chapter 15 Flashcards
Social psych: putting ppl in context
social psych is teh study of how social context as well as broader cultrual envrinments ifnleucne ppls thoughts, feelings and actions
the challenges posed by diff contexts, other ppls expectations and your own past experinces combine to shape your behavioru
social psychs focus on how the immediate envrinment changes our behaviour can be consrretd againts personality psychs focus on an indivduals stable characetrics and tehir effects on behaviour
whereas the social psych wnats to undersnt why ppl act diff in diff situations, the personality psych wants to understnad why ppl act conisntely across those situations
contemproary researchers recogzine that both idnidual predispositions and situational context often combine to explain the avriability in how ppl behave
yes an introvered peson might be quieter on avg, but the perosn might abandon their reserved tendecies at a party when feeling tipsy
social psychs dont deny the exitsnce of consistent personality traits, but they do try to examine the features of context that ecplain the variability in human behaviour
although context affects behavoiur ppl carry a host of core motivztions that underlie their actions
they inlcude a fundemental need to belong and to form trusting relationships with others, to perceive ourselves and our groups postvely and to udnerstadn the wold and feel a sense of control over our actions and outcomes
together these motivations are built into human psych, probably the result of a proces of adaption where the ned to meet each motive allowed inidvusdlas to survive and thrive
in its imprtant to keep in midn these guidng motivations that direct how ppl are infleucned by their social context
cultural norms and conformity
Variability in behaviour can occur bc our surrounding social context and the broader culture dictates social norms - patterns of behaviour, traidtions, beeifs and preferences that are accepted and reinfored by others and infleucne our behaviour
bc social nroms evolve overtime and place, through processes that foster the sucess and growth of a society, they vary considerbaly between cultures and geenrations
crafted messages designed to foster soical norms for social distancing and masking wearing existed
effects like these draw on the fact that ppl often implcitly mimic or adopt the behaviorus, beliefs an dpreferences of those around them through a process of conformity
ex. in elevator expeirment ppl would turn aornd to face same diretcion as actors even tho there was no reason for it
the elevator sequence shows how powefful social norms can be
norms can provide an easy guidbook for what to do or belive in unfamiliar situations
this kind of conformity to others actions or belifs in orde rto behave correctly or gain an accruate understanding of the world is called informational social infleunce
in a demsontarton of this phoenmom ppl guessed the distance a dot traveled in dark - autokinetic efefct (it didnt actually move but we preceive it to move) - over time ppls estimates on hwo far the light was moving was infleucned by the estimates given by others
in follow up studies, when new memebrs were added to teh group, they would pick up on the etsnblished group norm and shape their belifs accordingly
these expeirments show how we form and transmit our beleifs to otehrs to make snese of ambigous situations
another reason why we confom is to satisfy our need to belong and fit in with ppl around us
some ppl in the elevator turned so they dont feel rejected or disaproved
when we conform to gain approavl form others or avoid disaporval we are respoidng to normative soicla infleucne
ex. studient in a group guesses which line matched while otehrs were instrcuted to collectivly lie
75% of the partpants in the sitautoon gave the same worng answer even though they didnt belive in it bc in the wirttne version they wrote the correct answer, suggesting that their private held belifs differed from their public display of conformity
most of the time confomrity allows us to adpat to broader culture and get along with others
in some cases it can lead to silly, dangerous or unlawful things
ex. peer pressure
in extreme cases and in large crows the presence of otehrs can cause deindivduation - losing isght of our own indvidualty
confomring pressures are hogh in these cases explaing why law abiding ppl get caught up in riots
in addition to conforming to behvaiour we diretcly observe from others, the social orles we hold often proivde unsttaed but clear social nroms that guide our behaviour
any role- parent, stduent, frined, employee etc comes with certain expectations and trhough conformity ppl often automatcially mold their ehaviour to fit them
gender might have the ealriest and strnegst affetc in shaping our social roles
from start we have binary gender role expectations extert a strong infleucne on how ppl interac with children
in meta analysis of how parents socialize their chidlren, largest difference was the tendecny to encourage their sons to engage in sterotypcial masucline activties and for duahters to take on stereotupcally feminine activties
these efefects might be one reason why grils tend to develop a stronger norm for helping others and boys tend to develo stronger norm for competing with others, norms that then set the stage for diff roles they might choose in adulthood
performance in groups
is it better to work alone or in a group
the answer inst straightforward but sicence can show a bit of light to how performance is affected in groups
on a basical level, being around otehrs or feeling a sense of social connection can boost motivation
when our need for belonging is met, our engagemnt iwth the world around us is heighteneded and performance becomes more fluid
evidence of this imprved performance when we feel connected comes from studies of pheonomeon known as social faciliation
socila faciliiation refers to evidence that the mere presence of others can boost arousal in a way that faciliattes the dominant response or the most likley behavioural reaction to that tasks
for tasks thta are easy or well practcies, the dominant response is to be a fluid fast or succesful performance
ex. chidlren in winding string on spool competitoon did better when performing with othrs ratehr than alone
the problem sets in when the task is ddifcult or something we have little experience doing and the domiannt response is to make mistakes
now the presnece of others or a crtical audience facilitates this dominat response and increases the number of mistakes made
research also shows that we feel threatened when someone is watching in this situation
being scruitinzed by others during a difficult task can inc stress and impair teh ability to concentrate and this combo puts us at a marked disadvanatge for living up to our potential
such processes can explain why an athelete migh choke in a high stakes game and isnt certain of their ability to perform
what happens when we work coopertalvy with others?
performance in collective work situations is often diff than it would be if each person was working alone
specifically being too anomyous as part of a group can impair performance through social loafing, the tednecy for indivduals to expend less effort on a task when they are doing it with others ratehr than alone
in studies where ppl we asked to clap as loud as they could, they did so louder when they believd tehy were the only person making the noise than when they belived that teh sounds they made would be combined with those other ppl in seperate booths
bc ppl are most likely to engage in social loaifng when they feel that tehri ndivual performance is unnoticed by otehrs, managers can educe social loafing by holding both groups and idivduals accountable for meeting certain goals
in group work u might give expectations for who has to do what so eahc memebr has a sense of accounatbiluty for their contribution
when its clear that evryone must work togethr to acheive a collective goal, eahc idnivdual is less likely to socially loaf
whereas being infornt of an uaidnce can harm perofrmance hwne a task is dificlt, socual loafing is less likely when ppl work together on a challneging, interetsing or personally imprtant task
Obedience to authority
Although cultures and organizations vary in how heirarchal they are, in most groups someone emerges as the leader - a person who gains the authority to wield infleucne over otehrs behaviour
many leaders gain infleucne by demonstrating their skills for the job and thus earing their followers repsetc
others rise to power by shwoing their domiance and intamding others to follow their lead
this strategery can be effective for infleucning behaviour but domiannt leaders are more feared than likes
Lewin found that domainnt or authrotarian apporaches to leadership enhanced productivty when the leader was present but a more democratic approach that invited collabroation and collective decision making inspired groups membrs to work effectevly even when the leader wasnt there
its not surpsing that ppl will be ifnelucned by leaders they respect and admire
ater all, there are many situations where healthy and sfetu depends on ppl folowing the advice or orders of trsuted ppl
but research suggest that ppl often obey domiant and authrotivatve leaders even against their better jdugement
a domant leaderhsip gone extreme can become dictorial
Hitlers Nazi regime exterminated many jew and romani
these horific events inspried Milgram to ask: can the infleucne of a pwoerful leader lead average ppl to carry out extraoridnaly cruel acts?
milgram designed a paradigm to test the question
partpcants cam to his lab at Yale for a study of learnig
they were paired to anotehr partcpnat known as learner
the teacher partcpants task was to read works over intercom to learned
the prupose of the studies partpcnats were told was to asses whetehr punishemnt would help the learned memorize better
for every incorect answr, teh teacher was instcruted to administer a painful electric shock to the learner
the study sound uncomrtable byt not unreasonable for understanding learning
But Milgrams true interest wasnt learning but in obedince
the learned was part of the rresearch and they didnt get shocks
Milgrams question was whetehr parycpants in the role of teacher would give shcoks of increaisng inetnsity to another person even if the learnef cried in pain and eventually tsopped responding
in response to any questions form the partocant, the experiment insisted “the expeirment requries that u continue”
when Milgram deisgned the study he asked psychs to rpedict what % of ppl would obey the insrtctions and give the highest level of shcok
the experts anticpated than less than 0.01 % would do so (sadistic ppl)
Milgram found that 65% of patrpcnats contineud to obey the comainds even though after they admited they were concerned for the learned
Milgrams fidninsg were ifneluntiala nd contreversial
Milgrams interpratin was that situations are more powerful than we think
35% of ppl did refuse to harm others and in sevral study variatons, Milgram showed how changes to this situatioon inc teh number
if the expeirmentar became less autrhotive then obedicne decreased
partpants were also less likely to continue folliwng orders if the learned was in the same room or if they saw another teacher refuse causing the learned pain
Milgrams findinsg raised disturbing questions abt morality but his work has not been without critque
many ppl queston whether partpcants knew what Milgram was studying and then tried to respond in a way that would help the hypoethesis
ppl were also mortifed abt the partpants situations (unethical)
milrgams study led univeristies and funding agencies to put in ethical safegaurd aginst conducting research that might pose high degree of psych or phsycial harm to partpants
many stuies have replicated the paradigm and revealed simalr ratess of obedcinace
data suggest that even in present era there are many ppl follow orders of domiannt leader even when we know actions will bring harm to others
on many ocaisons obedicne to laws, policies and commands of leaders is required to live sefely and harmonsily in a society
if ppl stopped follow laws, the fabirc of society would unravel
Milgram research shows that we need to appreciate teh role of obedicne that plays on the human psyc
our tendecy to obey leaders and alws that legitmetly proetc and maximize the collective good is inetgral to siciety
unqueting obeidnce to domiant leaders who fail to proetct others is not
Aggression
Agression is any behaviour directed toward the goal of harming another living
this deifntion implies the intention to do harm is imprtant as whetehr harm is actually done
this defintin includes pshycial, emotional and psycholgical harm
social psych apporahc seeks to idneify why any person might be prone to be agreeive in some sitautions but not others
the genral agression model is a framework for knitting together vaurous factors that in combo precdit that likleyhood that someone will act aggreisvely
a host of neg situational factors can promt an act of agression
most potent trigegrs of anrgy outburts are the personal slights and insults that treaten our fundemental need for belonging and accpetance
one of the earliest observations was that ppl act aggreisvely when their progress toward a goal is frsutating
the more closer a person is to the goal, the more frustaring it is to have it being blocked
beyond simply being blocked or delyaed in a goal, expeirncing a persisnt annoying noice; unformatble hot room; or a headache can lead us to become agressive
such diverse factors can lead to agression bc neg events are more likely to cue neg thoughts and meotions especially anger
as a result the experience of one averise stimulus make it more likely that we interpet a triggering event in a more neg light, lashing out in anger
ex. hangy is describing anger and hunger being attached
bc anger is a highly arousing emotion, wen we are already pshcyailly aroused (like after a run) our agresive reactions to insults are intensified
the general agresion mdoel also akckdleges that some indivsuals bc of personality traits or the envrinemnts they were raised in causes them to be more prone to react with agrresion
the way agreson is shown can be infleucned by istuational-level and person-level variables
ex. men are more likely to yell while women more likley give silent treatment
furthermore, the norms values and laws of teh culture ppl live in may cue them to engage in efforts toreappraise the situation, distarct themslevs or otehrwise regulate or redirdct their anger
one explanantion for mens agresion is that boys more than grils are socialized to see direct agresion as gender approaite response to neg events
if the situations we find oursleves in can cue us to act aggreisvely is it possible that violent forms of enetrtainment like games can make us more agresive ?
weapons effetc sugegsted that simple exposure to a gun or weapon can inc aggresive responses by bringing violent thoughts to mind
ex. they found that ppl gave more shcoks to another person who shcoked them if the study happned in a room where a gun was present
if seeing a weapon can bring violent thoughts to mind, then playing video games might elevate aggresion
lots of research has found that these games inc physiolgical arousal and agrgesive thoughts and is though t to desintive ppl to sufefring of others and violence in the world
these effects happen imemdtly after playing a game but seem to acucmalte whne volant games are played all the time
however research likin video games toa gressive is contrevaal and highly debated
a meta naalysis found no clear evidnce of this link
bc the topic is politicized theres a owry that studies that dont ifnd the link are less likel to be published
a task force found that suffienct evdience that exposyre to vilent video games can bring more aggreisve thoughts, feleings and behaviour impluses but these effects might be short lived as the evdinece doesnt point to any strong links between vioelnt vidoe games and cirmal acts of violnce or delinquency
Proscial behaviour: why do we help
research in social psych reveals that human beings have an extraoridnary capcity to be curel to others but humans also have an extraoridnaly capcty to be kind
Milgram was also interested in acts of kindness
in his study he found that aprtcoants went out of their way soemtiems at a eprsonal expense to mail a lost letter to a comeplet stranger
developmental psychs have disocvered that in earlu infancy, babies show a preference for ppl who are helpful and are biased gains those that harm others
when they get older, tolders take pains to help others around them
this suggest that ppl show early motivations to be helpfulful by why?
from an evolutioanry perspective its reasonable that a social species like human beings would have developed an innate capcity toward prosocial behaviour; that is actions aimed at assisting others toward theri gaols
helping ppl were related to might result from kin selection, en eveloved or adaptive sagety of assisting those who share ones genees even at a personal cost, as a means of inc the odds of genetic survival
there also might be an adaptive advangtage to helping complete strangers bc ppl generally follow a norm of reciprocity
accoridng to this norm ppl help otehrs who have helped them in the past or future
theories of cultrual evolution further suggest that prosocial behaviour might developed as a strong social norm bc it helps socieities succeed
over human histry, we went from small groups and tribes of extended kinship networks to our large societes
according to the cultrual evolution argument, each succesivly larger society will be more succesful to the degree that it develops clear norms for ppl to form trusting, cooperative relationships not only with kin but with others we see as part of our social group or culture
these prosocial societis in turn foster greater gentic and cultrual transmission of prosocial traits and tendecies
to get a sense of how interdepent we are with strangers in our modern society think abt how many times u have gone somehwere, have u ever thought abt the trust you have placed in the ppl around u
biological and cultrual evolutionary perspetcives thus emphasize the role of innate tendencies and strong socila norms that encourage prosocial and helpful behaviours
even so ppl are more likley to help some ppl and not others
what motviates us to go out of our way and lend a hand?
Batson aserted that empathy is the key to altruism
when we feel simialr to someone we can feel what they feel and are motiavted to take action to reduce theri suffering
this might also be why ppl are likely to help their own race
the prob is that it isnt always easy to stimulate the suffering of others, a phonemomn labbeld as empathy gap
ex. teachers are more supportive of policies regridng bullying if they experineced something like that themselves
however whenw e can bring to mind our own painful expeirnces or otherwise feel simalr to those in need we find it easier to emptahzie with them and are more likley to help
we also find it easier to empathzie with an innocnent victim and tend to avoid dwelling deeply on a persons suffering on a mroe massive scale
charties understnad this tendency so feel comapssion towards a single personw hcih is why they might show a singular child in their ads
ofc ppl dont only help others bc they empathzie with those in need
sometimes prosocial behaviour is motivated by personal beennfits that outweiht the costs
these self-serving beenifts of helping can also be psycholgical: some rsearch sugegst that ppl fele happer after speding money on otehrs rather than themeslevs
perceiving groups: why do we stereotype?
just as impressions are shcemas that we have abt indivsuals, stereotypes are shcemas we have abt groups
we pick up on steortpes that make up the fabric of our beliefs abt ppl
children learn cultrual sterotypes abt diff groups at a young age
sometiems info is learned by ppl around or by televison and media that present a narrow range of images of ppl of colour, women, adults or ppl who are phsycally or mentally disbaled
most recent reerach usggest that news reports have become more accruate byt white americans are still overpreprsenetd as victims while latinos are underpresented
when media do misrepsnet info those exposdd to the news tend to form stronger sterotpes of diff racial and ethnic groups
its not suprisng that then a diet of news prgamring predicts the degree to chich ppl hold violent steroetpes abt balck americans
another course of inancuracy from steortyping is the tendcy to rely on steortpes of ppl when jduging the likley charcatics of an indivdual membre of that group
even when steotpes capture meanigful avg differences between groups, they rarely acruatly descirbe evry dinvidual within the group, especially when the average diffeence ebtween memrbns of the group is small
ex. even when studies have sugegsted some average psych difeernce ebtween emn and women, teh overla;pping distributions suggest mroe simialrty between the sexes
yet these steortypes can lead ppl to assume that they are sooo diff
if steotpes can be maksitake why do tehy serve our impression
one reason is that steotypes arent always inaccruate
when steotypes are an accruate summary of group differences tehy can on average make reasonable preidctins abt the world
anotehr reason we rely on them is that regardless of accruacy they are effcient
often we dont have time to thnking abt why a person is unique and for a quick judgemet stereotypes are helfpuk
the more tried we are, the mroe likely we are to use steortypes (seen in the jury experiment)
steotypes are like enrgy saving devices
in constast wehn ppla re more mentalky alert and aware that steortypes might colour their veiws they can correct themsleves
ppl with strong egalitarian motives might be so pratcied at this self correction that they do it automatcially
whenw e precive the comaniliteis between oursleves and indivdual mebrs of another social group, we are also more likely to transfer our own traits, belifs and preferences onto them than to assume they are simialr to a cultrak sterotype
ofc we might still make some inacruate jdugements but they are more positive usually
anotehr reason why steortypes exist is they help us justify the way things are
ex. white american who strongly sterotype black american as having lworr sttaus kobs are more likely to deny their won white privelge and support beliefs that mantain racial heirarchy
In addition, people who are wealthy, White, and/or who have high status in society are often stereotyped to be more competent and assertive than those who have lower incomes, are people of color, and/or are disadvantaged.
those who have lwoer incomes or have lower status sometiems granted their own pso steotypes of being happier and mroe moral
these complemetary steotypes which attribute both pso and neg traits to a group, help jsutfy the current social sustem
ex. it might be easier for working class ppl to accpet ever rising levels of income inequality if they hold steotypes that welathy are immoral etc while assuming those who are less advanatagous rep the mroal fabric of society
reducing prejudice
many take it for granted that others will assume they are normal but some might see it as a luxury to have otehrs treat them like normal since they might be trasngender or something else
for anyone aprt of a social category that is stigmatized in society, other ppls prejiduces can be extremly harmful
after all, being the target of social prejudice is a strong threat to the core motivation of belonging
although ppl can be creative in fidnng groups of simalr others who validat their belifs and help them maintain high self esteem, dialy expericne of subtle and not subtle discirmatoon takes a toll on a personal well being
a recpeie for reducing prejudice has been knwon for 60 years
Allport suggested that prejduce can be reduced through friendly or cooperative inetratcions between emmebrs of diff groups
in proosintg this contact hypothesis, Allport further provided a playbook that teachers, organizons and maangers nca use to faciliatet pos conatct among diverse groups of ppl
specifically, he dineified four imprtant elemnst of pos contact that can helo reduce prejducial attitudes:
- working together
- as equals
- toward a common goal and
- in an enrvinemnt where those in position of authority support social change
in early demonatstion of how preducive develops and can be reduced Sherif set up a summer camp
in the second week when boys disocvered other groups inth eofrest they dveeloped strong animosity toward the other groip
this was fueled by series of competitions
prejducie dvelped in under two week
Sherifs stduy shed light on way prejdice can be reduced
they introced a challnege where the groups had to work together
after a week they had more pos atttdues toward eachotehr and some became frineds
more recent tests of intergroup contact reveal the benfits of cooperation for reducing interactse prejduce on an cricket league in india etc,
decaded after the study, a meta analysis confirmed. that pos intergroup contact is efefctove in reducing rpejucie when Allports conditions are met
one way that these pos inetractions elsson intergroup prejuce is by reducing the anziety and otehr neg emotions ppl might feel when inetracting with soemone diff than tehmslves
when we have pos inetractoons with a person from anotehr group, we dvelop the abiliy tos ee the world form another pointa dn empathzie with that eprsons expeirnece
finally when we make fiends with ppl from other groups, we alos expand our sense of self to include a more diverse array of atributes and expeirneces that allow us to grow as indivuals
it might be easy to prmote pos conatc among groups that are already leikly to come in conatct
but in many cases, ppl hold strongest prejucies againts groups which they have no exposure to
research sugegst that imagining having pos inetractins with a diff group might be benficial in reducing prejudice
thus as cisgender ppl learn abt treans expeincies, they might develop undertsnadigg and pos attitudes towards those who are trans
contact isnt the only stragety for reducing prejudice
dievristy training prorgam often appear in organziatonla setting and can be affective in cganing attiudes but less so in behaviour
equipping ppl with strageies to recoginzie and counteract their own implcit steotypes can hwoever help ppl to regylate their own biases and contront those they observe in otehrs
some research shows a stragety to change behavior is by changing norms in conetxt
ex. when uni student saw posetrs abt inclsion, nonmarginzled student reported more pos attitdues to POC and amrginzlied students reported feeling greater sense of belonging
inclusive normals can be a powerful signal of respetc
Onlune social inetraction
humans are specieis known for theri sociality and group coordination
humans are specially unique bc they created new tehc that allows ppl to meet,conenct and inetract at a distance
the advent of social media has amrked a chaneg in how inertatcions take place
72% of americna use social media and it rises to 84% in uoung audlts
this rapid shift to online social inetratcions has led many to wonder how relationships chaneg for better, or the worse bc of these tech changes
one benefit of online inetratcion is that it enables ppl to easily aminatin conenctions with friends and family who no longer live nearby or to conect with ppl they couldnt meet
the rpecpetin of a broad social netwrok is associated with lower levels of stress and higher well being
social media sites give ppl ability to update what going on in theri lives
given broader evidence that self discolure is a good straget for deeping social bonds, this new method of self disocling to a braod colelctin of social conatcts might be aprticaularly good right?
in one study partcants who were instrcyed to post more to fakebook than they did reported feeling more socially conencted and less lonely regarldess of hwo ppl inertacted with etheir post
in contsrats otehr research suggest that posting to social media might have neg conseqeunces although social media sites can seem like a safe venue for self-discolure and osliciting social support from others, the tendcy for ppl with lwoer self-esteem to shre their eng thoughst and feelinsg can be actaully off putting to otehrs
more genrally, freqnucny use of social emdia seems to come with emotional cost
meta analyssi shows that it can have neg effect on well being
one reason is that most ppl pots pos events that present an idealized version of themslevs to teh social world
the self congratultory post can make ur life seem dully
in addition, truning to online social networks to scatch the icth for belonung can take us away from ppl who are close at hand
ppl report feeling that others use of media made them fele neglected
ofc ppl use media not to jst extend netwrok but also find a partner
many apps pair used with poential maters
48% of adults have used a site or app
those whoa re younger and homosexual are more likely to use online dating
that said, the same survey found that 29% of ppl surveyed reported knowng someone who formed along-term relationship with soemone they met online
three aspects of online dating kae it unique
frist from teh comfort and safty of ur home, you have more acess to partenrs
second, the mode of communciatin is diff
and thrid many dating sites match a user to poentail partners who seem better fit for their ineterest
lots of research has gone into these apps
on one hand they are benfit to sort through many partners saving time, money and awk small talk
on teh otehr ahdn, given that ppl dont alway shave a clear snese of what tehrye attarcted to, matching algorthism dont necisicalry help users ifnd a compatble partner
also the proces of sorting through a long menu of otential partners can give ppl unrealistally high expectations of finding the eprfetc match of many ppl in a sea
sometimes its a sucess but just as often ppl can find someon irl
