Chapter 13 - Important concepts Flashcards
Research shows that we tend to believe that others, but not ourselves, are vulnerable to _______ influence.
social
What are cliques?
Groups that include in-group members and exclude out-group members.
According to Antrhopologist Robin Dunbar, what is the approximate size of most human social groups?
150 people
_____ proposed that our highly social brains are predisposed to forming interpersonal netweorks that are large, but with a ______.
Dunbar
limit
Humans have a biologically based need for interpersonal connections.
Need to belong theory
According to the need to belong theory, we seek out ______ bonds when we can, and suffer negative ________ and _______ consequences when we cannot.
social
psychological, physical
What supports the need to belong theory?
Research on inmates in solitary confinement suffer from more mood and anxiety problems
- fMRI scans
- threat of social isolation leads us to behave in self-destructive ways and evn impair our mental functioning
fMRI scans indicate that upon experiencing the sting of social rejection, participants displayed pronounced activation in a brain region called the _________ _________, which becomes active during ________ _______.
cingulate cortex
physical pain
Virtually all social influence processes are ________ under most circumstances
adaptive
When we compare ourselves to people who seem superior to us in some way, we engage in what?
Upward social comparison
When we compare ourselves with others who seem inferior to us in some way, we engage in what?
Downward social comparison
Describe the phenomena of social contagion.
Social behaviour is often contagious.
Phenonemon in which many people simultaneously come to be convinced of bizarre things that are false.
collective dellusions
When are we most likely to engage in social comparison?
When a situation is ambiguous
Differentiate between internal and external attributions.
Internal - behaviour due to traits
External - due to situational factors
When are we less likely to engage in the fundamental attribution error?
If we have been in a similar situation ourselves
If we have been encouraged to be empathetic toward others
The fundamental attribution error is peculiar in that we only use it when…?
we explain OTHER’s behaviours
Describe a study that provided support for the fundamental attribution error.
Study that had debaters read randomly assigned speeches - pro or against Castro.
Participants were more likely to consider those who read pro-Castro as communist sympathizers even when knowing the roles were randomly assigned.
Describe a study that provided support for the fundamental attribution error.
Study that had debaters read randomly assigned speeches - pro or against Castro.
Participants were more likely to consider those who read pro-Castro as communist sympathizers even when knowing the roles were randomly assigned.
What cultures are more/less likely to commit the fundamental attribution error?
Japanese/Chines - less likely
NA - more likely
Which researcher completed the first studies on conformity
Asch studies - line lengths
undercover agents of the researcher
confederates
What were the different independent variables affected conformity rates?
Unanimity
Difference in the wrong answer
Size
With increases in unanimity, there were increases in _______.
If someone gave an equally wrong, but different answer, conformity rates _______.
The size of the majority makes a difference up to a certain point (- people), after which it doesnt matter.
conformity
plummeted (decreased)
5-6
Curiously, when Asch asked participants to ______ their answers, conformity rates almost completely disappeared.
write
Conforming behaviour is associated with activation in the _________, and also in the _______ and _________ lobes.
amygdala
parietal, occipital lobes
Who completed deindividuation studies?
Zimbardo - Stanford prison study
Deindividuated individuals are more vulnerable to ________.
conformity
What are the most prominent factors contributing to deindividuation?
Feeling of anonymity
Lack of individual responsibility
An attempt to replicate the prison study was _______. What does it suggests?
unsuccessful - suggests that the effects of deindividuation are not inevitable
What is another explanation for the results of the stanford prison study?
Demand characteristics
A loss of identity actually makes people more likely to engage in ________ behaviour when others are _______ out.
prosocial, helping
People in crowds typically ______ their social interactions to ______ conflict.
limit, minimize
What is the phenomenon in which groups sometimes become so intent on ensuring that everyone agrees with everyone else that they lose their capacity to evaluate issues objectively.
groupthink
Research shows that when groups combine information from members, they typically rely on ________ knowledge rather than _______ knowledge
common, unique
What are some real life examples of groupthink?
NASA space shuttle challenger
Walkerton E. coli water contamination
Seeking group concensus isnt always a bad idea, but doing so before all of the _______ is available, is
evidence
What are the best ways to avoid groupthink?
Encourage dissent
Have independent experts evaluate the decision
Hold follow up meetings
How do cults promote groupthink?
1 - Persuasive leader
2 - Disconnect members from the outside world
3 - Discouraging questioning of group assumptions
4 - Establish training practices that gradually indoctrinate members
Contrary to popular belief, most cult members are psychologically _______.
Sucicide bombers are not ________ disorderd.
All cult members are not _______.
normal
mentally
brainswashed
What is the best defense to cult indoctrination?
Inoculation
Cults acquire their influence from a potent combination of both ________ and ________.
conformity, obedience
Which study investigated obedience
Stanlye Milgram Paradigm
What were the key takeaways from the Milgram Paradigm?
The greater the psychological distance between teacher and experimenter, the less the obedience.
Increase in psychological distance between teacher and learner led to higher obedience rates
What were the predictors of obedience in the Milgram Paradigm?
Level of moral development (negative correlation)
People with high levels of authoritarianism are more likely to comply.
Erroneous belief that bystanders did not help simply because they did not care.
Bystander apathy
What is the major limitation that pluralistic ignorance suggests is the issue to intervening?
First recognizing that a situation is indeed an emergency
Pluralistic ignorance is a very good explanation for ___________ situations.
ambiguous
What were the Darley and Latane bystander non-intervention studies?
Participants were faced with:
1 - Smoke filling a room
2 - The sound of a woman falling off a ladder
3 - Responding to what sounded like a person having an epileptic seizure
People in _______ countries are more susceptible to social loafing.
individualistic
What is the best antidote to social loafing?
Make sure everyone in the group is identifiable
Can we sometimes egnage in GENUINE altruism?
yes
People are more likely to help others when they, themselves, cannot ______ the situation.
escape
What type of people are more likely to help in emergencies?
People in a good mood
Extroverts
Those with lifesaving skills
People who throw social approval out the window
Phenomenon that we are especially likely to lash out aggressively towards those who provoked us.
Interpersonal provocation
External cues related to violence that makes us more likely to act violently in response to provocation.
aggressive cues
______, a situation when our ANS is hyped up, makes us more likely to be aggresive.
arousal
_________ and other drugs and increases in ________ makes us more likely to act aggressively.
Alcohol
Temperature
What are personality traits that increases aggresion?
negative emotions (irritabiliy/mistrust),
impulsivity
lack of closeness to others
What is the sex difference in aggression?
higher levels of physical aggresiveness in males
Females display higher relational aggression
What are cultural differences in physical aggression?
Asian individuals have lower rates than western individuals
What is a culture of honour?
People from the Southern US are more likely to adhere to a culture of honour - defend one’s reputation in the face of perceived insults.
Conclusion regarding factual evidence.
Belief
