Psycho

Social psychology studies how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others.

Watch episode 24-26 evangelion for example.

Snap judgements are immediate perceptions made about others. The fundamental attribution error is the tendency to attribute others’ behaviors to their character while underestimating situational factors.

Actor/observer bias is when people attribute their own actions to external factors and others' actions to dispositional/personal factors. Self-serving bias is the tendency to credit success to personal factors and blame failures on external factors.

Stereotypes are generalized beliefs about a group of people where specific traits are assigned to almost all members of the group, regardless of actual variation among the members

Stereotypes can form biases (prejudice) against a group, which can lead to unfair treatment or discrimination of individuals from that group based on their perceived group membership.

In-groups are social groups to which an individual feels they belong, while out-groups are those to which the individual does not belong and may feel antagonism towards.

Simple attitudes are consistent and predict behavior accurately, whereas complex attitudes may be conflicted or inconsistent, predicting behavior less accurately.

The phenomenon by which people tend to develop a preference for things merely because they are familiar with them.

Explicit attitudes are conscious beliefs that can guide decisions and behavior, while implicit attitudes are unconscious beliefs that can still influence responses and behaviors.

A state of tension that occurs when a person holds conflicting attitudes or beliefs or behaves in ways that are inconsistent with their beliefs.

The tendency for people to perform differently when in the presence of others than when alone, typically improving on simple tasks and performing worse on complex tasks.

Reduced effort in groups compared to individual work.

A psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people, where the desire for harmony or conformity results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome.

The loss of self-awareness in groups, which can lead to disinhibited and irrational behavior, often negative.

Groups often make riskier decisions than individuals; the presence of others can lead to increased boldness and minimized personal responsibility.

Conformity is adjusting one's behavior or thinking to align with group standards. Social norms are the implicit or explicit rules a group has for the acceptable behaviors, values, and beliefs of its members.

Normative influence is conforming to gain approval or avoid disapproval, while informational influence is conforming based on the information or evidence presented by others as correct.

"Foot in the door" involves getting a person to agree to a large request by first setting them up by agreeing to a modest request. "Door in the face" involves asking for a large request that is likely to be refused so that the person will agree to a much smaller request later.

The theory that frustration—the perception that you are being prevented from attaining a goal—increases the probability of an aggressive response.

The phenomenon in which individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim when other people are present. The greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is that any one of them will help.

Memory allows the nervous system to retain and utilize past experiences and information to influence future actions and behavior.

The stages are encoding, where information is transformed into a form that can be stored; storage, the maintaining of the information over time; and retrieval, the process of getting the information out of storage.

Selective attention allows us to focus on what is important while ignoring distractions; change blindness is a failure to notice large changes in one's environment, showing the limits of attention.

Sensory memory holds information for a few seconds or less; short-term memory retains information temporarily for analysis and either discards it or transfers it to long-term memory, where it can be stored indefinitely.

Chunking is the process of organizing parts of items into familiar, manageable units or chunks, which helps prevent decay by making the information more manageable and memorable.

Chunking is the process of organizing parts of items into familiar, manageable units or chunks, which helps prevent decay by making the information more manageable and memorable.

Explicit memory, which is conscious and includes facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare, and implicit memory, which is without conscious recall, such as skills and routine procedures.

Key regions include the hippocampus, which is crucial for the formation of new memories, and the amygdala, which plays a role in emotional memories.

It is a long-lasting enhancement in signal transmission between two neurons that results from stimulating them synchronously; it is one of the major cellular mechanisms that underlies learning and memory.

It is a process that stabilizes a memory trace after its initial acquisition. It is thought to be powered by the hippocampus, transforming short-term memories into a more permanent form.

Memories are retrieved through cues that can trigger the recollection of the information. Retrieval can be enhanced if the context or state during retrieval matches the context or state during encoding (context-dependent and state-dependent memory).

It is remembering to perform a planned action or recall a planned intention at some future point in time. Tools like sticky notes or alarms are often used to support this type of memory.

Memory distortion occurs when the recall of memories is less accurate due to various factors like biases, misinformation, or misattribution. It reflects the reconstructive nature of memory.

The nervous system is a complex network of nerves and cells that carry messages to and from the brain and spinal cord to various parts of the body

Neurons are the basic working unit of the brain and nervous system which transmit information. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that carry signals across the synapse from one neuron to another.

Neurotransmitters like serotonin affect emotional states and dreaming, dopamine is involved in reward and motor control, and endorphins play a role in pain reduction and reward.

The forebrain/cerebrum (associated with complex cognitive, emotional, sensory, and motor functions), midbrain/brainstem (associated with vision, hearing, motor control, sleep/wake, arousal (alertness), and temperature regulation), and hindbrain/cerebellum (regulates autonomic functions, relaying information between the brain and the body, balance, and coordination).

The left hemisphere is more involved with tasks that involve logic, language, and analytical thinking, while the right hemisphere is more involved with spatial abilities, face recognition, visual imagery, and music.

Through the nervous system, which includes the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and the peripheral nervous system (all other neural elements), allowing for rapid communication.

The somatic nervous system controls voluntary movements and conveys sensory information to the central nervous system. The autonomic nervous system controls involuntary body functions like heartbeat and digestion, and includes sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions.

The endocrine system uses hormones to communicate between organs and tissues for physiological regulation and behavioral activities, affecting everything from mood, growth and development, to the way organs operate.

Psychology is the scientific study of behavior (what we do) and mental processes (inner thoughts and feelings).

Psychology helps us understand human behavior, emotions, and mental processes, leading to better mental health treatments, improved understanding of interpersonal dynamics, and enhanced self-awareness.

Memory serves to retain information, skills, and experiences, which influences future behavior and decision-making processes.

The stages are encoding (converting external information into a neural code), storage (keeping the information over time), and retrieval (accessing the stored information).

Selective attention (focusing on relevant stimuli), limited attention (inability to process all stimuli at once), and change blindness (failing to notice changes in the environment).

Sensory memory (brief retention of sensory information), short-term memory (temporary storage for active processing), and long-term memory (long-term storage of information).

Working memory is an active processing system that maintains and manipulates information needed for complex cognitive tasks like learning, reasoning, and comprehension.

Chucking is a memory technique where information is grouped into meaningful units or chunks, making it easier to remember larger amounts of data by reducing cognitive load.

The primacy effect is the better memory people have for items presented at the beginning of a list. The recency effect is the better memory people have for the most recent items, usually at the end of a list.

Long-term memory is organized based on meaning, using schemas and networks of association to facilitate the storage and retrieval of information.

Explicit memory, which includes conscious memories that can be described, and implicit memory, which includes unconscious memories such as skills.

Memory consolidation is the process by which temporary memories are transformed into a more permanent state, involving strengthening neural connections.

Context-dependent memory refers to better recall of information if the context at retrieval matches the context during encoding. State-dependent memory refers to better recall when the physical or mental state matches the encoding state.

Tools like sticky notes, alarms, or digital reminders (smartphones or apps) help individuals remember future tasks and appointments.

Memory distortion includes memory bias (altering memories to fit current beliefs) and memory construction (rebuilding memory based on new information or assumptions).

Serotonin is linked with emotional states and impulse control, dopamine with reward and motivation, and endorphins with pain reduction and pleasure.

The forebrain is involved in complex thought processes, emotions, and motivations; the midbrain in movement and arousal; and the hindbrain in survival functions like breathing and heart rate.

The brain communicates through the nervous system, using the central and peripheral systems to send signals to and from different body parts.

The endocrine system influences behavior by secreting hormones that impact various bodily functions, including growth, metabolism, and mood.

The ABCs of psychology consist of Affect, Behavior, and Cognition:

• Affect refers to the feelings or emotions an individual experiences.

• Behavior includes all observable actions by an organism in response to its environment or internal states.

• Cognition involves the mental processes like thinking, knowing, remembering, and problem-solving. These components are fundamental in analyzing how emotional states, observable actions, and mental processes interact to influence overall behavior in various psychological contexts.

In social psychology:

• Affect (Emotions): Studies how our feelings are affected by interactions with others and how these emotions in turn influence our attitudes towards others.

• Behavior: Examines how we act in social settings, influenced by the presence of others, and how groups can influence individual behaviors through norms and roles.

• Cognition: Explores how we think about and perceive others, including forming stereotypes and attributions in social interactions.

Cognition encompasses mental processes involved in gaining knowledge and comprehension, including memory functions:

• Encoding, Storage, Retrieval: These stages of memory are cognitive processes that deal with how information is processed, stored, and recalled, highlighting the cognitive underpinnings of memory.

Cognitive dissonance often leads to uncomfortable emotions (affect) when there is a contradiction between two beliefs or between a belief and an action. These negative emotions motivate the individual to resolve the dissonance, usually by changing an attitude or a belief to reduce the emotional discomfort.

Behavior in social contexts is often influenced by observing and modeling the actions of others (social learning). Group dynamics like social facilitation and social loafing also demonstrate how individual behavior is modified in group settings, emphasizing the behavioral component of psychology in social interactions.

Neurotransmitters play a crucial role in:

• Affect: Influence emotions and mood (e.g., serotonin impacts emotional states, endorphins are linked with pain reduction and pleasure).

• Behavior: Affect how we act, with neurotransmitters like dopamine influencing reward-seeking behaviors and motivation.

• Cognition: Impact our mental processes such as learning, memory, and decision-making.

The endocrine system, through hormone release, affects:

• Affect: Hormones can alter mood and emotions, impacting how we feel.

• Behavior: Hormones influence various behaviors such as stress responses and aggression.

• Cognition: Hormonal changes can affect cognitive functions and mental clarity.