Final

Question 1

Person Argument

Answer 1

Knowing someone’s traits allows us to predict their behaviour
Assuming that personality is constant over time AND it results in consistent behaviour across situations

Question 2

Personality Consistency paradox

Answer 2

We intuitively see personality as consistent over time and situations but behaviour is actually inconsistent across situations (within-person variability: assumes that variation in behaviour is meaningless noise and should be ignored, should take the average of behaviours)

Question 3

Situation Argument

Answer 3

The correlation between a person’s personality traits and specific behaviour is 0.3
Which means that only 15% of behaviour is predicted by personality
Evidence for the power of the situation

Question 4

Aggregate technique of Person argument

Answer 4

To counter situation argument, you aggregate people’s behaviour to have an idea of their true self
Strength: personality scores accurately predicts behaviour in general, people reliably differ from each other
Limitations: less accurate to predict at any one given time (within person variability) / Cannot explain with people with same personality differ in behaviour (between person variability)

Question 5

Cognitive Affective processing system

Answer 5

States that variability is not meaningless noise but is important
Strength: account for within person variability and between
Person’s mind is made up of cognitive-affective units (CAUs), which are organized in an associative network (some linked while others are not / strength of the link is stable across situations), organization of CAUs is unique to everyone and determined by past experiences and biological predispositions
Specific CAUs get activated specific to certain situations (if situation A then behaviour X,…). What matters are psychological features of situations (not just what is present but how you perceive things)

Question 6

WEDIKO Summer Camp Study

Answer 6

Each child’s behaviour was systematically related to features in their situation
Unique if…then profiles, and highly stable over time

Question 7

The Paradox of rejection sensitivity

Answer 7

Some people are more sensitive to social rejection, which leads them to be more accommodating to others. But sometimes they behave in aggressive ways (self-fulfilling prophecy)
Using CAPS to understand: fear rejection but also expect it, leads to stable if…then profiles. If rejection is not detected then accommodating but remain vigilant, if rejection detected then hostile as attempt of self-protection
Study 1: people more sensitive to rejection were more likely to feel rejected when told that confederate did not want to continue, suggest that they perceive rejection in ambiguous behaviour of others, but not in all situations
Study 2: Rejection elicited aggression (hot sauce) only in those high in rejection sensitivity (they were nice if didnt feel rejected)
Study 3: In low rejection sensitive (RS), feelings of rejection and conflict unrelated
* In high rejection sensitive (RS), feelings of rejection on previous day predicted conflict today
* If high feelings of rejection yesterday, then more likely to have a conflict today
* If low feelings of rejection yesterday, then less likely to have a conflict today
* Evidence that high RS are more reactive to rejection

Summary: If no rejection, then accommodate * If ambiguous, then perceive rejection * If rejection, then react with hostility/aggression

Question 8

Expectancy-Value theory (Motivation theory to goal completion)

Answer 8

Assumes we need motivation to achieve goals
Motivation is determined by expectancy and values
High Motivation = high expectancy + high value

Stronger motivation if we think the goal is achievable (importance of setting realistic goals)

Factors of value: Importance (how central goal is to sense of self) / Intrinsic value ( inherent satisfaction rather than obligation) / Utility ( benefit, related to higher pursuit goals) / Cost

Expectancy and Value are highly correlated and reinforce each other
Therefore, to foster motivation you need to set “good goals”: realistic and valuable

Question 9

Self-Control theory to goal completion

Answer 9

Dilemma: Conflict between an immediate urge and higher order goal (determined by trait self-control)
Higher self-control is associated with: better performance, healthy relationships, less binge-eating, well-being
It’s not that they are better with the dilemma, but that they face less dilemmas, so they are not using self-control that much
Study: * Exerting more self-control was unrelated to successful goal completion * Experiencing less temptation led to feeling less tired and more successful goal completion
Paradox: Exerting self-control in the moment doesn’t seem to be related to goal attainment
Why do they experience less dilemma: Better at setting rewarding goals / rely on routines / structure their lives to avoid temptation / identify temptation earlier
Study: Suggests that high and low trait self-control people experience same amount of
temptation on an unconscious level / Predicted earlier “peak pull” * Suggests that high trait self-control people detected self-control dilemma earlier / Predicted faster RT for correctly classifying food (healthy = positive, unhealthy =
negative) * Suggests that resolved self-control dilemma faster
Summary: People that have good self-control are exercising this ability effortlessly by relying on automatic processes * Implies that if you want to improve your chances of completing a goal, make your behaviour as automatic as possible

Question 10

Implementation Intentions

Answer 10

Link a situation with a specific action, very specific plan
Having too many ways to complete a goal reduces commitment to any one particular option making you less likely to complete the goal, Having many options can also be overwhelming
Study: proved that implementation intention group was more likely to achieve goal
Study 2: * No benefit of motivation intervention * Implementation intentions doubled the rate of exercise * Suggests that when we don’t reach goals, not because of lack of motivation, but because lack of specific plan
Study 3: Implementation intentions were useful for completing difficult goals, less relevant for completing
easy goals

Why Are Implementation Intentions Helpful?
1. Heightened accessibility of situational cues (“when”) * Improves ability to detect the situational cue relevant to our goal
2. Formation of a strong mental link between the situation cue and the action * Consequently, automates action initiation
Study: with association wording task, evidence that intentions create a strong link between a goal and an action
Summary: Implementation Intention allow for goal pursuit to be automatic

Question 11

Auto-motive model

Answer 11

A mental link is automatically created between a situation and a goal that would typically be pursued in that situation
Suggest goals can be set unconsciously
Model:
1. Repeatedly pursuing a goal in a particular way (action) in a particular situation will automatically create a mental link between the goal, its action, and the situation
2. Because of these mental links, the situation can eventually automatically activate the goal and its associated action outside of conscious awareness

Adaptive automation: Unconscious goal pursuit is an adaptive process. This is useful because attention is limited. Keeps us moving towards goals even if mind is occupied with something else
This is long term and chronic, compared to implementation intentions that are short term and strategic

Interruption Study: Participants in rude prime condition were 3 min faster to interrupt rudely. Suggest that people are pursuing goal without being aware of them

Marketing relies on this

Question 12

Unconscious interpersonal goals

Answer 12

Study 1: Kinds of goals we pursue in different relationships (classmate:self-enhancement / friend:enjoying time together / mother:make mom proud)
Study 2: Thinking about mother increased accessibility of participants’ own goal with mother (i.e., wanting to succeed) which they then projected onto Mark
* Evidence that relationship-specific goals can be automatically activated by just thinking about that person
Study 3: people with goal to make mom proud AND in mom-prime condition performed best. Evidence that goals need to be activated by situation to influence behaviour (presence of a goal is not enough)

Summary: Relationships can affect our goals even when partner is not present

Question 13

Need to belong

Answer 13

To satisfy the need to belong we seek: frequent pleasant interactions / long-lasting caring relationships
Creating new social bonds is strongly correlated with positive feelings, and the loss with negative feelings

Question 14

Social rejection / reconnection hypothesis

Answer 14

Rejection: When others have little desire top include you. Thwarted need to belong, associated with negative feelings
Reconnection: feeling rejected motivates us to seek out new bonds and strengthen existing ones. Negative feelings associated with rejection are thus adaptive
Study: Rejected participants showed strongest desire to work with others, greater interest to meet with friends, greater interest in joining student groups to connect with others, higher ratings of attractiveness when judging others
Counter-Study: Rejected people evaluated another person more negatively, delivered longer blasts of noise to rejector, and more hot sauce
Study 2: Being accepted by even one person greatly reduces likelihood of rejected person lashing out
* Additional acceptance had decreasing incremental effect
* Rejection elicited aggression only in those high in rejection sensitivity

Question 15

Substitution

Answer 15

Spend less time with friends in new romantic relationship, more likely to cheat if feel lonely/rejected, replace relationships that just ended with new one, and if there is no one we create substitutions:
Anthropomorphism (human characteristics to non-humans (ie pets))
Study: * Need to belong lowers threshold for detecting animacy * Adaptive because allows us to maximize opportunities to renew relationships
* People who received “future alone” feedback had a
lower animacy threshold than those who received
“future belong” feedback
* Suggests that social disconnection makes us
lower the bar for acceptable social contact

Question 16

Belonging Deprivation

Answer 16

Associated with increased stress, poorer mental health if child wasnt given attention, lonely people take longer to recover, 50% more likely to survive in a given time frame if stronger bonds (higher than smoking or cardiac)

Question 17

Social pain

Answer 17

Activation in dACC is associated with emotional pain, with feelings of rejection, evidence that social and physical pain are processed in same brain region, pain sensitivity is associated with sensitivity to social exclusion
Study: Tylenol group reported fewer hurt feelings, and showed less dACC activation after exclusion

Question 18

Attachment theory

Answer 18

• Desire for regular contact
• Distress upon separation
• Safe haven
• Secure base

attachment is natural in children to increase chances of survival, and crucial for base of personality development

Question 19

Strange situation

Answer 19

Secure: 60%, supportive and affectionate parents, child learns about proximity seeking when distressed
Avoidant: 15%, insensitive impatient and rejecting parents, child does not see proximity seeking as good strategy, DEACTIVATION (suppress distress, avoid proximity, divert attention from threat)
Anxious: 10%, inconsistent parents, child learns that proximity is sometimes good, HYPERACTIVATION (hyper vigilance to threat, excessive proximity seeking, cope with distress by heightening it)
Disorganized: 5%, confused harsh and mentally unstable parents, proximity seeking often leaves child scared bc caregiver unpredictable

Question 20

Attachment in adulthood

Answer 20

Secure: comfortable with closeness but also seeks autonomy (Marshall and Lily) 56%
Disorganized: strong need for closeness but distrusts others (Robin)
Anxious: strong need for closeness but worries about rejection (Ted, Ross) 19%
Avoidant: Disinterested in closeness (Barney) 25%

Secure (low anxiety and avoidance): better relationships higher self-esteem, better at conflict-resolution, higher life satisfaction

Question 21

Anxious-Avoidant pair

Answer 21

Anxious partner wants more closeness than avoidant is willing to give (feel not good enough)
Avoidant partner wants more independence than anxious is willing to accept (feel suffocated)

Study: * 7-14 months later: Avoidant and secure men more likely to still be in relationship than anxious men
* 30-36 months later: Anxious women more likely to still be in relationship than other women

Stability:
* Anxious women have stable relationships because:
* Strong desire for closeness leads them to persistently pursue avoidant partner
* Avoidant partner’s independence reinforces internal model of self as not worthy of love and too much in relationships
Avoidant men have stable relationships because eventually cave into anxious partner’s pursuit
* Explains why people stay in unhappy relationships

Study 2: * More anxiety related to more support seeking for secures, but less support seeking
for avoidants
Study 3: * When separated from partner (vs. partner in the room), both anxious and avoidant participants (vs. secures) showed elevated heart rate and blood
pressure during stressful task
* Suggests that insecurely attached do not use partner as a secure base

Question 22

Attachment from infancy to adulthood

Answer 22

Study: Less supportive parenting and family instability predicted attachment insecurity in adulthood
Avoidance at age 18 predicted by:
* Lower maternal sensitivity
* Not consistently living with father
Anxiety at age 18 predicted by:
* Higher maternal depression
Evidence that there’s an association between childhood caregiving experiences and attachment in adulthood

BUT
Across longitudinal studies, average correlation of 0.15 between childhood caregiving experiences and adult attachment style
Suggests that some people exhibit incongruent patterns
* Positive early caregiving but insecure attachment in adulthood
* Negative early caregiving but secure attachment in adulthood

Study 2: : Less supportive parenting, family instability, and lower quality friendships in childhood/adolescence predicted attachment insecurity
Avoidance at age 18 predicted by:
* Lower maternal sensitivity
* Not consistently living with father
* Lower social competence in childhood
Anxiety at age 18 predicted by:
* Higher maternal depression * Lower social competence in childhood
Effect of friendship experiences is similar to effect of caregiving experiences

Question 23

Stability in adult attachment

Answer 23

Study: Results at Time 2:
* 70% classified with same attachment model as Time 1
* BUT 30 % different
Avoidant and Anxious are the ones changing

Study 2: Many life events lead to temporary changes in attachment avoidance or anxiety (ie dating, being sick, vacation, work promotion,…) In general people revert back after, 25% led to changes if important enough

Question 24

Increasing Attachment security

Answer 24

People get less anxiously attached as they age, and we get less clear results for avoidance as well
They foster more secure models:
* Anxiously attached: Foster a secure model of self by learning to rely on others less for validation and learning to feel capable and valued in personal domains
* Avoidantly attached: Foster a secure model of others by challenging self to depend on
others and self-disclose more

Study: Everyone has relationships characterized by each of the 3 attachment styles.
Regardless of general attachment style, the majority of a person’s relationships are secure.
General attachment style is related to the prevalence of your relationships fitting a specific attachment style relative to other people
Avoidantly attached have more avoidant relationships than other people do
Anxiously attached have more anxious relationships than other people do

• Suggests that observed fluctuations in attachment style may be a function of recency of activation
• General attachment style may be a function of frequency of activation

Attachment is determined by: chronic attachment style (influenced by caregivers, major life events, age,…) and state level of attachment (current life events, most recent interaction,…)

Question 25

Empathy

Answer 25

Affectionate response more appropriate to other’s situations. Identify other’s emotions and respond to them.
3 parts:
- Cognitive Empathy: empathic accuracy, mentalizing, perspective taking
- Affective empathy: emotion contagion (through mimicry) and sharing, personal distress, automatic reflexive process
- Prosocial empathy: concern, helping behaviour

Affective Empathy:
Step 1: Simulation theory: simulate other’s observed emotional experiences by recreating similar mental processes
Step 2: Neural resonance: we parallel other’s emotions, engaging overlapping neural systems to experience one’s own vs others emotions
Step 3: emotion contagion

Cognitive Empathy:
- Accuracy associated with satisfaction, adjustment, target feeling understood
Responsiveness: the degree to which one partner attends to and supports another’s needs and goals
Difficulties: Social closeness has influence, social distance, strangers are stressful, harder time projecting with dissimilar others because we cannot apply self-knowledge to other’s situation
3 challenges: how well you know the target, how well you know yourself (mental health moderators, self-perception biases), how well you can suppress your current mental state

Study: When controlling for self-other merging, empathic concern did not predict helping. Not necessarily altruistic but to make ourselves feel better. Clear boundaries between self and other are important

Summary: cognitive empathy informs affective empathy which also informs cognitive empathy. They both contribute to behaviour. They are both important: you need to care (affective) and you need to know what you care about (cognitive)

Question 26

Prejudice

Answer 26

Implicit Attitudes Test (IAT): pro-white bias led to slower reaction when selecting good with black than with white, and same for bad with white compared to with black. (Black people also show this bias, because of social standing hypothesis, their status is reflected)
IAT shows poor test-retest reliability but seems to be able to predict behaviour when examined on an aggregate population level

Study: Higher county-level implicit bias agains Blacks predicts more disproportionate use of lethal force with Blacks
Study 2: Both explicit and implicit prejudice against Blacks, homosexuals declined
Explicit on age, disability and weight became more neutral while implicit did not change

Dehumanization associated with: support for minimizing arab immigration, less compassionate responses to injustice experienced by arab person, support for trump, support of torture to end terrorism
Study: dehumanization caused by feeling threatened by an outgroup
Study 2: being seen as human by an outgroup decreases dehumanization toward that outgroup. Most important factor is to have interactions (direct is more beneficial)
Study 3: more quality contact with Blacks associated with less prejudice (not moderated by SDO, suggest that intergroup contact reduces prejudice, even in people that are prone to prejudice)

Question 27

Persons x Situations interaction

Answer 27

1. People select themselves into different situations
2. People create situations
3. Same environment/situation can elicit different responses in different people

5-HTT gene: removes serotonin released into synaptic cleft (serotonin reuptake)
Short allele (S): lower efficient transport function, serotonin remains in synapse longer so less circulation
Long allele (L): most common, higher efficiency and more circulation
Study: People with or more (S) showed more symptoms of depression and greater suicidality following stressful life events vs 2(L)
Study 2: SS more likely to show depressive symptoms when experienced many recent negative events, but less likely than others when experienced many positive events recently. Same effect for good vs bad childhood. Neuroticism is affected by life events when SS, same for life satisfaction (not for others)
Study 3: short allele associated with attentional bias for emotional information, and more activation in brain areas associated with emotion processing

Differential Susceptibility model: better tested with positive events

Question 28

Moving Target problem

Answer 28

The difficulty in studying social media because it is constantly changing, and it because all platforms are too different to have findings apply to all of them

Question 29

Why we use social media

Answer 29

It is most useful for weaker-tie relationships, and for people high in social anxiety
Used for emotion regulation and stress managment:
- Stress triggers more social media use
- It is used as a coping tool (seek social support, finding solutions to problems, distraction from negative emotions)
Used for self-esteem boost:
- Gives people more control of their image
- boost self-esteem by feeling more socially accepted (receive more positive feedback from others than in real life)

Question 30

Emotion contagion on facebook study

Answer 30

More positive status update when exposed to fewer negative posts
Less positive status updates when exposed to fewer positive posts

Question 31

Idealized virtual reality hypothesis

Answer 31

Profiles display idealized characteristics that do no reflect who we really are (opposed to extended real-life)

Question 32

Extended real-life hypothesis

Answer 32

People use social media to communicate their real personality (opposed to idealized virtual)

Evidence from study:
research shows a positive correlation between people’s self-reports of their personalities and coders’ ratings of their personality
No correlation between idealized and coders

Some traits are judges more accurately than others (extraversion ++ / neuroticism –)

Computer judgment of profiles was more accurate than human judgement

Question 33

Personality and facebook use (and Instagram)

Answer 33

High extraversion associated with:
- more fb friends
- expressive pictures
- more posts
- posts about current activity

High openness associated with:
- posts about left politics
- creative pictures
- posts about cultural interests

High neuroticism associated with:
- fewer positive posts and pictures
- spend more tim eon social media but passively

On instagram: positive correlation between self-reports and perceive judgments of extraversion, openness, neuroticism (no link for agreeableness and consciousness)

Question 34

Attachment in relationships and social media

Answer 34

Avoidant associated with:
- preference to communicate through social media than face to face
- less visible relationships on FB

Anxious attachment with:
- more partner stalking

Question 35

Facebook use on well-being

Answer 35

More facebook use associated with:
- more feeling of connection with others*
- higher self-esteem*
- more social involvement
- more social support
BUT
More facebook use associated with:
- weaker social interactions
- lower self-esteem*
- lower emotional well-being
- lower life satisfaction
- increased loneliness and depression*
- increased envy

Meta analysis show no link between facebook use and self-esteem, depression, loneliness, academic achievement

Question 36

Active vs Passive use of Facebook

Answer 36

Active use associated with decreased well-being:
- leads to more social comparisons and envy

Passive use associated with increased well-being:
- leads to greater social capital and feelings of connection

Passive use is more common

Question 37

Instagram and well-being

Answer 37

• Passive use predicts more symptoms of depression over time (depression symptoms also predict more instagram use)
• No link between instagram and anxiety or general life satisfaction
• Negative effect on body image when posting and consuming

Question 38

Conspiracy theory

Answer 38

The belief that a umber of actors join together in secret agreement, in order to achieve a hidden goal which is perceived unlawful or malevolent

No change in belief in conspiracy theories over time
Common
Damaging (health, voting behaviour, support for societal problems ie climate change)

Question 39

What causes belief in conspiracy theories

Answer 39

BElief increases during time where society at large is experiencing more fear and uncertainty
Cycle: social fear/uncertainty -> motivation to understand why events happen -> vigilance -> belief in theories

Study: uncertainty increased belief in theories but only when they thought government was immoral

Question 40

Belief mindset

Answer 40

Belief in supernatural is the strongest indicator of believeing in conspiracy theories

Belief mindset: desire to make sense of the world through intuition
Tendency for analytic (vs intuitive) thinking makes people
less likely to believe in them

Characteristics of belief mindset:
1. Illusory pattern perceptions: seeing meaningful relationships where non exists (not general pattern perception)
Study:
- greater tendency to perceive patterns in Pollock paintings predicted belief in conspiracy theories and supernatural beliefs
- tendency to perceive patterns in Vasarely paintingd was not related to belief

2. Illusory agency detection: seeing intentionality in the actions of others where none exists
   Study: greater illusory detection of agency associated with greater belief in theories and supernatural

Question 41

Intergroup conflict related to conspiracy theories

Answer 41

1. Feeling of outgroup threat: creates societal fear and uncertainty, the theories are only about threatening outgroups
2. Ingroup identification: Us vs Them, increases suspiciousness in others, motivate people to make sense of events

Cycle: Strongly connected with ingroup identity -> greater desire to make sense of things -> belief in conspiracy

Study: higher identification with muslims predicted greater belief in conspiracy theory, but only if generally believed West to be threatening
This means that minority groups are more at risk of believing them , and people on political extremes

Question 42

Cycle for conspiracy theory belief

Answer 42

Situation (fear and uncertainty / outgroup threat) + Person (ingroup identification / belief mindset ) = Belief in conspiracy theories

To reduce belief: empathy + respect + empowering citizens through procedural justice

Question 43

2 types of happiness

Answer 43

Hedonic: feeling good, enjoyment and fun, max positive min negative

Eudaimonic: feeling fulfilled, pursuit of meaning, engagement, full potential

Factors that contribute to happiness: Genes (50% / Intentional activities (40%) / Circumstances (10%)

Question 44

Set-point theory (Genes)

Answer 44

Happiness levels fluctuate around a genetically determined set point (positive set point, not neutral). Different people have different set-points
This is evidenced because seem stable over time despite occurrences of life events

Study: a year after winning lottery, winners were not happier than control participants
Study 2: happiness levels of identical twins are strongly positively correlated but not for fraternal twins. Extraversion and Neuroticism are strong predictors of happiness.

Question 45

Circumstances on happiness

Answer 45

Different evens have different effects on happiness, different impacts on hedonic and eudaimonic

Although happiness stable, 25% of people show significant change

Happiness goes down in middle age and then back up
Education correlated with higher happiness
Money buys hedonic happiness until a plateau, eudaimonic forever

Because only 10%, it suggest that some of happiness is under our control (challenges set-point theory: genes only determine possible range of happiness, and circumstance determine where someone constantly falls in that range)

Question 46

Intentional activities on happiness

Answer 46

Happiness boost resulting from circumstantial change fades more quickly than a change to intentional activity
This suggest that changing intentional activity is the most fruitful way to become happier

Question 47

PERMA

Answer 47

Positive emotions: importance of fostering optimism, savouring, and gratitude for happiness
Engagement: being immersed in activities that tap into your strengths
Relationships: presence of warn relationships is the single greatest predictor of happiness
Meaning: ask yourself questions, subjective
Accomplishment: intrinsic goals are more important for happiness than extrinsic goals, set realistic goals