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Attributions are inferences people make about the causes of events and behavior.
Attributions are broadly categorized into two types: dispositional (internal attributes) and situational (external attributes).
Explanatory styles rely on three attribution dimensions: internal versus external, stable versus unstable, and global versus specific.
There are two main types of explanatory styles: optimistic, which attributes positive events to factors that are internal, stable, and global, and pessimistic, which attributes negative events to factors that are internal, stable, and global.
People often make incorrect attributions because of the fundamental attribution error, the self-serving bias, and the just world hypothesis.
Cultural values and norms affect the way people make attributions.
Locus of control refers to people’s perception of whether or not they have control over the circumstances in their lives. It can be internal (believing one has control over one’s circumstances) or external (believing that fate, luck, or other people control circumstances).
People form impressions about others through the process of person perception.
The mere exposure effect refers to the tendency of repeated exposure to a positive or neutral stimulus to increase a person’s preference for it.
Self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when a person’s beliefs or expectations about themselves or others influence their behavior, which in turn elicits actions from others that confirm those original beliefs.
Social comparison is a process of personal perception in which individuals evaluate themselves by comparison to others. Comparison can be upward or downward.
Attitudes are evaluations people make about objects, ideas, events, or other people. They can be explicit or implicit and can include beliefs, emotions, and behavior.
Stereotypes are beliefs about people based on their membership in a particular group.
Stereotypes tend to be difficult to change. Stereotyping some important functions, but it can also distort reality in dangerous ways.
A prejudice is a negative belief or feeling about a particular group of individuals.
Prejudice is pervasive because it serves many social and psychological functions.
Researchers find it difficult to measure prejudice. They often measure implicit rather than explicit prejudice.
People who identify strongly with their ingroup are more likely to be prejudiced against people in outgroups.
Cognitive dissonance refers to the psychological discomfort experienced when a person’s actions and attitudes are inconsistent with one another.
Social norms and roles guide behavior in group settings, influencing conformity, obedience, and group dynamics.
Persuasion operates through central and peripheral routes, with strategies like the foot-in-the-door and door-in-the-face techniques.
Conformity is the process of giving in to real or imagined pressure from a group.
Solomon Asch did a famous study that showed that people often conform and that social roles influence behavior.
Factors that influence conformity include group size and unanimity, level of competence, liking for the group, and group observation of the behavior.
People conform because of normative social influence, because of informational social influence, because they want to gain rewards, and because they identify with the group.
Insufficient coordination and social loafing contribute to lowered productivity in groups.
Social facilitation may occur in some group situations.
Groupthink, group polarization, and diffusion of responsibility affect decision-making in groups.
Deindividuation sometimes occurs in large, anonymous, arousing groups.
A social trap is a situation in which acting in one’s own self-interest can harm both the actor and others.
Industrial-Organizational (I/O) psychology focuses on understanding and improving workplace behavior and dynamics.
Prosocial behavior refers to actions intended to benefit others.
Altruism is defined as selfless behavior performed to help others, often without any expectation of personal gain.
People are less likely to offer help in the presence of other people.
Bystanders are more likely to help people in some circumstances than others.
Personality is the collection of characteristic thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make up a person.
Psychodynamic theories focus on unconscious drives, as explained through Freud’s structure of the human mind (id, ego, and superego), and defense mechanisms like repression, denial, and displacement.
Projective personality tests require subjects to respond to ambiguous stimuli. They include the Rorschach test and the Thematic Apperception Test.
Critics of psychodynamic theories argue that these theories are not falsifiable, that they generalize from a few patients to all people, and that they rely on retrospective accounts.
Humanistic theories emphasize subjective viewpoints when studying personality. They have an optimistic view that focuses on humans’ rationality, consciousness, and freedom.
Core concepts of humanistic theories include unconditional positive regard and self-actualization.
Critics argue that humanistic theories and concepts are too naïvely optimistic, vague, difficult to test, and biased toward individualistic values.
According to social-cognitive theorists, personality is formed through a two-way interaction between personal characteristics and the environment. This interaction is called reciprocal determinism.
Many psychologists believe that there are five basic traits. These Big Five traits include neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.
Motivation is an internal process that makes a person move toward a goal.
Self-determination theory proposes that motivation may be intrinsic (coming from within), extrinsic (coming from external rewards or pressures), or both.
Drive reduction theories of motivation suggest that people act in order to reduce needs and maintain a constant physiological state.
Hunger is influenced by both biological factors (like the hypothalamus and hormones) and environmental factors (like culture and habits).
Hormones such as ghrelin and leptin, regulated by the hypothalamus through the pituitary gland, play a key role in controlling hunger and satiety.
Emotion theories include the James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, Schachter-Singer, and cognitive appraisal models, along with the facial feedback hypothesis.
Cultural norms influence the expression and interpretation of emotions, while basic emotions (like happiness and fear) are universal across cultures.
