PSYC 333 Midterm 1 – Psychology course exam material
personality psychology - ANS ✔✔behavior is determined by characteristics of the person
social psychology - ANS ✔✔behaviour is determined by social situation
interactionist consensus - ANS ✔✔behaviour is an interaction between the characteristics of a
person and the situation they're in
the self - ANS ✔✔your social identity and you inner processes that enable you to operate your
body successfully in society
self-concept - ANS ✔✔a cognitive representation of the knowledge and beliefs that we have
about ourselves (the entirety of our self-knowledge)
associative network - ANS ✔✔knowledge is organized as a metaphorical network of cognitive
concepts interconnected by links
working self-concept - ANS ✔✔the subset of self-knowledge that's the current focus of
awareness
situational activation - ANS ✔✔different situations can activate different pieces of self-
knowledge thus creating different working self-concepts
spreading activation - ANS ✔✔when a specific self-aspect is activated, other self-aspects that
are linked with it are also activated (speed of activation depends on the strength of the links)
distinctiveness theory - ANS ✔✔a person's unique, distinctive characteristics are more salient to
them than characteristics that they have in common with others
, what impacts the accessibility of self-knowledge? - ANS ✔✔1. it's distinctive to the situation
2. it's relevant to the situation
3. how frequently we activate this specific knowledge
common theories about the true self? (4) - ANS ✔✔1. natural endowment: we're already born
with a true self, often in the form of potential
2. authenticity: actions consistent with internal states that are subjectively experienced as one's
own
3. want: people naturally want to be true to themselves, living in accordance with a true self
leads to a satisfying and fulfilling life
4. external influences: competes with them, and that's why it's hard to be in tune with true self
& follow it
common problems with the idea of a true self? (3) - ANS ✔✔1. natural endowment isn't a
provable idea
2. self-beliefs are inaccurate
3. social desirability, seems to be what's 'good' rather than own unique characteristics
desired reputation - ANS ✔✔what's valued by society (ideals) + what distinctive role one's own
abilities and traits are best suited to (actual self)
high vs low self-complexity - ANS ✔✔high: many self-aspects that are relatively distinct from
each other
low: few self-aspects that have a high degree of overlap with each other
affective spillover - ANS ✔✔due to spreading activation and links b/w self-aspects, emotions
associated w one self-aspect will spillover to other self-aspects
personality psychology - ANS ✔✔behavior is determined by characteristics of the person
social psychology - ANS ✔✔behaviour is determined by social situation
interactionist consensus - ANS ✔✔behaviour is an interaction between the characteristics of a
person and the situation they're in
the self - ANS ✔✔your social identity and you inner processes that enable you to operate your
body successfully in society
self-concept - ANS ✔✔a cognitive representation of the knowledge and beliefs that we have
about ourselves (the entirety of our self-knowledge)
associative network - ANS ✔✔knowledge is organized as a metaphorical network of cognitive
concepts interconnected by links
working self-concept - ANS ✔✔the subset of self-knowledge that's the current focus of
awareness
situational activation - ANS ✔✔different situations can activate different pieces of self-
knowledge thus creating different working self-concepts
spreading activation - ANS ✔✔when a specific self-aspect is activated, other self-aspects that
are linked with it are also activated (speed of activation depends on the strength of the links)
distinctiveness theory - ANS ✔✔a person's unique, distinctive characteristics are more salient to
them than characteristics that they have in common with others
, what impacts the accessibility of self-knowledge? - ANS ✔✔1. it's distinctive to the situation
2. it's relevant to the situation
3. how frequently we activate this specific knowledge
common theories about the true self? (4) - ANS ✔✔1. natural endowment: we're already born
with a true self, often in the form of potential
2. authenticity: actions consistent with internal states that are subjectively experienced as one's
own
3. want: people naturally want to be true to themselves, living in accordance with a true self
leads to a satisfying and fulfilling life
4. external influences: competes with them, and that's why it's hard to be in tune with true self
& follow it
common problems with the idea of a true self? (3) - ANS ✔✔1. natural endowment isn't a
provable idea
2. self-beliefs are inaccurate
3. social desirability, seems to be what's 'good' rather than own unique characteristics
desired reputation - ANS ✔✔what's valued by society (ideals) + what distinctive role one's own
abilities and traits are best suited to (actual self)
high vs low self-complexity - ANS ✔✔high: many self-aspects that are relatively distinct from
each other
low: few self-aspects that have a high degree of overlap with each other
affective spillover - ANS ✔✔due to spreading activation and links b/w self-aspects, emotions
associated w one self-aspect will spillover to other self-aspects
