1. Chapter 8- Behaviour in Social Context

Question 1

What are social norms?

What about the role?

Answer 1

Social Norms are rules that regulate social life, including explicit laws and implicit cultural conventions
Rules about how we are supposed to act enforced by threats of punishment if we don’t and rewards if we do
The role is a given social position that is governed by a set of norms for proper behaviour

Question 2

What is culture?

Answer 2

A program of shared rules that govern the behaviour of people in a community or society, and a set of values, beliefs, and customs shared by most members of that community

Question 3

What is the obedience study?

Answer 3

A study to see how many would abet an authority figure when directed to violate their ethical standards
2/3 gave highest level shock
Teacher and learner where wrong answer increased voltage
Most went all the way to death voltage
They have given themselves to the authority, so they saw themselves as instruments for the execution of his wishes and once in this place you can’t break free
Page 264 bottom scenarios
Done by milgram

Question 4

What is the prison study?

Answer 4

Wanted to see effects of roles of prison guard and prisoner on uni students
In short time, prisoners became distressed and helpless (developed emotional symptoms and physical ailments)
Guards began to enjoy their power and a third because punitive and harsh
Study ended early after 6 days

Done by zimbardo

Question 5

Why do people obey?

Answer 5

Because of obvious consequences of disobedience like suspension from school, fired, or arrested
Others do it in hopes of getting advantages or promotions

Obey because we are dependent on or respect of the authorities legitimacy

Question 6

How do people become morally disengaged from the consequences of their actions?

Answer 6

Entrapment- a gradual process in which individuals escalate their commitment to a course of action to justify their investment of time money or effort
“It’s his problem, I’m just following orders”

Question 7

What is social cognition and it’s two topics?

Answer 7

Social cognition- an area in social psychology concerned with social influences on thought, memory, perception and beliefs
Shows how these affect their relationships

Attributions and attitudes

Question 8

What is the attribution theory?

What is situational attribution and dispositional attribution?

Answer 8

Theory that people are motivated to explain their own and other people’s behaviour by attributing causes of that behaviour to a situation or disposition
Example top of page 269

Situational- identify the cause of an action as something in the situation or environment
Dispositional- identify the cause of an action as something in the person

Question 9

What is fundamental attribution error?

Answer 9

The tendency, in explaining other people’s behaviour to overestimate personality factors and underestimate the influence of the situation

Question 10

What are the 2 types of self serving biases that are relevant to the attributions that people make?

Answer 10

1. The bias to choose the most flattering and forgiving attributions of our own lapses- choosing attributions favouring them
   I am furious for a good reason, this situation is intolerable
2. The bias to believe that the world is fair- just world hypothesis (notion that many people need to believe that the world is fair and justice is served, bad people punished good people rewarded) when something bad happens to someone good we try to restore this belief by blaming the victim

Question 11

What is an attitude?

What are the explicit and implicit versions of it?

Answer 11

Attitude is a belief about people, groups, ideas, or activities
Explicit- we are aware of them, they shape our conscious decisions and actions and can be measured on self report questionnaires
Implicit- we are unaware of them, they influence our behaviour in ways we do not recognize, and measured in indirect ways

Attitudes change in new experiences and because of a psychological need for consistency

Question 12

What is cognitive dissonance?

Answer 12

A state of tensions that occurs when a person simultaneously holds two cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent or when a person’s belief in incongruent with his behaviour
Two attitudes in conflict
Cheating on a test

Question 13

What is the familiarity effect and validity effect?

Answer 13

Familiarity effect- tendency if people to feel more positively toward a person, item, product they are more familiar with
Validity effect- tendency of people to believe that a statement is true or valid because it has been released many times
Donald Trump and Hitler

Question 14

What are the 4 key processes of coercive persuasion?

Answer 14

1. The subject is subjected to entrapment- start with small things then escalates slower to bigger favours
2. The person’s problems are explained by one simple attribution “it’s their fault we must eliminate them”
3. The person is offered a new identity and is promised salvation
4. The person access to disconfirming (dissonant) information is severely controlled- critical thinking and private doubts are taken away

Question 15

What is conformity?

What are the 2 motives for conformity?

Answer 15

Taking actions or adopting attitudes as a result of real or imagined group pressure

Study on page 278 showing conformity

Need for social acceptance
Need for information

Question 16

What is groupthink?

What are it’s 4 symptoms?

Answer 16

Tendency for all members of a group to think alike for the sake of harmony and to suppress disagreement

1. An illusion of invulnerability
2. Self censorship
3. Pressure on dissenters to conform
4. An illusion of unanimity

NASA engineers warned that challenger was unsafe but nasa launched it anyway and it exploded
Groupthink can be minimized when leaders reward the expression of doubt or dissent

Question 17

What is the diffusion of responsibility?

Answer 17

In groups, the tendency of members to avoid taking action because they assume that others will
Reduces a personal sense of accountability since you think someone else will deal with it

In truly dangerous situations (shooting, drowning) people are more willing to step in which is good

Question 18

What is deindividualization?

Answer 18

In groups or crowds, the loss of awareness of ones own individuality
These are the most extreme instances of diffusion of responsibility is crowds or mobs

Question 19

What is altruism?

What are the 4 situational factors involved in deciding to behave courageously?

Answer 19

The willingness to take selfless or dangerous action on behalf of others

1. You perceive the need for intervention or help- realize actions are necessary
2. Cultural norms encourage you to take action
3. You have an ally
4. You become entrapped

Question 20

What is social identity and ethnic Identity?

What is acculturation?

Answer 20

Social identity- part of a person’s self concept that is based on his or her identification with a nation, religious, or political group
Ethnic identity- a person’s identification with a racial or ethnic group
Acculturation- process by which members of minority’s groups come to identify with and feel part of the mainstream culture

Question 21

What is Ethnocentrism?

What reduced ethnocentrism?

Answer 21

Belief that ones own ethnic group, nation, or religion is superior to all others
As soon as people perceive themselves as “us” they perceive everybody else as “not us”

The policy of interdependence in reaching mutual goals which makes both groups work together reduces ethnocentrism

Question 22

What is a stereotype?

What are the 3 ways they distort reality?

Answer 22

Summary impression of a group, in which a person believes all members of the group share a common trait or traits

1. They exaggerate difference between groups
2. They produce selective perception
3. They underestimate differences within the stereotypes group

Stereotypes are sometimes right (positive and margarine stereotypes)

Question 23

What is prejudice?

Answer 23

Strong unreasonable dislike or hatred of a group, based on a negative stereotype
Immune to evidence
Example bottom page 288 top of 290

Question 24

What are the 4 sources of prejudice?

Answer 24

1. Psychological causes- prejudice wards off feelings of doubt fear and insecurity, pull up self esteem by disliking or hating groups they see as inferior
2. Social causes- pressure to conform views of friends relatives or associates, fear of getting kicked out of a group
3. economic causes- prejudice makes official forms of discrimination seem legit, majority group systematically dominates against a minority to preserve its power
4. Cultural and national causes- prejudice bonds people to their own ethnic or national group, by disliking others we feel closer to our own

Question 25

What are the 4 ways prejudice is measured?

Answer 25

1. Measures of social distance - reluctance to get close to another group
2. Measures of what people will do when they’re stressed or angry- people can control negative feelings under normal conditions, but as soon as angry or drunk, etc
3. Measures of brain activity- social neuroscientists scanning brains to see which areas are activated in forming stereotypes (amygdala is elevated)
4. Measures of implicit attitudes- implicit association tests (IAT) measures speed of people’s positive and negative associations to a target group

Question 26

What are the 4 situations that reduce prejudice?

Answer 26

1. Both sides have equal legal status, economic opportunities, and power
2. Authorities and community institutions must provide moral, legal, and economic support for both sides
3. Both sides must have many opportunities to work and socialize together, formally and informally
4. Both sides must cooperate, working together for a common goal