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Final Exam Flashcards

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1
Q

Altruism

A

Voluntarily engaging in prosocial behavior, behavior that helps another, often a costly behavior to the person engaging in act

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2
Q

Why do we engage in altruism

A
  1. Pursuing extrinsic gain at some level (Egotism)
    - External reward or recognition
    - Punishment avoidance
    - Aversion arousal reduction
  2. Altruism as an extension of alloparenting
  3. Empathy-altruism hypothesis
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3
Q

Alloparenting

A

Evolutionarily adaptive for others in social group to protect and care for the offspring of another in one’s social group

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4
Q

Dunn, Aknin and Norton Study

A

Researchers gave study participants either $5
or $20
 Half told to spend the money on themselves
 Half told to spend the money on someone else
 Findings:
 Those who spent $ on others had higher well-
being scores
 Amount made no difference

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5
Q

Prosocial Spending and Toddlers

Aknin, Hamlin & Dunn, 2012

A

oddlers were given treats
 They were then told to share their treats with a
puppet or share an extra treat (given to them)
with the puppet
 Facial expressions were coded
 Toddlers’ facial expressions were the happiest
when they were giving away treats (vs receiving)
 They were the most happy when they gave
treats from their own “stash”

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6
Q

Social Exchange Relationship

A

When empathy is not experienced, we tend to be in a
social exchange relationship
 We judge the relationship based on what we gain versus the cost of the relationship

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7
Q

empathy-altruism hypothesis

A

If we see someone in distress, we experience
 Personal distress: focus decreasing unpleasant arousal
 or Empathy: focus on distress of another
 If personal distress is activated, the primary goal
is to change one’s feeling state
 Results in leaving the situation
 If we cannot leave, we might help just to decrease our arousal and unpleasant emotions
 On the other hand, if empathy is invoked, we
would not be satisfied with leaving, but helping

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8
Q

What if you see something that you felt you
could do nothing about or the cost of helping
was high

A

Research suggests that people actively avoid

feeling empathy in those situations

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9
Q

altruism niche

A

the function of prosociality being rewarded and valued

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10
Q

Konrath, Fuhrel-Forbis, Lou, and Brown

(2012

A

studied motivations in older adults toward volunteer work and found that those whose primary motivations were for self-gain had higher mortality risk four years after the study was conducted in comparison to those whose primary motivations were more directed at helping others. This was especially true in individuals who volunteered on a more regular basis. Thus, though egoistic motivations may provide some of the same benefits that “true” altruists obtain, there may still be greater benefits from acting outside of self-interest.

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11
Q

Strategies for increasing altruism

A 
Engaging in acts of kindness associated with
people reporting they are happier
 Empathy based approaches
– Increase contact with those in need
– Point of similarities
– Broaden the social circles of ourselves and our
children
 Values based approaches
– Enhance altruism as a value
– Enhance altruism an a habit
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12
Q

Culturally speaking, people in which culture are more likely to use the words “thank you”?
What about the words, “I am sorry?”

A

U.S for thank you, Korean for I’m sorry

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13
Q

self construal

A

The degree to which one defines the self as
independent or interdependent of others
– Independent: Common to individualistic societies
– Interdependent: Common in collectivistic societies

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14
Q

forgiveness with age

A

In general, as we get older, our willingness to

forgive grows

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15
Q

sibling forgiveness

A

he role of offering an apology without coercion

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16
Q

REACH Model

A

Recall the hurt, Empathize, Altruistic gift of forgiveness, Commit publicly to forgive, Hold on to forgiveness

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17
Q

According to Lybomirsky, which culture benefitted more from the use of a gratitude
intervention in increasing well being?

A

white americans

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18
Q

Emmons Gratitude

A
  1. Celebrates the present
  2. Blocks out negative emotion
  3. Increases one’s resilience
  4. Seems to increase social ties and sense of self worth
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19
Q

Benefits of cultivating a gratitude journal

A 
10% fewer stress related illness
 10-16% lower blood pressure
 1.5 hours per week more exercise
Sleep 10% longer and 15% better sleep
less lonely
increases positive emotions
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20
Q

School teachers in Hong Kong Study results

A

Mediate on 3 questions: What did I
receive? What did I give? What difficulties
and troubles did I cause others?
– Outcome: Increases in life satisfaction, as well as
decreases in emotional exhaustion

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21
Q

How to cultivate gratitude

A

Keep a daily gratitude journal
Compare the hard times to current blessings
Make a commitment to engage in a gratitude
practice
Consider expressing gratitude that you have experienced through your senses
Use visual reminders to cue you to express gratitude

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22
Q

what factors increase the likelihood of forgiveness

A 
4 parts Apology:
– “It acknowledges the offense,
– offers an explanation for the offense,
– expresses remorse,
– and involves a reparation
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23
Q

Behavioral Activation System

A

Movement towards/approach something usually to gain a reward

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24
Q

Behavioral Inhibition System

A

Movement away from something usually to avoid punishment, something negative or something undesirable (for instance, it could be boring)

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25
Coping
Effort expended to make the best decision in a stressful situation BAS/BIS can be applied to coping
26
Emotional approach coping
Move towards one’s emotions during a stressful encounter
27
Pros & cons of Problem solving coping
Great when there is a problem to be solved there is not always a problem to be solved, nor is it always desirable to find a solution When someone dies, there might not be a problem to solve (need to process emotions) After you solve a stressor, you still may have emotions that need to be addressed/resolved
28
Peters Study
African American participants who experienced chronic racism who coped via emotional focused methods fared better
29
the outcome findings for the study of widows and widowers.
Men were more likely to benefit from emotional focused strategies Women were more likely to benefit from problem focused strategies
30
Breast cancer study
Emotional focused coping associated with lower psychological distress Fewer medical appointments Note that they also engaged in problem focused coping as they went to the doctor and were treated for breast cancer
31
Why benefit from emotional approach processing
Might increase our understanding of ourselves We might habituate to handing emotion head on and, therefore, habituate to negative experiences to some degree We might learn that negative experiences are not as bad as we predict Pain does usually decrease over time We might learn to “take control” of our situation
32
Positive emotion accessibility
Preliminary research suggest that if you have access to your positive emotions, you are more likely to be able to access them during times of stress Recall from broaden and build theory, positive emotions enhance recovery from the negative
33
Ways to access positive emotion
``` Humor, mindfulness: Sustained focus on current experience without judgment Associated with approaching stressors Positive reappraisal Reduced reactivity Reduces physiological reactivity benefit finding ```
34
amydala
involved in fear and processing emotions
35
Emotional focused expression less common in Asian cultures study
In one study looking at neurological attempts at suppressing emotions, Asian study participants were able to decrease their emotional reaction to negative pictures, while European Americans were not
36
Socioemotional Selectivity Theory
As we get older, our sense of how much time we have left alters This theory suggests that we are more selective of our environment and companions as to maximize the positive and minimize negative
37
Pennebaker studies
Has run studies looking at the benefits of expressing one’s emotions (written, speaking formats), especially on health outcomes  Visits to the doctor  T-cell counts  Other studies found improved quality of life among cancer survivors and benefits for people dealing with prejudice via expressive writing
38
What were the findings of the study looking at senior engineers who had been laid off
the group writing about their feelings found jobs and got hired at a higher percentage
39
According to Pennebaker: What does few “I, | me, my” statements mean?
higher self confidence
40
What was the best predictor that depressed | people were getting better
Perspective switching” Person looks at his or her problems from different points of view
41
What culture benefits the least from expressive writing
Expressive writing NOT helpful for Asian participants as shame was increased through the expressive writing on this topic
42
self efficacy
One’s belief that one has the skills to deal effectively with a given situation, or to accomplish one’s goals
43
What is self efficacy based on as a learned phenomenon
``` What I have experienced personally – What I have witnessed – What I imagine I can do – What others have told me I can do – How my physiological arousal helps or hinders my actions ```
44
Neurobiology of Self Efficacy`
``` Frontal Lobes Realistic self efficacy calms cardiac reactivity and lowers blood pressure Associated with health behaviors – Quality of life – Physical activities – Immune functioning ```
45
Bi Cultural Self-Efficacy
Perception that one can successfully take part in more than one culture – Language – Relationships with others – Valuing frameworks of both cultures Associated with a decrease in acculturation stress
46
Learned Optimism
Explanation style regarding set backs and victories – *Permanent: How long is this likely to last? – *Pervasive: Will this impact other life domains? – Personal: Am I personally responsible for this, or is the blame/credit someone else’s (or shared)
47
optimistic style
+ event: permanent, pervasive and personal - event: temporary, specific domain only, and outside agent responsible
48
pessimistic style
+event: temporary, specific domain only, and outside agent responsible -event: permanent, pervasive and personal
49
Ikaigi
Japanese word for something to live for; Considered a similar construct to optimism – High ikigai associated with lower mortality rates (cardiovascular disease and stroke)
50
People who score high on optimism also tend to
– Make healthier life choices – Have more social support – Cope better with stress, which has implications for one’s health
51
Negative effects of optimism
In one study, the optimistic style was associated with losing significantly more money! Other studies, optimists underestimated risks
52
Optimism per Scheier & Carver
Def: “...the stable tendency to believe that good rather than bad things will happen.” Optimism as a disposition, not an explanatory style suggested by Seligman They suggest that what you expect the outcome to be is the best predictor of your behavior – Expectation associated with a person’s confidence that he/she can reach the goal associated with more persistence when faced with challenges meeting that goal
53
Studies Supporting Scheier & Carver
Lower pre-surgery stress, higher satisfaction with medical care and higher life satisfaction months after the surgery in men going through coronary bypass surgery – Better adjustment in young adults beginning college (Aspinwall & Taylor, 1992) – Better job performance (Long, 1993)
54
Cultivating Learned Optimism
Changing your attribution style via cognitive restructuring – Self monitor thoughts and explanations for events via journaling – Analyze patterns – Brainstorm ways to replace or dispute pessimistic styled thinking
55
Culture as it Relates to Optimism and Pessimism
European and Asian Americans also had similar levels of optimism – But Asian Americans had higher levels of pessimism  Associated with more problem solving, not less – Chinese participants had lower levels of optimism
56
defensive pessimism
A strategy used by anxious people to help them manage their anxiety so they can work productively”  “Lower expectations to help prepare for the worst”  “Mentally play through bad things that might happen
57
3 functions of defensive pessimism
Low expectations that are not realized are a pleasant surprise – By focusing on “worst case scenarios” one can prepare for those and avoid them  Channels anxiety towards actions that are likely to increase success  Over preparation decreases the chances of failure “Fortune favors the prepared mind”
58
Hope as Goal Directed Thinking
Goal directed thinking related to | attaining goals that has 2 parts
59
Pathway thinking
Can I find strategies to realize my goal?
60
agency thinking
Do I have the required motivation to try those strategies
61
Associated with Hope
Negatively associated with PTSD diagnosis and psychological distress in 228 study participants who survived Hurricane Katrina (Glass et al., 2009)  Positively associated with GPA, academic and athletic performance
62
Primary Prevention
``` lessen or eliminate physical or psychological problems before they appear(exercise) ```
63
Secondary Prevention
Detect and treat a problem that is not yet symptomatic, like screening for depression
64
tertiary prevention
the treatment of something that is symptomatic
65
universal prevention
programs aimed at entire population
66
selective prevention
programs aimed at "at-risk" population
67
Effectiveness of Primary Prevention
Effective: Meta analyses indicate that people in prevention programs are 59%-82% better off
68
how many deaths in the US are causes by chronic illness
7/10
69
illusion of invulnerability
"Nothing bad is going to happen to me" thinking
70
hedonic primary enhancement
increase pleasure
71
eudaemonic primary enhancement
Increase well being through helping people | set and achieve goals
72
Savoring
Purposeful actions aimed at “appreciating and amplifying a positive experience Requires you to step outside of the experience and think about the experience
73
secondary enhancement
Build upon already optimal functioning and satisfaction to achieve peak experiences – Having already achieved primary enhancement, person seeks peak and transcending experiences
74
Durlak & Wells
examined the effectiveness of prevention programs on children’s and adolescents’ behavioral and social problems; they found that the preventions yielded effective outcomes similar in magnitude to medical procedures such as cancer chemotherapy and coronary bypass surgery. Moreover, Durlak and Wells (1997) observed that, relative to control group participants, those in the prevention programs were anywhere from 59% to 82% better off in terms of reduced problem behaviors and increased competencies
75
Satisficing
Decision making strategy whereby one finds an acceptable minimal threshold  Once that is met, the decision is deemed acceptable and the search for solutions stops
76
Maximizing
Decision making strategy whereby one finds the optimal | solution
77
abnormal behavior
Distressing – Deviant (as in statistically rare) – Maladaptive (dysfunctional and, in extreme cases, dangerous)
78
As psychological professionals and laypeople, we tend to
Under estimate environmental contributions, including culture – Over estimate the individual’s characteristics – Over estimate role of “weakness” and negative emotions – Not fully take into account developmental contributions
79
Fundamental Attribution Error
Human tendency to take environment and motive into account when explaining our behavior, but NOT being generous in this regard to others’ behavior – However, we are less likely to do this with people we love or like
80
Cacioppo showed participants positive, neutral and negative | slides
The brain reacted significantly stronger to the negative slides
81
What % of college students report homesicknes
68%
82
universality assumption
what is deemed true for one group may be considered true for other people, irrespective of cultural differences
83
What is the most influential of all school related factors in undermining students’ learning and attitudes about education
poor teaching
84
Career
Work as a means of gaining upward mobility | – Increase social standing through work, promotion, raises
85
Calling
Work as an integral part of one's identity – Gain self expression, self fulfillment through work – Increase meaning through work
86
presenteeism
Employees are physically at work, but are unproductive and/or unhappy because of mental health problems Often related to aversive or repetitive work experiences
87
diversity in the workplace
Racial diversity is positively correlated with overall performance
88
Managers with fixed mindset
punish dissent, little coaching, revenge
89
managers with growth mindset
forgive and forget, challenge and nurture, zest for teaching
90
Mindset(Dweck)
a set of beliefs or way of thinking that determines ones behavior, outlook, and mental attitude

Positive Psychology (2 decks)

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