| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| actor/observer bias | The tendency to attribute one's own behavior to situational factors while attributing others' behavior to dispositional factors. |
| attribution theory | A psychological framework explaining how people interpret and explain the causes of behavior and mental processes in themselves and others. |
| attributions | Explanations that people make about the causes of behavior and mental processes. |
| dispositional attributions | Explanations for behavior based on internal qualities of a person, such as intelligence, personality, or character traits. |
| downward social comparison | Comparing oneself to people perceived as worse off or less successful, which can enhance self-esteem. |
| explanatory style | The characteristic way in which people explain the causes of good and bad events in their own lives and in the lives of others. |
| external locus of control | The belief that one's behavior and outcomes are primarily determined by external factors such as luck, fate, or forces beyond personal control. |
| fundamental attribution error | The tendency to overestimate the influence of dispositional factors and underestimate the influence of situational factors when explaining others' behavior. |
| internal locus of control | The belief that one's behavior and outcomes are primarily determined by personal factors such as effort, ability, and personal responsibility. |
| locus of control | A person's belief about the extent to which their behavior and outcomes are determined by internal factors (personal control) versus external factors (environmental or situational control). |
| mere exposure effect | The tendency for people to develop a preference for something simply because they are repeatedly exposed to it over time. |
| optimistic explanatory style | A tendency to attribute positive events to internal, stable causes and negative events to external, temporary causes. |
| person perception | The process by which individuals form impressions and judgments about other people's characteristics, traits, and behaviors. |
| pessimistic explanatory style | A tendency to attribute negative events to internal, stable causes and positive events to external, temporary causes. |
| relative deprivation | The feeling of dissatisfaction that arises from comparing one's own situation to that of others who are perceived as better off. |
| self-fulfilling prophecy | A situation in which a person's beliefs or expectations about themselves or others cause them to behave in ways that make those beliefs come true. |
| self-serving bias | The tendency to attribute one's successes to internal factors and one's failures to external factors. |
| situational attributions | Explanations for behavior based on external circumstances or environmental factors that a person experiences. |
| social comparison | The process of evaluating oneself by comparing one's own characteristics, abilities, and opinions to those of other people. |
| upward social comparison | Comparing oneself to people perceived as better off or more successful, which can motivate improvement or lead to feelings of inadequacy. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| attitude change | The process by which existing attitudes are modified or replaced in response to new information, experiences, or psychological pressures. |
| attitude formation | The process by which attitudes develop and are established through experience, learning, and social influence. |
| belief perseverance | The tendency for a belief to persist even when evidence suggests it is inaccurate, often reinforced by confirmation bias. |
| cognitive dissonance | The mental discomfort experienced when actions or attitudes conflict with each other, motivating people to reduce the discomfort by changing either their actions or attitudes. |
| cognitive load | The amount of mental effort or processing capacity required to complete a task or make a decision. |
| confirmation bias | The tendency to seek out, interpret, and remember information in ways that confirm existing beliefs or attitudes. |
| discrimination | Unfair treatment of individuals or groups based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status, which can negatively impact intelligence scores and limit opportunities. |
| ethnocentrism | The tendency to view one's own culture or ethnic group as superior and to judge other cultures by the standards of one's own culture. |
| implicit attitudes | Attitudes that individuals hold but may be unaware of or may not consciously acknowledge, often reflecting negative evaluations of others. |
| in-group bias | The tendency to favor and show preference for members of one's own group over members of other groups. |
| just-world phenomenon | A cognitive bias in which people believe that the world is just and that people get what they deserve, often leading to negative judgments of those who suffer misfortune. |
| out-group homogeneity bias | The tendency to perceive members of an out-group as more similar to each other than members of one's own in-group actually are. |
| prejudice | A negative attitude or evaluation toward a group or its members, often based on stereotypes and implicit attitudes. |
| stereotype | A generalized concept or belief about a group of people that can influence decision-making and judgments, and often serves as a basis for prejudiced attitudes and discriminatory behaviors. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| altruism | Selfless concern for others; helping behavior motivated by genuine concern for another person's welfare rather than personal gain. |
| attentional variables | Factors related to a person's focus and awareness that affect whether they notice a situation requiring help and respond to it. |
| burnout | A state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress in the workplace, characterized by reduced effectiveness and motivation. |
| bystander effect | The phenomenon in which individuals are less likely to help in an emergency when other people are present than when they are alone. |
| central route to persuasion | A persuasion pathway involving careful, thoughtful analysis of persuasive arguments and evidence. |
| collectivism | A cultural orientation that emphasizes group harmony, interdependence, and collective welfare over individual goals and personal identity. |
| conformity | The tendency to adhere to unspoken rules, norms, or expectations of a group, often influenced by social pressure. |
| deindividuation | The loss of self-awareness and individual identity that occurs when a person is part of a group, often leading to increased conformity and sometimes antisocial behavior. |
| diffusion of responsibility | The tendency for individuals in a group to feel less personal responsibility for their actions because the responsibility is distributed among group members. |
| door-in-the-face technique | A persuasion method in which a large initial request is followed by a smaller request to increase compliance with the smaller request. |
| elaboration likelihood model | A theory of persuasion that describes two main routes through which people process persuasive messages: central route (thoughtful analysis) and peripheral route (superficial cues). |
| false consensus effect | The tendency to overestimate the degree to which others agree with one's own beliefs, values, and behaviors. |
| foot-in-the-door technique | A persuasion method in which a small initial request is followed by a larger request to increase compliance with the larger request. |
| group polarization | The tendency for group discussion to strengthen the initial inclinations of group members, leading to more extreme positions than individuals would hold alone. |
| groupthink | A psychological phenomenon where the desire for harmony and consensus in a group leads to dysfunctional decision-making and suppression of critical evaluation. |
| halo effect | A cognitive bias where the perception of one positive characteristic influences overall judgment of a person, often used as a peripheral route to persuasion. |
| individualism | A cultural orientation that emphasizes personal goals, independence, and individual identity over group harmony and collective welfare. |
| Industrial-organizational psychology | The branch of psychology that studies how people perform in workplace settings and applies psychological principles to improve management, workplace relationships, and employee well-being. |
| informational social influence | Social pressure to behave or think in ways based on the assumption that others possess accurate information about the situation. |
| multiculturalism | The coexistence and interaction of multiple cultural groups within a society, influencing how individuals perceive and behave towards themselves and others. |
| normative social influence | Social pressure to behave or think in ways that conform to group expectations in order to gain approval or avoid disapproval. |
| obedience | The tendency to comply with the directives or commands of an authority figure. |
| peripheral route to persuasion | A persuasion pathway involving superficial cues such as attractiveness or credibility rather than careful analysis of arguments. |
| persuasion | Techniques used to convince oneself or others to adopt particular ideas, actions, or beliefs. |
| prosocial behavior | Voluntary actions intended to benefit others, such as helping, sharing, or comforting. |
| situational variables | Environmental and contextual factors that influence whether a person will engage in helping behavior. |
| social debt | A perceived obligation to reciprocate help or favors that have been received from others. |
| social facilitation | The phenomenon where the presence of others enhances performance on well-learned or simple tasks but impairs performance on difficult or novel tasks. |
| social influence theory | A theoretical framework proposing that social pressure can cause people to behave or think in certain ways through normative or informational means. |
| social loafing | The tendency for individuals to exert less effort when working as part of a group compared to when working alone. |
| social norms | Unwritten rules and expectations that define how members of a society should behave in individual and social situations. |
| social reciprocity norm | A social expectation that people should help and return favors to those who have helped them. |
| social responsibility norm | A social expectation that people should help others who are in need, regardless of whether they have helped us in the past. |
| social situation | The environmental and contextual factors involving other people that influence an individual's behavior and mental processes. |
| social traps | Situations where individuals acting in their own self-interest create outcomes that are detrimental to the group as a whole. |
| superordinate goals | Goals that require cooperation between groups and can only be achieved through joint effort, serving to reduce intergroup conflict and negative stereotyping. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| denial | An ego defense mechanism in which a person refuses to acknowledge a threatening reality or unpleasant truth. |
| displacement | An ego defense mechanism in which emotions or impulses are redirected from their original target to a safer or more acceptable target. |
| ego defense mechanisms | Unconscious psychological strategies that protect the ego from anxiety and threatening thoughts, including denial, displacement, projection, rationalization, reaction formation, regression, repression, and sublimation. |
| humanistic theory | A psychological approach to personality that emphasizes personal growth, self-fulfillment, and the individual's subjective experience as central to understanding personality. |
| preconscious | Mental content that is not currently in conscious awareness but can be brought into consciousness with effort. |
| projection | An ego defense mechanism in which a person attributes their own unacceptable thoughts or feelings to another person. |
| projective tests | Personality assessment tools designed to reveal unconscious and preconscious thoughts by having individuals respond to ambiguous stimuli. |
| psychodynamic theory of personality | A theory that explains personality as being driven by unconscious processes and internal conflicts. |
| rationalization | An ego defense mechanism in which a person creates logical but false explanations for their behavior to protect self-image. |
| reaction formation | An ego defense mechanism in which a person expresses the opposite of their true unconscious feelings or impulses. |
| regression | An ego defense mechanism in which a person reverts to earlier, more childlike behaviors or emotional responses when facing stress or anxiety. |
| repression | An ego defense mechanism in which threatening or painful memories and impulses are pushed into the unconscious mind. |
| self-actualizing tendency | The innate human motivation to develop one's full potential and become the best version of oneself, viewed as a primary driving force in personality according to humanistic theory. |
| sublimation | An ego defense mechanism in which unacceptable impulses or emotions are channeled into socially acceptable activities or behaviors. |
| unconditional regard | Acceptance and support given to a person without conditions or judgment, considered a key factor in personality development within humanistic psychology. |
| unconscious processes | Mental activities and motivations that occur outside of conscious awareness and influence personality and behavior. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| agreeableness | A Big Five personality trait characterized by tendencies toward cooperation, compassion, and concern for others. |
| Big Five theory | A trait theory of personality proposing that five major traits—agreeableness, openness to experience, extraversion, conscientiousness, and emotional stability—comprise personality. |
| conscientiousness | A Big Five personality trait characterized by organization, discipline, and tendency toward goal-directed behavior. |
| emotional stability | A Big Five personality trait characterized by the ability to manage stress and negative emotions, as opposed to neuroticism. |
| extraversion | A Big Five personality trait characterized by sociability, assertiveness, and tendency to seek stimulation and social interaction. |
| factor analysis | A statistical technique used to organize and identify patterns in personality inventory responses to determine underlying trait dimensions. |
| openness to experience | A Big Five personality trait characterized by curiosity, creativity, and receptiveness to new ideas and experiences. |
| personality inventories | Specialized assessment tools used to measure personality traits by collecting and analyzing responses to standardized items. |
| reciprocal determinism | The concept that personality is shaped by the mutual influence of a person's thoughts and beliefs, their environment, and their behavior. |
| self-concept | An individual's perception and understanding of themselves, including how they view themselves in relation to others. |
| self-efficacy | A person's belief in their ability to succeed in specific situations or accomplish particular tasks. |
| self-esteem | A person's overall evaluation of their own worth and value as an individual. |
| social-cognitive theory | A theory of personality that emphasizes how personality is shaped by the interaction between a person's thoughts, environment, and behavior. |
| trait theories of personality | Psychological theories that explain personality as a set of enduring characteristics that lead to typical responses to stimuli. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| approach-approach conflict | A type of motivational conflict in which a person must choose between two desirable options. |
| approach-avoidance conflict | A type of motivational conflict in which a person is drawn toward an option that also has negative consequences. |
| arousal theory | A theory of motivation proposing that people seek an optimal level of arousal when they behave. |
| avoidance-avoidance conflict | A type of motivational conflict in which a person must choose between two undesirable options. |
| belongingness | A fundamental human motivation to form and maintain social connections and feel accepted by others. |
| boredom susceptibility | A type of sensation seeking characterized by a low tolerance for monotony and a need for stimulation. |
| disinhibition | A type of sensation seeking characterized by the desire to engage in uninhibited social behavior and escape from constraints. |
| drive-reduction theory | A theory of motivation proposing that certain behaviors help maintain homeostasis by reducing physiological drives or needs. |
| experience seeking | A type of sensation seeking characterized by the desire to seek varied or novel experiences through one's senses and mind. |
| extrinsic motivation | External motivation driven by rewards, punishments, or other outside factors rather than personal interest. |
| ghrelin | A hormone that increases appetite and signals hunger to the brain, primarily produced in the stomach. |
| homeostasis | The maintenance of stable internal physiological conditions necessary for survival and functioning. |
| hunger | The physiological drive or sensation that motivates eating behavior in response to the body's need for food. |
| hypothalamus | A brain structure within the limbic system that regulates hormones, temperature, hunger, and other homeostatic functions. |
| incentive theory | A theory of motivation exploring the role of rewards in motivating behavior. |
| instincts | Innate, typically fixed patterns of behavior in animals that occur in response to certain stimuli. |
| intrinsic motivation | Internal motivation driven by personal satisfaction, interest, or enjoyment rather than external rewards. |
| leptin | A hormone that decreases appetite and signals satiety (fullness) to the brain, produced by fat cells. |
| Lewin's motivational conflicts theory | A theory proposing that choices create conflicts one must resolve as the basis of motivation. |
| motivated behavior | Behavior driven by internal or external factors that direct an organism toward a goal or need satisfaction. |
| pituitary gland | An endocrine gland within the limbic system that releases hormones controlling growth, metabolism, and other bodily functions. |
| satiety | The feeling of fullness or satisfaction after eating that reduces the motivation to continue eating. |
| self-determination theory | A theory of motivation proposing that people are motivated by intrinsic (internal) or extrinsic (external) motivations. |
| sensation-seeking theory | A theory proposing that one's level of need for varied or novel experiences is the basis of motivation. |
| thrill or adventure seeking | A type of sensation seeking characterized by the desire to engage in risky or exciting activities. |
| Yerkes-Dodson Law | A principle demonstrating the relationship between arousal level and performance, showing that optimal performance occurs at moderate levels of arousal. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| affect | The emotional experience or feeling state of an individual; often used interchangeably with emotion in psychology. |
| broaden-and-build theory | A theory of emotion proposing that positive emotions expand awareness and encourage new thoughts and actions, while negative emotions narrow thinking and action. |
| cognitive appraisal | The mental process of interpreting and evaluating a situation, which influences the emotional response experienced. |
| cognitive experience | The mental interpretation and understanding of emotion, including thoughts and awareness of emotional states. |
| display rules | Cultural norms that regulate how and when emotions can be expressed, which may vary across different cultures, genders, ages, or socioeconomic classes. |
| elicitors | Stimuli or situations that trigger or evoke emotional responses, which can vary across different cultures and groups. |
| emotion | A complex psychological process involving both physiological and cognitive components that reflects internal and external factors affecting an individual. |
| facial-feedback hypothesis | The theory that the experience of emotion is influenced by facial expressions, suggesting that physical facial movements can affect emotional feelings. |
| physiological experience | The bodily and biological responses associated with emotion, such as changes in heart rate, breathing, and hormone levels. |
| social norms | Unwritten rules and expectations that define how members of a society should behave in individual and social situations. |
| universality of emotions | The concept that certain emotions are commonly experienced and expressed across different cultures, though research shows mixed results on the extent of this universality. |