AP Psychology Unit 4 Social Psychology and
Personality
1.Attributions: people's explanations for why events or actions occur
2.dispositional attribution: assuming that another's behavior is due to
personality factors, not situational ones
3.Situational attribution: attribution to factors external to an actor,
such as the task, other people, or luck
4.Explanatory style: One's habitual way of explaining life events. Can be
optimistic or pessimistic
5.Optimistic: hopeful and confident about the future
6.Pessimistic: seeing the worst side of things; no hope
7.actor-observer bias: the tendency to blame our actions on the
situation and blame the actions of others on their personalities
8.fundamental attribution error: the tendency for observers, when
analyzing an- other's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the
situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition
9.self-serving bias: the tendency for people to take personal credit for
success but blame failure on external factors
10.Internal locus of control: the perception that you control your own fate
11.External locus of control: the perception that chance or outside forces
beyond your personal control determine your fate.
12.Mere exposure effect: the phenomenon that repeated exposure to
novel stimuli increases liking of them
1/
13
, 13.self-fulfilling prophecy: an expectation that causes you to act in
ways that make that expectation come true.
14.social comparison: evaluating one's abilities and opinions by
comparing one- self with others
15.upward social comparison: comparing ourselves to people who are
better than we are with regard to a particular trait or ability
16.downward social comparison: comparing ourselves to people who are
worse than we are with regard to a particular trait or ability
17.relative deprivation: the perception that one is worse off relative to
those with whom one compares oneself
18.stereotype: A generalized belief about a group of people
19.cognitive load: The amount of a person's cognitive resources needed
to carry out a particular cognitive task.
20.prejudice: preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or
actual experi- ence
21.discrimination: unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its
members
22.implicit attitudes: Attitudes that are involuntary, uncontrollable, and
at times unconscious
23.just-world phenomenon: the tendency for people to believe the
world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and
deserve what they get
24.Out-group bias: tendency to view all individuals outside our group
as highly similar
2/
13
Personality
1.Attributions: people's explanations for why events or actions occur
2.dispositional attribution: assuming that another's behavior is due to
personality factors, not situational ones
3.Situational attribution: attribution to factors external to an actor,
such as the task, other people, or luck
4.Explanatory style: One's habitual way of explaining life events. Can be
optimistic or pessimistic
5.Optimistic: hopeful and confident about the future
6.Pessimistic: seeing the worst side of things; no hope
7.actor-observer bias: the tendency to blame our actions on the
situation and blame the actions of others on their personalities
8.fundamental attribution error: the tendency for observers, when
analyzing an- other's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the
situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition
9.self-serving bias: the tendency for people to take personal credit for
success but blame failure on external factors
10.Internal locus of control: the perception that you control your own fate
11.External locus of control: the perception that chance or outside forces
beyond your personal control determine your fate.
12.Mere exposure effect: the phenomenon that repeated exposure to
novel stimuli increases liking of them
1/
13
, 13.self-fulfilling prophecy: an expectation that causes you to act in
ways that make that expectation come true.
14.social comparison: evaluating one's abilities and opinions by
comparing one- self with others
15.upward social comparison: comparing ourselves to people who are
better than we are with regard to a particular trait or ability
16.downward social comparison: comparing ourselves to people who are
worse than we are with regard to a particular trait or ability
17.relative deprivation: the perception that one is worse off relative to
those with whom one compares oneself
18.stereotype: A generalized belief about a group of people
19.cognitive load: The amount of a person's cognitive resources needed
to carry out a particular cognitive task.
20.prejudice: preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or
actual experi- ence
21.discrimination: unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its
members
22.implicit attitudes: Attitudes that are involuntary, uncontrollable, and
at times unconscious
23.just-world phenomenon: the tendency for people to believe the
world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and
deserve what they get
24.Out-group bias: tendency to view all individuals outside our group
as highly similar
2/
13
