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MCAT: Behavioural Sciences > Chapter 8: Social Processes, Attitudes, and Behaviour > Flashcards

Chapter 8: Social Processes, Attitudes, and Behaviour Flashcards

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MCAT flashcards
1
Q

Define social action. Who curated this term?

A
  • Actions and behaviors that individuals are conscious of and performing because others are around
  • Max Weber
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2
Q

What is social facilitation?

A

People tend to perform better on simple tasks when in the presence of others

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3
Q

What does the Yerkes-Dodson law of social facilitation state? How does it differ in terms of simple and complex tasks?

A
  • Being in the presence of others will significantly raise arousal
  • Enhances the ability to perform tasks one is already good at (simple tasks)
  • Hinders the performance of less familiar tasks (complex tasks)
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4
Q

Define deindividuation.

A

The idea that people will lose a sense of self-awareness and can act dramatically differently based on the influence of a group

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5
Q

What causes antinormative behavior? What is it?

A
  • Deindividuation
  • Behavior against the norm
  • With anonymity, an individual is more likely to act in a manner that is inconsistent with normal sense (further enhanced when group is masked)
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6
Q

What is the bystander effect?

A

Occurs in social groups wherein individuals do not intervene to help victims when others are present

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7
Q

What are the explanations for the bystander effect? (2)

A
  • People are less likely to notice abnormality when in groups
  • Humans take cues from one another and will follow the group
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8
Q

Define social loafing.

A

Refers to the tendency of individuals to put in less effort when in a group setting than individually (physical effort, mental effort, initiative)

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9
Q

Define peer pressure.

A

Refers to the social influence placed on an individual by a group of people or another individual.

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10
Q

From a sociology perspective, what are peers?

A

Individuals with equal roles within a social group

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11
Q

What explains the mechanism behind peer pressure?

A

The identity shift effect

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12
Q

What is the identity shift effect?

A

When an individual’s state of harmony is disrupted by a threat of social rejection, the individual will conform to the norms of the group and will shift their identity to adopt the standards of the group as their own

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13
Q

Individuals who succumb to peer pressure will experience internal conflict because the behavior is outside the normal character of the individual. How do they eliminate the sense of internal conflict?

A

Experience an identity shift wherein the individual adopts the standards of the group as their own

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14
Q

Define cognitive dissonance and provide an example.

A
  • The simultaneous presence of two opposing thoughts or opinions
  • Identity shift effect
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15
Q

In Solomon Asch’s experiment, he proved that the urge toward conformity can outweigh the desire to provide the correct answer. What fraction of participants answered INCORRECTLY when the actors answered incorrectly as well (imitating the actors)?

A

1/3

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16
Q

Define social interaction.

A

The ways in which two or more individuals can both shape each other’s behavior

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17
Q

Define group polarization.

A

Describes the tendency for groups to make decisions that are more extreme than the individual ideas and inclinations of the members within the group (can lead to risky decisions)

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18
Q

What is the hypothesis underlying group polarization?

A

Initial ideas tend not to be extreme, but that through discussion within the group, these ideas tend to become more and more extreme

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19
Q

Differentiate group polarization and choice shift.

A

Same idea
Polarization: behavior at the INDIVIDUAL level
Choice shift: behavior change in the GROUP as a whole

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20
Q

What does group polarization explain in real-life?

A

Policy-making, violence, terrorism, jury deliberation, social media

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21
Q

Define groupthink.

A

Refers to the social phenomenon in which desire for harmony or conformity results in a group of people coming to an incorrect or poor decision

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22
Q

How does the groupthink phenomenon arise?

A
  • Desire to eliminate conflict
  • Consensus decisions are reached without alternate ideas
  • Loss of independent critical thinking
  • Isolate and ignore external viewpoints
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23
Q

The Bay of Pigs invasion is an example of what concept?

A

Groupthink

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24
Q

What is the illusion of invulnerability?

A
  • Indicates groupthink

- Creation of optimism and encouragement of risk-taking

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25
Q

What is the collective rationalization?

A
  • Indicates groupthink

- Ignoring warnings against the idea of the group

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26
Q

What is the illusion of morality?

A
  • Indicates groupthink

- The belief that the group’s decisions are morally correct

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27
Q

What is excessive stereotyping?

A
  • Indicates groupthink

- The construction of stereotypes against outside opinions

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28
Q

What is pressure for conformity?

A
  • Indicates groupthink

- The pressure put on anyone in the group who expresses opinions against the group, viewing the opposition as disloyal

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29
Q

What is self-censorship?

A
  • Indicates groupthink

- The withholding of opposing views

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30
Q

What is the illusion of unanimity?

A
  • Indicates groupthink

- The false sense of agreement within the group

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31
Q

What are mindguards?

A
  • Indicates groupthink

- The appointment of members to the role of protecting against opposing views

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32
Q

Define culture.

A

The beliefs, behaviors, actions, and characteristics of a group or society of people

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33
Q

Define culture assimilation.

A
  • The process by which an individual’s or group’s behavior and culture begin to resemble that of another group
  • Groups with different cultures begin to merge into one
34
Q

What are the four primary factors that can be used to assess the completeness of assimilation?

A
  • Socioeconomic status
  • Geographic distribution
  • Language attainment
  • Intermarriage
35
Q

How can culture assimilation be slowed?

A

The creation of ethnic enclaves, which are locations with a high concentration of a specific ethnicity (ex: Chinatown)

36
Q

Define multiculturalism.

A

Refers to communities or societies containing multiple cultures; celebration of coexisting cultures

37
Q

Which term refers best to “cultural mosaic”? Which term refers best to “melting pot”?

A

Cultural mosaic: multiculturalism

Melting pot: assimilation

38
Q

Define subcultures.

A

Refer to a group of people within a culture that distinguish themselves from the primary culture to which they belong

39
Q

What factors can form subcultures?

A

Race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, and other differentiating factors from the whole of society

40
Q

Define socialization.

A

The process of developing, inheriting, and spreading norms, customs, and beliefs

41
Q

When does primary socialization occur? What do we learn during this stage? What does it provide?

A
  • During childhood
  • Learn acceptable actions and attitudes in our society
  • Provides the foundation for creating personal opinions
42
Q

When does secondary socialization occur? Where does it occur? What is it?

A
  • During adolescence and adulthood OR when moving/changing schools
  • Occurs outside of the home
  • Learning appropriate behaviors within smaller sections of the larger society; rules of specific environments
43
Q

What is anticipatory socialization?

A

The process by which a person prepares for future changes in occupations, living situations, or relationships

44
Q

What is resocialization?

A

Process by which one discards old behaviors in favor or new ones to make a life change, and can have positive or negative connotations

45
Q

The training of armed forces to obey orders and commands without hesitation as well as attracting members into a cult are an example of what concept?

A

Resocialization

46
Q

Define a norm.

A

Societal rule that defines the boundaries of acceptable behavior

47
Q

What are mores? What do they provide?

A
  • Widely observed social norms

- Sense of social control (they are not law though)

48
Q

What are folkways?

A

Norms that refer to behavior that is considered polite in particular contexts (ex: shaking hands after a sports match)

49
Q

Give examples of agents of socialization.

A
  • Family
  • Peers
  • Religion
  • Government
  • Media
  • Work
  • Ethnic Background
  • Clubs/Social Groups
  • School
50
Q

Define deviance.

A

Refers to any violation of norms, rules, or expectations within a society (ex: jaywalking, murder)

51
Q

Define social stigma.

A

The extreme disapproval or dislike of a person or group based on perceived differences from the rest of society (obesity, HIV, behaviors, appearance)

52
Q

What does the labeling theory state? What can it lead to?

A
  • The labels given to people affect not only how others respond to that person, but also the person’s self-image
  • Can lead to deviance or conformity
  • Ex: labeling a woman as promiscuous can lead to further promiscuity or to a change in behavior
53
Q

What does the differential association theory state?

A
  • Deviance can be learned through interactions with others
  • Deviance provides a clear perception of social norms and acceptable boundaries, encourages unity within society, and can even promote social change
54
Q

Define conformity.

A

Matching one’s attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to societal norms

55
Q

Define compliance.

A

A change in behavior based on a direct request from an individual who has no actual power or authority

56
Q

Define obedience.

A

Changing one’s behavior in response to a direct order from an authority figure

57
Q

What is normative conformity?

A

The desire to fit into a group because of fear of rejection

58
Q

Differentiate internalization and identification. What are they types of?

A
  • Types of conformity
    Internalization: changing one’s behavior to fit with a group while also privately agreeing with the ideas of the group
    Identification: acceptance of others’ ideas without questioning them
59
Q

What is the foot-in-the-door technique? What is that an example of?

A
  • Compliance

- Simple request is made, and after gaining compliance, a larger request is made

60
Q

What is the door-in-the-face technique? What is that an example of?

A
  • Compliance
  • Large request is made at first and, if refused, a smaller request is made
  • Smaller request is usually the actual goal of the requester
61
Q

What is the lowball technique? What is that an example of?

A
  • Compliance

- Requestor will get an initial commitment from an individual, and then raise the cost of the commitment

62
Q

What is the lowball technique? What is that an example of?

A
  • Compliance

- Requestor will get an initial commitment from an individual, and then raise the cost of the commitment

63
Q

What is the that’s-not-all technique? What is that an example of?

A
  • Compliance

- Individual is made an offer, but before making a decision, is told the deal is even better than she expected

64
Q

In a typical obedience experiment, what percentage of individuals will continue to obey, although they do not wish to continue?

A

Around 60%

65
Q

Define attitude.

A

The expression of positive or negative feelings toward a person, place, thing, or scenario

66
Q

How do attitudes develop?

A

Develop from experiences with others, which affect our opinions and behaviors

67
Q

What are the 3 primary components of attitude? What is the mnemonic?

A

ABC
Affective
Behavioral
Cognitive

68
Q

What does the affective component of attitude refer to?

A

Refers to the way a person feels toward something, and is the emotional component of attitude

69
Q

What does the behavioral component of attitude refer to?

A

The way a person acts with respect to something

70
Q

What does the cognitive component of attitude refer to?

A

The way an individual thinks about something, which is usually the justification for the other two components

71
Q

What does the functional attitudes theory state?

A

Attitudes serve four functions: knowledge, ego expression, adaptation, and ego defense

72
Q

What does the knowledge component of the functional attitudes theory provide?

A

Provides consistency and stability: attitudes help provide organization to thoughts and experiences, and knowing the attitudes of others helps to predict their behavior

73
Q

What does the ego-expressive component of the functional attitudes theory allow?

A

Allowing us to communicate and solidify our self-identity

74
Q

What does the adaptive component of the functional attitudes theory refer to?

A

The idea that one will be accepted if socially acceptable attitudes are expressed

75
Q

What does the ego-defensive component of the functional attitudes theory refer to?

A

Protect our self-esteem or justify actions that we know are wrong

76
Q

What does the learning theory of attitude state?

A

Attitudes are developed through different forms of learning (direct contact, direct instruction, others attitude)

77
Q

What does the elaboration likelihood model of attitude state?

A

Separates individuals on a continuum, based on their processing of persuasive information

78
Q

What are the two extremes of the elaboration likelihood model?

A
  • Deep thinking, elaborating extensively (central route processing)
  • Focusing on superficial details, no elaboration (peripheral route processing)
    ex: These voters would be swayed different during an election
79
Q

What is central route processing?

A

High elaboration, scrutinizing and analyzing the content of persuasive information

80
Q

What is peripheral route processing?

A

Low elaboration, focusing on superficial details of persuasive information (appearances, catchphrases and slogans, credibility)

81
Q

What does the social cognitive theory of attitude state?

A

People learn how to behave and shape attitudes by observing the behaviors of others.
- Behavior develops through direct observation and replication of others actions (NOT trial-and-error)

82
Q

In the social cognitive theory, what are the three factors that influence each other in terms of attitude?

A
  • Behavioral factors
  • Personal factors
  • Environmental factors

MCAT: Behavioural Sciences (12 decks)

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