Personality psychologists focus on what?
The psychologist focuses on the person: why different people may act differently in a given situation.
The scientific study of how we think about, influence and relate to one another.
Social psychologist focus on what?
This psychologist focuses on the situation; the social influences that explain why the same person will act differently in a different situation.
Dispositional attribution
Attributing behavior to a persons stable and enduring traits
Attributing the behavior of someone to the situation
Fundamental attribution error
When analyzing someone's behavior, observers tend to underestimate the influence of situations and
overestimate the influence of personality.
Feelings that are often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people and events.
Peripheral route persuasion
This type of persuasion occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speakers attractiveness.
This type of persuasion occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts.
Foot in the door phenomenon
The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request.
A set of expectations or norms about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave.
Cognitive Dissonance theory
The theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognition) are inconsistent.
Bart complied with his friends' request to join them in smashing decorative pumpkins early one Halloween evening. Later that night, he was surprised by his own failure to resist their pressures to throw eggs at passing police cars. Bart's experience best illustrates the
Foot in the door phenomenon example
Marilyn judges her professor's strict class attendance policy to be an indication of his over-controlling personality rather than a necessity dictated by the limited number of class sessions in a course that meets only once a week. Her judgment best illustrates
The fundamental attribution error example
Caitlin concluded that her husband was late for dinner because he was caught in heavy traffic. Her conclusion best illustrates
A situational attribution example
The participants in Philip Zimbardo's simulated prison study
The people in this study were so endangered by their role-playing experience that the study was discontinued.
Professor Stewart wrote a very positive letter of recommendation for a student despite having doubts about her competence. Which theory best explains why he subsequently began to develop more favorable attitudes about the student's abilities?
Cognitive dissonance theory example
Adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard
Normative social influence
Influence resulting from a persons desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval.
What 7 factors strengthen conformity to a group
These factors do what? -made to feel incompetent or insecure -in a group with at least 3 people -in a group where everyone else agrees -admire the groups status & attractiveness -no prior commitment to a response -others in group will observe behavior -from a culture that strongly encourages respect from social standards
Informational social influence
Influence resulting from ones willingness to accept others opinions about reality.
Asch conducted what type of experiments?
The person who conducted the conformity experiments. Comparing 3 lines to a standard line
Coming from an individualistic culture, you are more likely to do what?
This culture is more likely to not conform with a group
Psychology's most famous obedience experiments, in which most participants obeyed an authority figure's demand to inflict presumed life-threatening shocks on an innocent other, were conducted by social psychologist
Stanley Milgram conducted this experiment.
What situations have researchers found to be most likely to encourage obedience in participants?
People are more likely to follow orders when : -experimenter was
nearby -experimenter was a legitimate authority figure -victim was not nearby -no models for defiance
This encourages what?
Stronger responses on a simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others E.g athletes
The tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable. "Free riding on the efforts of others"
The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster unusual behavior
The enhancement of a groups prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group
The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives
When people act in a way that is not in keeping with their attitudes, and then change their attitudes to match those actions, ________ attempts to explain why.
Cognitive dissonance theory
When like-minds groups discuss a topic and the result is the strengthening of the prevailing opinion
Group polarization example
If a cluster of people stand gazing upward, passersby will often pause to do likewise. This best illustrates
In making wedding preparations, Jason conforms to the expectations of his future bride's family simply to win their favor. His behavior illustrates the importance of
Normative social influence.
Wedding example
Participants in Milgram's obedience experiments were informed that they were involved in a study of
When a group of racially prejudiced high school students discussed racial issues, their attitudes became even more prejudiced. This best illustrates
Group polarization example
Using the Asch procedure, conformity to group judgments would be LEAST likely when: A. participants announce their own answers only after the other group members have done so. B. participants are not observed by other group members when giving their answers. C. it is very difficult to make correct judgments. D. judgments are made in a group that has more than three people.
This is less likely to occur when:
B. When the participants are not observed by other group members when giving their answers.
An unjustifiable and usually negative attitude toward a group and its members. Generally involving stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings and a predisposition to discriminatory action
A generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people
Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members
Race primes perceptions: observers more likely to mistake tool as a gun when preceded by a black rather then white face.
Who conducted this study?
Tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get.
"good is rewarded and evil is punished"
"Us" people with whom we share a commone identity
"Them" those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup
Tendency to favor our own group
The theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame
Why do sports fans tend to feel a sense of satisfaction when their archival team loses?
Sports fans may feel a part of an ingroup that sets itself apart from the outgroup (fans of rival team)
Other-race effect/cross-face effect/own-race bias
The tendency to recall faces of one's own race more accurately than faces of other races.
Any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy
Frustration-aggression principle
The principle that the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal creates anger and can generate aggression
Evidence that people exhibit heightened levels of prejudice when they are economically frustrated offers support for
After being heavily exposed to X-rated films, men are later ________ likely to perceive extramarital sex as troubling and ________ likely to perceive a woman's friendliness as sexual interest.
The tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aide if other bystanders are present
Diffusion of responsibility
Observers assume someone else is going to intervene. They assume someone else is going to take action
Deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional patterns of thoughts, feelsing and behaviors
The concept that diseases (in this case psychological ones) have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated and in most cases cured through the treatment in a hospital
This is the American Psychiatric Associations Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety.
Generalized anxiety disorders
An anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive and in a state of automatic nervous system arousal
An anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable, minutes-long episodes of intense dread in which a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking or other frightening sensations
An anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object, activity or situation
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
An anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and or actions (compulsions)
Post traumatic stress disorder
An anxiety disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety and/or insomnia that lingers for 4 weeks or more after the traumatic experience
Positive psychological changes as a result of struggling with extremely challenging circumstances and life crisis
Alexis is socially withdrawn and has few close friends. This behavior is most likely to be diagnosed as a symptom of psychological disorder if it is
preventing her from functioning effectively.
Although Adderall is a ________ drug, it is commonly used in the treatment of ________.
At one time, disordered people were simply warehoused in asylums. These were replaced with psychiatric hospitals in which attempts were made to diagnose and cure those with psychological disorders. This best illustrates one of the beneficial consequences of
A current authoritative scheme for classifying psychological disorders is known as the
Ongoing patterns of behavior that interfere with normal day-to-day life are best characterized as
An integrated understanding of psychological disorders in terms of stressful memories, evolutionary processes, and gender roles is most clearly provided by
Symptoms that may be misperceived as a heart attack are most characteristic of
Panic disorder (panic attacks)
Mrs. Swift is alarmed by her own intrusive and irrational thoughts that her house is contaminated by germs. Her experience best illustrates the agitating effects of
Although Mark realizes that his behavior is unreasonable, he is so alarmed by high bridges or expressway overpasses that he avoids them by taking an unnecessarily lengthy route to and from work each day. Mark appears to suffer from
A therapist suggests that Mr. Broshi continues to bite his fingernails because this behavior often reduced his feelings of anxiety in the past. The therapist's suggestion most clearly reflects a ________ perspective.
Without success, Maxine spends hours each day trying to suppress intrusive thoughts that she might have forgotten to lock her house when she left for work. Her experience is most symptomatic of
Obsessive compulsive disorder
What does schizophrenia mean?
A group of severe disorders characterized by disorganized and delusional thinking, disturbed perceptions and inappropriate emotions and behaviors
A psychological disorder in which a person loses contact with reality, experiencing irrational ideas and distoroted perceptions
False beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur that may accompany psychotic disorders
Schizophrenia is disturbances of what four things?
-Language or thought -Perception -Emotion or mood -Behavior
Positive symptoms of Schizophrenia involve excesses or distortions; name
-Disorganized thoughts and speech -Disorganized or catatonic behaviors -Hallucinations -Delusions
Negative symptoms of Schizophrenia
Deficits in affect, speech, social withdrawl and motivation
The chances for recovery from schizophrenia are considered to be greatest when the disorder develops
Rapidly in response to a stressful life situation.
Cognitive symptoms of Schizophrenia
Deficits in basic cognitive processes, including attention and memory
Schizophrenia subtype; Paranoid
Preoccupation with delusions or hallucinations, often with themes of persecution or grandiosity
Schizophrenia subtype; Disorganized
Disorganized speech or behavior, or flat or inappropriate emotion
Schizophrenia subtype; Catatonic
Immobility or excessive, purposeless movements, extreme negativism, and/or parrot like repeating of another's speech or movements.
Schizophrenia subtype; Undifferentiated
Schizophrenia subtype; Residual
Withdrawl after hallucinations and delusions have disappeared
Biological origins of Schizophrenia
Brain abnormalities -shrinkage -out of sync neurons -too much dopamine -influenza virus during pregnancy -oxygen deprivation at birth
Disruption in consciousness, MEMORY, identity, pr perception of environment
Dissociative identity disorder (DID) (Multiple personalities disorder)
A rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities *least common DD
Psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functiong
Cluster A of personality disorders:
Perceived as odd or eccentric -Paranoid PD -Schizoid PD -Schizotypal PD
Cluster B of personality disorders:
Overly dramatic, emotional or erratic -Antisocial PD -Histionic PD -Borderline PD -Narcissitic PD
Cluster C of personality disorders:
Often appear anxious or fearful -Avoidant PD -Dependent PD -Obsessive Compulsive PD
Doing something against society
Antisocial personality disorder
A personality disorder in which a person (often men) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members. May be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist
-Grandiose, need much admiration, and feel little to no empathy for others. -Convinced of own great success, power, or beauty. -Exaggerate achievements and talents, often appear arrogant
An eating disorder in which a person maintains a starvation diet despite being significantly underweight. *keep wanting to lose weight *leading cause of death due to cardiac
An eating disorder in which a person alternates binge eating with purging or fasting
Significant binge-eating episodes, followed by distress, disgust, guilt, but without the compensatory purging or fasting that marks bulimia nervosa. *weight fluctuates`
Treatment involving psychological techniques; consists of interactions between a trained therapist and someone seeking to overcome psychological difficulties or achieve personal growth
Prescription medication or procedures that act directly on the persons physiology.
An approach to psychotherapy that depending on the clients problems uses techniques from various forms of therapy
Freud's therapeutic technique; patients free associations, resistances, dreams and transference's and the therapists interpretations of them-released previously repressed feelings, allowing the patient to gain self insight.
Resistance in psychoanalysis
The blocking from consciousness of anxiety-laden material
Interpretation in psychoanalysis
The analyst's noting supposed dream meanings, resistances, and other significant behaviors and events in order to promote insight
Transference in psychoanalysis
The patients transfer of the analyst of emotions linked with other relationships. (the love or hatred for a parent)
Non-suicidal self injury * has been shown to be a risk factor for future suicide attempts
Mr. Hoffman has always been cautious with his money, but over the past two weeks he has developed grandiose plans to bet his entire life savings on a single horse race. With unrestrained exuberance he has also been giving everybody he sees unsolicited advice on how to make millions in the stock market. Mr. Hoffman's behavior is most indicative of
Major depressive disorder is said to occur when signs of depression last at least
An overabundance of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine is most likely to be associated with
Psychodynamic perspective
The suggestion that dissociative identity disorder symptoms are created as defenses against the anxiety caused by one's own unacceptable impulses best illustrates the
Therapy deriving from the psychoanalytic tradition that views individuals as responding to unconscious forces and childhood experiences and that seeks to enhance self insight.
A schizoid personality disorder is most likely to be characterized by
Emotionless disengagement.
Kyle is
extremely manipulative and can look anyone in the eye and lie convincingly. His deceit often endangers the safety and well-being of those around him, but he is indifferent to any suffering they might experience as a result of his actions. His behavior best illustrates
Antisocial personality disorder
A variety of therapies that aim to improve psychological functioning by increasing a person's awareness of underlying motives and defenses
A humanistic therapy, developed by Carl Rodgers, in which the therapist uses techniques such as active listening within a genuine accepting, empathetic environment to facilitate clients growth
Empathetic listening in which the listener echoes, restates and clarifies. *Feature of Rodgers client-centered therapy
Unconditional positive regard
A caring, accepting, non-judgmental attitude, which Carl Rodgers believed would help clients to develop self-awareness and self acceptance
Therapy that applies learning principles to the elimination of unwanted behaviors
A behavior therapy procedure that uses classical conditioning to evoke new responses to stimuli that are triggering unwanted behaviors ; includes exposure therapies and aversive conditioning
Behavioral techniques, such as systematic desensitization and virtual reality exposure therapy that treat anxieties by exposing people to the thinks they fear
Systematic densensitization
A type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli. *commonly used to treat phobias
Virtual reality exposure therapy
An anxiety treatment that progressively exposes people to electronic simulations of their greatest fears, such as airplane flying, spiders, or public speaking
A type of counterconditioning that associates an unpleasant state (nausea) with an unwanted behavior (drinking)
An operant conditioning procedure in which people earn a token of some sort for exhibiting a desired behavior and can later exchange the tokens for treats or privlages
Therapy that teaches people new, more adaptive ways of thinking; based on the assumption that thoughts intervene between events and our emotional reactions.
Rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT)
A confrontational cognitive therapy, that vigorously challenges peoples illogical, self-defeating attitudes and assumptions *by Albert Ellis
Cognitive-behavioral therapy
A popular integrative therapy that combines cognitive therapy(changing self-defeating thinking) with behavior therapy
Therapy conducted with groups rather than individuals, permitting therapeutic benefits from group interaction.
Therapy that treats the family as a system. Views an individuals unwanted behaviors as influenced by or directed at other family members.
The study of the effects of drugs on the mind and behavior
Drugs used to treat schizophrenia and other forms of severe thought disorder
Drugs used to control anxiety and agitation
Drugs used to treat depression and some anxiety disorders. Different types work by altering the availability of various neurotransmitters
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
A biomedical therapy for severely depressed patients in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized patient.
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)
The application of repeated pulses of magnetic energy to the breain; used to stimulate or surpress brain activity
Surgery that removes or destroys brain tissue in an effort to change behavior.
A psychosurgical procedure once used to calm uncontrolably emtional or violent patients. The procedure cuts the nerves connecting the frontal lobes to the emotion-controlling centers of the inner brain.
Classical psychoanalysts were especially interested in
Interpreting the meaning of patients' resistance to therapeutic procedures.
Systematic desensitization is a form of
Cognitive therapists are most likely to
Emphasize the importance of clients' personal interpretations of life events.
To help Adam reduce his fear of dogs, a therapist encourages him to physically relax and then simply imagine that he is walking toward a friendly and harmless little dog. The therapist's technique best illustrates
Systematic desensitization.
Nancy's therapist encourages her to think about her strengths rather than her weaknesses and to develop a habit of thanking others when they compliment her or provide emotional support. The therapist's approach best illustrates
Cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Tardive dykinesia is associated with the long-term use of certain ________ drugs.
Which of the following individuals is most likely to benefit from lithium?
Someone who experiences periods of extreme sadness followed by episodes of optimistic overexcitement
If a patient suffers uncontrollable seizures, physicians can destroy specific nerve clusters that cause or transmit the convulsions. This best illustrates a procedure known as
Considering the greatest range of factors that may contribute to the process of healing is most clearly facilitated by a ________ approach to therapy.