need to have close, affectionate relationships
Autonomy: need to control course of our lives
Cross sectional research
Snapshot of something at one point in time
Longitudinal Research
Collect data at time 1, wait a period of time and then
collect more at time 2, time 3 etc
Correlational Research
Cannot establish cause & effect
Sees if variables are associated with one another
Experimental Research
Participants randomly assigned to groups
Either to intervention or control group
Can establish cause and effect
Meta Analysis
a statistical method used to combine the findings of many studies to reach one conclusion
Combines many subjects from many studies and makes
our conclusions stronger
Decide on criteria that all of the studies must meet
Such as: all participants had an equal chance of being assigned to the experimental or control group; there was follow up a minimum of 3 months after the end of the study
Etiology
the cause or reason for something
Eugenics
Allow certain people with “desirable” traits to reproduce, and stop/limit reproduction of those with “undesirable” trait
Cultural Pluralism
recognizing distinct cultural entities and adopting some values of the majority group
Cultural Relativism
interpreting behaviors within the context of the culture
Forgiveness for Hmong Americans
Facilitated through a 3rd party, restoration of respect, spiritual component
In the Chang studies (1996), which group had higher levels of pessimism, Asian Americans or Caucasian Americans?
Asian Americans were significantly more pessimistic, but there was no significant difference of depressive symptoms between the groups
The paradox of affluence(wealth)
depression rises as affluence rises
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Self-actualization Safety Love and belonging Physiological Esteem
3 Conditions for High Meaning in Life
Seeing one’s life as worthwhile and one’s self as
making a contribution to the greater good (significance)
Seeing one’s life as making sense (coherence)
Having a sense of purpose (purpose)
-having important goals
-making a contribution to the world via those goals
External Adaptation
meeting the social, educational, cultural, and occupational
expectations of society
Internal Adaptation
positive psychological well-being
Ikea Effect
a cognitive bias in which consumers place a disproportionately high value on products they partially created
Overview Effect
to the experience of seeing firsthand the reality of the Earth in space, which is immediately understood to be a tiny, fragile ball of life, hanging in the void, shielded and nourished by a paper-thin atmosphere
Basic Trust vs Mistrust
Infancy, children develop sense of trust when caregiver provides reliability and affection
Autonomy vs Shame
Early Childhood; Sense of personal control over physical skills and independence
Initiative vs Guilt
Play age, sense of purpose; humor, empathy, resilience
Industry vs Inferiority
School age; humility, acceptance of the course of ones life and unfulfilled hopes
Identity vs Confusion
sense of self and personal identity
Intimacy vs Isolation
sense of the complexity of relationships, value of tenderness and loving freely
Generativity vs stagnation
Adults need to create or nurture things that will outlast them
Integrity vs Despair
Look back on life and feel a sense of fulfillment
Broaden & Build Theory
Positive emotions help build resources: physical, psychological and social
Negative emotions narrow our focus and actions
Positive emotions broaden our thoughts and
open us up to action
– This has the potential for building relationships,
helping us socially and improving us physically
4 Assumptions of Broaden and Build Theory
- Positive emotions impact one’s thought-action repertoire
Undoing:” Positive (+) emotions undo the effects of negative (-) emotions
Positive emotions help us “bounce back
Positive emotions improve well-being and help build resources
Melo & Anderson (2016)
suggest that + emotions increase explorative behavior
–When + emotions are activated (in animals and humans), exploration of one’s environment is enhanced
–Exploration involves gathering information about one’s surroundings, decreasing uncertainty
Study on Group of 4 year olds
Exploration/play group
–Training experience group
–Control group
Then asked to join 3 sticks together with current
supplies
–Exploration group: accomplished task faster and with
fewer hints than other two groups (training group
performed better than control group)
Own Race Bias Study
We are better able to distinguish differences in
people of our own of race
Joy condition: Recognized faces of other races at same rates as own race, not true for fear or neutral condition
Hedonic Happiness
Happiness that is derived from gaining pleasurable
experienced/objects
This feels good, but is short lived
Eudaimonic Happiness
Human flourishing associated with leading a virtuous life
–It takes more than pleasant experiences and pleasant emotions to attain happiness
Happiness Pie
50% Genetics
40% Thoughts and Actions
10% External Circumstances
Big 5 Personality
Openness
Conscientiousness: Self Discipline, Achievement
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Neuroticism: Anxiety, Anger, Vulnerability
Which big 5 traits are associated with better well being
high extraversion, low neuroticism
Personality over time
We tend to become more conscientious in our 20s
–We tend to become more agreeable in our 30s
–Women tend to exhibit less neuroticism as they age
(not true for men)
Empricially Derived Acts to Increase your well being
if the goal is to increase your well-being, you may need to vary the acts
–So you do not habituate
Consider engaging in acts where you do not receive credit, see how/if that changes anything for you
Start a ripple effect
Consider acts that contribute to your autonomy, competence or relatedness
Which group received more happiness boost when performing acts of kindness
the group that performed 5 acts of kindness a day
Infant Attachment
The Groundwork of Relationships
– Initial learning experience of the child with a primary caregiver
– Infant learns what he or she can expect from a relationship
– Implications are long lasting, seem to have an impact on later intimate relationships
Insecure Avoidant Attachment
When caregiver is reintroduced. infant avoids caregiver
Insecure ambivalent attachment
Either actively or passively expresses hostility towards caregiver upon reintroduction, however, also wants to be held by caregiver
Preoccupied Attachment
Higher fear of abandonment, lower avoidance of intimacy
Dismissive Attachment
Lower fear of abandonment, higher avoidance of intimacy
Fearful Attachment
Higher avoidance of intimacy, higher fear of abandonment
Secure Attachmentq
Lower fear of abandonment, lower avoidance of intimacy
Positive Resonance 3 Intertwined Events
Shared positive emotion
– Synchrony between people’s behaviors and biochemistry
– Decision to invest in the other person (usually reciprocal;
sometimes called “mutual care”)
Neural Coupling
result in shared emotion, has potential of increasing understanding and contributing mutual care
Oxytocin
associated with social and pair bonding; it is released when dancing, praying, and hugging
Vagus Nerve
facial expressions, heart rate, and hearing
5 intertwining components to have a thriving relationship
Knowing and being known Making relationship enhancing attributions Being accepting and respectful Reciprocity Continual attention to minding
Mindlessness and Automaticity
Habitual and automatic behavior
–Does not require us to think much or reflect on our behavior
–Can contribute to our efficiency
–However, also can be automatically triggered and we can engage in behaviors that are counterproductive
Mindfulness
awareness that arises when paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, nonjudgmentally; meditation, deep breathing, yoga
Default Network
when brain is at rest
it occurs quickly
It is associated with being less happy
Meditation said to curb the wandering mind
Urge surfing
ride out cravings instead of suppressing them; practicing mindfulness helps
Mindfulness Eating
Focus only on task at hand; no multitasking
Extinction
the disappearance of the conditioned response (CR) when the
conditioned stimulus (CS) is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
*Example: we ring the bell, but do not give the dog any food
-Eventually the dog understands
-The pairing is first weakened, then it disappears
Exposure Therapy
In order to overcome fear of a dreaded stimulus or activity, the person subjects him or herself to contact with the feared stimulus/activity
–Eventually, as there is no danger, the person’s physiological arousal gradually dissipates
Flow
A subjective state of optimal experience during performance of a non-trivial task, whose difficulty is on par with the skill level of the subject
How is flow related to the self determination theory
Flow increased a sense of competence and autonomy
Some flow experiences might also cultivate relatedness
Autotelic Personality
a group of personality variables are related to flow; high persistence, curiosity, high intrinsic motivation, low self-centeredness
Nun Study
Examined their autobiographies; correlational study; stories with high degrees of positive emotion; complexity of stories related to cognitive health
