Final Exam Concepts Flashcards
implicit/automatic cognition
Involuntary, uncontrollable, and (at times) unconscious. Governed by habit.
explicit/controlled cognition
Our conscious evaluation of a particular target object. Voluntary & effortful.
unconscious behavioral guidance systems
- Environmental/Contextual features
- Evaluations of others & objects or motivational states or perceptual system
- Behavioral responses
automaticity
The influence that external stimuli and events in one’s immediate environment has on automatic cognition (often without one’s knowledge or awareness)
motivated cognition
People motivated to arrive at a particular conclusion often attempt to seek out information that supports their desired beliefs (often able to provide reasonable justification)
cultural cognition theory (Kahan & Braman, 2006)
Tendency of individuals to form beliefs about society that reflect and reinforce their cultural worldview or groups they belong to
complex ‘invisible’ trauma (examples)
-Scapegoating
-Parentification (Child is not only own parent, but parent to parents)
-Emotionally unavailable parents
-Enmeshment (Cannot separate from child; Limit independence)
-Competition (Jealous or threatened by children’s success, competence, or beauty)
ACES & self-concept (Wong et al., 2019)
Both # and types of ACES associated with mental health, physical health, & identity clarity (greater ACES => greater identity uncertainty)
contingencies of self-worth (Crocker & Wolfe, 2001)
Specific domains in which people evaluate their self-worth (appearance, approval of others, academic achievement)
implicit theory of the nature of human attributes (Dweck & Molden, 2005)
entity theorists & fixed mindsets vs. incremental theorists & growth mindsets
entity theorists (fixed mindset)
Attributes are fixed, concrete, internal entities
More likely to focus on dispositional attributions; More rigid in judgments of self & others
incremental theorists (growth mindset)
Human attributes are dynamic qualities that can be changed or developed
More likely to focus on situational attributions; Less rigid in judgments of self & others
psychology of class & SES
Middle & upper class individuals are more likely to think in individualistic ways (Upper class/White => Status & competition)
Working class are more likely to think in interdependent ways (Working class/Racial minorities)
self-affirmation theory (Steele, 1988)
The overall goal of the self-system is to protect an image of self-integrity & adequacy (people want to feel that they’re a good person)
“tools” for self-protection
-Self-serving bias
-False consensus
-False uniqueness
-Self-handicapping
-Unrealistic optimism
-Self-presentation
self-serving bias
Tendency to perceive oneself favorably
false consensus
Tendency to overestimate the commonality one’s opinion & one’s undesirable or unsuccessful behaviors
false uniqueness
Underestimating the commonality of our own abilities
self-handicapping
Creating obstacles/excuses before performance
unrealistic optimism
Unrealistically positive views of things that will happen to you
self-presentation
Strategies people use to shape what others think of them
Three purposes:
-Obtain a desirable resource
-‘Construct’ self-image
-Help others know how we expect to be treated (enables smoother interactions)
social comparison theory
The process through which people come to know themselves by observing (downward vs. upward)
downward social comparison
Comparing to those less well off
upward social comparison
Comparing to those who are better off
naive realism
The belief that our perspective of the way things are is the way the world truly is; We are without bias & error
We believe:
-We are more objective than others & less affected by biases
-Our point of view is exactly right
cognitive dissonance
Aversive mental state of discomfort people want to alleviate resulting from conflicting attitudes, beliefs, & behaviors (occurs only when the inconsistency is made salient/noticeable/important)
routes for resolving cognitive dissonance:
-Change our behavior (to be consistent with attitudes/beliefs)
-Change attitudes/beliefs (to be consistent with behaviors)
-Add new cognitions/thoughts (that are consistent with the behavior AND attitudes/beliefs)
moral hypocrisy
We often apply strict moral standards to other people, but do not live to those same standards
Cognitive-affective personality system (CAPS)
Behavior is best explained by if-then behavior profiles (someone does X in A situations, but Y in B situations).
Demands of situations explain behavioral consistency across time.
social norms
Rules & standards that are understood within a situation or by a group
Guide or constrain social behaviors without the force of law
descriptive (social) norms
The perception of where the group is (what most others are doing)
injunctive/prescriptive (social) norms
Perception of what the desirable attitude or behaviors of a group are (what most other approve or disapprove of)
normative influence
To be liked & accepted by other people (often occurs when the situation is NOT ambiguous)
informational influence
To solve uncertainty & get information about what is the right thing to do
factors that increase informational influence:
-Crisis (act immediately w/little info)
-When others are experts
-When being accurate is important
group status & integration preferences (Hehman et al., 2011)
When group was MAJORITY, they had ASSIMILATIONIST preference for minority group (we are all the same, so there’s no need to recognize unique identities)
When group was MINORITY, they had PLURALISTIC/MULTICULTURAL preferences (we are all different)
five steps to inhumanity via identity (Reicher et al., 2008):
- Create a cohesive in-group
- Exclusion (Place targets outside the in-group)
- Threat (Other groups are a danger to us)
- Virtue (Represent the in-group as uniquely good)
- Celebration (Celebrate inhumanity as defense of virtue)
the social cure (Haslam et al., 2009)
-Identity is central to mental & physical health
—Ex) Social support & mental health
Identities can be used as a psychological resource
-Experiences are enhanced in group-settings
—Provide common direction, meaning, & purpose
fundamental attribution error
The tendency to overestimate dispositional influences & underestimate situational influences for the behaviors of others