Gray Psychology Chapter 13 - 16 Final Review

Front 1

who is Triandis?

Back 1

distinguishes ‘individualist’ and ‘collectivist cultures’ – eg Bond and Cheung (1983) – the “I am” questions

Front 2

what is social identity theory – who is it associated with and what has it got to do with self-esteem?

Back 2

social identity – the element of the self concept established through social categories and group membership (Tajfel 1972) – when our social identity is activated we share in the glories of our team, when personal identity is more salient our teammates achievements might undermine our self-esteem

Front 3

what are implicit stereotypes? and how do they relate to priming?

Back 3

a set of mental associations that guide our judgment of a group without our conscious awareness

Front 4

who is Leon Festinger – what is his theory? and how does it relate to the foot in the door approach to persuasion?

Back 4

the discomfort of dissonance leads us to resolve inconsistencies – Festinger’s (1957) concept of cognitive dissonance – may lead to avoidance of contradictory information; setting aside doubt

Front 5

what is an attitude?

Back 5

a belief our opinion that has an evaluative component – our most central attitudes are referred to as values

Front 6

what is insufficient justification and what’s it got to do with Festinger?

Back 6

changing an attitude to explain an inexplicable low-incentive behavior

Front 7

what’s the relationship between attitudes and behavior?

Back 7

implicit attitudes automatically influence behavior

explicit attitudes must be accessed to affect behavior – eg if you are consciously reminded of them

Front 8

what did Zajonc say about social facilitation and social interference?

Back 8

increased drive – Robert Zajonc (1965) observed a facilitation effect in simple, well-learned tasks involving ‘dominant actions’- based on increased arousal and skill level

interference – ‘choking under pressure’ – interference with working memory eg test anxiety; stereotype threat (Claude Steele 1997)

Front 9

what is a stereotype threat? how does it work?

Back 9

threatening feeling that occurs, during test taking, when a person is reminded that he/she is a member of a group that, according to a cultural stereotype, does poorly on that type of test

Front 10

who is Erving Goffman?

Back 10

'actors in the drama of life’

Front 11

how did Asch explore conformity? and why do people conform?

Back 11

basic procedure – students were asked to judge the length of a line – based on a comparison of three alternative lines – Asch was interested in non-ambiguous discrimination tasks – previous conformity experiments had been somewhat ambiguous

follow-up studies indicate that conformity was more likely to be normative than informational – including a non-conformist appears to be beneficial for even complex group discussions

Front 12

what is the broken window theory of crime prevention?

Back 12

the ‘broken windows’ theory of crime (Kelling & Coles, 1996) – part of the ‘most of us’ theory of influence

Front 13

did what happens when more than one person witnesses an accident or related event?

Back 13

a person is much more likely to help if he or she is the only witness (Latané and Nida, 1981) – not helping may be a form of impression management - also the result of both informational and normative pressure

Front 14

describe group polarization and groupthink (Janis)

Back 14

the tendency for a group of people who share a similar opinion to hold that opinion more strongly after discussion (G-5) – probably the result of both informational and normative influences – the normative pressures are described in the one-upmanship hypothesis (Levinger and Schneider 1969) and the group differentiation hypothesis (Hogg et al, 1990)

“Groupthink is what happens when a small, highly cohesive group of like-minded people becomes so obsessed with reaching consensus that they loose touch with reality and make a catastrophic decision.” (Rogers, 2003, p. 285)

excessive cohesiveness; high stakes circumstances; isolation; a powerful and partial leader

Front 15

what is the ‘foot-in-the-door technique’ - what has it got to do with Festinger?

Back 15

how it works – the low-ball and the foot-in-the-door techniques work largely on the principles of cognitive dissonance

Front 16

who is Milgram and what were the important variables in his study?

Back 16

“…those cases of compliance where the requester is perceived as an authority figure or leader and the request is perceived as an order.” Gray p 517

given the opportunity to shock the ‘learner’ with up to 450 volts, 65% of subjects typical reach the highest voltage
• the norm of obedience (Cialdini and Goldstein, 2004) – to a legitimate authority
• the experimenter’s self-assurance and acceptance of responsibility
• proximity of experimenter and the ‘teacher’s’ distance from ‘learner’
• absence of an alternative model
• the incremental nature of the requests

Front 17

what is the tragedy of the commons?

Back 17

a dilemma occurs when a course of action benefits the individual, but harms the group, and causes more ultimate harm to everyone if everyone tales that course (Gray p 522) – in each instance social working or contributing is the cooperative solution and social loafing or free riding is the uncooperative solution

Front 18

what was Sherif study?

Back 18

• group affiliation and competition created – within-group solidarity; negative stereotyping of the out-group; and hostility
• resolution of inter-group hostility was finally achieved through superordinate goals (Sherif 1961)

Front 19

what are superordinate goals

Back 19

???

Front 20

what is a trait?

Back 20

“…a relatively stable predisposition to behave in a certain way.” Gray p 538 ; distinct from states, which can also be inferred from behavior, but are temporary ; traits are dimensional rather than categorical – and descriptive rather than explanatory;

Front 21

what is factor analysis?

Back 21

a statistical method – analyses the patterns in correlations to establish defined factors – produces a matrix

step 1 – assess subjects on a series of personality measures – eg a series of adjectives
step 2 – correlate the scores for each adjective
step 3 – factor extraction – each factor will describe a cluster of measures which are relatively strongly correlated
step 4 – label the factors - eg conscientiousness

Front 22

who is Cattell and what did he create?

Back 22

Cattell used Allport’s (1937) 18,000 original adjectives to create around 170 distinct personality descriptions – he eventually reduced this to 16 basic traits – described in the 16 PF Questionnaire

Front 23

what are the 5 major personality factors described by Costa and McCrae?

Back 23

Neuroticism; Extraversion; Openness to experience; Agreeableness; Conscientiousness

Front 24

what is the relationship between personality and behavior?

Back 24

a test is valid to the extent that it measures what it proposes to measure…for example higher scores on…although all personality traits may be influenced by circumstances – there appears to be a strong connection between assessed traits and behavior – eg neuroticism – associated with more attention to threat; greater susceptibility to mental disorders; extraversion – associated with more socializing; less disturbed by sudden noises; openness to experience – more often in a liberal arts program; exhibit less racial prejudice … although all may be influenced by circumstances

Front 25

what have genes got to do with personality?

Back 25

heritability appears to be between .40 and .55 for most traits (Bouchard, 2004) – this is also the case for twins raised apart (the Minnesota Study - eg Bouchard 1991)

being raised in the same family appears to have a negligible effect on personality

genetic influence personality may be at the level of neurotransmitters – eg a relationship between neuroticism and serotonin; and between ‘novelty seeking’ and dopamine

Front 26

what has gender got to do with personality?

Back 26

women higher in agreeableness and concern with positive social relationships; express higher levels of neuroticism and conscientiousness; within the extraversion dimension are more warm and gregarious; in terms of openness to experience, score higher than men on he aesthetics and feelings facets as opposed to fantasy, action, ideas and values facets)

Front 27

what has birth order and sibling rivalry got to do with personality?

Back 27

similarity between sibling is more influenced by genetics than environment; sibling contrast may be the result of carving out a viable niche and part of an effort to reduce sibling rivalry (Schachter 1982); birth order may have some significance in personality

Front 28

how did Freud understand personality – what is the role of the unconscious?

Back 28

our core motivations are largely unconscious – and are at the heart of much of who we are and of our neuroses

Front 29

name 2 defense mechanisms – what are they for?

Back 29

we employ defense mechanisms to keep disturbing and anxiety-producing thoughts at bay – therefore our rationalizations and explanations of our behavior are often far from the truth

“…defense mechanisms operate to reduce one’s consciousness of wishes, memories and other thoughts that would threaten one’s self esteem or…provoke a strong feeling of insecurity or anxiety.” Gray, p 561 – some examples - repression; displacement; sublimation; reaction formation; projection; rationalization

Front 30

who is Vaillant?

Back 30

categorized defenses into immature; intermediate; and mature styles – eg suppression and humor are elements of a mature defensive style – which is associated with higher levels of adult adjustment

Front 31

who is Rogers?

Back 31

the concept of self is central and the efforts to connect with the authentic self are universal

Front 32

what is phenomenology?

Back 32

the individual’s conscious understanding and representation of their world

Front 33

what did Maslow say about self actualization?

Back 33

• self-actualization refers to the process of realizing the authentic self
• for Maslow, self-actualization encompasses the need for self-expression and creativity – and “…a sense of connectedness to with the broader universe.” in Gray, p 565
• McAdams (1993; 2001) saw this concept of self as unfolding and being understood in the framework of a personal myth

Front 34

who is Rotter – what’s his theory?

Back 34

locus of control (Rotter 1954/1980) – a generalized disposition, acquired from experience, that determines the individual’s sense of control – either internal or external

Front 35

what is self–efficacy – who described it?

Back 35

self-efficacy (Bandura 1977) – our beliefs about our ability to perform specific tasks

Front 36

who is Walter Mischel?

Back 36

individuals may exhibit different aspects of their personality in different circumstances (Michel 1984; 2004)

Front 37

what is DSM-IV? and what is reliability and validity?

Back 37

the latest (text revised) fourth edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s official for the diagnosis of mental disorders

Front 38

when is does a problem become a disorder?

Back 38

• involves a clinically significant detriment – including distress or impairment of function
• derives from an internal source – located in the person, not the environment
• is not subject to voluntary control – not a deliberate action

Front 39

how does culture operate to define what is normal? give an example

Back 39

cultural values determining diagnosis – eg defining ‘normal’ sexual practices – “the psychiatrization of perverse desire” (Foucault 1976) and ‘normal’ social roles – and in recent classifications such as ADHD

Front 40

what is an example of an irreversible disorder?

Back 40

irreversible mental disorders resulting from irreversible brain damage – eg Down’s Syndrome (1 in 800 births); Autism (1 in 500 people) – both congenital disorders; Alzheimer’s disease (12% of people in their eighties)

Front 41

explain predisposition, precipitating causes and perpetuating causes?

Back 41

the brain also plays a role in episodic conditions – while the disorder may be triggered by environmental events – the predisposition resides in the brain

precipitating - life events – when the predisposition is high the event need not be highly significant

perpetuating - the individual’s circumstances or the particular nature of the disorder - which may help perpetuate it

Front 42

what are some sex differences in the prevalence of mental health issues?

Back 42

• women are diagnosed with anxiety disorders and depression at rates that are nearly twice as great as those for men
• men are diagnosed with substance abuse at rates that are nearly twice as great as those for women; and are more three to four times more likely than women to be diagnosed with intermittent explosive disorder or antisocial personality disorder

Front 43

what are the key features of GAD?

Back 43

• a diffuse, free-floating anxiety manifesting primarily as worry – occurring on more days than not, over a six month period – sufferers are particularly alert to threat – hypervigilant
• traumatic childhood events coupled with genetic disposition create a predisposition to GAD

Front 44

what are the key features of Panic Disorder

Back 44

• characterized by an intense fear response – usually occurring unpredictably and unrelated to a specific situation, event or object
• panic disorder with agoraphobia involves fear and avoidance of panic inducing circumstances
• appears to be activated by a period of stress – but in the context of a predisposition towards oversensitivity to physiological arousal

Front 45

what are the key features of Phobias?

Back 45

• an intense, irrational and highly focused fear – eg social phobias - a fear of being scrutinized and evaluated; specific phobias – the fear relates to some non-social object or situation – they, differ from normal fears in degree, not kind
• phobias seem not to be the result of conditioning – but may result from a evolutionary based preparedness and physiological predisposition

Front 46

what are the key features of OCD?

Back 46

appears to have a neurological basis related to the brain’s inhibitory function

Front 47

what are the key features of PTSD?

Back 47

• precipitated by exposure to a traumatic event in which they experienced, witnessed or were confronted with an actual or threat of death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of himself or others – the circumstances and duration of exposure is important – as are vulnerability factors
• includes the experience of heightened arousal, flashbacks, difficulty sleeping, irritability, emotional numbing, guilt and depression

Front 48

what is the difference between a compulsion and an obsession?

Back 48

obsession - intrusive, irrational thoughts, images, or urges that the individual tries to resist or eliminate; common obsessions – contamination; aggression; sexual thoughts; disease; and the need for symmetry common compulsions – checking and/or cleaning

compulsion - the thoughts and actions used to suppress the obsessions and provide relief

Front 49

depression

Back 49

• sadness, self-blame, a feeling of worthlessness and an inability to experience pleasure; physical symptoms include agitation, and disturbed sleep and appetite
• two diagnostic categories – major depression; dysthymia – depression often co-exists with anxiety - although their presentations are very distinct

Front 50

Bi-Polar I

Back 50

Bipolar I: characterized by at least one manic episode and at least one depressive episode;

Front 51

Bi-Polar II

Back 51

Bipolar II: a similar pattern – but the manic phase is less extreme – defined as hypomania

Front 52

what is a somatoform disorder?

Back 52

the person experiences physical difficulties in the absence of any disease process eg somatization disorder and conversion disorder – a temporary loss of physical function

Front 53

how might psychological state affect physical health?

Back 53

eg the effect of negative emotions in heart disease and suppression of the immune system as part of the stress response

Front 54

what are the major symptoms of schizophrenia?

Back 54

emotional and social withdrawal, apathy, and poverty of thought or speech – flat or blunted affect

Front 55

what are the likely causes of schizophrenia?

Back 55

• deficits in information processing – difficulties in attending to, manipulating, retrieving, encoding and identifying the source of information – broadly deficits of memory and attention
• disruptions in brain chemistry – the dopamine theory originally important - now focus is on the decline in effectiveness in glutamate receptors
• brain structure – enlargement in cerebral ventricles and reduction in related neural tissue
• genetic differences among individuals appears to play a substantial role in the predisposition for schizophrenia - research shows a high level of concordance between identical twins (48%)
• prenatal environment – eg malnutrition; viral infections (eg rubella) and birth complications or trauma (eg oxygen deprivation)

• life experiences – a degree of disordered communication may be harmful to genetically vulnerable children (Tienari et al 2004); level expressed emotion (negative, blaming communication) is also important
• culture – high level of consistency in symptoms, age of onset etc; but a significant difference in recovery time – with better recovery in less developed nations (Jablensky et al 1992)