Psychology

the # of different aspects that make up the self

high intensity positive and negative feelings, greater mood swings

less intense feelings

a gap between what one sees and what one would like to see (actual, ideal, ought)

an organized collection of beliefs about the self

one's overall assessment of one's worth as a person

the tendency to regard oneself as grandiosely self-important

inferences that people draw about the causes of their own behavior

ascribe the causes of behavior to personal dispositions, traits, abilities, and feelings

ascribe the causes of behavior to situational demands and environmental constraints

the tendency to maintain positive feelings about oneself

downward comparisons, self-serving bias, basking in reflected glory, self-handicapping

a defensive tendency to compare oneself with someone whose troubles are more serious than one's own

the tendency to attribute one's successes to personal factors and one's failures to situational factors

the tendency to enhance one's image by publicly announcing one's association with those who are successful

the tendency to sabotage one's performance to provide an excuse for possible failure

the process of directing and controlling one's behaviors

refers to one's belief about one's ability to perform behaviors that should lead to expected outcomes

the process of forming impressions of others

inferences that people draw about the causes of their own behavior, others' behavior, and events

the tendency to seek information that supports one's beliefs while not pursuing disconfirming information

occurs when expectations about a person cause the person to behave in ways that confirm the expectations

two-stage model of attributions: rapid and automatic, slower and controlled

snap judgement

• we can correct our automatic attributions
• systematic judgement (similar to reducing prejudice)

• widely held beliefs that people have certain characteristics because of their membership in a particular group
• public, private, implicit (unconscious)

• enduring attitude that predisposes a response toward a group
• remarkably easy to acquire
• negative experience with one member of a group can influence lifelong emotions and beliefs

• in-group bias (favor those like us)
• scapegoating (blame someone else for your problems)
• categorizing
• vivid case (one exceptional case)

• refers to the tendency to explain other people's behavior as the result of personal, rather than situational, factors
• defense attribution- "it wouldn't happen to me"
• just world bias- "she deserved it"

negative attitude toward members of a group

behaving differently toward members of a certain group

• conginitive strategies- automatic processing to controlled processing (mindlessness to mindfulness)
• intergroup contact- work together for a common goal, successful outcomes, meaninful connections, equal status contact

occurs when people yield to real or imagined social pressure

occurs when people yield to social pressure in their public behavior, even though their private beliefs have not changed

operates when people conform to social norms for fear of negative social consequences

operates when people look to others for how to behave in ambiguous situations

the tendency for individuals to be less likely to provide help when others are present than when they are alone

a form of compliance that occurs when people follow direct commands, usually from someone in a position of authority

an interactional process in which one person sends a message to another

• sender
• receiver
• message
• channel- what bodily mode are you using (gesture, eye contact)
• noise- interference that messes up the conveying of the message (anything, not just noise)
• context- environment/setting

multi-channeled, ambiguous, conveys emotion, may contradict verbal message, is culture-bound (more/less physical touching, varied greetings)

the study of people's use of interpersonal space

facial expression, eye contact, body language, touch, paralanguage (includes all vocal cues other than the content of the verbal message itself)

refers to geographic, residential, and other forms of spatial closeness

an increase in positive feelings toward a novel stimulus (person) based on frequent exposure to it

proposes that people of similar levels of physical attractiveness gravitate toward each other

maintains that a species' mating patterns depend on what each sex has to invest, in the way of time, energy, and survival risk, to produce and nurture offspring

refers to liking those who show that they like you

involves the actions and activities used to sustain the desired quality of a relationship

postulates that interpersonal relationships are governed by perceptions of the rewards and costs exchanged in interactions

a personal standard of what constitutes an acceptable balance of rewards and costs in a relationship

one's estimation of the available outcomes from alternative relationships

things that people contribute to a relationship that they can't get back if the relationship ends

• intimacy- refers to warmth, closeness, and sharing in a relationship
• passion- refers to the intense feelings (both positive and negative) experienced in love relationships, including sexual desire
• commitment- involves the decision and intent to maintain a relationship in spite of the difficulties and costs that may arise

• typical ways of interacting in close relationships
• secure
• avoidant
• anxious/ambivalent

• stigma attached in past has eroded
• religious denominations more tolerant
• marriage loses some of sacred quality
• smaller families make divorce less dire
• women less financially dependent
• attitudes change, no longer expected to suffer in silence

• increased dramatically between the 50's and 80's, but have stabilized and slightly decreased since then
• was 50%, now between 40 and 45%

• 25% of children show serious psychological or emotional problems in adulthood
• depression, anxiety, nightmares, dependency, aggression, withdrawal, distractibility, lowered academic performance, reduced physical health, precocious sexual behavior, substance abuse

• approximately 10% (5-8% identified)
• homosexual relationships briefer than heterosexual
• long-term relationships are preferred
• levels of love, commitment, sexual satisfaction and overall satisfaction similiar to heterosexual couples
• less likely to adopt "traditional" gender roles than stereotyped
• most are not "highly-sexed" individuals
• can be and often are active family members

refers to forced and unwanted intercourse in the context of dating