Cross Cultural Psych

Front 1

absolute threshold

Back 1

the minimum amount of physical energy needed for the observer to notice a stimulus

Front 2

aesthetic experience

Back 2

a term used to identify the feeling of pleasure evoked by stimuli that are perceived as beautiful, attractive, and rewarding. the term also refers to displeasure evoked by stimuli that are perceived as ugly, unattractive, and unrewarding

Front 3

altered state of consciousness (ASC)

Back 3

the general name for phenomena that are different from normal waking consciousness and include mystic experiences, meditation, hypnosis, trance, and possession

Front 4

behavioural environment

Back 4

a mental representation that orients people to dimensions such as time, space, and the interpersonal world

Front 5

consciousness

Back 5

the subjective awareness of one's own sensations, perceptions, and other mental events

Front 6

daydreaming

Back 6

turning attention away from external stimuli to internal thoughts and imagined scenarios

Front 7

depth perception

Back 7

the organization of sensations in three dimensions, even though the image on the eye's retina is two dimensional

Front 8

dreams

Back 8

storylike sequences of images occurring during sleep

Front 9

difference threshold

Back 9

the lowest level of stimulation required to sense that a change in the stimulation has occurred

Front 10

meditation

Back 10

a quiet and relaxed state of tranquility in which a person achieves an integration of emotions, attitudes, and thoughts

Front 11

perception

Back 11

the process that organizes various sensations into meaningful patterns

Front 12

perceptual set

Back 12

perceptual expectations based on experience

Front 13

sensation

Back 13

the process by which receptor cells are stimulated and transmit their information to higher brain centers

Front 14

sensory adaptation

Back 14

the tendency of the sensory system to respond less to stimuli that continue without change

Front 15

sleep

Back 15

a nonwaking state of consciousness characterized by general unresponsiveness to the environment and general physical immobility

Front 16

trance

Back 16

a sleeplike state marked by reduced sensitivity to stimuli, loss or alteration of knowledge, rapturous experiences, and the substitution of automatic for voluntary motor activity

Front 17

attitude

Back 17

a psychological representation of various features of the social or physical world

Front 18

cognitive dissonance

Back 18

psychological tensions caused by the perceived mismatch between (1) attitudes and behaviour, (2) two or more decisions, or (3) two or more attitudes

Front 19

dogmatism

Back 19

the tendency to be closed-minded, rigid, and inflexible in one's opinions and subsequent behaviour

Front 20

fundamental attribution error

Back 20

the tendency to explain others' actions in terms of internal causes and our own behaviour in terms of circumstances, environmental influences, and opportunities

Front 21

locus of control

Back 21

the generalized beliefs that the control of one's reinforcements rests either on controllable internal factors (internal locus of control) or on uncontrollable external factors (external locus of control)

Front 22

self-centered bias

Back 22

the tendency to take credit for successes and avoid responsibility for failures

Front 23

social attribution

Back 23

the process through which we seek to explain and identify the causes of the behaviour of others as well as our own actions

Front 24

social cognition

Back 24

the process through which we interpret, remember, and then use information about the social world

Front 25

social perception

Back 25

the process through which we seek to know and understand other people and ourselves

Front 26

stereotypes

Back 26

traits or characteristics generally attributed to all members of specific groups

Front 27

unassuming bias

Back 27

the tendency to explain one's own success as a result of external factors, and one's failure as a result of personal mistakes or weaknesses

Front 28

value

Back 28

a complex belief that reflects a principle, standard, or quality considered by the individual as the most desirable or appropriate

Front 29

cohesiveness

Back 29

all forces acting on group members to cause them to remain part of a group, including mutual attraction, interdependence, and shared goals

Front 30

competition

Back 30

a form of social interaction in which individuals or groups attempt to maximize their own outcomes, often at the expense of others

Front 31

compliance

Back 31

doing or saying what others say or do

Front 32

conformity

Back 32

a form of social influence in which individuals change their attitudes and/or behavior to adhere to existing social norms

Front 33

cooperation

Back 33

a form of social interaction in which individuals or groups coordinate theor behaviour to reach a shared goal

Front 34

group

Back 34

two or more individuals forming a complete unit in a composition

Front 35

group polarization

Back 35

the tendency of group members to shift, as a result of group discussion, toward more extreme positions than they initially held

Front 36

groupthink

Back 36

the tendency of members of groups to adhere to the shared views so strongly that they ignore information inconsistent with those views

Front 37

identification

Back 37

the process wherein the individual so strongly feels that he is a member of a group that he adopts its opinions, attitudes, and values

Front 38

leadership

Back 38

the process through which some individuals (leaders) influence other group members toward the attainment of a specific group goal or activity

Front 39

norms

Back 39

rules within a group indicating how its members should (or should not) behave

Front 40

obedience

Back 40

a form of social influence in which one person simply orders one or more people to perform some action(s)

Front 41

power

Back 41

the capacity or ability of an individual to exercise control and/or authority

Front 42

roles

Back 42

the set of behaviours that individuals occupying specific positions within a group are expected to perform

Front 43

sanctions

Back 43

actions that reward those who follow the norms and reprove those who are deviant

Front 44

social facilitation

Back 44

effects on performance resulting from the presence of others

Front 45

social influence

Back 45

efforts on the part of one person to alter the behaviour or attitudes of one or more people

Front 46

social loafing

Back 46

the tendency of some group members to exert less effort on a task than they would if working alone

Front 47

social power

Back 47

the ability or capacity to exercise control, authority

Front 48

status

Back 48

relative social (formal or informal) position or rank within a group