Ch 8 Social Processes, Attitudes And Behaviors Flashcards
Max Weber
Important sociologist - coined social act - acts that person is conscious of and doing because others are there
Micheangelo phenomenon
Interpersonal self - the influence others have on your ideal self
Intrapersonal self - my ideal self
Social facilitation
Tendency to perform simple tasks better when others are around
Yerkes Dodson law of social facilitation
Being in presence of others raises arousal significantly which enhances ability to perform tasks one is good at and hinders complex tasks
Deindividuation
Social phenomenon - individual actions different in large groups due to anonymity
Antinormative behavior
Behavior against the norm - deindividuation often causes this
Bystander effect
No help given when others are present
Social loafing
Tendency of individuals to put in less effort when in a group setting than individually
Peer pressure
Social influence placed on ind by group of people other than self
Peers are those considered equal within social group
Identity shift effect
When threatened by social rejection ind will conform but then feel internal conflict about it because behavior is outside of normal character. To eliminate internal conflict ind shifts identity to adopt standards of the group
Cognitive dissonance
Simultaneous presence of two opposing thoughts or opinions
Solomon Asch
Performed conformity experiment - card with three lines with one matching a second card of one line. When actors said incorrect line matched up to 1/3 participants chose wrong. When actors chose right less than 1% got it wrong.
Social interaction
Ways two or more inds can shape each other’s behavior
Group polarization
Tendency of groups to choose extremes compared to ind ideas and persuasions win group
Choice shift
Same as group polarization but group polarization refers to ind shift while this refers to whole group
Formerly risky shift
Groupthink
Desire for harmony leads group to poor decision.
Denies outside opinion
Irving Janis
First research on groupthink in 1970s. Studied extreme stress affects on cohesiveness and groupthink. Examined 8 factors indicative of groupthink
Illusion of invulnerability
Creation of optimism and encouragement of risk raking (groupthink)
8 factors of groupthink (Janis)
Illusion of invulnerability Collective rationalization Illusion of morality Excessive stereotyping Pressure for conformity Self censorship Illusion of unanimity Mindguards
Collective rationalization
Ignoring warnings against idea of group (groupthink)
Illusion of morality
Groupthink - belief group’s decisions are morally correct
Excessive stereotyping
Groupthink - construction of stereotypes against outside opinions
Pressure for conformity
In groupthink - pressure put on anyone in the group who expresses opinions against group viewing opinions as disloyal
Self censorship
In groupthink - withholding of opposing views
Illusion of unanimity
In groupthink - false sense of agreement win the group
Mindguards
In groupthink- appointment of members to role of protecting against opposing views
Culture
beliefs, behaviors, actions, and characteristics of a group or society of people. Learned by living within a society
Assimilation
Process by which an ind’s or group’s behavior and culture begin to resemble that of another group. Usually not an even bend.
Assess completeness of assimilation by socioeconomic status, geographic distribution, language attainment, and intermarriage.
Melting pot
Ethnic enclaves
Locations (usually neighborhoods) with a high concentration of one specific ethnicity
Multiculturalism
Communities or societies containing multiple cultures.
Positive - contrasted to assimilation
Cultural mosaic
Subcultures
Groups of people within a culture that distinguish themselves from the primary culture to which they belong. Symbolic attachment to things often distinguishes.
Counterculture
Subculture that gravitates toward an identity that is at odds with primary culture and deliberately opposes prevailing social mores
Socialization
Used to mean the process of developing, inheriting and spreading norms, customs, and beliefs. Inds gain necessary knowledge, skills, habits, and behaviors for inclusion.
Cultural transmission or cultural learning
Manner in which a society socializes its members
Cultural diffusion
Spread of norms, customs, and beliefs (especially new ones) throughout the culture
Primary socialization
Occurs during childhood when we initially learn acceptable actions and attitudes in our society, primarily through observation of parents and other close adults
Secondary socialization
Process of learning appropriate behavior within smaller sections of larger society. Outside home, learning rules of specific social environment
Anticipatory socialization
Process by which a person prepares for future changes in occupations, living situations, or relationships
Resocialization
Process in which someone discards old behaviors in favor of new ones to make a life change, may be negative or positive
Norms
Societal rules that define the boundaries of acceptable behavior.
Mores
Widely observed social norms
Sanctions
Penalties for misconduct (violating norms or mores) - corporal punishment (inflicting pain or bodily injury) and capital punishment (execution)
Taboo
Socially unacceptable, disgusting or reprehensible
Folkways
Norms that refer to behavior that is considered polite in particular social interactions (shaking hands, etc)
Deviance
Not necessarily negative. Just an act that goes against social norm, rule or expectation.
Functional theorists say this is good for culture, promoting change and showing what norms and boundaries are and promoting unity within society
Stigma
Extreme dislike or disapproval of a person for a particular trait. Can spread to those associated with that person.
Labeling theory
Labels given to people affect not only others’ view but ind’s view of self. Can lead to conformity or further deviance
Differential association theory
Deviance can be learned through interaction with others. Intimate exposure to others who engage in deviant behavior lays groundwork for one to engage in that behavior.
Differential association refers to the extent to which someone is exposed to deviant vs normal behavior.
Strain theory
Explains deviance as the natural reaction to the disconnect between social goals and social structure. Example is the American dream which may be unattainable and lead to deviance such as theft
Conformity
Matching one’s attitude, beliefs and behavior to societal norms.
Also called majority influence.
Normative conformity
Desire to fit into the group because of fear of rejection (Asch experiment)
Internalization
Type of conformity- changing one’s behavior to fit with a group while also privately agreeing with the ideas of the group.
Philip Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison experiment - prisoners and guards fell into their roles immediately
Identification
Type of conformity - refers to outward acceptance of others’ ideas without personally taking on these ideas.
Compliance
Change in behavior based on a direct request by someone who typically does not have any power or whom the person does not feel obligated to. Example is foot in the door technique
Foot in the door technique
Example of gaining compliance - small request is made and after gaining compliance a larger request is made
Door in the face technique
Technique of gaining compliance - opposite of foot in the door - large request is made first and then if denied a smaller request that appears more reasonable is made, often with the smaller request being the initial goal.
Lowball technique
Method for gaining compliance - requestor will get an initial commitment from the person and then raise the cost of commitment. You commit to meetings each week but afterward discover these include a report and presentation about each meeting. (Wasn’t part of the deal)
That’s not all technique
Method to gain compliance - someone is made an offer and then told the deal is even better than they thought before they had made their initial decision
Obedience
In contrast to compliance, this is changing behavior in response to direct order from an authority figure. People are far more likely to obey than comply.
Most notable experiment by Stanley Milgram: participants “shocked” actors even to a seemingly painful degree when told to by a so-called authority figure
Social cognition
Focuses on ways people think about others and how these ideas impact behavior
Attitude
Expression of positive or negative feelings toward a person, thing, place or scenario. Develop from experiences with others who affect our opinions and behaviors
Three components of attitude
Affective - the way a person feels toward something, the emotional component of attitude.
Behavioral - way a person acts with respect to something.
Cognitive - way an ind thinks about something
Functional attitudes theory
States that attitudes serve four functions: knowledge, ego expression, adaptation and ego defense
Knowledge function of functional attitudes theory
Provides consistency and stability: attitudes help provide organization to thoughts and experiences. Knowing attitudes of others helps predict their behavior
Ego expressive function of functional attitudes theory
Attitudes allow us to communicate and solidify our self identity
Adaptive function of functional attitudes theory
Idea that one will be accepted is socially acceptable attitudes are expressed
Ego defensive function of functional attitudes theory
If Attitudes protect our self esteem or justify actions that we know are wrong
Learning theory
Posits attitudes are developed through different forms of learning such classical or operant conditioning
Elaboration likelihood model
Separates inds on a continuum based on their processing of persuasive information.
Scale from central route processing (deep thinkers who gain info and analyze and then decide) to peripheral route processing (people who look at the surface)
Social cognitive theory
People learn how to behave and shape attitudes by observing behavior of others. Not learned through trial and error but by observation.
Bandura’s triadic reciprocal causation
Social cognitive theory - consists of behavior, environment and personal factors which all influence each other
