8: Social Processes, Attitudes, & Behavior Flashcards
Deindividuation
Loss of self-awareness in large groups, which can lead to drastic changes in behavior
Bystander effect
Describes the observation that when in a group, individuals are less likely to respond to a person in need
Peer pressure
Social influence placed on individuals by others they consider equals
Group polarization
Tendency toward making decisions in a group that are more extreme than the thoughts of the individual members
Groupthink
Tendency for groups to make decisions based on ideas and solutions that arise within the group without considering outside ideas
- ethics may be disturbed as pressure is created to remain loyal to group
Culture
The beliefs, ideas, behaviors, actions, and characteristics of a group or society of people
Assimilation
Process by which a group or individual’s culture begins to melt into another culture
Multiculturalism
Refers to encouragement of multiple cultures within a community to enhance diversity
Subcultures
Refer to a group of people within a culture that distinguish themselves from the primary culture to which they belong
Socialization
Process of developing and spreading norms, customs, and beliefs
Norms
These determine the boundaries of acceptable behavior within society
Stigma
Extreme disapproval or dislike of a person or group based on perceived differences from the rest of society
Deviance
Refers to any violation of norms, rules, or expectations within a society
Conformity
Changing beliefs or behaviors to fit into a group or soceity
Compliance
Occurs when individuals change their behavior based on the requests of others
- Methods of gaining compliance: foot in the door technique, door in the face technique, lowball technique, and that’s not all technique
Obedience
Change in behavior based on a command from someone seen as an authority figure
Attitudes
Tendencies toward expression of positive or negative feelings or evaluations of something
- There are affective, behavioral, and cognitive components to attitudes
Functional attitudes theory
Four functional areas of attitude:
- Knowledge
- Ego Expression
- Adaptability
- Ego defense
Learning theory
States that attitudes are developed through forms of learning: direct contact, direct interaction, direct instruction, and conditioning
Elaboration Likelihood model
States that attitudes are formed and changed through different routes of information processing based on the degree of elaboration (central (deep thinking/scrutinizing) vs peripheral (low elaboration/superficial details) processing route)
Social cognitive theory
States that attitudes are formed through observation of behavior, personal factors, and environment
Social facilitation
Describes the tendency of people to perform at a different level based on the fact that others are around
