ch 1 Flashcards
Tight societies
people are very inclined to follow norms, norms are explicit and powerful
Loose societies
norms are weaker, compliance is less certain
The power of the situation
-Kurt Lewin:believed behavior of people is always a function of the field of forces surrounding them
-Main situational influences on our behavior are the actions,words and emotions of other people
Milgram experiment
What was it about this situation that let participants to continue applying shocks to a person in pain and causing harm?
-The situation was effective in leading them to do something that would normally be horrific
Fundamental Attribution Error
Failure to recognize the importance of situational influences on behavior, together with the tendency to overemphasize disposition is the fundamental attribution error
channel factors
Kurt lewin introduced concept of Channel factors to help explain why certain circumstances that seem unimportant can have great consequences for behavior either facilitating it or blocking it
construal
Construal refers to how we interpret situations and behavior and how we make inferences, often nonconscious, about the contexts and the people we are encountering
Basic idea of gestalt psychology
people perceive objects not by means of passive and unbiased perception of objective reality but by active nonconscious interpretation of what the object represents
Schemas
generalized knowledge about the physical and social world, such as what kind of behavior to expect when dealing with certain situations
Stereotypes
schemas that we have for people of various kinds
The mind process information in 2 ways when we encounter social situation
1) One is automatic and nonconscious often based on emotional factors
2)The other is conscious, systematic, and more likely to be controlled by deliberative thought
Automatic process
give rise to implicit attitudes and beliefs that cant be readily controlled by the conscious mind
Controlled conscious processing
results in explicit attitudes and beliefs that we’re aware of, those that can become conscious over time
Subtle situational influence
words,sights,sounds and other stimuli can influence how we act,for good or for ill, even when we’re not consciously aware of them
Natural selection
Darwin believed natural selections operates on behavioral inclinations just as it does on physical characteristics
evolution provides humans with a theory of mind
prewired-ability to recognize that other people have beliefs and desires and that understanding their beliefs predcits their behavior
why does group living contribute to survival
Ability to produce and understand language facilitates living in groups because it allows people to convey not only emotions and intentions but also beliefs, attitudes, and complex thoughts to others
Naturalistic fallacy
what we are biologically predisposed to do is what we inevitably will do and perhaps even should do (the way things are is the way things should be) (we should avoid this)
neocortex of the brain
Significant areas of the neocortex are involved in reasoning, abstract thought, and memory
-There is also an empathy network of the neocortex that enable us to experience the feelings of others and a mentalizing networks that enables us to understand other peoples mental states,intentions,desires, and beliefs
Older regions of brain
appear to be involved in nonconscious automatic reactions to our social environment
social safety and social alarm networks
Acceptance and rejection activate much different regions of the brain
Societies that are highly independent(individualistics) cultures
western europe, america,canada, australia
interdependent(collectivist) cultures
east asia(japan,korea,china), south asian(india), middle east, latin america, and eastern europe
-Interdependent people tend not to expect or even value mutuality and quality in relationships, theyre likely to expect hierarchical relations to be the rule
Culture shapes the human brain
particpants who were more independent showed denser grey matter in a region of cortex that supports thought about the self and self-agency
how does social class affect inter/independent framework
Middle class people value uniqueness more than working class
Why should cultures and individuals within a given culture differ in their degree of independent vs. interdependent social orientation?
1)economics(how income is earned, in cultures where many people earn a living in solitary ventures such as trading tend to be more independent) and
2)degree to which complex social relations are based on associations with kin
Both evolution and culture affect how people see the world and behave within it
older regions in the brain that we share with other mammals tend to be involved in nonconscious, automatic reaction to social environment
amygdala
involved with gut feelings
nucleus accumbens
reward circuit of brain
empathy network
in neocortex
mentalizing network
region in neocortex that enables us to experience feelings of others
