Social Psych Exam 3 Flashcards
1
Q
Balance Theory
A
We are motivated to have attitudes be consistent to each other
1
Q
What is the reason behind the balance theory?
A
The Gestalt Principles – we want to see things as a coherent whole
2
Q
How to figure out if a balance triad is in balance
A
Multiply the signs
3
Q
Cogntive dissonance
A
Aversive experince of inconsistency between two thoughts
4
Q
cognitive dissonance theory
A
inconsistency is aversive, so people try to reduce dissonance to achieve consistency
5
Q
What is the scope of balance thoery
A
Balance theory is about attitudes only
6
Q
What is the scope of cognitive dissonance theory
A
Cognitive dissonance theory is broader, including beliefs & behavior
7
Q
What is the cause of balance theory
A
Balance theory describes a motivation to obtain cognitive balance between attitudes & beliefs
8
Q
What is the cause of cognitive dissonace theory
A
Cognitive dissonance theory describes an affective aversion that people are motivated to resolve.
9
Q
When is cognitive dissonance likely
A
- Lack external reasons for our action (insufficient justification)
- Put effort into some outcome (effort justification)
- Made a choice for one thing over another (choice justification)
10
Q
Insufficient Justification
A
When we lack sufficient external reason to explain why we did something, we intrinsically value that activity more
11
Q
Effort Justification
A
We attribute more value to an outcome if we put more effort in obtaining that outcome (ex. hazing or boot camp)
12
Q
Choice Justification
A
After making a choice between multiple options, we:
1. amplify the value of the choice we made
2. devalue the option(s) we didn’t choose
13
Q
Beyond the 3 things, Cognitive dissonance is also more likely if
A
it’s self-relevant or if the inconsistency has negative consequences
14
Q
4 ways to reduce cognitive dissonance
A
Change the belief
Change the behavior
Reinterpret with a related idea
reduce subjective imporatance
15
Q
Self-perception theory
A
People infer their own attitudes and beliefs by observing their thoughts and behavior
16
Q
Prosocial behavior
A
Any act performed with the goal of benefitting another person
17
Q
Altruism
A
The desire to help another person even if it appears to involve a cost to the helper
18
Q
3 motives for prosial behavior
A
- evolutionary psychology
- social exchange theory
- empathy-altruisim hypothesis
19
Q
Evolutionary Psychology
A
The attempt to explain human thought and behavior in terms of genetic factors that evolved over time
20
Q
Basic Tenets of Evolutionary Psychology
A
Genes are likely to be passed on if they:
increases chances of survival
increase chances of creating offspring
increases the survival of genetically related others
21
Q
Kin Selection
A
Behaviors that help a genetic relative are favored by natural selection
Increasing probability of the survival of blood relatives increasing probability that their genes will be passed on
22
Q
Norm of Reciprocity
A
The expectation that helping others will increase the likelihood they will help us in the future
Evolution favors individuals who are good team players
Evolution favors groups whose members help each other
23
Q
Empathy-Altruisim Hypothesis
A
When we feel empathy for a person, we will attempt to help regardless of what we have to gain
24
Social Exchange Theory
What we do stems from desire to maximize rewards and minimize costs
we help if rewards outweight the costs
25
Rewards in Social Exchange Theory
The norm of reciprocity: Someone will help us if we need it
Emotions
e.g., relief of distress, increased self-worth
External Rewards
e.g., reputation
26
What does the lecture notes study show?
Results: In the low empathy condition, the costs affected how much people were willing to help greatly. In the high empathy condition, people were willing to help regardless of the costs.
27
Bystander Effect
tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present
28
Seizure Study results
85% of solo folks helped within a minute
100% within 2.5 minutes
62% of 2-person groups helped within a minute
85% after 6 minutes
31% of 5-person groups helped within a minute
62% after 6 minutes
29
What did the seminary student study show
Found that 63% stopped to help when not in a hurry and only 10% when they are in a hurry
Maybe because they weren’t paying attention
30
What are the steps of bystander intervention
1. notice the event
2. interpret as an emergency
3. take responsibility
4. know how to help
5. decide to help
31
pluralistic ignorance
People privately reject a norm/belief
They perceive that other members of the group accept it.
This causes them to accept it as well.
32
What did the smoke filled room study show
Alone – 75% alerted experimenter in 6min
Groups – 38% alerted experimenter in 6min
32
Diffusion of Responsibility
each bystander’s sense of responsibility to help decreases as the number of witnesses increases
33
Self-esteem
Evaluation of one’s own self-worth
An attitude toward one’s self
34
State self esteem
Situational evaluation of your self-worth
Susceptible to what’s happening right now
35
Trait self esteem
General evaluation of your self-worth
Your overall sense of how you’re doing
36
Central Features of Attitudes
Evaluative
Relatively enduring in nature
readiness to respond
learned from experience
represented in memory
37
What percent of people report lower than the midpoint in self-esteem
7%
38
High self esteem is related to
Better grades
Being more happy
Less stress
Living longer
More likely to start new relationships
Work harder when confronted with adversity
39
When does self esteem hit its peak
Age 51
40
Across cultures, who has higher self esteem and why
Across cultures, men/boys have higher self-esteem than women/girls
Potential causes:
Social roles
Sexism
41
Implicit Self-Esteem
Attitudes toward one’s self outside of conscious awareness or control
Weakly related to explicit self-esteem
42
What is the name letter effect
Liking things that share our first initial more
43
When did the self esteem movement start
The 1970s
44
Why did the 1986 self esteem initiave fail
Correlation does not equal causation!!
Instead self-esteem might be the effect of positive social living, rather than the cause
45
Sociometer Theory
Self-esteem is a psychological gauge of whether we are socially accepted by others
Included or excluded
Fitting in or not
46
Narrative Identity
Internalized and evolving story of the self.
Reconstructs the past
Anticipates the future
Provides unity, meaning, and purpose
47
Autobiographical Reasoning
Making conclusions about the self from analyzing one’s own experiences.
48
Disposition
Traits, stable behavioral characteristics
49
Values
Morality, right and wrong
50
Outlook
Attitudes, perspectives on the world
51
Personal Growth
Maturing, developing confidence & strength
52
Redemptive Narratives
Track the move from suffering to an enhanced status or state.
Common within the United States
Generally supports happiness & societal engagement
BUT...can lead to unrealistic expectations that future will be better
53
Rouge Test
The rouge test is a measure of self-concept; the child who touches the rouge on his own nose upon looking into a mirror demonstrates the basic ability to understand self-awareness.
54
Introspection
The process whereby people look inward and examine their own thoughts, feelings, and motives
55
How is introspection limited
People do not rely on this source of information as often as you might think
Even when they do, the reasons for their feelings and behavior can be hidden from conscious awareness
56
Self Awareness Theory
The idea that when people focus their attention on themselves, they evaluate and compare their behavior to their internal standards and values
we become objective evaluators of ourselves
57
What did the shock experiement show
people would rather give themselves shocks than sit by themselves with only their thoughts
58
Illusion of Transparency
People overestimate the degree to which their personal mental state is known to others
People think they appear more nervous than others actually report
In other words, we feel “see-through”, as though others can see our nervousness
59
Affective Forecasting
People's predictions about their emotional reactions to future events
60
Impact Bias
We tend to overestimate the strength and duration of our emotional reactions
61
Social Comparsion
The process by which people compare their own characteristics to those of others
62
How many self comparisons do people make per week on average
10
63
Ways to compare ourselves against others
Similarity
Relationship Closeness
Relevance
64
Downward Social Comparison
Comparing ourselves to people who are worse than we are on a characteristic
65
Upward social comparsion
Comparing ourselves to people who are better than we are on a characteristic
66
What did the role model study show
They found that relatability mattered a lot and that if the leader seemed relatable and attainable then you thought of yourself as a leader more
67
What is the main point of the role model study
For role models to motivate people, they should be percieved as relatable
68
Who should we compare ourselves to if we want accurate information
Similiar people
69
Bask in Reflected Glory (BIRG):
Associating ourselves with successful self-relevant people
70
Cut off Reflected Failure (CORF):
Distancing ourselves from low-status self-relevant people
71
Better than Average Effect
The tendency to overestimate your own desirable qualities & abilities relative to other people
72
What types of things is the better than average effect shown in
IQ
Memory
Academic performance
Driving ability
Health
Personality
Sociability
Popularity
Satisfaction with romantic relationship
Teaching ability
Leadership ability
73
Why do we tend to beleive we are better than average
Positive illusions, self-serving bias, & self-enhancement motives
74
When is the better than average effect less likely to happen
1. When the trait is more objective (grades on an exam)
2. When the trait is seen as uncontrollable (ex. vision, hearing, etc.)
75
Who is the most accurate perceptions of their own skills
***Intermediates are most accurate
Novices overestimate their skills
Experts underestimate their skills
76
Dunning-kruger effect
Unskilled people are especially likely to overestimate their skill
High-skill people underestimate their skill
77
Why does the dunning-kruger effect happen
We judge ourselves based on the markers of skill we know about
Low-skill people don’t know what they don’t know
Novices can’t recognize their own mistakes
Novices can’t recognize how others are acting more wisely
78
The Curse of Knowledge
When an expert communicates with others, they assume that others have the background to understand them
79
What does self-categorization lead to
Social Identity
80
Is self categorization enduring or situational
situational!
81
Optimal Distinctiveness Theory
People want to strike a balance between their group identities and their personal identities
82
Emotions are specific to
an object and a point in time
83
Emotion definition
A temporary mental state characterized by feelings of positivity or negativity toward a target
84
Mood
A temporary mental state characterized by feelings of positivity or negativity without a specific target
Generally lasts longer than emotions
Generally more diffuse than emotions
85
Valence
positive or negative
86
Discrete Emotion Theory
There are a small number of basic emotions that are the same across cultures
Other emotions exist but are cultural variations on a basic emotion
E.g., ‘contentment’ is a variant of ‘joy’
87
What is the consequence of the discrete emotion theory
Emotions are embodied & manifest in unique patterns of facial expression, behavior, and arousal
88
Constructive emotion theory
Emotions are actively constructed from experiences of valence (i.e., good/bad), arousal, and the appraisal of that valence/arousal
89
Evidence against discrete emotion theory
Emotion do not correlate well across physiology, facial expression, subjective experience, & behavior
--> unclear what some people are feeling based on their faces and actions
Less extreme expressions also show less universality in perception
also emotions do not have unique neural signatures but valence and arousal do
90
What is Dr. Lai's perspective on the discrete emotion theory
Evidence mostly supports the constructive theory of emotions as the “basic ingredients” of emotion
Taking a discrete emotion view is helpful even if it is not how emotions are, deep down
e.g., Clinical treatments for specific emotions (e.g., anxiety, depression, anger)
91
Intrapersonal functions of emotions
Emotions help us act quickly with minimal awareness
Emotions prepare body for immediate action
Emotions influence thoughts
Emotions motivate future behavior
92
How do emotions influence thoughts
increase memory for emotional events
inform attitudes, values, and beliefs
93
How do emotions motivate future behavior
Work to get positive emotions
Work to avoid negative emotions
94
Interpersonal functions of emotion
Emotional expressions facilitate behaviors in perceivers
ex. how do I make them smile or stop being angry at me
Emotional expressions communicate desired social behavior
ex. if they're afraid maybe I should be too
95
What did the emotion suppression study show
when someone was supressing emotions, they were rated as less likebale and both people had higher blood pressure
96
Emotion Regulation
The processes by which individuals influence…
the emotions they have,
when they have them,
and how they experience and express their emotions.
97
What are the steps of the process model of emotion regulation
Situational Selection
Situation Modification
Attentional Deployment
Cognitive Change
Response Modulation
98
How do you regulate emotions using situation selection
Avoid or approach a situation
99
How do you regulate emotions using situation modifaction
Modify situations to change emotional impact
100
How do you regulate emotions using attentional deployment
Diverting or focusing attetnion
101
How do you regulate emotions using cognitive change
Thinking about the situation in a specific way to estimate how you will feel about something
102
How do you regulate emotions using response modulation
Trying to change the emotional response after it activates
103
Ideal Affect
The emotions that people want to feel
104
What are the differences between high and low ideal affect in older and younger people
Younger: Like high and low arousal about equally
Older: Like low arousal more
105
What does the need to belong drive
short and long term relationships
106
Why do we have a need to belong
Reproduction
Cooperation = protection, success as hunter/gatherer
People who feel supported by close relationships are:
happier
healthier
107
How does the need to belong relate to health
The more roommates like each other, the less they suffer from the flu
Happily married couples have stronger immune systems than unhappily married couples
108
4 facots of interpersonal attraction
Similarity
Proximity
Reciprocity
Physical attractiveness
109
What is more important than actual similiarity
percieved simalirity
110
Why does similiarity affect relationships
1. We think that people who are similar will also like us, so we are likely to initiate a relationship
2. People who are similar validate our own characteristics and beliefs
3. We make negative inferences about people who disagree with us
4. we share acitvities and interests
5. It's easier to communicate
6. Less competition and ego threat
111
Propinquity Effect
The more we see and interact with people, the more likely they are to become our friends (& romantic partners)
112
What did the apartment and closeness study show
65% of the friends mentioned lived in the same buildings and the ones that were most likely to be called close friends were next door neighbors (41%) and then neighbors who lived two doors away (22%) and then neighbors who lived on opposite ends of the hall (10%)
113
Two Limtis of Proximity
- if similarity is low
- propinquity effect is strongest when your initial evaluation is neutral
114
Reciprocity
We like others who like us – this is the single most important factor in attraction; it can make up for all the others
115
How is reciprocity related to the self-fulfilling prophecy
if we believe someone likes us, we behave in more likable ways
116
When is physical attractiveness most imporant and how do we know this
the early stages of a relationship and from the dance study
117
How does symmetry relate to attractivenss
placement and size of features is similar on both sides of the face
Symmetrical faces are preferred
One of the few cultural universals in attractiveness
118
Why is symmetry so imporatn
Evolutionary psych: It’s a signal that you’re healthy BUT it doesn't matter anymore as much
119
Halo Effect
Attractive people are assumed to have more positive characteristics
120
Is the halo effect real?
yes BUT related to the self-fulfillign prophecy and might be because they have more oppurutnites to improve their social interaction skills
121
What are the three components of love
Passion, Intimacy and Commitment
122
What does romantic love entail
Intimicy and passion
one-night stand or summer fling
123
What does liking entail
intimacy
124
What does fatuous love entail
commitment and passion
"love at first sight"/high school love
125
what does infatuation entail
passion
126
what does companionte love entail
commitment and intimacy
grandparents
127
what does empty love ential
commitment
128
what does consumate love ential
commitment, intimicy, and passion
129
What increases over time
intimicay and commitment (but this platoes at some point)
129
What peaks in the beginning of a relationship and drops off over time
passion
130
Social Exchange Theory
Maximize rewards, minimize costs
131
What does relationship satisfaction depend on
Rewards received from the relationship
Costs incurred by being in the relationship
Expectations for what they should be getting out of the relationship
Alternatives for a better relationship are available
132
What is the major problem with the social exchange theory?
people often stay in relationships where there are few rewards and many obviously better alternatives
133
What is the alternative for the social exchange theory?
Investment
134
Equity Theory
The idea that people are happiest with relationships in which the rewards and costs experienced and both parties’ contributions are roughly equal
135
Exchange Relationships
Relationships governed by the need for equity (i.e., for an equal ratio of rewards and costs)
136
Communal Relationships
Relationships in which people’s primary concern is being responsive to the other person’s needs
137
The four horeseman of marital apocalypse
Criticism, Stonewalling, Defensiveness, and Contempt
138
Top predictors of divorce
Neuroticism
Partnering with someone highly sensitive to rejection
Marrying at a young age
Undergoing financial stress
139
What is the common theme in the four horsemen
Blame and negative attributions for partner’s behavior
140
Partners in unsatisfying relationships are more likely to
make attributions that cast partner in a negative light
141
How do you fight criticsm
Gentle start up -- using "I" statemetns
142
How do you fight Defensiveness
Accept your partner's perspective and offer an apology for any wrong doing
143
How do you fight Stonewalling
take a break and spend that time doing something soothing and distracting
144
How do you fight Contempt
remind yourself of your partner's positive qualities and find gratitude for positive actions
145
How many comparisons per week do couples make to other couples and what percent are downward vs upward
10.6 times
85% downward
15% upward
146
What are the consequences of downward comparisons for couples
Increase positive perceptions of your partner (fleetingly)
Effects last less than a couple hours
Not linked to long-term relationship satisfaction
147
What are the consequences of upward comparisons for couples
Reduce positive perceptions of your partner (durably)
Linked to reduced long-term relationship satisfaction
148
What is the key component of getting close to others
Self-disclosure
149
How do close relationships develop
through reciprocal disclosure
150
What are the four ways to think about the good life
Frequency Positive Emotions
Lack of Negative Emotions
Life Satisfaction
Meaning in Life
151
What are some examples of frequent positive emotions
Having fun with your hobbies
Eating yummy things
Doing interesting work
Having great friends and romantic partners
152
What are some examples of negative emotions
Not having many things to worry about
Not being sad or angry
Being at a job that isn’t stressful
153
What is Life Satisfaction
Self-report about how well life is going
Comes from many different causes, based on what people find to be important in their lives
154
How does a meaningful life differ from a happy one
Being stressed at work but feeling like the job is important
155
A meaningful life is met by meeting 4 needs
1. A sense of purpose in life (current activities are related to future outcomes)
2. Feelings of efficacy (sense of having control over one's outcomes
3. Our actions are morally justified
4. Positive self-worth
156
3 causes of subjective well-being
People
Things
Society
157
Unemployment is linked with
low life satisfaction
158
What is higher the negative or positive plateu point
The negative plateau point
159
Societal causes of subjective well-being
Material resources
Life expectancy
War and conflict
corruption
trust and cooperation within society
160
Pluralistic Ignorance
when people use the inactions of others to define their own causes
161
What do potential helpers engage in before getting involved
A cost-benefit analysis
162
When do men help and when do women help
Men might be more willing to help in physical situations
Women are more likely to help in compassionate, caring, and nurturing situations
163
What OCEAN trait makes you more willing to help?
Agreeableness
164
What two thinks make up Prosocial Personality orientation?
Other-oriented empathy (highly correlated with agreeableness)
Helpfulness
165
What are two approaches to the egoistic motivation
The negative state relief model – people sometimes help to make themselves feel better
The arousal: cost reward model – focuses on the aversive feelings aroused by seeing another in need
166
Empathy-Altruism Model
when someone has empathic concern, they will act altruistically
167
Big Five OCEAN Traits
Openness to new experiences, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism
168
What are traits and roles the main currency of
The self as a social actor
169
What is the motivated agent motivated by
inner needs, wants, desires, fears, goals, values, etc.
170
When does theory of mind start
age 4
171
When happens from the age of 5-7
More planning and goal-oriented which increases self-esteem when goals are met
172
What happens when you are a teenager
develop sense of identity
173
What is temporal continuity and narrative identity
forming a narrative in life that combines the past present and future forming a story with unity, meaning and purpose
174
When is the autobiogrpahical author developed and what is it affected by
early-adult years and culture!!
175
Why do people compare themselves
The need of self-evaluation
176
Self enhancement theory
feeling better because of donward comparison
177
Self-evaluation maintenence
Self esteem relies on relationship closeness --> ppl tend to be more competitive w friends
178
As the # of comparison targets increases...
Social Comparison decreases
179
Frog Pond Effect
People prefer to be a big frog in a small pond than a small frog in a big pond bc of self-esteem
180
Emotion Definition
rapid information processing systems that help us with minimal thinking
181
What do emotions decrease
Social complexity
182
Matching hypothesis
when couples are very similiar to each other
183
internal/top down causes of happiness
Inborn temperment
personality + temperment
outlook resilience
184
external/bottom up causes of happiness
material resources
social resources
desirable society
