Unit 4 - Social Psych & Persona Flashcards
Terms
Definition/Explanation
Abraham Maslow
an American psychologist known for his humanistic theory of personality and the hierarchy of needs, which suggests that individuals strive for self-actualization and personal growth once their basic needs are met.
achievement motivation
the desire to excel, succeed, or accomplish challenging goals, often driven by the pursuit of competence, mastery, or recognition in specific domains or tasks.
actor-observer bias
the tendency to attribute one’s own behavior to external factors while attributing others’ behavior to internal factors, particularly in situations where one is the actor (participant) versus the observer.
affiliation need
a fundamental human motivation to seek social connections, relationships, and belongingness with others, driven by the desire for companionship, support, and interpersonal bonds.
aggression
behavior that is intended to cause harm or injury to another individual, either physically or psychologically.
Agreeableness
A personality trait that reflects a person’s tendency to be compassionate and cooperative.
Albert Bandura
a psychologist known for his social-cognitive theory of personality, self-efficacy theory, and research on observational learning (modeling), which emphasizes the role of cognitive processes, social learning, and self-regulation in behavior.
Alfred Adler
an Austrian psychiatrist and founder of individual psychology, known for his theories on the importance of social dynamics, striving for superiority, and the influence of early childhood experiences on personality development.
altruism
selfless behavior or actions that are motivated by concern for the well-being or welfare of others, without expecting any personal benefit or reward in return.
Approach-Approach Conflict
A type of conflict that occurs when a person must choose between two desirable outcomes.
Approach-Avoidance Conflict
A conflict involving a single goal or event that has both positive and negative aspects.
Arousal Theory
A theory of motivation suggesting that people are driven to perform actions in order to maintain an optimal level of physiological arousal.
attitudes
evaluations, feelings, or beliefs about people, objects, or ideas that influence behavior and responses to the social world
Attribution
The process by which individuals explain the causes of behavior and events.
attribution theory
a psychological framework that explores how individuals explain the causes of events, behaviors, and outcomes, either attributing them to internal factors (such as personality traits) or external factors (such as situational circumstances).
Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict
A conflict that occurs when a person must choose between two unattractive outcomes.
basal metabolic rate
the minimum amount of energy or calories required by the body to maintain basic physiological functions (such as respiration, circulation, and cell metabolism) while at rest and in a fasting state.
behavior feedback effect
the phenomenon whereby changes in behavior can influence emotional experience and physiological arousal, suggesting that actions and movements can affect mood and subjective feelings.
behavioral approach
a psychological perspective that focuses on observable behaviors, environmental influences, and learning principles (such as classical and operant conditioning) in explaining personality and behavior.
Belief Perseverance
The tendency to cling to one’s initial beliefs even after receiving new information that contradicts or disconfirms the basis of those beliefs.
Bibb Latane
a social psychologist known for his research on social loafing, bystander effect, and diffusion of responsibility, particularly his experiments on helping behavior in emergency situations.
Big Five Factors
theory that contains five broad dimensions of personality traits openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism, which capture the major dimensions of individual differences in personality.
Broaden & Build Theory
A theory that suggests positive emotions broaden one’s awareness and encourage novel, varied, and exploratory thoughts and actions.