Chapter 12 - Social Psychology Flashcards
Why did Abu Ghraib happen?
The guards who brutalized the Iraqi prisoners were normal people, but they were in an overwhelming situation. In the prison, there was an unclear chain of command and a diffusion of responsibility.. Some soldiers expected to be there for a shorter period of time and now they were stationed in an overcrowded prison. The guards were working long hours in extremely hot temperatures and frequently under mortar attack. During wartime, the soldiers likely saw everything as “us” and “them” and members of the opposing group were dehumanized.
A study was done that made Stanford students be the guards and the prisoners in a mock prison. The guards shockingly ended up being brutal and sadistic. They had the prisoners engage in meaningless tasks
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The guards at Abu Grahib believed it was there job to “soften up” the prisoners before interrogation and that was another reason behind their brutal behavior
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When people act brutal and sadistic, we…
Assume that they are brutal and sadistic. We don’t consider the situation in which they have acted brutally and sadistically.
We have to understand that many behaviors..
Become more understandable within particular contexts
What do our interactions with people do?
They shape who we are and how we understand the world
Social psychology
It is concerned with how people influence other people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Almost every human activity has a ______
Social dimension
Research in social psychology reveals what?
Humans are not inherently flawed or evil. They are distinct individuals who are powerfully influenced by social context
Because we are social animals, humans live in ____
Groups
Why do humans live in groups?
Groups provide security from predators and competing groups, mating opportunities, assistance in hunting and gathering food, etc.
Mechanisms have evolved for distinguishing….
Members of one’s group from members of another group, as well as detecting dangers from within the group such as deception, coercion, and infidelity
We constantly make social judgments and determine whether people are friends or foes, trustworthy, unreliable, honest, etc
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We automatically classify people into ___
Social categories
Our long term evaluations of people are heavily influenced by our _____
First impressions
Nonverbal behavior
The facial expressions, gestures, mannerisms, and movements by which one communicates with others
People can make accurate judgments by…
Observing someone for only a few seconds
Thin slices of behavior
Making quick judgments about someone by watching their nonverbal behavior
Videotapes of judges giving instructions to juries reveal that a judge’so nonvernal actions can predict whether a jury will find someone guilty or not guilty
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Explain Abu Ghrahib
During 2003, American soldiers brutalized Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghrahib. The soldiers raped prisoners, beat them, stripped them, and put them in humiliating positions, and made them perform sex
Gait
How people walk
People with what kind of gait are seen as happy?
People with a bounce in their step who walk while swinging their arms are seen as happy.
People who are hostile have what kind of gait?
They take short steps while stopped over
People who are angry have what kind of gait?
Taking long strides with heavy steps
Remember these are just how people perceive their gaits (oops should have clarified that)
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The first thing we notice about another person is what?
Their face!
The face communicates what?
Emotional state, interest, and distrust, anger, or flirtation
What is important in social situations?
Eye contact!
How do we perceive eye contact?
It depends on our culture. In the US, we seek to make eye contact - if the other person doesn’t meet our eyes we see them as embarrassed, ashamed, or lying.
However, in certain Native American tribes, eye contact is considered disrespectful
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Attributions
People’s explanations for why events or actions occur, including other people’s behaviors
Why are we motivated to make attributions?
We are motivated to draw inferences in part by a basic need for both order and predictability. The world is an unpredictable place where many unexpected things happen. We prefer to think that things happen for a reason and therefore so that we can anticipate future events.
Just world hypothesis
In this view of the world, you believe the victims of bad things did something to deserve the bad things. For ex., a girl got raped because she asked for it. For ex., a victim of illness did something bad to become ill.
Personal attributions
Explanations that refer to people’s internal characteristics, such as abilities, traits, moods, or efforts. These are also known as internal or dispositional attributions
Situational attributions
Also known as external attributions.. These explanations refer to outside events such as luck, accidents, or the actions of other people.
Attributions can be…
Stable over time (permanent) or unstable (temporary) OR controllable or uncontrollable
In making attributions about our own behavior, what do we do?
We tend to have a SELF-SERVING bias. We attribute our failures to situational, unstable, or uncontrollable factors in a way that casts us in a positive light and we attribute our successes to personal, permanent factors in a way that gives us credit for doing well.
Example of self-serving bias?
If you do well on a test, you say it’s because you’re smart - intelligence is a characteristic you possess. If you fail a test, it’s because you didn’t get enough sleep or the professor made a bad exam
Fundamental attribution error
When explaining other people’s behavior, we tend to overemphasize the importance of personality traits and underestimate the importance of situation. People try to draw inferences about others and make attributions about events.. For example, when someone drives badly, we assume they’re a bad driver instead of assuming they’re just having an off day because of something personal
Correspondence bias
Emphasizes our tendency to expect the behaviors of others to correspond with our own beliefs and personalities.
In contrast to the fundamental attribution error, we… But
When we make assumptions about ourselves, we tend to focus on situations rather than on our personal traits/dispositions
Actor/observer discrepancy
When interpreting our own behavior, we tend to focus on situations. When interpreting other people’s behavior, we tend to focus on their personal dispositions. For instance, we say our lateness is due to external factors like traffic. But we say other people’s lateness is because they’re lazy/irresponsible.
Do eastern countries follow the fundamental attribution error??
No, eastern countries are more holistic in how they perceive the world and other people. Eastern people use more information to make attributions about people in comparison to Western people
Although easterners are more likely than westerners to take situational forces into account, they still tend to favor personal information rather than situational information when making attributions about others.!
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Explain stereotyping
They’re based on mental schemas (structures that help us organize information about ppl based on their membership to certain groups). They are the result of heuristic thinking. Stereotyping occurs automatically and outside of our awareness.
Are stereotypes neutral
Yes. They simply reflect efficient cognitive processes
Some stereotypes are based in truth
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What are the two basic reasons for stereotyping others?
- They allow us to streamline our formation of impressions
2. They help us deal with the limitations inherent in mental processing
Stereotypes affect the formation of _____
Impressions
Once we form stereotypes, we…
Maintain them by a number of processes
How are stereotypes maintained?
- Stereotypes guide attention towards information that confirms the stereotype and away from disco firming evidence.
- Our memories are biased to match stereotypes
Subtyping
When we encounter someone who does not fit a stereotype, we put that person in a special category rather than alter the stereotype.
Example of Subtyping
You meet a black successful person and label them as the exception to your stereotype that blacks are lazy people
Self-fulfilling prophecy
People’s tendency to behave in ways that confirm their own or others’ expectations
Study done for the self-fulfilling prophecy?
Teachers were given a list of students who would have increased IQs during the school year. These students were chosen completely at random, but the teachers didn’t know that. These students were labeled “bloomers.” The bloomers got higher IQs over the course of the school year because the teachers gave them extra attention and encouragement. The teachers’ expectations turned into reality
Another ex of self fulfilling prophecy?
Men were talking to various women on the phone, and beforehand they were shown supposed photos of the women, some attractive, some unattractive. The men who thought they were talking to an attractive woman rated them as more sociable, poised, and humorous. Then outside ppl listened in on the conversation without seeing photos. It turns out the women attributed to attractive photos seemed more engaging and pleasant to them too! It was because the men’s behavior helped confirm the stereotypes by bringing out behaviors in the women associated with our perceptions of what attractive and unattractive people are like.
Stereotype threat
When women have to indicate whether they are male or female on a test, saying they’re female affects their score because they unconsciously believe that women are not as smart than men due to stereotypes
Why is stereotype threat decrease performance?
- Physiological stress affects people’s prefrontal functioning
- People tend to think about their performances and this thinking distracts them from the tasks
- People attempt to suppress negative thoughts and emotions, and this suppression requires a great deal of effort
Prejudice
Negative feelings, opinions, and beliefs associated with a stereotype
Discrimination
The inappropriate and unjustified treatment of people as a result of prejudice
What is responsible for a lot of conflict and warfare around the world?
Prejudice and discrimination
Why do stereotypes so often lead to prejudice and discrimination?
Researchers theorized that only certain types of people are prejudiced, that people treat others as scapegoats to relieve the tensions of daily living, and that people discriminate against others to protect their own self esteem.
What evolutionary stuff helps stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination continue?
We evolutionarily tend to favor our groups over other groups, and we tend to stigmatize those who pose threats to our groups
Ingroups
Groups that we belong to
Outgroups
Groups that we don’t belong to
Does group membership affect our social identity?
Yes, it is an important part of our social identity and contributes to our overall self esteem
People are predisposed to be wary of others who do not belong to their own group
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When does the separation of people into Ingroup and outgroup members occur?
Early in development - 6 year olds show as much a racial bias as white adults
Outgroup homogeneity effect
According to this, we tend to view outgroup members as less varied than Ingroup members.
Ingroup favoritism
The tendency for people to evaluate favorably and privilege members of the Ingroup more than members of the outgroup.
Ex of Ingroup favoritism
We are more willing to do favors for people in our Ingroup
Even when you’re assigned into groups for like, a school project, you treat Ingroup members more favorably
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Why do people value members of their own group in an evolutionary sense?
Personal survival depends on group survival
Ingroup favoritism when it comes to women?
Women show a much greater automatic Ingroup bias toward other women than men do toward other men
Why do women show an Ingroup bias towards other women?
Women can freely express their affection for their female friends whereas men don’t like to do that with their male friends too much. Women also depend on other women for nurturing
In a computer stimulation where you have to shoot ppl holding weapons, but avoid civilians holding non-weapons, what happened?
People shoot black civilians holding non weapons just because of racial bias
Do stereotypes occur consciously?
No, they occur unconsciously without people’s awareness or intent
What’s an example of how we can override black stereotypes?
Being presented positive examples of black individuals
In everyday life, what does it feel like to try to inhibit stereotypical thinking?
It’s difficult and requires self control
What happens in the brain when we try to inhibit stereotypical thinking?
The frontal lobes have to override the emotional responses associated with amygdala activity. The frontal lobes are important for controlling thoughts and behavior while the amygdala is involved in detecting potential threats
Since when have social psychologists tried to alleviate prejudice between groups?
1950s
How can ppl overcome prejudice?
By working together toward a greater purpose - like how everyone helped out with the earthquake in Haiti
Ex of outgroup hostility: 5th grade boys at a camp were divided into 2 groups and competed in games. What happened?
Animosity between groups and violence
How did the boys end up bonding and getting along?
Working together for a common goal; a truck broke down and the boys (both groups) had to help push it
What increases hostility between groups
Seeing the other group as strangers, being isolated from the other group, and competition with the other group
What helps groups cooperate and respect one another?
Working together and superordinate goals
What are superordinate goals?
Goals that require people to cooperate - these goals reduce hostility between groups when they work together
Two groups working together to achieve a common goal become one big group
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How else can we reduce prejudice?
Be aware of your prejudice - training people about stereotypical associations helps reduce them
The programs that most successfully bring groups together are what?
Person-to-person interactions
Communal work toward superordinate goals can reduce prejudice and benefit all the workers.
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Explain jigsaw classroom
In the 1970s, a man had students work together in a mixed race or mixed sex groups where each member of the group was an expert on one aspect of the assignment. The jigsaw classroom showed a more positive treatment of ppl of other ethnicities afterward
Are stereotypes always a bad thing?
No. Stereotypes can be positive, neutral, or negative
How can we reduce prejudice?
Present ppl with positive information about members of negatively stereotypes groups and requiring members of different groups to work cooperatively towards superordinate goals
Attitudes
People’s evaluations of objects, events, or ideas
How are attitudes shaped?
They are shaped by social context and they play an important role in how we evaluate and interact with other people
What do we have attitudes about?
All sorts of things - mundane, trivial matters like what deodorant to by - and then important things like politics, morals, and religion
Are we always aware of attitudes?
No.. Some attitudes we are aware of, but some we don’t even know that we hold
Some attitudes are simple, but some attitudes are complex. Example?
You like ice cream, but you know it’s bad for you. Therefore, you have a complex attitude towards ice cream
What kind of attitudes do people have towards new things?
People develop negative attitudes about new things more quickly than they develop positive attitudes about them
Do we like familiar things?
Yes. The more we are exposed to something, the more we tend to like it!
Mere exposure effect
Greater exposure to an item and therefore greater familiarity with it caused people to have more positive attitudes about the item.
Ex of mere exposure effect?
When we see a normal photograph of ourselves and the same image is reversed, we would like the reversed image more because we’re more familiar with it (through looking at it in the mirror)
Can our attitudes be conditioned?
Yes, they can. Attitudes can be conditioned because our associations between things and their meanings can be changed
What sort of conditioning shapes our attitudes
Classical and operant conditioning - advertisers use classical conditioning by pairing a celebrity with a product. Operant conditioning shapes attitudes as well - studying and getting a good grade makes you have a more positive attitude toward studying
Are attitudes shaped through socialization?
Yes. Caregivers, peers, teachers, religious leaders, and politicians all guide our attitudes about many things.
Do attitudes predict behavior?
The stronger and more personally relevant the attitude, the more likely it is to predict behavior.
What else to strong an personally relevant attitudes make us do?
It makes us defend the attitude
The more specific the attitude…
The more predictive it is. For ex, your attitudes toward recycling are more predictive of whether you take your sofa can to the recycling bin than are your general environmental beliefs
Attitude accessibility
Refers to the ease or difficulty that a person has in retrieving an attitude from memory
Ex of attitude accessibility
Activated attitudes are more stable, predictive of behavior, and resistant to change.
Example of attitude accessibility
The more quickly you recall that you like your psychology course, the more likely you are to attend lectures and read the textbook
Our conscious awareness of our attitudes can be limited. Why?
We desire to believe we hold positive attitudes about certain racial groups, but our actions can reveal less positive attitudes
Explicit attitudes
Attitudes that a person can report.
Example of an explicit attitude
If you say you like bowling, you are displaying your explicit attitude towards bowling
Implicit attitudes
Attitudes that influence a person’s feelings and behavior at an unconscious level
Example of an implicit attitude
Purchasing a product endorsed by a celebrity even tho you have no memory of having seen the celebrity use the product
In order to study implicit attitudes, researchers observe people’s behavior rather than soliciting self reports from the people
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Ppl who had implicit attitudes about blacks were less likely to vote for Obama
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Implicit Association Test (IAT)
Measures how quickly a person associates concepts or objects with positive or negative words
Ex of IAT: female = bad, female = good
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Cognitive dissonance
An uncomfortable mental state due to a contradiction between two attitudes or between an attitude and a behavior
Example of cognitive dissonance
Conflict between attitude and behavior: you smoke even though you know it might kill you
What happens when you experience cognitive dissonance?
Anxiety and tension which lead to displeasure. This motivates people to REDUCE cognitive dissonance by changing their attitudes or behaviors
Cognitive dissonance can happen when..
A person holds positive attitudes about different options but has to choose one of the options.. For ex picking what college to attend
Postdecisional dissonance
Motivates a person to focus on one college’s (the chosen college) positive aspects and the other colleges’ negative aspects
What is insufficient justification?
Some ppl in a study were paid 20 dollars to lie and some were paid 1 dollar to lie. The people who were paid 1 dollar said the task was more enjoyable. This was because they wanted to justify why they went along with the lie by saying it was more enjoyable
Justifying effort. Example?
When people put themselves through pain, embarrassment, or discomfort to join a group, they experience a lot of dissonance. (Think a ritual to get into a sorority). People resolve this dissonance by inflating the importance of the group and their commitment to it. This justification of effort helps explain why people are willing to subject themselves to humiliating experiences such as hazing into a sorority.
Justifying effort in a group
People believe if they have sacrificed so much to join a group, the group must be extraordinarily important
Persuasion
The active and conscious effort to change an attitude through the transmission of a message
When is persuasion most likely to occur?
When people pay attention to a message, understand it, and find it convincing. And if they remember the message over time.
What factors affect the persuasiveness of a message?
- The source (who delivers the message)
- The content (what the message says
- The receiver (who processes the message)
What are the most persuasive kinds of sources?
Sources that are attractive and credible
For ex a TV ad for medicine with an attractive and legit Doctor are very persuasive
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What kind of content is the most persuasive?
Strong arguments that appeal to our emotions
Should you use a one-sided argument when being persuasive or should you acknowledge both sides of an argument?
Use a one-sided argument if the argument is on the speaker’s side and if the audience is gullible
Acknowledge both sides of the argument if you have a more skeptical crowd. Acknowledge both sides but argue that one is superior.
Elaboration likelihood model
A theory of how persuasive messages lead to attitude changes.
Central route
When people are motivated to process information and are able to process that information, persuasion takes a central route. That means people are paying attention to the arguments, considering all the information, and using rational cognitive processes. The central route leads to strong attitudes that last over time and that people actively defend
Peripheral route
When people are either not motivated to process information or are unable to process it, persuasion takes the peripheral route. That is, people minimally process the message. This route leads to more impulsive action, as when a person decides to purchase something because a celebrity had endorsed it or becuz of how the advertisement makes you feel. Attitudes developed over the peripheral route are weaker and more likely to change over time.
Peripheral cues
Peripheral cues are like the attractiveness or status of the person making the argument. These influence what attitude is adopted.
Look at the elaboration likelihood model on page 533!!
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Rhetoric
The art of speaking or writing as a means of communication or persuasion
Argument
A dispute between people
What is an example of a complicated argument and its parts?
Young children love to learn from books, so you should develop the habit of reading to your young child every day, even if you are feeling tired from work or family life. Conclusion = read to your child every day. Reason = children love to learn from books. Qualifier = young children. Counter-argument = even if you are feeling tired from work or family life.
Humans have an overriding motivation to ____
Fit in with a group!
How do we mold our behavior to fit in with a group?
We conform to group norms, obey commands made by authorities, and are easily influenced by others in our social groups
The desire to fit in with a group and avoid being ostracized is so great that under some circumstances we willingly engage in behaviors we would otherwise condemn
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Social facilitation
When the mere presence of others enhances performance
Example of social facilitation?
Bicyclists pedal faster when they ride with other people than when they ride alone
Who proposed the model of social facilitation?
Robert Zajonc
What are the steps to social facilitation
- Presence of others
- The presence of others leads to arousal (because other people are associated with most of life’s rewards and punishments)
- If the dominant response is easy in the situation, the presence of others will enhance performances….. If the dominant response is more difficult, the presence of others will impair performance
Ex of social facilitation?
Experienced golfers perform better in front of people than novice golfers because golfing is easier for the experienced golfers and more difficult for the novice golfers
Social loafing
The tendency for people to work less hard in a group than when working alone.
When does social loafing occur?
When the efforts are pooled so that individuals do not feel personally responsible for the group’s output.
When does social loafing NOT happen?
When people know their individual efforts can be monitored. For example, if you’re responsible for some component of a group project
Deindividuation
A state of reduced individuality, reduced self-awareness, and reduced attention to personal standards; this phenomenon may occur when people are part of a group….. You become very obedient to the group you’re a part of.
Some people lose their _____ when they become part of a group
Individuality
Self-awareness typically causes what?
It causes people to act in accordance with their values and beliefs
Deindividuated people do things…
That they would not do if they were alone or self aware
When are people especially likely to become deindividuated?
When they are aroused and anonymous and when responsibility is diffused
Why do most militaries make people wear identical uniforms and have the same haircuts
It’s deinidivuation! People who look similar are more likely to conform and respond to orders
What is a harmless example of deindividuation?
Fans doing the wave, people dancing the macerana all together
Risky shift effects
Groups often make riskier decisions than individuals do.
Example of risky shift effect
It accounts for why children in a group may try something dangerous that none of them would have tried alone
Can groups be cautious and not be like the risky-shift effect?
Yes! If the most of the group members determine that the group should be more cautious, then it will be more cautious
Group polarization
When groups make decisions, they usually choose the course of action that was initially favored by the majority of individuals in the group
Groupthink
Sometimes group members are concerned with maintaining the group’s cohesiveness… Therefore, for the sake of having everyone in agreement and not in argument and turmoil, they end up making a bad decision
When does groupthink typically occur?
When a group is under intense pressure, is facing external threats, and is biased in a particular direction.
What happens in groupthink?
The group does not carefully process all the information available to it, dissension is discouraged, and group members assure each other they are doing the right thing
To prevent groupthink, what should leaders do?
They should not express their opinions too strongly at the beginning of discussions. The group should be encouraged to consider alternative ideas, either by having someone play devil’s advocate, or by purposefully examining outside opinions. Carefully going through alternatives and weighing the pros and cons of each can help people avoid groupthink
How to work effectively in a group?
- If possible, keep the group small
- Be open to alternative ideas
- Express your ideas
- Treat dissenters respectfully
- Consider all pros and cons
Conformity
The altering of one’s behaviors and opinions to match those of other people or to match other people’s expectations
Normative influence
Occurs when we go along with the crowd to avoid looking foolish
Informational influence
When we assume that the behavior of the crowd represents the correct way to respond
Example of informational influence
You see a mass of people running for the exit. You decide to join them because they must be exiting for a good reason
Autokinetic effect
Through this perceptual phenomenon, a stationary point of light appears to move when viewed in a totally dark environment… When ppl are put together to observe the light, participants quickly revised their estimates until they agreed
In ambiguous situations, what do people do?
They compare their reactions with the reactions of others to judge what is the correct course of action
In a study where an answer was obvious like a measure of which line is the longest, 5 confederates were with one legit person. The legit person knew the right answer and the confederates said obviously incorrect answers. The legit person went along with the incorrect answers because they didn’t want to look foolish by going against the group
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Social norms
Expected standards of conduct which influence behavior
Norms indicate what?
Which behavior is appropriate in a given situation and how people will respond to those who violate norms
Why does normative influence work?
We feel embarrassed when we break social norms
What are factors that decrease the chance of conformity?
- If you are in a group with 1-2 confederates, conformity is reduced … HoweverC if you are with 3 or more confederates, you will usually conform
- Lack of unanimity decreases conformity
The bottom line is groups enforce conformity and those who fail to go along are rejected
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Providing social norms on a campus to prevent binge drinking for example can…
Have a backfire effect and do the opposite of what it’s intended
Compliance
The tendency to agree to do things requested by others
What increases compliance?
- if you’re in a good mood
- if you’re not paying attention
- if you want to avoid conflict
Foot-in-the-door effect
If people agree to a small request, they become more likely to comply with a large and undesirable request
Why is the foot-in-the-door effect true?
Once people commit to a course of action, they behave in ways consistent with that action. Agreeing to small request —> agreeing to a large request
Door-in-the-face effect
People are more likely to agree to a small request after they have refused a large request.
Why does door-in-the-face happen?
The smaller second request seems more modest than the large first request, so people agree to it.
Who often uses the door in the face technique?
Salespeople
Low-balling strategy
A salesperson offers a product for a very low price. The customer agrees to it, and the salesperson claims that the manager did not approve the price and there will be additional charges. Whatever the reason, someone who has already agreed to buy a product will often agree to pay the increased cost!!
Obedience
Willingly obeying orders
Describe Milgram experiment
You have to give shocks to a learner every time he answers a question wrong (and the patient has heart problems!). What happened? Well 2/3 of the people gave him shocks and obeyed the authority figure directing the lab. They expressed that they wanted to quit, but 2/3 of the ppl kept giving him shocks and obeyed the administrator’s objectives
What was learned from the Milgram experiment?
Ordinary people can be coerced into obedience by insistent authorities
What aspects of personality are related to being obedient??
The extent to which people are concerned about how others view them
Most of the people were glad or sad they participated in the research?
Glad because they learned something about themselves and about human nature
What kind of stuff happened at Abu Grahib??
Deindividuation, social facilitation, inappropriate norms, and conformity
Group polarization and groupthink??
Group polarization = adopting the initial opinions of the group more strongly through mutual persuasion
Groupthink = agreeing to bad decisions to maintain group harmony
Although obedience leads us to commit horrible acts, the need to belong makes us more altruistic and generous
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Aggression
Any behavior that involves the intention to harm someone else
Child aggression vs adult aggression
Child aggression =physical aggression
Adult aggression = aggression involving words, symbols, meant to threaten, intimidate, or emotionally harm others
Stimulating what areas of the brain can lead to aggression?
Damaging the septum, amygdala, or hypothalamus
Kluver-Bucy syndrome
Damage to the amygdala which makes you less aggressive, friendly, and easy to handle. It makes you approach objects you normally fear and unusual oral behavior like putting things in your mouth (this was tested on monkeys)
What hormone is important for controlling aggressive behavior?
Serotonin
In humans, low levels of serotonin are associated with ___
Aggression in adults and hostility in children
Suicide victims have ___
Low levels of serotonin too!
Low levels of serotonin were found among those who had ___
Killed themselves violently, but NOT in those who killed themselves nonviolently through like dugs. Therefore, low levels of serotonin = violence
What else do low levels of serotonin cause?
Bad decision making in the face of danger or of social threat
What else about serotonin?
Less social skills and violence
So what are low levels of serotonin associated with overall?
Violence, bad social skills, bad decision making in face of threats, aggression
Frustration-aggression hypothesis
The extent to which people feel frustrated predicts the likelihood that they will act aggressively
Cognitive neoassociationistic model
Frustration leads to aggression by eliciting negative emotions … Similarly, any situation that induces negative emotions - such as being insulted, afraid, overly hot, or in pain - can trigger physical aggression even if it does not induce frustration…. Negative events activate thoughts related to fighting or escaping and those thoughts prepare a person to act aggressively.
Does aggressive behavior differ with different cultures and societies??
Yes! Violence varies dramatically across cultures and even within cultures
Aggression may be part of human nature, but society and culture influence people’s tendencies to commit acts of physical violence
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Why are some cultures violent?
Because of a culture of honor
Culture of honor
In this belief system, men are primed to protect their reputations through physical aggression. This was prevalent in the traditional American south
Aggressive behavior is learned through reward and punishment.!
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What drug causes aggression?
The steroid testosterone can make you very aggressive!
Aggressive men and sporty men have what?
Lots of testosterone
Testosterone changes may be the result (rather than the cause) of aggressive behavior!
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In sports, testosterone increases - even ppl just watching sports
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taking large doses of steroids for testosterone can do what?
Produce an extreme need for dominance and control and in turn would provoke violent behavior when a male is challenged
Chronic high doses of steroids = increased aggression
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Prosocial
Tending to benefit others
Examples of prosocial behavior?
Doing favors, offering assistance, paying compliments, resisting the urge to insult, and being pleasant and cooperative
Benefit of prosocial behaviors?
They promote positive interpersonal relationships
Group living in which ppl engage in prosocial behaviors may be a central human survival strategy
Because it makes a strong group and belonging to a strong group helps you survive
Altruism
The providing of help when it is needed, without any apparent reward for doing so
What is William hamilton’s explanation for altruism?
He says natural selection occurs at a genetic level rather than an individual level
Altruism can seem anti evolutionary because ppl who help themselves over others have a better chance of surviving
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Inclusive fitness
Describes the adaptive benefits of transmitting genes rather than focusing on individual survival. According to this model, people are altruistic toward those with whom they share genes
Kin selection
Being altruistic with those whom you share genes. For example, insects protect the queens eggs rather than reproduce so that they can maximize the number of their common genes that will survive into future generations
Animals sometimes help nonrelatives - like dolphins will help out orphan Dolphins
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Reciprocal helping
One animal helps another because the other may return the favor in the future
Where does reciprocal helping occur most?
Animals that live in social environments like humans because their species survival depends on cooperation
When an animal acts altruistically, what are the benefits?
It increases its chances that it’s genes will be transmitted and that other members of the social group will reciprocate when needed
Bystander intervention effect
The failure to offer help by those who observe someone in need
They found the more ppl there are to help when someone is in need, the less likely people will help
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What else is the bystander intervention effect called?
Bystander apathy
Why does the bystander intervention effect occur?
- A diffusion of responsibility occurs. In other words, bystanders expect other bystanders to help. Thus the more bystanders there are, the more bystander probably won’t help
- People fear making social blunders in ambiguous situations
- People are less likely to help when they are anonymous and can remain so
- People weigh two factors: how much harm do they risk to themselves by helping? What benefits might they have to forgo if they help?
Relationships
Connections with friends and romantic partners
Not a ton of research has been done on relationships
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Proximity
How often people come into contact
The more that people come into contact, the more likely it is..
That they will become friends!
Why does proximity help form friendships?
People like familiarity… People who are around you a lot are familiar!
Neophobia
Human fear of anything that is new
Familiarity can also breed contempt rather than liking. Why??
The more we get to know a person, the more aware we become of how different that person is from us.
People similar in values, interests. Attitudes, and personalities like to be together. Why?
We like people similar to us
The most successful romantic couples tend to be what??
Physically similar.
Matching principle
The most successful romantic couples tends to be physically similar
What kind of people do we tend to like romantically?
People who have admirable personality characteristics and are physically attractive
What kind of people don’t we like romantically?
Ppl who are dishonest, cheaters, insincerity, lack of warmth. Also people that appear too perfect or too competent
We like people who make small mistakes because it makes them seem more human!
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What do we think as attractive?
Having a computer combine 32 different faces - people found the combination very attractive
Why do people view averaged faces as attractive?
The mere exposure effect - the more familiar you are with something, the more you like it
What else do ppl find attractive?
Symmetrical faces. This is adaptive because an asymmetrical face McKins indicate poor health or a genetic defect
Social benefits of attractiveness?
People are drawn to attractive people, are rated as happier more intelligent and more social, they have better career opportunities
Children actually prefer attractive faces
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Attractive people tend to be…
More sociable, more socially skilled, more popular, but not necessarily smarter or happier
Attractive ppl are similar to unattractive ppl in intelligence, life satisfaction, and self esteem
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Passionate love
A state of intense longing and sexual desire
What kind of love is portrayed in movies
Passionate love
When do people experience passionate love?
Early in relationships
What does passionate love evolve into?
Companionate love
Companionate love
A strong commitment to care for and support a partner.. This kind of love develops slowly over time because it is based on friendship, trust, respect, and intimacy.
Attachment theory
The attachment style a person has as an adult is related to how the person’s parents treated him/her as a child
People whose parents were sometimes warm and sometimes not as a child… What do they turn out like?
Clingy… They worry that people do not really love them and are bound to leave them
People who fall in love and maintain that love tend to be…
Biased toward positive views of their partners
Paying attention to your partner’s flaws or placing too much importance on your partner’s occasional failure makes it very difficult to remain in love
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Those who love their partners the most _____ their partners the most
Idealize
Passion…
Fades over time
For the first couple months/years you have an intense desire to have sex with your partner but then your interest in sex with them decreases after that
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Half of all marriages in the Us end in…
Divorce or separation
The way a couple deals with conflict often determines whether the relationship will last
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The bad strategies that make relationships fail?
- being overly critical
- holding partner in contempt
- being defensive
- mentally withdrawing from relationship
When a couple is more satisfied with their relationship… The partners…
Tend to express concern for each other even while they are disagreeing
Attributional style in relationships
How one partner explains another partner’s behavior
Accommodation
A type of attributional style in romantic relationships where partners overlook bad behavior or respond constructively.
Happy couples attribute good outcomes to each other and bad outcomes to situations
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What is the key to maintaining a positive relationship?
Viewing your partner in a positive light / even to the point of idealization
Attractive people experience many social benefits but they do not report greater happiness
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