Behavioral Sciences 10: Social Thinking Flashcards
interpersonal attraction
the attraction between people that leads to the development of romantic or platonic relationships
influenced by…
- similarity
- self-disclosure
- reciprocity
- proximity
- outward appearance
self-disclosure
sharing one’s fears, thoughts, and goals with another person and being met with nonjudgmental empathy
reciprocal liking
people like others better when they believe the other person likes them
proximity
being physically close to someone
mere exposure effect / familiarity effect
people prefer stimuli that they have been exposed to more frequently
aggression
behavior that intends to cause harm or increase social dominance
can be physical, verbal, or nonverbal
can be caused by amygdala, testosterone, pain, hunger, exposure to violent behavior
amygdala
the part of the brain responsible for associating stimuli as their corresponding rewards or punishments
responsible for determining whether or not something is a threat
if activated, causes an increase in aggression
controlled by higher-order brain structures
cognitive neoassociation model
model which states what we are more likely to respond to others aggressively whenever we are feeling negative emotions like tiredness, sickness, frustration, pain
attachment
an emotional bond to another person, usually between a caregiver and a child
what are the four types of attachment?
secure attachment
avoidant attachment
ambivalent attachment
disorganized attachment
secure attachment
attachment in which a child has a consistent caregiver and is able to go out and explore knowing he has a secure base to return to
child shows strong preference for the caregiver
avoidant attachment
attachment in which the caregiver has little or no response to a distressed child
child has no preference between a stranger and the caregiver
ambivalent attachment
attachment in which a caregiver has an inconsistent response to a child’s distress
child is unable to form a secure base since he can’t rely on the caregiver’s response
child is distressed when the caregiver leaves but ambivalent or gives a mixed response when the caregiver returns
disorganized attachment
attachment that shows no clear pattern of behavior in response to the caregiver’s absence or presence
can include avoidance or resistance, seeming confused, or repetitive behaviors
associated with erratic behavior and social withdrawal by the caregiver
social support
the perception or reality that one is cared for by a social network
what are the different categories of social support?
emotional support
esteem support
material support
informational support
network support
emotional support
support that entails listening, affirming, and empathizing with someone’s feelings
esteem support
social support that directly affirms the qualities and skills of a person
material support / tangible support
support that entails any type of financial or material contribution to another person
informational support
support that entails providing information that will help someone
network support
support that gives a person a sense of belonging
foraging
seeking out and eating food
biological basis of foraging
hunger driven by hypothalamus (lateral and ventromedial hypothalamus)
mating system
the organization of a group’s sexual behavior
monogamy
a mating system in which an exclusive mating relationship
polygamy
mating system that involves one member of a sex having multiple exclusive relationships with members of the opposite sex
polygyny
mating system with a male having exclusive relationships with multiple females
polyandry
mating system that a female having exclusive relationships with multiple males
promiscuity
mating system in which a member of one sex mates with any number of the opposite sex without exclusivity
mate choice / intersexual selection
the selection of a mate based on attraction
mate bias
how choosy members of the species are while choosing a mate
aimed at increasing the fitness of the species
what are the direct and indirect benefits of mate bias?
direct benefits: material advantages, protection, emotional support
indirect benefits: promoting better survival in offspring
mechanisms of mate choice
phenotypic benefits
sensory bias
Fisherian/runaway selection
indicator traits
genetic compatibility
phenotypic benefits
observable traits that make a potential mate more attractive to the opposite sex
usually indicate increased production and survival of offspring
ex. males that appear more nurturing
sensory bias
the development of a trait to match a preexisting preference that exists in the population
ex. crabs naturally attracted to structures on the horizon because they suggest food - males take advantage of that and build pillars around their territory to attract
Fisherian/runaway selection
a positive feedback mechanism in which a particular trait that has no effect or a negative effect on survival becomes more exaggerated over time
trait deemed sexually attractive and is more likely to be passed on
ex. bright plummage of a peacock
indicator traits
traits that signify overall good health and well-being of an organism, increasing its attractiveness to mates (may or may not be genetic)
ex. female cats more attracted to males with clean and shiny coats because they probably don’t have infections and are well-nourished
genetic compatibility
the creation of mate pairs that, when combined, have complementary genetics
results in the decreased frequency of recessive genetic disorders
altruism
a form of helping behavior in which the person’s intent is to benefit someone else at some cost to herself
can be motivated by selflessness, egoism, public recognition, or some ulterior motives
empathy
the ability to vicariously experience the emotions of another
empathy-altruism hypothesis
theory in which one individual helps another person when he feels empathy for the other person, regardless of the cost
game theory
theory that attempts to explain decision-making between individuals as if they are participating in a game
altruism game strategy
game strategy
donor provides a benefit to the recipient at a cost to himself
cooperation game strategy
game strategy
both the donor and recipient benefit by cooperating
spite game strategy
game strategy
both the donor and recipient are negatively impacted
selfishness game strategy
game strategy
the donor benefits while the recipient is negatively impacted
inclusive fitness
a measure of an organism’s success in the population
based on # of offspring, success in supporting offspring, ability of offspring to then support others
social perception
how er form impressions about the characteristics of individuals and groups of people
provides tools to make judgments and impressions of other people
what are the three components of social perception
the perceiver
the target
the situation
perceiver
component of social perception
the person who makes the social perception
influenced by experience, motives, and emotional state
target
component of social perception
the person about which the perception is made
situation
component of social perception
the social context in which the perception was made
primacy effect
first impressions are often more important than subsequent impressions
recency effect
the most recent information that we have about an individual is the most important in forming our impressions
reliance on central traits
individuals tend to organize the perception of others based on traits and personal characteristics of the target that are most relevant to the perceiver
implicit personality theory
theory that states that there are sets of assumptions people make about how different types of people, their traits, and their behavior are related
placing others into categories
stereotyping
making assumptions about people based on the category in which they are placed
attitudes and impressions are based on limited and superficial information about a person or a group of individuals
cognitive
halo effect
a cognitive bias in which judgments about a specific aspect of an individual can be affected by one’s overall impression of the individual
tendency to allow a general impression about a person to influence other, more specific evaluations about a person
just-world hypothesis
a cognitive bias that believes that in a “just” world, good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to bad people
increases the likelihood of “blaming the victim”
self-serving bias / self-serving attributional bias
individuals will view their own success based on internal factors while viewing failures based on external factors
used to protect our self-esteem
self-enhancement
the need to maintain self-worth
can be done through internal attribution of successes and external attribution of failures
attribution theory
theory which focuses on the tendency for individuals to infer the causes of other people’s behavior
what are the two causes of attribution theory?
dispotional (internal) attributions
situational (external attributions
dispositional (internal) attributions
attributions that relate to the person whose behavior is being considered
ex. beliefs, attitudes, personality characteristics
situational (external) attributions
attributions that relate to features of the surroundings of the individual whose behavior is being considered
ex. threats, money, social norms, peer pressure
consistency cues
cues which refer to the consistent behavior of a person over time
the more regular the behavior the more we associate that behavior with motives
consensus cues
cues which relate to the extent to which a person’s behavior differs from others
if person deviates from socially expected behavior, we are likely to form a dispositional attribution to their behavior
distinctiveness cues
cues which refer to the extent to which a person engages in similar behavior across a series of scenarios
if person’s behavior varies in different scenarios, we are more likely to form a situational attribution to them
correspondent inference theory
when an individual unexpectedly performs a behavior that helps or hurts us, we tend to explain the behavior by dispositional attribution
we correlate these unexpected actions with the person’s personality
fundamental attribution error
theory which posits that we are generally biased toward making dispositional attributions rather than situational attributions, especially in negative contexts
attribute substitution
occurs when individuals must make judgments that are complex, but instead they substitute a simpler solution or apply a heuristic
actor-observer bias
due to our own unique knowledge about our own actions, we are more likely to make situational attributions for the self as compared to others
most commonly seen with negative behaviors
stereotype content model
model which attempts to classify stereotypes with respect to a hypothetical in-group using two dimensions:
warmth
competence
warm groups of the stereotype content model
groups that are not in direct competition with the in-group for resources
competent groups of the stereotype content model
groups that have high status within society
stereotypes in the stereotype content model
paternalistic
contemptuous
envious
admiration
paternalistic stereotype
stereotype in the stereotype content model
the group is looked down upon as inferior, dismissed, or ignored
ex. housewives, elderly people, disabled people
high warmth, low competence
admiration stereotype
stereotype in the stereotype content model
group is viewed with pride and other positive feelings
ex. in-group, close allies
high warmth, high competence
contemptuous stereotype
stereotype in the stereotype content model
group is viewed with resentment, annoyance, or anger
ex. welfare recipients, poor people
low warmth, low competence
envious stereotype
stereotype in the stereotype content model
group is viewed with jealousy, bitterness, or distrust
ex. asians, jews, rich people, feminists
low warmth, high competence
self-fulfilling prophecy
stereotypes –> expectations
expectations create conditions… –> confirmation of those expectations
stereotype threat
the concept of people being concerned or anxious about confirming a negative stereotype about one’s social group
can cause reduced performance, encourage self-handicapping strategies, lower one’s personal investment in an activity
prejudice
an irrational positive or negative attitude toward a person, group, or thing, prior to an actual experience with that entity
= formation of attitudes regarding our own groups and a sense of identity
form in response to dissimilarities
affective (an attitude)
propaganda
information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular cause or point of view
common way for large organizations and political groups to attempt to create prejudices in others
power
the ability of people or groups to achieve their goals despite any obstacles, and their ability to control resources
prestige
the level of respect shown to a person by others
class
an individual’s socioeconomic status
ethnocentrism
the practice of making judgments about other cultures based on the values and beliefs of one’s own cultures
especially when it comes to language, customs, and religion
in-group
a social group with which a person experiences a sense of belonging or identifies as a member
out-group
a social group with which an individual does not identify
negative feelings towards this group are based on favoritism for the individual’s own group and the absence of favoritism for the other group
cultural relativism
the perception of another culture as different from one’s own with the recognition that the cultural values, mores, and rules of a culture fit into that culture itself
discrimination
prejudicial attitudes cause individuals of a particular group to be treated differently from others
behavioral
individual discrimination
one person discriminating against a particular person or group
institutional discrimination
the discrimination against a particular person or group by an entire institution
spreading activation theory
phenomenon that occurs when a series of specific ideas/events are activated
create an activation pattern of other, related ideas/events that will be activated
