UNIT 2 EXAM TERMS Flashcards
Robbers cave experiment
groups can be manipulated to hate each other
milgrams obedience experiment
ordinary people without hostility or evil intent will compromise their morals to obey an authority figure
attribution
how we explain another person’s behavior
situational attribution
explaining behavior as a consequence of the current context and circumstances
dispositional attributions
explaining behavior as a consequence of the person’s stable, enduring traits
self serving bias
we attribute our successes to dispositional variables and our failures to situational variables
actor-observer bias
we use situational variables to explain our own behavior while using dispositional behavior to explain the behavior of others
stanford prison experiment
situational factors shape how others behave
fundamental attribution error
tendency to overestimate the influence of personal characteristics and underestimate the influence of the situation
just-world belief
assumptions that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people
attitudes
positive or negative feelings, influenced by beliefs, that predispose our reactions to objects, people, and events
foot in the door phenomenon
tendency to agree to a big request if youve already agreed to a small request
cognitive dissonance
uncomfortable state that occurs when behavior and attitudes dont match
persuasion
influencing one’s actions by changing their attitudes
peripheral rout
uses attention grabbing cues to trigger speedy emotion based judgements
central route
offers evidence and arguments that trigger careful thinking
social norms
rules for expected and accepted behavior
social contagion
natural tendency for humans to mirror each other
conformity
adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard
obedience
adjusting our behavior to comply with a demand issued by an authority figure
normative social influence
influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval
informational social influence
influence resulting from a person’s willingness to accept others opinions of reality
groupthink
the desire for harmony in a decision making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives
social facilitation
in the presence of others, improved performance on simple or weal learned tasks, and worsened performance on difficult tasks
deindividuation
the loss of self awareness and self restraint occurring in group situation that foster arousal and anonymity
social loafing
the tendency for people to exert less effort when working with a group
discrimination
unjustifiable negative behavior towards a group
prejudice
an unjustifiable and negative attitude toward a group
ingroup bias
tendency to favor our own ingroup
scapegoat theory
theory that prejudice offers an outlet by providing someone to blame
availability heuristic
tendency to overestimate the frequency of an event by how readily it comes to mind
health psychology
the application of psychological principles to promote health and well being
biopsychosocial model
a model of health that integrates the effect of biological, psychological, and social factors to understand health and illness
biological
genetic predisposition, exposure to microbes, brain and other nervous system development
psychological
stress and coping strategies, health benefits
social
cultural influences, family relationships, social supports.
stress
process by which we percieve and respond to events that we appraise as threatening
catastrophes
large scale disasterss
significant life changes
leaving home, death of a loved one, transitions
daily hassles and social stress
acute and repetitive instances of stress
general adaptation syndrome
a consistent pattern of responses to stress that consists of three stages
alarm stage
activation of the sympathetic nervous system to prepare for flight/fight
resistance stage
when stressors are prolonged, attempt to adapt and cope as best as possible
exhaustion stage
if stressors are severe and last long enough, reserves are depleted
sympathetic adrenal-medullary (SAM) system
hormones: epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine.
short lived arousal responses
hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis
hormone: cortisol
long erm responses associated with chronic stress
direct effect of stress on health
chronic stress associated with disease
indirect effect of stress on health
coping strategies such as smoking, drinking, drugs, and poor eating.
type A
competitive, achievement oriented, aggressive, hostile, restless, impatient with others, unable to relax
type B
noncompetitive, relaxed, easygoing, and accommodating
problem-focused coping
a response to stress designed to address specific problems by finding solutions.
emotion focused coping
a response to stress that targets negative emotions arising from a situation
relationship focuesed coping
a response to stress designed to maintain and protect social relationships
positive psychology
emphasizes normal behavior and human strengths
PERMA model
Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Accomplishment
faith factor
phenomenon of religious activity being highly correlated with longer life
core idea
our intellectual progression reflects an unceasing struggle to make sense of our experiences
schemas
frameworks for organizing and interpreting information
(updating schema) Assimilation
interpretation new experiences in the context of our existing schemas
(updating schema)
Accommodation
adapting our current schemas to incorporate new information
