Ch. 7 - Social Psychology Flashcards
1
Q
Why are humans social creatures?
A
Thought to be because of our big brains. Humans also have a need for social connection.
2
Q
In groups
A
Groups that people belong to
3
Q
Out groups
A
Groups that people do not belong to
4
Q
How are groups formed?
A
Group membership is based on:
Reciprocity
Transitivity
5
Q
Reciprocity
A
People will treat others the same way others treat them
6
Q
Transitivity
A
Example: Given a = b and b = c, can conclude a = c
7
Q
Balance Theory
A
People are motivated to have harmony in their relationships
8
Q
Prejudice
A
Attitudes about people based on the group they belong to
9
Q
Discrimination
A
Behaviours towards people based on the group they belong to. Refers to treating people unfairly
10
Q
“Us-them” thinking
A
People’s tendency to view the world in terms of an in-group (us) and an out-group (them)
11
Q
Out-group homogeneity bias
A
Tendency to see less variation among people in an out-group compared to their in-group
12
Q
In-group favoritism
A
Attribute positive qualities to in-group members compared to out-group members. In-group members are given preferential treatment
13
Q
Out-group derogation
A
Attribute negative qualities to out-group members
14
Q
Why do people tend to categorize into in-groups and out-groups (“us-them” thinking)?
A
People categorize others to organize their view of the world. This categorization helps us react to our environments quickly and predict other people’s behaviours.
15
Q
What are the dangers of “us-them” thinking?
A
“Us-them” thinking can lead to prejudice and discrimination
16
Q
Realistic Conflict Theory
A
Competition for limited resources fosters prejudice. Hostility towards out-group increases since people feel threatened by out-groups
17
Q
Social Identity Theory
A
Prejudice stems from a need to enhance self-esteem. People tend to express more prejudice when their in-group is threatened
18
Q
Stereotype
A
Schema that makes processing easy, based on membership to certain group
19
Q
Subtyping
A
People often rationalize a person that does not fit into a stereotype as an exception rather than evidence that disconfirms a stereotype.
Eg. an Asian person that is not good at math
20
Q
Implicit Bias Test
A
Used to measure attitudes/stereotypes that affect us unconsciously
21
Q
What is the biggest issue with the implicit bias test?
A
The test infers one’s underlying attitudes from a physical response (how quickly you respond to a word/face)
22
Q
Shooter Bias Effect
A
People perceive objects people of colour hold as guns even when they are not
23
Q
Can dogs be racist?
A
They can be if their owner has negative prejudice towards other ethnicities
24
Q
Stereotype Threat
A
Stereotypes create self-consciousness and change in behaviour (since people are worried that they will live up to a stereotype)
25
How can we reduce stereotype threat?
Education (inform people that stereotype threat exists)
Self-affirmation
26
Attributions
Judgements about causes of our or other people's behaviour and outcomes
27
Personal Attribution
Belief that behaviour is caused by characteristics (internal factors)
28
Situational Attribution
Belief that situations (external factors) cause behaviours
29
Fundamental Attribution Error
People’s tendency to attribute other people’s behaviours to personality rather than their situation (underestimate situational factors and overestimate personal factors)
30
How does culture affect people’s attributions?
Individualistic cultures (eg. Canada, USA) tend to make more personal attributions (vulnerable to fundamental attribution error)
Collectivist cultures (eg. Japan, China) tend to consider situational attributions while also accounting for personal information (more balanced approach)
31
Why do people make attributions?
Humans like order. We like to believe that there is a reason why things occur.
32
Nonverbal behaviour
Facial expressions, gestures, and movements. It influences the attributions we make upon others and tells us about what an individual is thinking about.
33
Slices of behaviour
Can interpret what someone is conveying with their nonverbal behaviour within a short period of time (eg. a few seconds)
34
Why do we affiliate with others?
Obtain positive stimulation
Receive emotional support
Gain attention
Social comparison
35
What factors impact people’s need for social relations?
High need for affiliation
Sense of community
Fear inducing situations
36
What factors influence attraction (both romantic and platonic) to other people?
Physical proximity
Mere exposure effect
Similarity
Personal characteristics (reliable and competent)
37
Mere exposure effect (Relationships)
Repeated exposure to a stimulus typically increase how much we like the stimulus
38
What is beautiful is good stereotype
We assume people who are physically attractive are talented
39
The matching effect
People are most likely to have partners who are equally attractive to themselves
40
Passionate Love
Intense desire for a partner (infatuation and sexual desire). Present early in romantic relationships
41
Companionate Love
Strong feelings of intimacy and commitment to being with a partner. Fades slower than passionate love
42
Triangular Theory of Love
Love can be described through three key qualities:
Intimacy
Passion
Commitment
43
What are the 7 types of love?
Liking
Romantic Love
Infatuation
Fatuous Love
Empty Love
Companionate Love
Consummate Love ("ultimate love”)
44
What are the 4 different attachment styles of love?
Secure attachment
Anxious-preoccupied
Dismissive Avoidant
Fearful Avoidant
45
Characteristics of secure attachment style of love
High EQ, Good problem solving, Highly resilient
46
Characteristics of anxious-preoccupied style of love
Romanticize love, obsessive, clingy, insecure, low self-esteem
47
Characteristics of dismissive avoidant style of love
Distant from others, closed emotions, few close relationships
48
Characteristics of fearful avoidant style of love
Fear being too close or too far away from their partner, have few close relationships
49
Social Loafing
Occurs when people put in less effort when working in a group compared to working on their own
50
Collective effort model
Social loafing is more likely to occur when:
1. Individual performance is not being monitored
2. Goal or task has little value
3. Group is less important to a person
4. Task is simple and a person’s individual effort is redundant
51
Group Polarization
Average opinion of group becomes more extreme than each individual member’s opinion
52
What are the causes of group polarization?
Normative Social Influence
Informational Social Influence
53
Normative Social Influence
Individuals who are attracted to a group adopt the group’s position on an issue to gain approval from the group (even if they think the group is wrong)
54
Informational Social Influence
People look to the group for how to respond since they are uncertain about their position. When faced with uncertainty, people believe that the group has knowledge they do not have
55
Groupthink
When a group ignores critical thinking when seeking agreement. Leads to poor decision-making as important information can be ignored due to pressure to conform with the group
56
What are the causes of groupthink?
High stress to make a decision
Insulation from outside input
Directive leader who promotes their personal agenda
High group cohesion
57
How can groups prevent groupthink?
Group members should remain impartial
Groups should encourage critical thinking (think about outside perspectives)
58
Conformity
The adjustment of behaviours, attitudes, beliefs to a group standard
59
What factors affect conformity?
Group size (larger groups result in greater conformity up to a limit)
Presence of a dissenter (reduces conformity)
Type of culture (individualist/collectivist)
Minority influence
60
Minority Influence
A minority group can influence the group’s behaviour. For this to happen:
The minority needs to be committed to POV
Minority is independent in the face of pressure from the majority
*Minority group POV is consistent*
Minority needs to be open-minded to alternative explanations
61
Milgram Study
Studied people’s willingness to obey an authority figure. The authority figure instructed participants to perform actions that conflicted with their personal conscious
62
What factors influence a person’s obedience to an authority figure?
Remoteness of victim (greater when learner is out of sight)
Closeness & legitimacy of authority figure
If someone else does the work ("cog in a wheel”)
63
Compliance
Tendency to agree to do things that people ask of you
64
Compliance Techniques
Strategies that manipulate you to accept a request you would have otherwise declined:
Norm of Reciprocity
Door-in-the-face-technique
Foot-in-the-door-technique
65
Norm of Reciprocity
Expectation that when others treat us well, we should respond in kind
66
Door-in-the-face-technique
Start with a large request expecting the person to decline then making a smaller request (person feels guilty and feels a need to compromise)
67
Foot-in-the-door-technique
Start with a small request to get someone interested, then build up to a bigger request. Person is more likely to comply since they accepted your small request
68
Cult
A group/movement with a shared commitment to an extreme ideology that’s typically embodied in a charismatic leader
69
Attitudes
Positive or negative evaluative reactions toward a stimulus (eg. person, action, object, events)
70
What makes up our attitudes towards a specific stimulus?
Beliefs and values make up our attitudes
71
Cognitive Dissonance Theory
Mental conflict that occurs when a person has two inconsistent cognitions.
Result: lack of harmony
72
Counter attitudinal behaviour
Behaviours are inconsistent with one’s attitude. Produces dissonance if freely chosen (rather than being coerced)
73
Hazing
Performing tasks you normally would not do (particularly embarrassing/uncomfortable tasks) to be part of a group
74
Persuasion
Active and conscious effort to change an attitude or behaviour through the transmission of a message. Includes communicator, message, and audience
75
Communicator Credibility
How believable a communicator is and how attractive/likeable they are. Influenced by:
Similarity to audience
Celebrities
Expertise and trustworthiness
76
What factors impact the effectiveness of a communicator’s message?
Use of emotions
Mere exposure effect
One-sided VS two-sided messages
77
Mere Exposure Effect (Persuasion)
Listening to the same message over and over again increases persuasiveness
78
When is using a two-sided message better than using a one-sided message?
When the audience knows both sides of the argument or they disagree with the communicator’s perspective
79
When is using a one-sided message effective?
When the audience agrees with the communicator’s perspective
80
Elaboration Likelihood Model
2 ways that a message can lead to attitude changes in an audience:
Central route to persuasion
Peripheral route to persuasion
81
Central route to persuasion
Occurs when people think carefully about message and find arguments compelling
Predicts audience’s future behaviour more successfully
Effective for attentive listeners
82
Peripheral route to persuasion
Occurs when people are not thinking critically about the message (mostly influenced by other factors such as speaker attractiveness and emotional appeal)
Better for people who are unmotivated
83
The Mere Presence of Others
Can enhance or hinder performance (depending upon the task). Presence of others increases arousal (simple tasks become easier while new/complex tasks become more difficult)
84
Eusocial
Displayed by bees and ants. Characterized by:
Living in groups
Cooperative care of youth
Multiple generations live together
Labour is divided amongst group
Show self-sacrificing behaviour for greater good
85
Aggression
Any behaviour that involves intention to harm another. Aggression can be learned from living in an environment filled with aggression
86
True or False: Physical aggression is very common among adults when we get angry
False. Adults are more likely to engage in emotional harm and verbal aggression
87
Crowding (with respect to aggression)
Crowds can make people feel greater stress due to a perceived lack of control
88
What is the connection between heat and aggression?
During the summer months (hot weather), there is an increase in assaults, riots, etc. There appears to be a positive correlation between outdoor temperature and aggression
89
Frustration-aggression hypothesis
The idea that frustration leads to aggression and aggression is the result of frustration
90
Why is the frustration-aggression hypothesis flawed?
People do not always respond to frustration with aggression (eg. may respond with sadness). Aggression is NOT always the result of frustration (can be the result of other aversive stimuli)
91
What psychological factors factor into aggression?
Self-justification
Attribution of intentionality
Degree of empathy
92
Self-justification
People minimize their own actions while reasoning that the other person’s actions are worse
93
Attribution of intentionality
If we perceive another’s actions as intentional, we are likely to respond with aggression
94
Degree of empathy
Likelihood we forgive someone depends on how well we understand someone else’s perspective
95
What biological factors influence aggression?
Testosterone (small connection)
Serotonin (regulation of aggressive behaviour)
MAOA gene
96
MAOA (monoamine oxidase) gene
Enzyme that regulates activity of neurotransmitters
Involved in aggression/violence
97
Prosocial Behaviour
Behaviours performed with the intent of helping others
98
Why do people engage in prosocial behaviours?
Social Learning & Cultural Influences
Norm of Reciprocity
Norm of Social Responsibility
99
Norm of Social Responsibility
People should try to help each other to contribute to the welfare of society even without the expectation of a reward
100
Social Learning & Cultural Influences on Prosocial Behaviour
Praise/reinforcement from others encourages people to engage in prosocial behaviours
Prosocial behaviours are maintained through feelings of pride and internal reinforcement
101
What factors influence a person’s decision to help another person?
Similarity to other person
Gender (males are more likely to help women)
Whether they perceive the other person as a victim (situation is out of other person’s control)
102
Just-world Hypothesis
"People get what they deserve”
People want to view the world as fair
Reduces feelings of responsibility to help those who got what they deserve
103
How can we increase prosocial behaviour?
Volunteerism (person must find work fulfilling)
Prosocial models
Education about prosocial behaviour
