Notes Social Psychology Flashcards

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1
Q

Define Self Concept

What 3 factors make it up?

A

Theory of how we relate (personality), experience (traits), and function (behavior) within a vast range of significant experiences and contexts.

Made up of ABC- Affects (Emotions), Behavior (Actions), Cognition (Thoughts)

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2
Q

William James’ Self Concept Theory

What makes it up?

A

“I” - Consciousness

- Observer
- Evaluating 
- Subjective Awareness

“Me” - Self- concept

  • Observed
  • Empirical
  • Made up of self- representations: Social. Material, and Spiritual understandings
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3
Q

A. What is thinking?

A

Making sense of the world

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4
Q

A. What do we think in terms of

A

Concepts and Categories

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5
Q

A. Define Concept

A

Mental representation of real thing

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6
Q

A. Define Category

A

How we group these mental representations in our minds

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7
Q

A. Cognitive Processes that we undergo

A

Categorization (A), Reasoning/ Rationalization (B), Problem Solving (C), and Decision Making (D)

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8
Q

A. How does thinking happen

A

Integrate Perception and Memory

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9
Q

A. 4 Theories of Thought (How do we process information and categorize it)

A
  1. Necessary (must be true to belong) and Sufficient (if true, proves it belongs to category)
  2. Family Resemblance- similarities, not clone though
  3. Prototype Theory- compare to “best” member of category
  4. Exemplar Theory- compare new instance with stored memories of other
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10
Q

A. How are prototypes and exemplars processed (where in brain)?

A
  • Category-specific organization = innate, no need for visual experiences.
  • Prototypes: Left, Visual Cortex
  • Exemplars: Right, Prefrontal Cortex
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11
Q

Vision or Language for memory?

A
  • Verbal> Visual

-Language Capacity is
central for memory
encoding.

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12
Q

What is working self concept?**

A
  • Situation draws different subset of self.
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13
Q

Define emotion

A

Ubiquitous, immediate response to a stimulus. I subjective (+ or -), and causes physiological activity

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14
Q

What three factors make up an emotional response?

A
  1. Cognitive
  2. Physiological
  3. Phenomenological
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15
Q

What do emotions provide to others?

A
  1. Behavior patters- People experience and identify others’ emotions (mimicry).
  2. Communications- voice, body, face show emotional state.
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16
Q

What are the three purposes of emotions in our lives?

A
  1. Adaptive- fight or flight
  2. Cognitive- decision making
  3. Relationships- Interpersonal. Cultures have different “display rules,” and honesty/dishonesty is hard to tell apart.
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17
Q

How are emotions produced?

A

Interaction of the cortex and amygdala.

Stimulus ->
amygdala (interprets) -> cortex (comprehensive analysis), may downgrade amygdala reaction

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18
Q

What are three theories for how these factors interact? Are they right?

A
  1. James–Lange= Stimulus> Physiological>
    Phenonenological
  2. Cannon–Bard=
    Stimulus>
    Physiological and Phenonenological (separate, simultaneous)
  3. Schacter-Singer (Two-Factor)= Stimulus> Physiological> Cognitive Interpretation> Phenonenological
    - None are entirely right (3 is the best)
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19
Q

Self- Esteem

A

FEELINGS about ourselves.

How we see ourselves, shaped how others see us

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20
Q

How is motivation related to behavior?

A

Motivation drives behavior

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21
Q

How does motivation drive behavior? (3)

A

Activates, Sustains, and Directs

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22
Q

Motivation is related to _____

A

Reinforcement

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23
Q

Types of Motivation (Broad Categories in notes)

A
  1. Physiological = Homeostasis (regulate)
    Made of: Instincts, Needs, Drives
  2. Cognitive = Goal/Expectation
    Made of: Intrinsic (self-rewarding) and Extrinsic (rewarded)
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24
Q

Social Cognition

A

Make sense of oneself, the world, and our reality

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25
Q

Commonsense psychology

A

Always trying to understand/construct meaning.

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26
Q

Environmental and Personal factors are _____ related

A

inversely

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27
Q

What is the process of “Cognizing” the World (4) (AIJM)

A
  1. Attention
  2. Interpretation
  3. Judgement
  4. Memory (encoding)
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28
Q

We are ______ ________ when processing info

A

Motivated Tacticians

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29
Q

What are three ways we are Motivated Tacticians?

A
  1. Manage self-image- self-serving bias
  2. Conserve effort- heuristics (not algorithm)
  3. Accuracy- CDC
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30
Q

The first way is Managing Self Image. How do we do that (3)?

A
  • Confirmation bias and Belief perseverance- look for things that agree with beliefs
  • Self- serving bias
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31
Q

Self serving bias

A

Want to see ourselves positively
Take credit for good; downplay success
Extreme- narcissism

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32
Q

What 3 factors that influence how we self serve?

A
  • Tendency to see oneself favorably
    1. Objective vs. Subjective
    2. Public vs. Private
    3. Aschematic vs. Schematic
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33
Q

**How is self-serving bias manifested?

(3 ways)**

A
  1. Self-enhancing- want +
  2. Self-effacing- distance -
  3. Counter defensive- distance + , accept
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34
Q

What are 4 outcomes of self-serving bias?

A
  1. Fundamental attribution error: hold others to different standards than ourselves.
  2. Actor- observer divergence: ?
  3. False consensus: overestimate agreement w/ beliefs
  4. False uniqueness: underestimate agreement w/ “special” quality/talent
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35
Q

Why do we self-serve?

A
  • We want to be higher subjective well-being, and avoid negatives.
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36
Q

Second way is Conserving Effort. What are four ways we do this? Why?

A
  1. Availability heuristics: choose easiest to recall (familiarity)
  2. Representativeness heuristics- choose one closest to your prototype
  3. Ignoring base-rate information: choose frequency (1 of 100) over probability (1%)
  4. Conjunction fallacy- choose 2 events together over a single event
    - We place way too much value on OUTCOMES
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37
Q

3rd is Accuracy. Explain it.

A
  • JUDGING OTHERS- Info can be used and explained SYSTEMATICALLY
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38
Q

Give a theory on how we are Accurate when making Judgements

A
  • Covariaton/Attribution theory:
    “Jack and Jill”
  1. Consistency- Often?
  2. Distinctiveness- Same with all?
  3. Consensus- Others?
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39
Q

Do cognitions always lead to behavior? Vise versa? Or both?

A

Not always, it’s a little of both.

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40
Q

Give examples of Situational moderators.

A
  • Constraints

- Choice

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41
Q

Give examples of Attitudinal moderators

A
  • Origins
  • Strength
  • Specificity
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42
Q

Give examples of how behaviors can lead to cognitions (3):

A
  1. Foot in the door phenomenon-
    small favor -> big request
  2. Roles we have to play in life
  3. Gradual escalation- gradually getting people to do things can change their values and cognitions
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43
Q

_____ is the affective component of Attitudes.

A

LIKING

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44
Q

What do we do when we like someone?

A

Agree with them and spend time with them.

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45
Q

Name the 5 Factors that predict what we like:

A

Proximity, Familiarity, Similarity, Attractiveness, Reciprocity

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46
Q

Define Attitudes

A

Evaluation of any aspect in our world

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47
Q

Define Conformity and Give 3 Examples

A
  • Change in overt behavior caused by real/ imagined pressure from others
  • Compliance,
  • Obedience,
  • Acceptance
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48
Q

What are the 5 factors that influence conformity?

A
  1. Social Roles- expecations for us
  2. Social norms- “rules”
  3. Status- lower = conform more
  4. Cohesiveness- attractiveness of group
  5. Unanimity- odd one out
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49
Q

Define social norms. Give 2 categories.

A

Standards for behavior that are widely shared by members of a culture (approval motive part).

  • Descriptive: what SHOULD be done
  • Informational: what MUST be done
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50
Q

What does inconsistency between attitudes and beliefs cause?

A

Cognitive dissonance, which is an unpleasant state that arises when a person recognizes the inconsistency of his or her actions, attitudes, or beliefs

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51
Q

To alleviate cognitive ______, people often change one of these things in order to achieve consistency:

A

dissonance;

-attitudes, beliefs, actions

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52
Q

What are 3 examples of negative attitudes? How do they link up with ABC?

A
  1. Stereotype- generalized Belief (COGNITION)
  2. Prejudice- generalized feeling (AFFECT)
  3. Discrimination- generalized actions (BEHAVIOR)
53
Q

Why do we form negative attitudes?

A
  1. Conserve effort- don’t get to know others
  2. Gain material benefit for our group
    More scarcity = more prejudice
54
Q

What are the 2 levels of stereotypes?

A
  1. Categorization- Fit in a category in our minds

2. Inferential- Shapes how we interact with person, we infer how they will be and act (bias/prejudice).

55
Q

In what situation are we most likely to resort to stereotyping to make a decision?

A

When there is Complexity, Overload, and Time Pressure.

56
Q

What do stereotypes provide us with (SIEE)?

A
  • Expectations- what they’ll be like
  • Interpretations- so that it fits
  • Explanations- for what we see
  • Standards- for certain people (useful, but wrong)
57
Q

Stereotypes influence

judgements through perceived ____-_______ homegenity effect.

A

out- group

58
Q

What is out-group homogeneity effect?

A
  • Makes out-group look similar (homogeneous)
  • Our group stays the same
  • Sharpens the between-group differences
59
Q

Why does intergroup contact work to deal with stereotyping?

A
  • Contact with out-group members that have traits which counter the negative stereotype
  • Contact supported by community/norms
  • Equal status groups
  • Contact is at individual level
  • Contact= rewarding
  • Superordinate goal to work towards together*
60
Q

Which part of this intergroup contact is the most effective?

A

Having a superordinate goal

61
Q

Are these techniques to reduce stereotyping effective?

A

Not always effective

62
Q

Define Aggression

A

Action intended to harm another

63
Q

Give 2 types of aggression

A
  1. Hostile- anger based

2. Instrumental- achieve a means

64
Q

What are means people use to display aggression?

A
  • Directly- in your face

- Indirectly- behind your back

65
Q

Theories of Aggression:

A
  1. Dollard:
    Frutration -> Always leads to -> Aggression
  2. Berkowitz:
    Pain/Frustration/Unpleasant Experience -> Negative Emotion -> Aggression
66
Q

What does the Modern Theory of Aggression claim about causes of aggression?

A
  • There is no single causal factor

- Models draw on a variety of different factors

67
Q

What is a name for a new aggression model

A

General Affective Aggression model (Anderson)

68
Q

(Ag) Modern Aggression Model:

A

Input Variables -> Internal Processes -> Behavior

69
Q

(Ag) Name Input Variables

A

Personal, Social, Situational

70
Q

(Ag) Give examples of internal processes

A

Arousal, Emotional, Cognition

71
Q

(Ag) What happens in between internal processes and Behavior?

A

Appraisal Process

72
Q

(Ag) Give examples of behavior

A

Aggressive, Non-aggressive

73
Q

Define Personality

A

Enduring patterns of behaving, thinking, and feeling that we express in different contexts.

74
Q

Another word for personality? (not nice)

A

“Mask that we wear”

75
Q

Name 2 approaches to studying personality?

A
  1. Ideographic- looks at individuals in detail and uniqueness.
  2. Nomothetic- Looks at large group and drawing inferences.
76
Q

Name techniques to determine personality and their efficacy

A

SELF- REPORT:
1. MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory)-2-RF:
Questionnaire that assess personality and psychological problems.
+ Inaccurate

PROJECTIVE TESTS:
1. Rorschach Inkblot Test- inner thoughts revealed in how they respond to inkblots.

  1. Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)- people’s motives/concerns seen in stories they tell about pics.
    + More info/ subject
    to interpreter bias
77
Q

What are the 4 main approaches that scientists have used to study personality? Name the scientists that used them.

A

1, Psychodynamic Theory- Freud

  1. Social Cognitive Approach- Behaviorists
  2. Trait Theory- Eysenck
  3. Humanists- Carl Rogers
78
Q

Define Psychodynamic Theory

A

Freud: Personality is formed by needs. striving, and desires operating outside of awareness. Can produce emotional disorders–> Push and pull of internal hydraulics

79
Q
  • What type of approach did Freud use to study it?

- What is the fundamental assumption of this theory?

A
  • Clinically based- “Ideographic Approach”

- We are IRRATIONAL beings at our core

80
Q

Name the 4 Models in the Psychodynamic Approach

A
  1. Topographic Model of Mental Processes
  2. Drive/Instinct Model of Motivation
  3. Developmental Model
  4. Structural Model
81
Q

Topographic Model of Mental Processes (3)

A
  • Conscious- rational/goals
  • Preconscious- gateway
  • Unconscious- irrational/repressed goals/associative
82
Q

Drive/Instinct Model of Motivation.

  • What drives it?
  • Instinctive basis of behavior
A
  • Conflict between conscious and unconscious
  • Eros (libido)- seek pleasure/avoid pain
  • Thanatos (death drive)- self-destructive urge (most suicides are impulse driven)
83
Q

Define the Developmental Model

A
  • Personality develops from conflicts (must resolve them)
84
Q

What is fixation

A

Unresolved conflict

85
Q

What are the 5 Psychosexual Stages of Development

A
  1. Oral- Dependence
    + Deal w/ stress and anxiety through mouth
  2. Anal- Compliance
    + Anal retentive personality
  3. Phallic- Identification w same sex parent
    + Internalize behaviors
  4. Latency- Sexual/ aggressive sublimation
    + Athletics/competition
  5. Genital- Mature sexuality -> Love and Work
86
Q

What are the 3 Components of the Structural Model? What drives each of them?

A
  1. Id- unconscious urges and desires.
    - Driven by pleasure principle
  2. Superego- conscience.
    - Internalized authority voice
    - Rewards success, guilt if unsuccessful
  3. Ego- mediator
    - Find appropriate compromise
    - Rational and logical
    - Manages emotions/ controls behavior
87
Q

What is primary process thinking

A

Irrational, primary, wishful, illogical, associative

88
Q

What did Freud believe fueled personality? What did this produce in the person?

A
  • Conflict between irrational and rational thoughts and desires.
  • Anxiety
89
Q

What are six defense mechanisms against anxiety?

A
  1. Repression- forgetting
  2. Denial- “I didn’t do it.”
  3. Projection- What we despise in others reflect on things we don’t like
  4. Reaction Formation- Take unacceptable impulses and push it outward
  5. Rationalization- justifying, explaining behavior
  6. Passive-Aggressiveness- avoiding conflict
90
Q

Contributions of Freud

A
  • First one to try to explain personality
  • Role of unconscious mind
  • Role of conflict and compromise, ambivalence
  • Childhood experiences shaping
91
Q

Limitations of Freud

A
  • Tested neurotic Viennese
  • Overemphasis on sex
  • Lack of support
  • Didn’t see adulthood as important to personality development
92
Q

Behavioral Approach

A

America’s response to Freud

-> Behaviorist/Cognitive Roots

93
Q

What do behaviorists believe is the basis of personality? What is there an interplay between?

A
  • Rational and Learned things

- Person and situation

94
Q

What is the underlying assumption?

A

Personality isn’t thought as irrational

95
Q

In what 4 ways is personality manifested when:

A
  1. Current context is categorized as meaningful
  2. Current context is perceived at self-relevant
  3. There is behavior/self-efficacy-outcome expectancy
  4. Individual can self-regulate- direct focus
96
Q

Why is our self regulatory ability important?

A

It allows us to shape how consistent our personality is.

97
Q

How do we determine our personality’s consistency?

A
  • Cross-situational/ Time consistency

- We act differently depending on our surroundings.

98
Q

Name the contributions of the behaviorist approach

A
  • Highlights relationship between person and expectations

- Relationship between person and situation

99
Q

Criticisms of behaviorist approach

A
  • Doesn’t explain irrational behavior

- Under emphasis on emotional aspects of human nature

100
Q

T or F: Personality is a combination of traits.

A

True

101
Q

What is a trait

A

Disposition to behave in a certain way. Constitutes underlying personality dimensions.

102
Q

Traits are ____, ____ ways of behavior that can be _____

A

constant; specific; measured

103
Q

What are the levels of Observable tendencies?

A
  1. Behavior- repeated in various situations

2. Personality- assume this behaviors a definition of latent personality dimension

104
Q

Eysenck’s Theory of Personality

A

Personality consists of Habits: Observable and Predictable

105
Q

What did he believe traits were?

A

A group of correlated habits

106
Q

What is a type?

A

Correlated traits

107
Q

What are 3 types of people?

A
  • Introversion/Extroversion
  • Neuorticism/Emotional Stability
  • Psychotism/Impulse Control
108
Q

Five Factor Model- Brought by asking people to describe themselves

A
  • 5 superordinate traits
  • Traits:
    1. Openness to Experience- flexible
    2. Conscientiousness- achievement focus
    3. Extroversion- social
    4. Agreeableness- trusting/tender
    5. Neuroticism- anxious/se;f-conscious
109
Q

Do trait theories assume rationality/irrationality?

A

No they don’t.

110
Q

T or F: Some aspects of personality are heritable.

A

True.

Example: Temperament

111
Q

The trait theory shows __ - ___ patterns to determine personality

A

if; then

112
Q

Contributions of Trait Theory

A
  • Assumptionless- can’t be countered
  • Ease of measurement
  • Insight into heridability of traits
113
Q

Limitations

A
  • Self report

- Really descriptive, but not explanatory at all

114
Q

What is the Humanistic Theory

A

Person can’t be reduced into components

115
Q

What did Rogers’ theory claim?

A
  • Humans are born good
  • Humans understand mortality and search for meaning
  • Interpersonal experience distorts personality
  • Need to understand the phenomenal experience (subjective experiences) to understand people
116
Q

What did Rogers claim happened to humans as they age? Why?

A
  • True self (born) -> Perverted by society -> False Self

- Misinterpretations

117
Q

What are the Conditions of worth?

A

Our love/acceptance depends on meeting standards of worth.

118
Q

How do humanists view self-concept? What causes conflict in this view?

A

Organized pattern of through/perception of self, and our constant comparison to our ideal self. The bigger the difference, the bigger the internal conflict (anxiety)

119
Q

What did Rogers and Maslow agree on regarding primary motivation of humans?

A

Actualizing tendency (self-actualization)

120
Q

Why is empathy important? What is another word for empathy?

A

It is key to understanding people. Compassion.

121
Q

T or F: Existentialists are humanists.

A

True

122
Q

What do existentialists focus on?

A

Subjective existence/experience.

123
Q

What is the “ultimate issue” according to existentialists?

A

Existential dread- not understanding our mortality or our meaning in life

124
Q

What reaction does this “ultimate issue” cause?

A

Anxiety

125
Q

According to existentialists, human nature is ______, not _______.

A

Dynamic; Static

126
Q

What is bad faith?

A

When we give away our freedom. And fear freedom.

127
Q

What is the role of culture/values/beliefs according to Earnest Becker?

A

To try to protect us from the fear of the unknown (mortality).

128
Q

How do we react when our beliefs are threatened?

A

Terror Management Theory: React negatively to those different from us.

129
Q

Central Issues in Existential Personality Theory

A
  • Subjective experience
  • Role of Meaning: vital to driving our lives
  • Losing touch with inner feelings: Dangerous, believe our false self
  • Seeing self as object