Study Guide, Exam #4

On this exam, think of the breakdown of questions in terms of 3 units instead of 4 units.
Chapters 15-16 are being abbreviated and lumped into one unit. That means there will be about
16-17 exam questions taken from chapter 13, about 16-17 questions taken from chapter 14, and
about 16-17 questions taken from chapters 15 & 16 together (so only about 8-9 questions from
each).

CHAPTER 13:

1. What is social cognition? (book)

a. Social Cognition-The study of how we use cognitive processessuch cognitive
processessuch as perception, as perception, memory, thought and emotionto
help make sense of other people as well as themselves.
2. Is physical appearance an important determinant of first impressions? Why or why not?
(book)
a. One of the most powerful determinants of a first impression is a persons physical
appearance. In fact, evidence suggests that we can form an initial impression,
such as how trustworthy a person might be, after looking at a face for as little as
50 milliseconds ( Todorov et al., 2009)! Studies have shown that when we first
look at someone whos physically attractive, we assume that he or she is more
intelligent, better adjusted, and more socially aware than someone with average
looks ( Eagly et al., 1991; Feingold, 1992). In general, physically attractive people
are also thought to be healthier ( Kalick et al., 1998) and more inclined to succeed
academically ( Chia et al., 1998), and theyre even less likely to get carded if
they try to buy alcohol ( McCall, 1997). These tendencies dont diminish as we
agethe elderly also show a strong tendency to attribute positive personality
characteristics to attractive people ( Larose & Standing, 1998).
3. What is a schema? Specifically, what is a social schema? (book)
a. Social Schema-A general knowledge structure, stored in long-term memory, that
relates to social experiences or people.
b. Schemas are general knowledge structures stored in memory, such as your
knowledge about how houses are constructed or about what its like to go to a
restaurant or the doctors office (see Chapter 8). We use schemas to help us
remember but also to help organize and interpret ongoing experience. A schema
can be formed about most anythinga person, a place, or a thing. When schemas
are about social experiences or people, theyre commonly called social schemas
4. What is stereotyping vs. prejudice vs. discrimination? If given examples, be able to
identify the differences between these 3 things (book/lecture)
a. Stereotype--A generalized belief (knowledge structure) about traits/characteristics
of a members of a group
b. e.g. IU students are mean
c. Prejudice--A generalized attitude toward members of a group or evaluation of a
group
d. e.g. Dislike of telemarketers
e. Discrimination--Behaviors directed toward people on the basis of their group
membership
f. e.g. Denying someone a job because of their race or gender
5. Understand how the confirmation bias is an important cognitive source of prejudice.
Why does the confirmation bias make it hard to get rid of prejudice? (lecture)
a. In a nutshell, a confirmation bias is a tendency to seek out and use information
that supports and confirms a prior decision or belief. If a therapist, for instance,
believes that all instances of depression are caused by traumatic experiences in
childhood (theyre not), a confirmation bias might lead the therapist to focus only
on childhood troubles during the therapy session.
b. People have expectations about people and things
c. People tend to confirm their expectations. Seek out and notice information
that is consistent, ignore information that is not.
6. What is social identity theory? Understand how/why social identity theory provides an
explanation of a motivational source of prejudice (lecture)
a. A social identity is the portion of an individual's self-concept derived from
perceived membership in a relevant social group.
b. We want to feel good about ourselves
c. Much of our identity comes from the groups to which we belong
d. Just as individual social comparison can boost self-esteem:
e. Comparing our group with other groups that are less well off can raise our self-
esteem
7. What is meant by institutional support as a social source of prejudice? Be able to identify
examples of institutional support of prejudice (lecture)
a. Institutional Support - our social institutions (schools, government, the media)
can reinforce biased beliefs
b. Childrens books - gender roles
c. Religion and women
d. 1992 TV season - 1% characters were Hispanic and 16% of them committed
crimes (2 X other groups)
e. Example from dick and jane from textbook she is just like a girl she gives
up
f. Fairy tales the damsel is always the one in distress, and she is rescued by some
sort of masculine character knight in shining armor, the woodsman in Little Red
Riding Hood
g. flesh colored crayon changed to peach in 1962
h. Horror Movies screaming females brave males, 1950s TV shows also
perpetuate gender stereotypes..
8. What is a self-fulfilling prophecy? Know the results of the Snyder telephone study and
understand how the womens conversational styles demonstrated a self-fulfilling
prophecy effect (book in particular, see the picture flow chart on page 407)
(book/lecture)
a. A condition in which our expectations about the actions of another person actually
lead that person to behave in the expected way.

9. Be able to define/understand what is meant by implicit vs. explicit prejudice

(book/lecture) and understand why dual attitudes (attitudes with both an implicit and
explicit component) makes it difficult to get rid of all our prejudice (lecture)
a. Explicit prejudice refers to negative attitudes about a group that are consciously
endorsed. For example, if asked, a person might willingly admit prejudicial
feelings about certain racial groups.
b. Implicit prejudice refers to prejudicial thoughts that come to mind unintentionally
and may not be consciously recognized or controllable ( Gawronski &
Bodenhausen, 2006). For example, a person might claim (and even consciously
believe) that he or she has no negative feelings about African Americans, but
move to the other side of the street when an African American approaches. There
is a disconnect between what the person consciously believes and his or her
underlying implicit (or covert) beliefs.
c. Often we dont realize that we have them
10. What does the IAT stand for? Understand what the IAT tests for, how the test works, and
what the results of the test mean (lecture)
a. Implicit attitudes test
b. Attempt to measure implicit responses
c. Labels are presented on the screen
d. Words or pictures are quickly flashed
e. When shown one racial category
i. Slower to categorize with positive
ii. Quicker to categorize negative
1. Strong association between that category and negative attributes
f. Does this mean you are prejudiced?
i. Not necessarily, just that you have an association between the two
ii. But it does make some good predictions
11. Know the basic difference between how a social psychologist would measure an explicit
attitude versus an implicit attitude (lecture)
a. Explicit attitudes are too positive
b. Subject to self-report bias
c. Implicit attitudes are too negative
d. Based partially on associations rather than prejudice
e. Individually however they can account different aspects of behavior
f. Explicit - conscious, self-directed behavior
g. Implicit - uncontrollable behavior
12. Do explicit or implicit attitudes usually tend to be more negative? Why? What kind of
behavior does an explicit attitude best predict and what kind of behavior does an implicit
attitude best predict?) (lecture)
a. Explicit attitudes are too positive
b. Implicit attitudes are too negative
13. What is an attribution? (book/lecture)
a. Attributions-The inference processes people use to assign cause and effect to
behavior.
14. According to the covariation model of attribution, what are the 3 pieces of information
that help us make the appropriate inference or attribution about someone elses behavior?
(hint: consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus). Know what is meant by these 3 things
if given an example of someones behavior. (book)
a. When assessing consistency, we try to determine whether the change occurs
regularly when the causal event is presentdoes Iras mood consistently improve
after exercise class?
b. Distinctiveness provides an indication of whether the change occurs uniquely in
the presence of the eventdoes Iras mood improve after lunch only if hes been
exercising?
c. Finally, we look for consensus, which tells us whether other people show similar
reactions when theyre exposed to the same causal eventis elevation of mood a
common reaction to exercising?
15. What is meant by an internal vs. external attribution? Be able to identify examples of
internal vs. external attributions (book/lecture). Know what has to be true of
distinctiveness, consistency, and consensus in order for someone to make an internal vs.
an external attribution (i.e. know whether each of these 3 elements needs to be high or
low for an internal vs. external attribution to take place, and be able to identify from an
example whether someone will make an internal or external attribution based on these 3
elements) (book)
a. External attribution- Attributing the cause of a persons behavior to an external
event or situation in the environment.
b. An external attribution is one that appeals to external causes, when the behavior is
high in consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus. In the case of Iras pleasant
mood, its highly consistent (it happens every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
afternoon); its occurrence is distinctive (it occurs only after exercise class); and
there is a high level of consensus (exercise tends to make people happy).
c. Internal attribution- Attributing the cause of a persons behavior to an internal
personality trait or disposition.
d. Internal attributions are common when the consistency of a behavior is high but
its distinctiveness and consensus are low. If Ira is pleasant all the time, his
behavior after lunch lacks distinctiveness, and youll be unlikely to appeal to
some lunch activity to explain his behavior. Similarly, if the consensus is low
suppose exercise rarely improves mood for most peopleyoull again resist
attributing his pleasantries to this particular event

16. What is meant by the fundamental attribution error? Be able to identify examples
(book/lecture)
 a. When people seek to interpret someone elses behavior, they tend to overestimate
the influence of internal personal factors and underestimate the role of situational
factors.
b. People tend to attribute an individuals activities to internal personal factors, even
when there are strong situational explanations for the behavior
c. Youre driving down the street, at a perfectly respectable speed, when you glance
in your rearview mirror and see a truck bearing down on your bumper. You speed
up a bit, only to find the truck mirroring your every move. Being tailgated like
this is a relatively common experience. But what kind of attribution do you
typically make about the driver? Do you attribute the behavior to the person or to
the situation? If youre like most people, your first response is likely to be an
internal attributionyou naturally assume that the driver behind you has some
severe personality flaw; put simply, the driver is a jerk. You ignore the possibility
that situational factors might be compelling the driver to drive fast. Isnt it
possible, for instance, that the driver is late for work or has a sick child in the
backseat who is in need of a doctor? These kinds of attributions, which focus on
the situation, dont usually enter our minds because our first tendency is to
attribute behavior to an internal personality characteristic.
17. What is the actor-observer effect? (book)
a. The overall tendency to attribute our own behavior to external sources but to
attribute the behavior of others to internal sources.
18. What is the self-serving bias? (book/lecture)
a. The tendency to make internal attributions about ones own behavior when the
outcome is positive and to blame the situation when ones behavior leads to
something negative.
19. What is an attitude? (book/lecture)
a. A positive or negative evaluation which, in turn, predisposes us to act in certain
ways; attitudes are typically broken down into cognitive, affective, and behavioral
components.
20. What are the 3 main components of an attitude? (book) Be able to identify examples of
the 3 main components of an attitude
a. Traditionally, social psychologists divide attitudes into three main components: a
cognitive component, an affective component, and a behavioral component (
Olson & Maio, 2003). The cognitive component represents what people know or
believe about the object of their attitude; the affective component is made up of
the feelings that the object produces; and the behavioral component is a
predisposition to act toward the object in a particular way.
b. To see how these three components work together, lets suppose youve formed
an unfavorable attitude toward your landlord. Your attitude rests on a foundation
of facts and beliefs about behavior. You know, for instance, that the landlord has
raised your rent three times in the last year, that he enters your apartment without
first asking permission, and that he wont let you keep your pet cat Kepler without
a huge pet deposit. These facts and beliefs form the cognitive component of your
attitude. Accompanying these facts are your emotional reactions, which make up
the affective componentwhen you see or think about your landlord, you get
angry and slightly sick to your stomach. Finally, the behavioral component of
your attitude predisposes you to act in certain ways. You may spend every Sunday
reading the classified ads looking for a new apartment, and you may constantly
complain about your landlord to anyone wholl listen. Its these three factors in
combinationcognitive, affective, and behavioralthat compose what
psychologists mean by an attitude
21. What is the elaboration likelihood model, the central route to persuasion, and the
peripheral route to persuasion? (book)
a. A model proposing two primary routes to persuasion and attitude change: a
central route, which operates when we are motivated and focusing our attention
on the message, and a peripheral route, which operates when we are either
unmotivated to process the message or are unable to do so.
b. The central route to persuasion is the most obvious and familiar one. It operates
when were motivated and inclined to process an incoming persuasive
communication with effort, care, and attention; well listen carefully to the
arguments of the message, then judge those arguments according to their merits.
Not surprisingly, attitude changes that result from this kind of central processing
tend to be stable and long lasting
c. The peripheral route to persuasion operates when were either unable to process
the message carefully or are unmotivated to do so. When we process a message
peripherally, our attitudes are much more susceptible to change from superficial
cues or from mere exposure
22. Define cognitive dissonance? (book/lecture)
a. The tension produced when people act in a way that is inconsistent with their
attitudes.
b. An unpleasant state that occurs whenever an individual simultaneously holds
two or more cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent.
23. When is strong cognitive dissonance most likely to occur? (lecture)
a. Whenever an individual simultaneously holds two or more cognitions that
are psychologically inconsistent.
24. Understand all the details of the studying and being bought a car example. Understand
how it illustrates cognitive dissonance at work. Did buying a car to get kids to study
make them start to study more often? (hint: yes, it did) Did buying a car make them feel
like they LIKED studying more than they had before? (hint: no, it didnt) Why would
buying a car to encourage studying make kids start to study more often, but also make
them feel like they LIKED studying less? Be able to describe from the perspective of
cognitive dissonance theory why kids would be motivated to convince themselves they
liked studying in the scenario where we got them to do it but didnt buy them anything!
(lecture)
25. Be able to describe the methods and findings of Festingers 1959 dissonance study.
Understand how they illustrate the principles of cognitive dissonance theory
(book/lecture)
a. People show up for Measures of Performance
b. Study has to do with performing routine tasks, like those found in factories
c. BORING! Taking pegs off and turning pegs
d. Experimenter confesses the study is really about motivation and repetitive tasks
e. My confederate is gone can you tell the next participant you enjoyed this?
f. 3 conditions - No lie, $1 for lie, $20 for lie
g. Follow up questions about enjoyment of study
26. BE ABLE TO LABEL THE BARS ON THE RESULTS GRAPH know what happened
in the no pay, $1, and $20 condition. Who said they enjoyed the experiment the most?
Why? (lecture/book)
a. The 1$ people enjoyed it the most (1.3)
b. 20$ enjoyed (-0.2) Middle
c. No $ Enjoyed (-0.4) Least

2.0
Enjoyment Rating

1.0

0.0

-1.0
27. Be able to apply the principles of cognitive dissonance theory to some other real-life
examples Ill give you. Be able to identify examples of people in a state of cognitive
dissonance, and be able to identify in these examples who, according to cognitive
dissonance theory, would say they enjoyed a task the most.
28. Know the 3 main ways you can eliminate dissonance and be able to identify examples
(lecture)
a. Change one of the cognitions by changing a belief, opinion, attitude, or behavior
b. Example
i. I studied a lot, and no one gave me anything to do it!
ii. I don't really like studying!
c. Changes to:
i. I studied a lot, and no one gave me anything to do it!
ii. I do kind of like studying.
d. Acquire new information or add cognitions to reduce the dissonance
e. Example:
i. I am on a diet
ii. I just ate ice cream
f. Changes to:
i. I am on a diet
ii. Dairy is good for you
iii. I did not eat much today
iv. I will exercise tomorrow
v. I just ate ice cream
g. Make one of the dissonant cognitions less important than the others
h. Example:
i. I value life
ii. I smoke deadly cigarettes
i. Changes to:
i. I smoke deadly cigarettes
ii. But enjoying life in the short-term matters MORE than living long
29. What is meant by self perception theory? How does it provide an alternative explanation
for the results of Festingers cognitive dissonance study? Be able to identify examples of
self-perception at work (book/lecture)
a. Self-perception theory Its hard to know our own attitudes. We gain insight into
our own attitudes by observing our own behavior.
b. The idea that people use observations of their own behavior as a basis for
inferring their internal beliefs.
c. For example, if I sit down and practice the piano for two hours a day, it must be
the case that I like music and think I have at least a bit of musical talent. If I
regularly stop for hamburgers and fries for lunch, it must be the case that I like
fast food. The basis for the attitude is self-perceptionbehavior is observed, and
attitudes follow from the behavior.
30. What is meant by social facilitation? (book)
a. The enhancement in performance that is sometimes found when an individual
performs in the presence of others.
31. What is meant by social interference? (book)
a. The impairment in performance that is sometimes found when an individual
performs in the presence of others.
32. What is altruism? (book)
a. Acting in a way that shows unselfish concern for the welfare of others.
33. What is the story of the Kitty Genovese incident and what is meant by the bystander
effect? What is meant by diffusion of responsibility and how does it contribute to the
bystander effect? (book/lecture)
a. The reluctance to come to the aid of a person in need when other people are
present.
b. The story of Kitty Genovese
c. Affects prosocial (good) behavior: the more people that are present during an
emergency, the more time it takes for someone to call for help
d. Diffusion of Responsibility: someone else will do it!
i. The idea that when people know (or think) that others are present in a
situation, they allow their sense of responsibility for action to diffuse, or
spread out widely, among those who are present.
34. What is meant by social loafing? (book)
a. The tendency to put out less effort when working in a group compared to when
working alone.
35. What is deindividuation? (book)
a. The loss of individuality, or depersonalization, that comes from being in a group.
36. What did the Zimbardo prison study demonstrate? (lecture)
a. On August 20, 1971, Zimbardo announced the end of the experiment to the
participants. The results of the experiment have been argued to demonstrate the
impressionability and obedience of people when provided with a legitimizing
ideology and social and institutional support. The experiment has also been used
to illustrate cognitive dissonance theory and the power of authority.
b. The results of the experiment favor situational attribution of behavior rather than
dispositional attribution. In other words, it seemed that the situation, rather than
their individual personalities, caused the participants' behavior. Under this
interpretation, the results are compatible with the results of the Milgram
experiment, in which ordinary people fulfilled orders to administer what appeared
to be agonizing and dangerous electric shocks to a confederate of the
experimenter.
c. Shortly after the study had been completed, there were bloody revolts at both the
San Quentin and Attica prison facilities, and Zimbardo reported his findings on
the experiment to the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary.
37. What are the 3 main types of social influence and could you identify the differences if
offered examples? (conformity, compliance, obedience - lecture)
a. Conformity: the tendency to change one's beliefs or behaviors in ways that are
consistent with social norms.
i. Subtle: It can occur without anyone directly or explicitly trying to
influence us (i.e. Fads, Candid Camera clip)
b. Compliance: is defined as a change in behavior due to the intentional influence of
others.
i. Compliance can be elicited through direct appeals or requests from
another to do something or compliance can be elicited in a more subtle
nature
ii. This is persuasion! People are trying to influence you!
c. Obedience: involves a change in behavior that is in response to someone who is
in authority or someone who has power over you.
i. Note that this is different from compliance in that compliance does not
involve people who are in positions of power over us.
38. What is meant by societal norms? (lecture)
a. Rules that a group has for dictating the acceptable values, beliefs and behaviors of
its members
b. In other words: acceptable ways of behaving and thinking in order to maintain
positive social status
39. Know the results of the Asch line study and explain how they demonstrate conformity at
work (lecture/book)

a. So what did participants do in this situation?

b. 37% of the time participants conformed to the group by giving obviously false
answers
c. 76% of participants conformed on at least one trial (5% conformed on every trial)
d. Public conformity, even when the right answer was obvious
e. There was less that 1% error on private estimates of line length
40. Know/understand the Cialdinis 6 principles of compliance and be able to identify
examples of each of these 6 principles at work through various persuasive appeals
(lecture)
a. 1) Social validation
i. his principle relies on people's sense of "safety in numbers."
ii. For example, we're more likely to work late if others in our team are doing
the same, put a tip in a jar if it already contains money, or eat in a
restaurant if it's busy. Here, we're assuming that if lots of other people are
doing something, then it must be OK.
iii. We're particularly susceptible to this principle when we're feeling
uncertain, and we're even more likely to be influenced if the people we see
seem to be similar to us. That's why commercials often use moms, not
celebrities, to advertise household products.
b. 2) Authority
i. We feel a sense of duty or obligation to people in positions of authority.
This is why advertisers of pharmaceutical products employ doctors to
front their campaigns, and why most of us will do most things that our
manager requests.
ii. Job titles, uniforms, and even accessories like cars or gadgets can lend an
air of authority, and can persuade us to accept what these people say.
c. 3) Scarcity
i. This principle says that things are more attractive when their availability is
limited, or when we stand to lose the opportunity to acquire them on
favorable terms.
ii. For instance, we might buy something immediately if we're told that it's
the last one, or that a special offer will soon expire.
d. 4) Consistency/commitment - foot in door
i. Cialdini says that we have a deep desire to be consistent. For this reason,
once we've committed to something, we're then more inclined to go
through with it.
ii. For instance, you'd probably be more likely to support a colleague's
project proposal if you had shown interest when he first talked to you
about his ideas.
e. 5) Reciprocity
i. As humans, we generally aim to return favors, pay back debts, and treat
others as they treat us. According to the idea of reciprocity, this can lead
us to feel obliged to offer concessions or discounts to others if they have
offered them to us. This is because we're uncomfortable with feeling
indebted to them.
ii. For example, if a colleague helps you when you're busy with a project,
you might feel obliged to support her ideas for improving team processes.
You might decide to buy more from a supplier if they have offered you an
aggressive discount. Or, you might give money to a charity fundraiser who
has given you a flower in the street.
 f. 6) Liking
i. Cialdini says that we're more likely to be influenced by people we like.
Likability comes in many forms people might be similar or familiar to
us, they might give us compliments, or we may just simply trust them.
Companies that use sales agents from within the community employ this
principle with huge success. People are more likely to buy from people
like themselves, from friends, and from people they know and respect.
41. Be able to describe/understand the methods and results of Milgrams obedience study
(lecture/book)
a. Participants brought in with confederate
b. Pick roles out of hat
c. Participant (teacher) // Confederate (student)
d. Participant reads off word pairs and student then recalls
e. When wrong, teacher shocks student
f. Increase level of shock for each one wrong
g. Highest level labeled Danger -- XXX
h. Confederate complains of heart problems
i. 75% continued to shock student after he has begged for release, screamed &
then became silent
j. Over 60% of participants went all the way
k. 450 volt shocks!
42. What is meant by group polarization and groupthink? (book/lecture)
a. Group Polarization Groups dominant view becomes stronger with time
b. Groupthink Group members become interested in finding consensus, and start to
suppress any dissenting viewpoint
43. Define attraction (lecture)
a. Anything that draws two or more people together, making them want to be
together and possibly to form a lasting relationship
44. Be able to list/understand the 5 big predictors of attraction we discussed in class (lecture
some in book as well. Your book discusses proximity, similarity, and reciprocity. In
class we discussed 2 additional principles)
a. Proximity
i. Geographical nearness
ii. Friends we make are influenced by where we:
iii. Live
iv. Work
v. Sit in class
vi. Functional distance also matters!
b. Physical attractiveness
i. Attractiveness determines liking
 ii. Physical Attractiveness Stereotype: assumption that attractive people
possess other positive qualities
iii. We assume they are more kind, outgoing, intelligent, and successful
iv. Women were rated kinder and more sensitive after plastic surgery
c. Similarity vs. complementarity
i. We like those similar to us
ii. We cant let of this complimentarity idea!
iii. Research does not support it
iv. May evolve as relationship progresses
v. The tendency of opposites to marry, or matehas never been reliably
demonstrated, with the single exception of sex
d. Liking those who do things for us or make us feel good
i. Reward Theory of Attraction: We like those who reward us or who we
associate with rewarding events (e.g., good feelings)
ii. People who do us favors
iii. Giving who give us praise
iv. This can also work by association well like people we ASSOCIATE
with people who have given us rewards or made us feel good!
e. Liking those who like us (reciprocity)
i. Can knowing someone likes us cause us to like them more?
ii. Yes!
iii. Reciprocity is important for culture
iv. It works with liking too!
v. Try to think of an example of someone who adored you that you despised!
45. What did the Westgate West floorplan study demonstrate (hint: how proximity increases
attraction or predicts likelihood of becoming friends with people) (lecture/some in book)
a. Functional distance was VERY important in friendship formation
b. People whos front door was close to each other become friends (6 & 7 vs. 7 & 8)
c. People on different floors or ends of hallway were unlikely to become friends
d. People near staircases were particularly popular
46. Define the mere exposure effect and understand how it helps explain the impact of
proximity. Be able to identify examples of the mere exposure effect. (lecture)
a. What is familiar is good.
b. Occurs without our awareness
c. Influences our own perceptions!
d. Limitations:
e. If you dont like it at first
f. Overexposure
47. What is the physical attractiveness stereotype?? (lecture)
a. Assumption that attractive people possess other positive qualities
b. We assume they are more kind, outgoing, intelligent, and successful
c. Women were rated kinder and more sensitive after plastic surgery
48. Why do people prefer composite faces? (lecture/book)
a. Most people pick B (right face) - it is a composite of 32 male faces
b. People prefer composite face over 96% of 32 individual faces
c. WHY?
d. Attractive features do not tend to differ too much from average
e. Attractive faces are symmetrical
49. Which wins in predicting attraction similarity or complimentarity? (lecture/book)
a. Similarity
50. Define the reward theory of attraction (lecture)
a. We like those who reward us or who we associate with rewarding events (e.g.,
good feelings)
b. People who do us favors
c. Giving who give us praise
51. Be able to describe the methods and findings of the Lewicki (1985) study and what it
demonstrates (hint: the reward theory of attraction can also work by ASSOCIATION)
(lecture)
a. Lewicki (1985) liking-by-association
b. 2 women (A & B) were rated as looking equally friendly by control group
c. Some Pps had interacted with a friendly experimenter who looked like A
d. Thought A looked friendlier because they associated her with experimenter
(reward)
52. What is one reason we might tend to like people who like us? (Hint: social reciprocity
norm) (lecture/book)
a. As humans, we generally aim to return favors, pay back debts, and treat others as
they treat us. According to the idea of reciprocity, this can lead us to feel obliged
to offer concessions or discounts to others if they have offered them to us
53. What is meant by passion, intimacy, and commitment? Do each of these increase or
decrease over time? (lecture/book)
a. Passion-physiological arousal, longing, sexual attraction
b. Intimacy-close bond, sharing, support
c. Commitment-willing to define as love, long term
d. Passion decreases then stays constant
e. Commitment and intimacy increase and then stays contant
54. What is passionate love and what is companionate love? (book/lecture)
a. Passionate or romantic love passion and intimacy without commitment
b. Companionate love intimacy and commitment without passion
 55. According to Rusbult, what are 3 components that keep people together? (lecture)
a. Satisfaction Do you like your partner?
b. Positive (rewards) and negative (costs) experiences
c. Quality of available alternatives
d. Maybe relationship isnt satisfying, but there is no one else available
e. Relationship may be incredibly satisfying, but there are better others out there
f. Investment how much has your partner put into the relationship
g. Sunk costs Time, effort, emotion and other resources put into the relationship
that cant be gotten back
h. If you struggle to keep the relationship going for several years and just end it,
thats 2 years of work down the drain

Ch. 14

1. Understand the four main proposed criteria for defining abnormal behavior (statistical
deviance, cultural deviance, emotional distress, and dysfunction). Know what is meant
by each and identify examples (book/lecture).
a. Abnormal Behavior/ Mental Disorder: actions, thoughts and feelings that:
b. Are infrequent/rare (statistical deviance)
i. A criterion of abnormality stating that a behavior is abnormal if it occurs
infrequently among the members of a population.
c. Violate standards of society (cultural deviance)
i. A criterion of abnormality stating that a behavior is abnormal if it violates
the rules or accepted standards of society.
d. Cause emotional distress
i. A criterion of abnormality stating that abnormal behaviors are those that
lead to personal distress or emotional upset.
e. Cause dysfunction in living
i. A breakdown in normal functioning; abnormal behaviors are those that
prevent one from pursuing adaptive strategies.
ii. People who suffer from psychological disorders are often unable to
function well in typical daily activitiesthey may not eat properly, clean
themselves, or be able to hold a job. Their ability to think clearly may be
impaired, which affects their ability to adapt successfully in their
environment. As youll see later, the assessment of global functioning
defined as the ability to adapt in social, personal, and occupational
environmentsoften plays a large role in the diagnosis and treatment of
psychological disorders.
2. Are normal vs. abnormal rigid categories, such that human behavior clearly fits into
one or the other? (lecture/book)
a. You should also recognize that abnormal and normal are not rigid categories.
Each of us can relate in one way or another to the criteria of abnormality weve
just discussed. We all know people who have occasionally acted unusually,
suffered from emotional distress, or failed to function well in everyday settings.
Many psychological disorders are characterized by behaviors or feelings that are
merely exaggerations of normal ones, such as anxiety, feelings of sadness, or
concerns about ones health. Consequently, its better to think about normal and
abnormal behavior as endpoints on a continuum rather than as nonoverlapping
categories
3. What is meant by the legal concept of insanity, and how is it different from a
psychological disorder? (book/lecture)
a. A legal term usually defined as the inability to understand that certain actions are
wrong, in a legal or moral sense, at the time of a crime.
b. Most mental health professionals accept that people with serious psychological
disorders are sometimes incapable of judging the appropriateness of their actions.
As youll soon see, psychological disorders can lead to distorted views of the
worldaffected individuals not only act in ways that are abnormal, but their very
thoughts, beliefs, and perceptions of the world can be wildly distorted as well.
4. What is the medical model of diagnosis when it comes to psychological disorders?
(book/lecture)
a. The view that abnormal behavior is symptomatic of an underlying disease,
which can be cured with the appropriate therapy.
5. Be able to describe some criticisms of the medical model (book/lecture)
a. Some researchers believe its wrong to draw direct comparisons between physical
illness and psychological problems ( Szasz, 1961, 2000). Both strep throat and
depression lead to a set of reliable symptoms. But we know that strep throat is
caused by a physical problembacteria; at this point, the cause of depression is
still being debated. In addition, people often seek treatment for psychological
problems that are perhaps more accurately described as problems in living. How
these adjustment problems are interpreted also seems to depend on the particular
social or cultural context, which is not the case for most medical conditions. Some
kinds of bizarre behavior thought to be abnormal in one culture can be considered
normal in another, but strep throat produces fever and pain regardless of the
cultural environment.
6. What is meant by diagnostic labeling effects? Be able to explain the results of the
Rosenhan study (book)
a. The fact that labels for psychological problems can become self-fulfilling
prophecies; the label may make it difficult to recognize normal behavior when it
occurs, and it may actually increase the likelihood that a person will act in an
abnormal way.
b. In one particularly influential study of labeling effects, David Rosenhan, along
with seven other coinvestigators, arrived separately at several psychiatric
hospitals in the early 1970s with the complaint that they were hearing voices (
Rosenhan, 1973). Actually, each of the participants was perfectly normal. They
simply adopted the role of a pseudopatientthey feigned, or faked, a disorder to
see how labeling would affect their subsequent treatment. On arrival they reported
to the psychiatric staff that they were hearing a disembodied voice in their head, a
voice that repeated things like empty, hollow, and thud. They were all
admitted to hospitals, and virtually all received the diagnosis of schizophrenia
(schizophrenia, as youll see later, is a condition characterized by serious
disturbances in thought and emotion).
c. Again, the purpose of the study was to see how an initial diagnosis of
schizophrenia would affect subsequent treatment. From the point of admission,
none of the participants continued to act strangely. In all interactions with the
hospital staff, they acted normally and gave no indications that they were
suffering from a disorder. However, despite their normal behavior, none of the
staff ever recognized them as pseudopatients; indeed, written hospital reports later
revealed that the staff members tended to interpret normal behaviors as
symptomatic of a disorder. It was the real patients, in fact, who felt the
researchers somehow did not belong; several actually voiced their suspicions,
claiming, Youre not crazy. Youre a journalist or a professor (these comments
were partly made in reaction to the fact that the pseudopatients spent time taking
notes). Once the pseudopatients had been admitted and labeled as abnormal,
their behaviors were seen by the staff through the lens of expectation, and normal,
sane behavior was never recognized as such. On average, the pseudopatients
remained in the hospital for 19 daysthe stays ranged from under a week to
almost two monthsand on release all were given the diagnosis of schizophrenia
in remission (which means not currently active).
7. What is the DSM? (book/lecture)
a. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is used for the
diagnosis and classification of psychological disorders.
i. Medical model abnormal behavior is caused by an underlying disease
that could be cured with appropriate therapy
ii. Describes symptoms and typical age of onset or other characteristics of
the disorder
8. Understand what is meant by an anxiety disorder. Know that the following are all
anxiety disorders: generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, phobic disorder/specific
phobia, social anxiety disorder, agoraphobia (all book/lecture) and PTSD (just lecture).
Be able to recognize symptoms and identify examples of people suffering from each of
these things (book/lecture)
a. A class of disorders marked by excessive apprehension and worry that in turn
impairs normal functioning.
b. Anxiety Disorders: excessive levels of negative emotions, such as nervousness,
tension, worry, fright and anxiety
c. Generalized Anxiety Disorder: a vague, uneasy sense of general tension and
apprehension that lasts for years
d. Panic Disorder: a pattern of anxiety in which long periods of calm are broken by
intensely uncomfortable attacks of anxiety (panic attack/anxiety attack)
e. Phobias: an intense, irrational fear
f. Specific Phobia: a fear of one specific thing
g. Social Phobia or Social Anxiety Disorder: a fear of social interactions,
particularly those with strangers or those in which the person might be viewed
negatively
h. Agoraphobia: a fear of leaving ones home rooted in fear that further panic
attacks will occur associated with panic disorder
i. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): experiencing anxiety, irritability,
upsetting memories, dreams, and realistic flashbacks of a traumatic event
j. Extreme avoidance of things that remind him/her of the event
k. PSTD is most associated with war/combat stress, however it can be caused by any
traumatic event (loss of loved one, auto accident, assault, natural disaster)
9. What is obsessive compulsive disorder? Specifically, what is meant by obsessions and
compulsions? (book/lecture) Be able to recognize the symptoms and identify examples of
people suffering from it.
a. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: involves obsessions (intrusive anxiety
provoking thoughts) and/or compulsions (irresistible urges to engage in specific
irrational behaviors)
b. Example: obsession (intrusive thoughts) about germs leads to compulsive hand
washing
10. Understand what is meant by a somatic symptom disorder. Specifically, what is
conversion disorder? (book)
a. Psychological disorders that focus on the physical body. These disorders can be
associated with specific body complaints (such as continuing pain) and/or
excessive worry about the possibility of contracting a serious disease.
b. The presence of real physical problems, such as blindness or paralysis, that seem
to have no identifiable physical cause.
11. Understand what is meant by a dissociative disorder. Know that the following are all
dissociative disorders: dissociative amnesia, dissociative fugue, dissociative identity
disorder. For each, be able to recognize symptoms and identify examples of people
suffering from it (book/lecture)
a. Dissociative Disorders: (rare) conditions involving sudden cognitive changes,
such as change in memory, perception or identity. Separation of conscious
awareness from previous thoughts or memories.
i. Dissociative amnesia
ii. Dissociative fugue accompanied by escape or flight
b. Dissociative amnesia-A psychological disorder characterized by an inability to
remember important personal information.
c. Dissociative fugue-A loss of personal identity that is often accompanied by a
flight from home.
d. Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality): where an individual
appears to shift abruptly and repeatedly from one personality to another
e. This is a controversial disorder and believed to be caused by severe child abuse
(physical and sexual) that results in the child splitting from him/herself in order
to cope with the abuse
12. Understand what is meant by a depressive/bipolar disorder (book/lecture)
a. But when an extreme mood swing is not short lived and is accompanied by other
symptoms, such as a prolonged loss of appetite and a negative self-concept, a
depressive disorder may be present. Depressive disorders are characterized by
prolonged and disabling disruptions in emotional state.
13. What is a major depressive episode? (book/lecture) Be able to recognize the symptoms
and identify examples of people suffering from it. What is meant when major depression
is described as recurrent vs. Dysthymic disorder? (book/lecture)
a. Major Depressive Episode: characterized by episodes of deep unhappiness, loss
of interest in life, and other symptoms. Usually lasts weeks/months
i. Recurrent: Has occurred more than once, separated by period of more than
2 months
ii. Dysthymic disorder: A relatively continuous
1. depressed mood lasting for at least 2 yrs, but
2. symptoms are milder
14. What is bipolar disorder? Specifically, understand what is meant by a manic episode and
a depressive episode and understand how these are both present (book/lecture) Be able to
recognize the symptoms and identify examples of people suffering from it.
a. Bipolar disorder-A type of disorder in which the person experiences disordered
mood shifts in two directionsfrom depression to a manic state.
b. Manic Episode- A disordered state in which the person becomes hyperactive,
talkative, and has a decreased need for sleep; a person in a manic state may
engage in activities that are self-destructive or dangerous.
c. When in a manic state, people act as if theyre on top of the worldthey are
hyperactive, talkative, and seem to have little need for sleep. These symptoms
may seem positive and desirable, but theyre balanced by tendencies toward
grandiosity, distractibility, and risk taking. In a manic state, a person might
attempt a remarkable featsuch as scaling the Statue of Libertyor perhaps will
go on a sudden spending spree, cashing in all his or her savings. People who are
experiencing mania report feeling great, but their thinking is far from normal or
rational. Their speech can appear disrupted because they shift rapidly from one
fleeting thought to another.
d. Depressive Episode: characterized by episodes of deep unhappiness, loss of
interest in life, and other symptoms. Usually lasts weeks/months
15. What are the major risk factors associated with suicide? (book)
a. In addition to a psychological disorder, many different factors can be involved.
Alcohol use and abuse are particularly likely in adolescent suicides, present in
perhaps the majority of suicides. Another important factor is the sudden
occurrence of a very stressful eventsomething like the death of a loved one,
failure or rejection in a personal relationship, or even a natural disaster. Evidence
suggests that suicide rates increase after natural disasters, such as floods,
hurricanes, and earthquakes ( Krug et al., 1998). Suicide may also be contagious:
There are increased suicide rates following widely publicized suicides, especially
among adolescents, suggesting that imitation or modeling is an important factor
16. What is schizophrenia? (book/lecture) Be able to recognize the symptoms and identify
examples of people suffering from it. Particularly, know what the positive symptoms are
(specifically, delusions, delusion of grandeur, delusion of persecution, hallucinations,
disorganized speech, catatonia), the negative symptoms (flat affect), and the cognitive
symptoms (book/lecture)
a. A class of disorders characterized by fundamental disturbances in thought
processes, emotion, or behavior.
b. Schizophrenia: disorder involving severe cognitive disturbance and
disorganization of thought
c. Affects 1% of the population (men and women equally)
d. This disorder makes normal living impossible
e. Delusions: distorted or bizarre beliefs that have no basis in reality
f. Delusions of grandeur: distorted sense of own importance (e.g. I am Jesus, I
am an important member of the government)
g. Delusions of Persecution: distorted sense of paranoia (e.g. the government is
watching me, people are trying to kill me)
h. Hallucinations: false perceptual experiences such as seeing, hearing, feeling
things that are not there
i. Most common is auditory (hearing voices), but can involve other senses
j. Disorganized thinking, emotions and behavior:
k. Fragmented thoughts
l. Incoherent speech
m. Inappropriate behavior
n. Flat emotions (except for anger)
o. For example, its common for people with schizophrenia to display restricted or
flat affect, which means they show little or no emotional reaction to events. Show
someone with restricted affect an extremely funny movie or a tragic, heartrending
photo, and the person is unlikely to crack a smile or shed a tear
p. Cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia can be more subtle and difficult to detect,
often appearing only after neuropsychological testing. Schizophrenia can produce
marked deficits in the ability to absorb information and process it effectively.
People with schizophrenia usually have difficulties associated with working
memory, that portion of our memory system that enables us to maintain
information in consciousness and use it in ongoing tasks ( Forbes et al., 2009).
People with schizophrenia often have difficulty concentrating and integrating
thoughts and feelings. There is evidence suggesting that cognitive difficulties may
be apparent even before the onset of the more severe symptoms discussed above
 17. Understand what is meant by personality disorders (lecture/book). Understand that the
following are all personality disorders: antisocial personality disorder, narcissistic
personality disorder, and borderline personality disorder.
a. Personality Disorders: believed to result from personalities that developed
improperly during childhood
i. All personality disorders begin early in life
ii. They are disturbing to the person and/or others
iii. They are very difficult to treat
b. Borderline Personality Disorder: characterized by impulsive and unpredictable
behavior, unstable relationships, anger, constant need to be with others and a lack
of identity (frequent suicidal gestures and very likely to seek treatment)
i. This disorder is associated with a poor self-image, an inability to regulate
emotions, and can be associated with aggression, self-injury, and
substance abuse. People with borderline personality disorder often have
unstable patterns of social relationships.
c. Narcissistic Personality Disorder: characterized by unrealistic sense of self-
importance, preoccupied with fantasies of future success, requires constant
attention and praise, reacts very negatively and aggressively to criticism, lacks a
genuine concern for others
i. For example, one might show an exaggerated sense of entitlement
d. Antisocial Personality Disorder: characterized by a lack of guilt about violating
social rules and laws and taking advantage of others (formerly known as
psychopath or sociopath)
i. People with this type of disorder lack empathy, are self-centered, and
show little respect for social customs or norms. They act as if they have no
consciencethey lie, cheat, or steal at the drop of a hat and show no
remorse for their actions if caught.
18. Have a good understanding of what is meant by the following different contributors to
mental illness:
a. biology neurotransmitter imbalances, structural problems, and genetic
contributions
b. cognitive factors maladaptive attributions, learned helplessness
c. environmental factors the rule of culture, conditioning

Ch. 15

1. What is meant by psychotherapy? (book/lecture)

a. Best Known insight therapy
b. Freuds method of treatment that attempts to bring hidden impulses and
memories, which are locked in the unconscious, to the surface of awareness,
thereby freeing the client from disordered thoughts and behaviors.
2. What is a biomedical therapy? (book/lecture)
a. Therapies that use medical interventions to treat the symptoms of psychological
problems are called biomedical therapies. The idea that psychological disorders
might be treated as illnesses, in the same way that physicians might treat the
common cold, has a long history in human thought
3. What is drug therapy? Specifically, what to antipsychotic drugs treat? What do
antidepressants treat and what neurotransmitters do they typically work on? What do anti-
anxiety drugs treat? Know that they are typically called tranquilizers (book/lecture)
a. The most popular form of biomedical therapy is drug therapy, in which certain
medications are given to affect thought and mood by altering the actions of
neurotransmitters in the brain.
b. Antipsychotic drugs, for example, reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia by
acting as antagonists to the neurotrans-mitter dopamine in the brain. The
antidepressant drug Prozac acts on the neurotransmitter serotonin, and antianxiety
drugstranquilizersare believed to act on neurotransmit-ters in the brain that
have primarily inhibitory effects.
4. What is ECT? (book/lecture)
a. In the event that drug therapies fail, mental health professionals sometimes turn to
other forms of biomedical intervention, such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
and psychosurgery. Shock therapy is used to treat severe forms of depression, but
usually only if more conventional forms of treatment have failed. No one is
completely sure why the administration of electric shock affects mood, but theres
wide agreement that ECT works for many patients
5. What is psychosurgery? (book/lecture) Is psychosurgery common? (book/lecture)
a. Even more controversial than ECT is psychosurgery, in which some portion of the
brain is destroyed or altered in an attempt to eliminate the symptoms of a mental
disorder. The infamous prefron-tal lobotomies of yesteryear are no longer
conducted (partly because they produced unacceptable side effects), but some
kinds of surgical intervention in the brain are still used.
6. Who was the father of psychoanalysis? Understand how psychoanalysis is rooted in the
resolution of unconscious conflicts (book/lecture)
a. Freud
b. The goal of psychoanalysis is to help the client uncover and relive conflicts that
have been hidden in the unconscious mind. The psychoanalyst uses such
techniques as free association and dream analysis to help probe the contents of the
unconscious.
c. As hidden conflicts begin to surface during the course of therapy, the client will
typically show what Freud called resistancean attempt to hinder the progress of
therapyand transference, in which the client transfers feelings about others onto
the therapist.
7. What is meant by free association and transference? (book/lecture)
a. Free Association: talk about whatever comes to mind (uncensored)
b. Transference: client transfers emotions from inner life (usually feelings towards
parents) onto the therapist
8. What is a cognitive therapy? Specifically, what is rational-emotive therapy? Be able to
identify an example (lecture/book)
a. Cognitive Therapy: teaches individuals new cognitions (thoughts), adaptive
beliefs, expectations, and ways of thinking in order to eliminate abnormal
emotions and behavior
b. Rational Emotive Therapy (RET): Albert Ellis: challenge a persons unrealistic
thoughts or irrational beliefs
c. A form of cognitive therapy in which the therapist acts as a kind of cross-
examiner, verbally assaulting the clients irrational thought processes.
9. What is a humanistic therapy approach? (book/lecture) Specifically, what is client-
centered therapy? (book/lecture)
10. What is Family Therapy? (book/lecture)
a. A form of group therapy in which the therapist treats the family as whole, as a
kind of social system. The goals of the treatment are often to improve
interpersonal communication and collaboration.
11. What is a behavioral therapy? (book/lecture)
a. Treatments designed to change behavior through the use of established learning
techniques.
b. helping clients unlearn self-defeating behaviors (classical and operant
conditioning)
 12. Specifically, what is systematic desensitization? (book/lecture)
a. A technique that uses counterconditioning and extinction to reduce the fear and
anxiety that have become associated with a specific object or event.
b. Lets imagine you have a deep, irrational fear of flying in an airplane. Treatment
starts by having you create a list of flying-related situations that cause you to feel
increasingly anxious. Next, you would receive lessons in how to relax yourself
fully. Finally, you would begin working through your hierarchy. Perhaps you
might start by simply imagining a picture of an airplane. If you can remain
relaxed under these conditions, the therapist will direct you to move up the
hierarchy to the next most stressful situationperhaps imagining the airplane
actually taking off. Gradually, over time, you will learn to relax in increasingly
more stressful situations, even to the point where you can imagine yourself
strapped in the seat as the plane rolls down the runway. If you can stay relaxed
which is incompatible with fear and anxietythe fearful association with planes
should extinguish and be replaced by an association that is neutral or positive.
Eventually, when you move to a real situation, the learning will generalize and
you will no longer be afraid to fly in a plane.
13. What is social skills training? (book/lecture)
a. Social skills training, which is a form of behavioral therapy that uses modeling
and reinforcement to shape appropriate adjustment skills.

Ch 16

1. What is the definition of stress? (book)

a. Peoples physical and psychological reactions to demanding situations.
2. Understand the alarm, resistance, and exhaustion phases of the general adaptation
syndrome (book)
a. alarm reaction, corresponds to the adaptive fight-or-flight response weve
discussed in previous chapters ( Cannon, 1932). The body becomes energized,
through activation of the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system,
and hormones are released by the glands of the endocrine system. Heart rate and
respiration rate increase, as does blood flow to the muscles; each of these actions
helps prepare the body for immediate defensive or evasive action. The alarm
reaction enables us to get out of life-threatening jams, but its extremely intense
and cant be sustained for long periods without serious negative consequences
(even death).
b. Hans Selye proposed that the body reacts to threat or demand in three stages or
phases: (1) an alarm reaction that corresponds to the fight-or-flight response; (2)
resistance, during which the body adjusts its reaction in an effort to cope with a
threat that is still present; and (3) exhaustion, which occurs when the bodys
energy reserves become so depleted that it starts to give up.
3. What is meant by cognitive appraisal and how do stress reactions depend on cognitive
appraisal? (book)
a. The idea that to feel stress you need to perceive a threat and come to the
conclusion that you may not have adequate resources to deal with the threat.
b. Identical environmental events can lead to two very different stress reactions,
depending on how the event is interpreted. Consider an upcoming exam:
Everyone in the class receives the same test, but not everyone will feel the same
amount of stress. Those people who are prepared for the examthe people like
you who read the chapter and engage in self-testingare likely to feel less stress.
Again, you perceive the threat, but you have adequate resources to deal with it
4. What are some typical external sources of stress? (i.e. significant life events, daily
hassles, and environmental factors. Be able to identify some examples of each of these)
(book)

5. What are some internal sources of stress? (i.e. know what is meant by perceived control,
explanatory style, and personality characteristics, and be able to identify some examples
of each). (book)
6. What are the implications of stress for susceptibility to illness (how does stress affect the
immune response?) and susceptibility to cardiovascular disease? (book)

7. Know what is meant by social support. How does it help with stress reduction? What did
Pennebakers studies show? (book)
a. The resources we receive from other people or groups, often in the form of
comfort, caring, or help.
b. People with well-established social support systems are less likely to suffer a
second heart attack ( Case et al., 1992), are more likely to survive life-threatening
cancer ( Chou et al., 2012), and are less likely to consider suicide if theyre
infected with HIV ( Schneider et al., 1991). Other studies have established that
social support plays a role in lowering the likelihood of depression and in
speeding recovery
c. James Pennebaker (1990) has conducted a number of studies in which college
students were encouraged to talk or write about upsetting events in their lives
(everything from a divorce in the family to fears about the future). When
compared to the control students, who were asked to talk or write about trivial
things, the students who opened up showed improved immune functioning and
were less likely to visit the college health center over the next several months.
Pennebaker has found similar benefits for people who lived through natural
disasters (such as earthquakes) or were part of the Holocaust. Opening up, talking
about things, and confiding in others really seems to help people cope (
Pennebaker & Chung, 2007).
8. What is meant by reappraising the situation and how can reappraisal help with stress
management? Be able to identify an example of reappraisal as a stress reduction
technique. (book)
a. When thinking about how to cope with stress, its important to remember that its
not the sudden life event or the daily hassle that actually leads us to experience
stressits our interpretation of the event that really matters. Even the death of a
spouse or the occurrence of a natural disaster, cruel as it may seem, will create
significant stress only if the event is appraised in a negative way. Imagine if your
spouse were suffering from an incurable disease, one that produced extreme and
persistent pain. Under these conditions, death could be seen as a kind of blessing.
9. Know the definition of self-control (lecture)
a. Ability to control & regulate emotions, desires, & behaviors
b. Overriding short-term desires in favor of long-term benefits
c. Selfs capacity to alter its own responses
d. Or the active management of ones many needs and goals
10. Know the 4 main domains/categories of self-control (be able to identify examples)
(lecture)
a. Thought control
b. Affect regulation
c. Impulse control
d. Performance control
11. -Describe the findings of the Mischel study (lecture)
a. Mischel's famous longitudinal research study, "The Marshmallow Test," showed
the importance of impulse control and delayed gratification for academic,
emotional and social success. In the 1960s at the preschool on the Stanford
University campus, Mischel put marshmallows in front of a room full of 4-year-
olds. He told them they could have one marshmallow now, but if they could wait
several minutes, they could have two. Some children eagerly grabbed a
marshmallow and ate it. Others waited, some having to cover their eyes in order
not to see the tempting treat and one child even licked the table around the
marshmallow. Mischel followed the group and found that, 14 years later, the
"grabbers" suffered low self-esteem and were viewed by others as stubborn, prone
to envy and easily frustrated. The "waiters" were better copers, more socially
competent and self-assertive, trustworthy, dependable and more academically
successful. This group even scored about 210 points higher on their SATs.
12. Describe and give examples of the implications of the limited resource model of self
control (know what is meant by depletion, know whether or not depletion is domain
specific, understand the muscle metaphor, understand some of the predictions of what
happens to people exerting self control strength according to the limited resource model,
etc.) (lecture)
a. Self-regulation is a fight between the automatic and the controlled
b. Automatic I want that darn COOKIE!
c. Controlled I have to stick to my diet
d. Fight between impulse and control
e. This is often a losing battle
f. Winning the battle drains us of an important resource necessary to keep fighting
g. Self-regulation is like a muscle
h. Depletion
i. Strength
j. Only have a limited resource
k. With use it gets tired
l. With exercise it gets stronger
m. Automatic behaviors do not require self-control
n. Conscious/controlled behaviors require self-control (depletion will only effect
controlled behaviors.
13. Describe some independent and dependent variables used in the studies illustrating the
limited resource model of self-control (lecture)
a. Eating radishes instead of chocolates
b. Makes it difficult to
c. Persist in attempting unsolvable puzzles
d. Suppressing emotional reactions to a movie
e. Makes it difficult to
f. Solve difficult word problems
g. Suppressing thoughts about a topic
h. Makes it difficult to
i. Squeeze a handgrip for a long amount of time
j. Initial acts of self-regulation deplete ones resources
k. Affects any type of behavior that requires close guidance by the self
l. Avoid exerting lots of self-control before a big test
14. What does self-control out-predict in determining life success? (lecture)
a. All measures of self-control outpredicted IQ tests in predicting students grades
and academic achievement