Module 6: Psyc and Life Flashcards
1
Q
What are:
- The availability heuristic
- Confirmation bias
- Representativeness heuristic
- Homogeneity effect
- Stereotyping
A
- The availability heuristic: inferring a greater likelihood of something because of how readily it comes to mind. Easy recall = common and typical
- Confirmation bias: Prioritising information which confirms beliefs and ignoring alternative information
- Representativeness heuristic: Ignoring actual probability of an event occuring, instead categorising it based on similarity to prototype
- Homogeneity effect: tendency to perceive members of an outgroup as similar to each other and ingroup members as diverse
- Stereotyping: Attributing characteristics to someone based on membership to a particular group
2
Q
What are:
- Social desirability bias
- Planning fallacy
- Identifiable victim effect
- Fundamental attribution error
- Bandwagon effect
A
- Social desirability bias: Being more likely to report information about oneself that is socially desirable
- Planning fallacy: Underestimating the amount of time needed to complete a task (optimism bias), overestimating time for others to complete a task (pessimism bias)
- Identifiable victim effect: Being more strongly affected by a single specific victim than large groups
- Fundamental attribution error: Tendency to explain behaviour of others based on internal characteristics rather than situational factors. Reverse for self.
- Bandwagon effect: Tendency to do or believe things when others believe the same thing.
3
Q
What does Roy Baumeister outline as key points regarding Self-control and Willpower?
A
- Two traits that consistently contribute to success are intelligence and self-control
- Focus on the long term: willpower is resisting temptations by incoporating long term perspectives
-
Practice: Self control requires energy and can become depleted (ego-depletion)
- Creating habits reduces need for effort
-
The role of planning:
- Tools of efficency
- Reduces anxiety
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4
Q
What are two examples of human biases which have negative consequences?
A
-
Prejudice: ethnicity, gender, religion.
- Attractiveness: Langlois et al (2000) found attractive people are judged and treated more positively.
- Attractive people also seem to behave better in response
-
Status and Competitiveness
- There are many benefits to being high status in societal heirachy
- There is high correlation between wellbeing and self-percieved social status
- Excessive concern for status has negative psychological consequences
5
Q
How have leadership traits changed over time?
A
6
Q
What does Dr Sarah Briggs say about conceptualising leadership?
A
- What is leadership?
- Leader = innovates, manager = administers
- Leaders are made not born (2 flaws with “born” theory = difficulty validating characteristics, premise that personality is static)
- Different leadership styles:
- Transactional: reward/punishment system to provide external motivators
- Transformational: focus on inspiring intrinsic/internal motivation
- Leadership style and organisational culture relationship is bidirectional and dynamic
- Also affected by culture, gender etc
-
Effective leadership:
- Leadership style affects performance only indirectly via effecting organisational culture
- Most effective culture is competitive and innovative
7
Q
How are the 24 strengths in the Values-In-Action test grouped?
A
-
Wisdom: 5 strengths
- Creativity, Curiosity, Judgement, Love of learning, perspective
-
Courage: 4 strengths
- Bravery, Perseverance, Honesty, Zest
-
Humanity: 3 Strengths
- Love, Kindness, Social Intelligence
-
Justice: 3 Strengths
- Teamwork, Fairness, and Leadership
-
Temperance: 4 strengths
- Forgiveness, Humility, Prudence, Self-regulation
-
Transcendence 5 strengths
- Appr of Beauty, Gratitude, Hope, Humour, Spirituality
8
Q
What are the concepts of mindset and happiness in positive psychology?
A
-
Dweck (2006) Mindset
- Growth: Skills, talents and abilities can be grown
- Fixed: Characteristics such as intelligence and talent are unchangeable
-
Professor Lyubomirsky - Happiness
- Breakdown of happiness variance: 50% genetics, 10% life circumstances (varies in studies more)
- Characteristics of happy people:
- stable fulfilling relationships,
- gratefulness,
- optimistism,
- philanthropic
- Spirituality
- Physically active
9
Q
What six things can be done to increase well-being and happiness?
A
- Flow: The state of being absorbed in an instrinsically rewarding activity to the point of losing self awareness (exercise, music, talking)
- Savouring: Opposite of flow - focus on sensation thoughts and feelings of enjoyment
- Finding meaning and purpose: Eudaimonic wellbeing - volunteering, parenting, art, activitism
- Cultivating Optimism: eg by imagining your best possible self 10 years (realistically)
- Coping with Adversity: Reflect on personal growth from traumatic experiences
-
Self-Compassion:
- Kindness: (self-soothing, care)
- Common humanity (accept flaws)
- Mindfullness (Awareness of pain)
10
Q
What five types of contracts between employees and employers does Mumford outline for happiness at work?
A
-
Knowledge Contract:
- The firm: Needs skill and knowledge to function efficiently
- The employee: Wishes their skills to be used and developed
-
Psychological Contract
- Firm: Needs employees who are motivated to meet its interests
- Employee: Seeks to further their own interests ie status, recognition
-
Efficiency/Rewards Contract
- Firm: needs output, quality standards, reward systems
- Employee: Seeks a personal, effort/reward bargain
-
Ethical (Social Value) Contract
- Firm: Needs employee to accept firm values
- Employee: Seeks match to personal values
-
Task Structure Contract
- Firm: Needs employees to meet contraints to task specificity
- Employee: Seeks a variety of tasks
11
Q
What do Hackman and Oldham identify as important for job satisfaction (in order)?
A
- Skill Variety: Do the tasks involved in the job require different skills?
- Task Identity: Being part of an entire project rather than just a part of it.
- Task Significance: Is the work perceived as important and influencing other’s lives?
- Autonomy: Level of self-directedness and self-determination
- Feedback: Correct and precise information about work.
12
Q
What are 7 common situational sources of job-related stress?
A
- Working Conditions ie poor lighting, physical effort needed
- Shift work ie night shifts, travel
- Work hours/load ie overtime, underutilisation, long hours alone
- Risk and danger ie alertness required, long term health risks
- New technology: adapting to new tech, complex technology
- Job ambiguity: lack of clearly defined role
- Job uncertainty: insecurity, lack of feedback
13
Q
What is Job Burnout?
A
- Job burnout is the result of long term stress, resulting in withdrawal from work
- Three components of job burnout:
- Exhaustion: both physical and emotional
- Disaffection/Depersonalisation: development of cynicism and withdrawal from client relationship
- Reduced Professional Accomplishment: reduction in expertise, experience, communication and efficiency. More independent than other 2 dimensions.
- Burnout depletes more and more energy, impairing all areas of life. Measured using Maslach burnout inventory.
14
Q
What are some ways to avoid job burnout?
A
-
Personal level:
- Recognise signs
- Utilise social networks
- Consider work load: talk to supervisors
- Avoid working more hours to reduce stress
-
Organisational level prevention
- Society has a mismatch between individual workers and their jobs
- Individuals have increasing sense of lack of control over their careers
- Increasing sense of unfairness in organisational rewards and allocation of resources
15
Q
What did Anderson et al find about social status and subjective well being?
A
-
Background: SES doesn’t have a strong relationship with subjective wellbeing (SWB)
- Sociometric Status = respect and admiration in face-to-face groups (Local Ladder effect)
- Affects feelings of power and social acceptance
-
Results: 4 studies (2 correlational: college group, online national group, 1 priming, 1 longtitudinal after major life event)
- Consistent evidence that sociometric status affects SWB more than SES
