Biological Bases of Behavior 81

Cognition 69

Development and Learning 79

Attributions are how people explain

behavior and mental processes of
themselves and others. Dispositional
attributions relate to internal qualities of
others (such as intelligence or personality)
while situational attributions relate to
external circumstances that are
experienced.

People demonstrate a predictable pattern

of attributions called explanatory style.
attribution theory Explanatory style is how people explain
good and bad events in their lives and in
the lives of others. Explanatory style can be
optimistic or pessimistic.

People are subject to biases in their

attributions. Those biases include actor/
observer bias, fundamental attribution
error, and self-serving bias, all of which can
affect behavior and mental processes.

Explain how locus of control (internal and

Attribution Theory and Person Perception external) applies to behavior and mental
processes.

People’s perception of how much they like

something can be influenced by the mere
exposure effect. The mere exposure effect
occurs when people are exposed to a
stimulus repeatedly over time, which
causes them to like the stimulus more.

People can behave in ways that elicit

behaviors from others that confirm their
person's perception beliefs or perceptions about themselves or
others (self- fulfilling prophecy).

Social comparison is a type of person

perception that occurs when people
evaluate themselves based on
comparisons to other members of society
or social circles. Social comparison can be
upward or downward. People often judge
their own sense of deprivation relative to
others (relative deprivation).

A stereotype is a generalized concept

about a group. Stereotypes can help
reduce cognitive load when making
decisions or judgments. Stereotypes can
be the cause and/or result of biased
perceptions and experiences and are
frequently the basis of prejudiced
attitudes and discriminatory behaviors.
stereotypes and implicit attitudes
Implicit attitudes are those that
individuals hold but may be unaware of or
may not acknowledge. Research has
focused on how implicit attitudes reflect
negative evaluations of others, as
demonstrated by the just-world
phenomenon, out-group homogeneity
Attitude Formation and Attitude Change bias, in- group bias, or ethnocentrism.

Belief perseverance occurs when a belief

persists even if evidence suggests it is not
accurate. People experiencing belief
perseverance may engage in confirmation
bias, thereby clinging to an attitude or
belief regardless of the evidence for or
belief perseverance and cognitive against it.
dissonance
Cognitive dissonance refers to the mental
discomfort that occurs when actions or
attitudes are in conflict. People are
motivated to reduce the discomfort by
changing either actions or attitudes to be
more in line with each other.

Social norms define expectations and roles

a society may have for its members in
individual and social situations.

Social influence theory proposes that

social pressure to behave or think in
certain ways can be normative or
informational.

Persuasion can depend on the route to

persuasion. The elaboration likelihood
model outlines two main routes to
persuasion: central and peripheral. The
Persuasion refers to the techniques halo effect is an example of a peripheral
social situation affects behavior and
applied to convince the self or others of route to persuasion.
mental processes
particular ideas, actions, or beliefs.
Persuasion can depend on how
information is presented, as demonstrated
by the foot-in-the-door and the door-in-
the-face techniques.

Research on conformity clarifies the

conditions that strengthen the likelihood
of people adhering to unspoken rules,
norms, or expectations.

Research on obedience clarifies the

conditions that strengthen the likelihood
of people complying with the directives of
an authority figure.

Cultural phenomena such as

individualism, collectivism, and
multiculturalism can influence how one
perceives and behaves toward oneself and
others.

Being a member of a group can influence

how one behaves or experiences mental
processes via group polarization,
groupthink, diffusion of responsibility,
social loafing, and deindividuation.

Performing a mental or physical behavior

Psychology of Social Situations in front of a group can lead to social
facilitation.

People often overestimate the levels to

being in a group which others agree with them, known as
the false consensus effect.

Superordinate goals serve to unite

disparate groups under a common goal
and help reduce negative affect and
stereotyping among groups. Social traps
occur when individuals do not unite and
act in their own self-interest to the
detriment of the group.

Industrial-organizational (I/O)
psychologists study how people perform in
the workplace. I/O psychologists study best
practices in management of work,
relationships among people working
together or for a common company or
AP Psychology program, and how people feel about work
(burnout).

Altruism refers to selfless behavior, but

some researchers suggest that people act
in prosocial ways due to incurring social
debt. The social reciprocity norm and the
Social Psychology and social responsibility norm explain this type
Personality prosocial behavior of behavior.

The bystander effect demonstrates that

situational and attentional variables
predict whether someone is likely to help
another person.

According to the psychodynamic theory of

personality, unconscious processes drive
personality.

Ego defense mechanisms (denial,

displacement, projection, rationalization,
psychodynamic theory reaction formation, regression, repression,
and sublimation) serve to protect the ego
unconsciously from threats.

Psychodynamic personality psychologists

Psychodynamic and Humanistic Theories assess personality using projective tests
of Personality that are designed to probe the
preconscious and unconscious mind.

According to humanistic psychology,

personality focuses on unconditional
humanistic theory
regard and the self-actualizing tendency
as primary motivating factors.

According to social-cognitive theory,

reciprocal determinism shapes personality.
Reciprocal determinism explores self-
social- cognitive theory concept (how one views themselves and in
relation to others) and how self-efficacy
and self-esteem both contribute to self-
concept.
Social-Cognitive and Trait Theories of
Trait theories of personality conclude that
Personality
personality involves a set of enduring
characteristics that lead to typical
responses to stimuli.

trait theories The Big Five theory of personality proposes

that traits of agreeableness, openness to
experience, extraversion,
conscientiousness, and emotional stability
make up one’s personality. These traits are
measured by specialized personality
inventories that use factor analysis to
organize item responses.
Some theories about motivation focus on
behavior and mental processes that seek
to address physical needs and desires such
as drive-reduction theory and arousal
theory. Drive-reduction theory addresses
how certain behaviors help maintain
homeostasis while arousal theory
addresses how people seek an optimal
level of arousal when they behave (as
demonstrated by the Yerkes-Dodson Law).
Self-determination theory proposes that
people are motivated by intrinsic (internal)
or extrinsic (external) motivations.
Incentive theory explores the role of
rewards (an extrinsic motivation) in
motivating behavior.

Many non-human animals are motivated

by instincts (innate, typically fixed patterns
theories
of behavior in animals in response to
certain stimuli). Humans do not seem to
demonstrate instinctual behavior or
mental processes.

Lewin’s motivational conflicts theory

proposes that choices create conflicts one
must resolve as the basis of motivation.
The type of conflicts faced include
approach-approach, approach- avoidance,
and avoidance-avoidance.

Motivation Sensation-seeking theory proposes that

one’s level of need for varied or novel
experiences is the basis of motivation. The
types of sensation seeking are experience
seeking, thrill or adventure seeking,
disinhibition, and boredom susceptibility.

Eating is a complex motivated behavior

that demonstrates how physical and
mental processes interact.

Hormones, such as ghrelin and leptin

(regulated by the hypothalamus via the
eating and belongingness
pituitary gland), regulate feelings of
hunger and satiety.

External factors like the presence of food,

time of day, or social gatherings around
meals also influence the behavior of eating.

Emotion, or affect, is a complex

psychological process that is distinguished
from reasoning or knowledge. Emotions
reflect internal
and external factors affecting an
individual. Early 20th century
psychological theories of emotion parsed
the distinction between the physiological
and cognitive experiences of emotion.
Some theories proposed that the
physiological and cognitive experiences
occurred in succession while others
proposed that they occurred
simultaneously. Other theories emphasize
that the cognitive label
is required to experience an emotion. The
facial-feedback hypothesis suggests that
the experience of emotion is influenced by
theories facial expressions, which supports theories
that propose the physiological experience
of emotion precedes the cognitive
appraisal, and research testing this
hypothesis has produced mixed results.
The broaden-and-build theory of emotion
proposes that positive emotional
experiences tend to broaden awareness
and encourage new actions and thoughts.
Negative emotions tend to reduce
Emotion
awareness and narrow thinking and action.

Research has explored whether the

expression of emotions is universally
common. Some emotions that may be
commonly experienced across cultures
include anger, disgust, sadness, happiness,
surprise, and fear. Research on the
universality of emotions shows mixed
social norms and experiences results.

Display rules and elicitors for emotional

expression can differ among cultures.
Display rules and elicitors may regulate
how people from different genders, ages,
or socioeconomic classes within a culture
can display and interpret emotions.

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