Psychology

Psych Up: Improve your understanding of psychology by applying useful concepts to actual situations.
How many can you identify from experience without looking at definitions?

Psychological Situations

Psychological Concepts & Categories/Definitions

Biases

James is sure his argument will be proven right.

Confirmation Fixation Rigidly trying to keep, prove and justify certain beliefs.

Charlie believes that his partner is clumsy after she tripped.

Fundamental Attribution Judging own errors based on circumstances, but others on presumed character.

Bob says the team’s loss was an easy prediction.

Hindsight Confidence Believing after an occurrence that it could be easily foreseen.

Amanda said Lee was always rude and never polite.

Over-Generalizing Going beyond the actual facts with extreme words such as "never", “all” or “none”.

Jan estimates that her driving is way above average.

Self-Serving Evaluation Tendency to judge oneself favorably in comparison to other people.

Cognitions/Perceptions

Rob was persistently worried about vague kinds of losses.

Anxious Thinking Cognitions emphasizing possible losses, vague fears, and unfounded worries.

Following her essay about Koreans, Yuriko’s attitude changed.

Dissonance Reduction Inconsistency between new behavior and previous idea leading to new attitude.

Rick had a negative general, personal and future outlook.

Depressive Thinking Cognitions emphasizing failures, disappointments, and hopelessness.

Vic automatically saw the lines forming a whole pattern.

Gestalt Tendency to see whole figures or forms from separate pieces.

Susan is aware that she has been dwelling on a lot of worries.

Meta-Cognition Thoughts about thoughts.

Mia just observed her stream of consciousness without criticism.

Mindfulness/Self-Awareness Observation of personal mental contents and processes.

Eve was expecting a smart date and saw those indicators.

Perceptual Set Perceiving something in a given way due to expectations.

Communications

Kiki reflected Jill’s emotional message back to her.

Active Listening Intently restating another person’s feelings and meanings.

Jo expressed her preferences clearly and fully.

Assertiveness Communication that states personal preferences and decisions.

Chico stated his deep concern in a non-blameful manner.

I (Feel) Message Stating one’s feelings descriptively and factually without blaming the recipient.

The guide restated the conflict to present a new larger viewpoint.

Reframing Looking at a situation with a different, generally beneficial, emphasis.

Helen increased the buyer's offer by mentioning a high number.

Semantic Anchors/ Priming Using words and other cues to influence perceptions and decisions.

Dynamics/Defenses

Harriet took her anger at the boss out on her family.

Displacement Expressing emotional behavior to someone who was not the source of the feelings.

Jack believed Jill’s generosity was part of his character.

Introjection Imagining characteristics of another person are one’s own.

Jill thought Jack was interested since she felt that way.

Projection Imagining one’s own characteristics to be those of another person.

Sal wanted the new boat and began making up justifications

Rationalization Making up justifiable reasons for an emotionally desired choice.

Although Sue disliked her aunt, she talked in an opposite way.

Reaction Formation Stating the opposite of hateful or unacceptable feelings.

Hank acted like a child again after the disaster.

Regression Reverting back to behavior of an earlier age, generally to a more secure time.

Emotion/Motivation

Mike was aware of the present situation without denial.

Acceptance Mental and emotional openness to current facts and situations.

After a nice walk, Jing is in a better mood.

Activity-Affect Influence Effects of movement and exercise on feelings and moods.

Ike started yelling and pounding, then became angrier.

Behavioral Feedback Awareness of behavior that may impact emotion and further behavior.

Don set a valued goal that he worked on with satisfaction.

Commitment Holding to a goal or purpose.

After exercising, Stan helped at the school and felt even better.

Feel Good-Do Good & Reverse Relation between more upbeat feelings and contributing to others.

Lucy felt better by recalling what she appreciated in her life.

Gratitude Attitude Viewing appreciatively one’s positive experiences and bolstering happiness.

After a big sports thrill, Candy wanted a still bigger thrill.

Hedonic Threshold Need to go beyond previous level  of attainment or enjoyment.

Jean was working diligently to get the desired bonus.

Incentive Reward that a person will work to achieve.

Bo liked using his skills to be freely creative.

Intrinsic Motivation Desire to do something based on internal reasons.

Lou tried to act nervous, but became more relaxed from the attempted acting.

Paradoxical Reaction After a communication, an opposite result from whatever seemed to be obvious.

Effects

By looking at her audience, Ann increased their interest.

Eye Contact Influence of looking at people’s eyes for a few seconds.

Jeff could tell Tom’s smile was forced during his welcome.

Facial Expressions Range of emotional messages communicated by human faces.

Dawn likes the people that she knows best.

Familiarity Preference Liking someone more due to getting to know that person.

The event was so intense that it stood out in Sid’s mind.

Flashbulb Intense visual memory after an extremely strong experience.

Maria practiced the dance very well in her mind.

Imagery/Vivid Reality Power of vivid mental images to substitute for the physical world.

Mary knew her neighbors after seeing them for several weeks.

Mere Exposure Learning from sensory contact alone.

The inactive pill had the same effect on Al as medication pill.

Placebo Inactive substance or condition that imitates the active one, perhaps with similar effects.

Lois recalled the first and last items on the list.

Serial Position Greater recall of first and last items in a list.

Kim thought all eyes were on her whenever she entered a room.

Spotlight Believing that others are closely watching one’s behavior.

Dick ate so much food, he was not aware of the taste.

Stimuli Adaptation Decreased impact of sensory input with prolonged exposure.

Due to extreme stress, Cary’s job performance declined.

Stress Curve Increasing, peaking, and decreasing performance due to increased stimulation.

General/Science

Lucy sees her actions effecting her outlook and friends.

Biopsychosocial Connection and interaction between biological, psychological and social levels.

Crystal built up a dependence on more and more of her drug.

Chemical Tolerance Requiring more of a substance to produce a former reaction.

The DNA test measured the relevant facts.

Evidence/Validity Sufficient proof to support a belief; accurate measurement of something.

Sam solved the puzzle with a few quick strategies.

Heuristic Searching, problem-solving and/or learning strategy.

When Tony stopped thinking about the question, the answer came to mind.

Mental Dual-Processing Conscious and unconscious information tracks. 

Craig defined the cake by the actions that created it.

Operational Definition Specifying anything by the actions needed to make it occur.

Kip allowed the entire target group an equal chance of selection.  

Random Sample Assuring that members have an equal chance of inclusion for fair representation.

Similar testing results were found repeatedly at other sites.

Replication/Reliability Yielding consistent results in repeated experiments/tests.

Len focused on the route to the goal and blocked distractions.

Selective Attention Factor Focusing on one thing exclusively for heightened and narrow awareness.

Ray added his ideas to the open discussion of possibilities.

Groups | Brainstorming Group members freely and creatively contributing to a topic or solution.

Curt did not help the victim due to the crowd of onlookers.

Bystandering Believing that others present will help a victim.

Cal became very aggressive in the concert mob.

Deindividuation Decreased inhibitions against aggression when part of an excited crowd.

John closely imitates his kindergarten playmates.

Group Conformity Going along with group ideas and actions although different from own.

The group members went along with the vocal minority opinion.

Groupthink Harmonizing with influential group members' opinions.

From the group’s arguments, Gary’s position became more extreme.

Polarization Opinions becoming more extreme after discussion with like-minded group.

Juju was blamed for the crime because she was an outsider.

Scapegoating Prejudicially blaming a person or group as outlet for fear and anger.

Laura left the class work to the other group members.

Social Loafing Avoiding  individual responsibilities by relying on group members.

Dean thought the girl was happy since she looked pretty.

Stereotyping General, often over-generalized, belief about a group of people.

Heather helped and talked to others after the tragedy.

Tend & Befriend  Providing and seeking social support when highly stressed.

Harry is closer with his teammates while cooperating for the prize.

Us-Them & Teamwork Identifying with own group and goals versus other group.

 Learning

Rachael did her bedtime ritual without thinking about it.

Automatic Routines/Habit Links A series of behaviors that no longer require thinking due repeated use.

Denise became more relaxed from watching the calm leader.

Model Imitation Learning from watching particular actions.

Billy’s good behavior increased from getting rewarded.

Operant Conditioning Learning from the consequences (reinforcers) of a behavior.

From the repeated ad song, Chris kept seeing the product.

Paired Association/Repetition Linking two items from repeated occurrence together.

Ernesto kept playing the slots since he won intermittently.

Partial Reinforcement Getting a reward some times for a behavior.

Paul improved his skill after the boss emphasized his progress.

Positive Emphasis Value in learning, performance and satisfaction of focusing on correct actions.

Kevin stopped speeding after losing his license for a month.

Punishment Event that may suppress or decrease the behavior before it.

Hal went over his presentation until his delivery was smooth.

Rehearsal Practicing a performance for effective presentation.

Eric gradually changed his dog’s behavior with small rewards.

Shaping Training a behavior by rewarding actions successively closer to desired target.

Lorie understood the topic more when she awakened.

Sleep Consolidation Improved organization and recall of recent learning following sleep.

Paula studied some content each day and remembered more.

Spaced Practice Allowing time between learning sessions to enhance effectiveness.

Ty’s trauma images were replaced by new soothing input.

Systematic Desensitization Gradually weakening anxiety stimuli by pairing with relaxation.

Memory

Ken imagined unknown details when reporting the accident.

Memory Reconstruction Filling in the blanks when remembering an incident.

Louise used HOMES to recall the five Great Lakes.

Mnemonic Method for recall, often using cues such as sounds or letters.

When Zach was in the same mood, he recalled the scene.

Mood Congruence/Affective Linking Remembering an item when having same feeling as previous time.

Dr. Lin recalled other patients’ diagnoses when examining Paul.

Recency/ Saliency/Availability Deciding on memory correctness due to ease and sharpness of recall.

Tracy made up a story to remember the item list.

Retrieval Cueing Varied stimuli for remembering such as notes, stories, and rhymes.

Carol heard the story from her friend, not her doctor as she had said.

Source Misattribution Referring to the incorrect origin of second-hand information.

Personalities/Self

Doug asked his date about parenting views.

Compatible Values Similar and complementary valued outlooks and goals between people.

Glen gave half the money away and kept half for himself.

Egoism-Altruism Balance Healthy sustainable ratio of helping self and helping others.

Adam believed there should be a fair exchange in his relationships.

Equity/Fairness Desire for equal and just transactions.

Biff said the poor people get the life they deserve. 

Just World Believing people get what they deserve, especially if doing well.

Flynn realized that he had the power to stop smoking.

Personal Control/Internal LOC Believing that the “locus of control” is within one’s own powers.

Kit saw herself as a mean person and acted accordingly.

Self-Concept Personal evaluation for thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Kevin had a sense of flow and oneness in the process.

Self-Transcendence Sense of unity beyond individual concerns.

Carl’s usual role was joker and competed with other jokers.

Social Script/Comparison Roles learned to guide interaction in reference to others.

Wayne was often impatient, angry and tense.

Type A Overly competitive, hard-driving, aggressive, and anger-prone people.

Skills

Rich learned how his ideas were affecting his feelings & actions.

Cognitive-Behavioral Training Learning how changing thoughts can change feelings and actions.

Monique listed their goals and options for an agreement.

Conflict Resolution Procedure for clarifying different positions and options to reach some agreement.

Manny was able to empathize with his co-workers’ feelings.

Emotional Intelligence Understanding, communicating and managing emotions and social realities.

Angie wrote her raw feelings in a helpful journal.

Emotion-Focused Coping Using methods that soothe disturbed feelings.

Tina planned to test the truth of her idea by gathering facts.

Hypothesizing Formulating a proposition that can be tested against evidence to be gathered.

Steve gave his friend a sincere and meaningful compliment.

Interpersonal /Social Support Positive contact and encouragement from another person.

Cathy looked for possible options for her challenge.

Problem-Focused Coping Using methods that seek needed solutions.

Carlos put up a small sign and then put up a larger one.

Small Step/Foot-in-Door Initial minor action leading way to larger actions.

Information Directly From:

http://elguides.cc/AppPsy.html