Motivation and Emotion

Motivation- a psychological process that directs and maintains your behavior toward a goal
Motives- the needs, wants, interests, and desires that propel or drive people
Instinct Theory- we are motivated by our inborn automated behaviors

Biological and Social Motives
Biological Motives- hunger, thirst, sex, sleep
Social Motives- achievement, order, play
Drive Theory- biological internal motivation (homeostasis)
Incentive Theory- environmental motivation (not as much homeostasis, more outside factors)

Social Relations

Prejudice- an unjustifiable attitude towards a group of people. Can be overt or subtle, usually involves stereotyped beliefs (a generalized belief about a group of people).

Social Inequalities- a principle reason behind prejudice.
Ingroup- "us"- people with whom one shares a common identity.
Outgroup- "them"- those perceived as different than one's ingroup.
Ingroup Bias- the tendency to favor one's own group.

Scape Goat Theory- Putting the blame on someone or something else.
The Biology of Aggression- genetics, neural influences
The Psychology of Aggression
Frustration-Aggressive Principle- the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal. Creates anger which generates aggression.
Conflict- a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas.
Social Trap or Prisoner's Dilemma- situation in which people must choose between act that is beneficial to themselves but harmful to others and an act that is moderately beneficial to all.

Attraction (five factors of attraction):
Proximity- geographic nearness. Mere exposure effect. Repeated exposure to something breeds liking.
Reciprocal Liking- You're more likely to like someone who likes you.
Similarity- Similarity breeds content
Liking Through Association
Physical Attractiveness

Love- Passionate and compassionate love
Passionate Love- an aroused state of intense positive absorption of another
Compassionate Love- the deep affectionate attachment we feel with those with whom our lives are intertwined

Altruism- unselfish regard for the welfare of others
Bystander Effect- bystanders are less willing to help if there are other bystanders around
Social Exchange Theory- the idea that our social behavior is an exchange process, which we maximize benefits and minimize costs.
Peacemaking- giving people shared goals that can only be achieved through cooperation
Grit- Graduated and reciprocated initiative in tension reduction

Social Influence

Conforming- Adjusting one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standards.

Conditions that Strengthen Conformity

• one is made to feel incompetent
• the group is at least three people
• the group is unanimous
• one admires the group's status
• one had made no prior commitment
• the person is observed

Reasons for Conforming

Normative Social Influence- Influence resulting from a person's desire to gain approval or avoid disappointment.

Informational Social Influence- influence resulting from one's willingness to accept other's opinions about reality.

Group Influence on Behavior

Social Facilitation- Improved performance of tasks in the presence of others. It occurs with simple or well learned tasks, not with tasks that are difficult or not yet learned.

Yerkes-Dodson Law- There's an optimal level of arousal for the best performance of any task.

Social Loafing- the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling efforts toward a common goal than if they were individually accountable.

Deindividuation- The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that faster arousal and anonymity.
Group Polarization- The concept that a group's attitude is one of extremes and rarely moderate.
Groupthink- The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides common sense.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecies- Occurs when one person's belief about others leads one to act in ways that induce the others to appear to confirm the belief.

Social Psychology

Social Psychology is the study of how we think about, influence, and relate to to one another.

Attribution Theory- The idea that we give a casual explanation for someone's behavior. We credit behavior to either the situation or a person's disposition.

Fundamental Attribution Error- The tendency to underestimate the impact of a situation and underestimate the impact of personal disposition.

Attitudes- A belief or feeling that predisposes one to respond in a particular way about something.

Our attitudes guide our actions only if external pressure is minimal.

 We are aware of our attitudes. The attitude is relevant to the behavior.

Foot-In-Door Phenomenon- The tendency for people to have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request.

Door-In-Face Phenomenon- The tendency for people who say no to a large request, to comply with a smaller one,

Zimbardo Prison Study- Role playing affects attitudes.
Cognitive Dissonance Theory- We do not like when we have either conflicting attitudes or when our attitudes do not match our actions.