Attribution theory
Explains behavior as caused by the person (dispositional) or the situation (situational).
AttributionFundamental attribution error
Overestimating personality, underestimating the situation when explaining others' behavior.
AttributionSelf-serving bias
Taking credit for successes (dispositional) but blaming failures on circumstances (situational).
AttributionStereotypes / prejudice / discrimination
Stereotype = belief; prejudice = negative attitude; discrimination = unjust behavior toward a group.
AttributionCognitive dissonance
Mental discomfort from holding conflicting beliefs or acting against one's beliefs; resolved by changing one.
AttitudesCentral vs. peripheral persuasion
Central route: logic and evidence. Peripheral route: surface cues like attractiveness or emotion.
AttitudesFoot-in-the-door
Compliance technique starting with a small request, escalating to larger ones.
AttitudesDoor-in-the-face
Compliance technique starting with a large request, then a smaller one that seems like a concession.
AttitudesConformity (Asch)
Adjusting behavior to match group standards — Asch showed people conform even when the group is clearly wrong.
Social SituationsObedience (Milgram)
Following authority's orders — Milgram showed most people would deliver believed-dangerous shocks when instructed.
Social SituationsSocial facilitation
Better performance on easy/well-learned tasks in others' presence; worse performance on difficult tasks.
Social SituationsSocial loafing
Reduced individual effort when working in a group.
Social SituationsGroupthink
Desire for harmony overrides realistic group appraisal, leading to poor decisions.
Social SituationsGroup polarization
Groups make more extreme decisions than individuals would alone.
Social SituationsBystander effect
Less likely to help in emergencies when other bystanders are present — diffusion of responsibility.
Social SituationsPsychodynamic theory
Freud's view that personality is shaped by unconscious drives and early childhood conflicts.
PersonalityId, ego, superego
Id = pleasure-seeking; superego = moral standards; ego = rational mediator between them and reality.
PersonalityDefense mechanisms
Unconscious ego strategies for managing anxiety: repression, denial, projection, displacement, sublimation.
PersonalityHumanistic theory
Maslow and Rogers: free will, self-actualization, and unconditional positive regard shape healthy personality.
PersonalitySelf-actualization
Maslow's concept of fully realizing one's potential — at the top of his hierarchy of needs.
PersonalityBig Five (OCEAN)
Five broad personality dimensions: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism.
PersonalitySocial-cognitive theory
Bandura: personality reflects behavior-thought-environment interaction; includes reciprocal determinism.
PersonalitySelf-efficacy
Bandura's term for one's belief in ability to succeed at a specific task.
PersonalityDrive-reduction theory
Physiological needs create drives motivating behavior to restore homeostasis.
MotivationYerkes-Dodson law
Optimal performance at moderate arousal — too low or too high impairs performance.
MotivationMaslow's hierarchy
Pyramid from physiological and safety needs up through love, esteem, and self-actualization.
MotivationIntrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation
Intrinsic: driven by internal interest. Extrinsic: driven by external rewards or pressures.
MotivationJames-Lange theory
Body responds first → we interpret that response as an emotion.
EmotionCannon-Bard theory
Body response and conscious emotion occur simultaneously, not sequentially.
EmotionSchachter-Singer two-factor theory
Arousal + cognitive label of its cause = emotion experience.
Emotion