Chapter 8 - Social Processes, Attitudes, and Behavior

Question 1

Social Action

Answer 1

• Weber defined this as actions and behaviors that individuals are conscious of and performing because others are around.
• The idea is that humans will behave in different ways based on their social environment and how their behavior will affect those around them.
• If individuals predict a negative reaction from those around them, they will often modify their behavior.
• Social action (considers just the individual that is surrounded by others) vs. social interaction (looks at the behavior and actions of two or more individuals who take one another into account)

Question 2

Social Facilitation

Answer 2

• People tend to perform better on simple tasks when in the presence of others. Supports the idea that people naturally exhibit a performance response when they know they are being watched. The theory suggests that performances sparks a perceived evaluation in the individual performing.
• Yerkes-Dodson Law of Social Facilitation: being in the presence of others will significantly raise arousal, which enhances the ability to perform tasks one is already good at (or simple tasks), and hinders the performance of less familiar tasks (or complex tasks).

Question 3

Deindividuation

Answer 3

• Occurs when individuals are in group settings
• Individual behavior can be dramatically different in social environments. This is thought to be due to the presence of a large group that provides anonymity and causes a loss of individual identity.
• Can lead to antinormative behavior, or behavior against the norm.
• In group settings, the individual loses his sense of individuality and becomes an anonymous part of a group. With anonymity, he is more likely to act in a manner that is inconsistent with his normal self. This is further enhanced when the group is in uniform or masked.

Question 4

Bystander Effect

Answer 4

• Individuals do not intervene to help victims when others are present. The more people standing by, the less likely any of those people is to help.
• When in groups, people are less likely to notice danger.
• When in groups, humans take cues from others. If other people are not responding to a situation, an individual is less likely to perceive the situation as a threat or emergency. Degree of danger to the victim plays a role.
• Another factor is the degree of responsibility felt by the bystander.
• Finally, cohesiveness of the group has been shown to influence the responsiveness of the bystanders.

Question 5

Social Loafing

Answer 5

• Refers to the tendency of individuals to put in less effort when in a group setting than individually.

Question 6

Peer Pressure

Answer 6

• Refers to the social influence placed on an individual by a group of people or another individual. Peers are considered individuals who are equals within a social group.
• Can be positive or negative.

Question 7

Identity Shift Effect

Answer 7

• When an individual’s state of harmony is disrupted by a threat of social rejection, the individual will often conform to the norms of the group. Upon doing so, the individual will begin to experience internal conflict because the behavior is outside the normal character of the individual.
• To eliminate the sense of internal conflict, the individual experiences an identity shift wherein the individual adopts the standards of the group as her own.

Question 8

Cognitive Dissonance

Answer 8

• The simultaneous presence of two opposing thoughts or opinions.
• This generally leads to an internal state of discomfort, which may manifest as anxiety, fear, anger, or confusion.
• Individuals will try to reduce this discomfort by changing, adding to, or minimizing one of these dissonant thoughts.
• Related to identity shift effect.
• Ex: smoking, knowing it causes cancer or can lead to death.

Question 9

Group Processes

Answer 9

• Social interaction explores the ways in which two or more individuals can both shape each other’s behavior.
• These include group processes and establishment of culture.

Question 10

Group Polarization

Answer 10

• Describes the tendency for groups to make decisions that are more extreme than the individual ideas and inclinations of the members within the group. Thus, polarization can lead to riskier or more cautious decisions based on the initial tendencies of the group members toward risk or caution.
• This phenomenon has shown that individuals in group situations will form opinions that are more extreme than they would if making the same decision alone.

Question 11

Groupthink

Answer 11

• Desire for harmony or conformity results in a group of people coming to an incorrect or poor decision. In an attempt to eliminate or minimize conflict among the group members, consensus decisions are reached without alternative ideas being assessed. The group also begins to isolate and ignore external viewpoints, seeing their own ideas as correct without question.

Question 12

Culture

Answer 12

• Defined as the beliefs, behaviors, actions, and characteristics of a group or society of people.
• Learned by living within a society, observing behaviors and traits, and adopting them. Also passed down from generation to generation.
• When traveling outside of one’s own society, these cultural differences can seem quite dramatic and are often referred to as culture shock.

Question 13

Cultural Assimilation

Answer 13

• The process by which an individual’s or group’s behavior and culture begin to resemble that of another group. This can also mean that groups with different cultures begin to merge into one.
• Assimilation integrates new aspects of a society and culture with old ones, transforming the culture itself. Usually not an even blend, one group will generally have more power and influence than the other, resulting in more traits of that culture being displayed after transformation.
• Assimilation can be slowed by the creation of ethnic enclaves, which are locations (usually neighborhoods) with a high concentration of one specific ethnicity.

Question 14

Multiculturalism

Answer 14

• Refers to communities or societies containing multiple cultures.
• While multiculturalism is often described as a creating a “cultural mosaic”, or mixture of cultures and ethnic groups that coexist in society, assimilationism is described as creating a “melting pot”, or melting together of different elements of culture into one homogenous culture.

Question 15

Subcultures

Answer 15

• Refer to groups of people within a culture that distinguish themselves from the primary culture to which they belong.
• Can be formed based on race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, and other factors.
• Can be perceived as negative when they subvert the majority culture’s definitions of normalcy.
• In the case of counterculture, the subculture group gravitates toward an identity that is at odds with the majority culture and deliberately opposes the prevailing social mores.

Question 16

Socialization

Answer 16

• The process of developing, inheriting, and spreading norms, customs, and beliefs.
• The manner in which a society socializes its members is termed cultural transmission or cultural learning, and the spread of norms, customs, and beliefs (especially new ones) throughout the culture is called cultural diffusion.

Question 17

Primary and Secondary Socialization

Answer 17

• Primary socialization occurs during childhood when we initially learn acceptable actions and attitudes in our society, primarily through observation of our parents and other adults in close proximity. In children, this sets the stage for future socialization and creating opinions.
• Secondary socialization is the process of learning appropriate behavior within smaller sections of the larger society. Occurs outside of the home and is based on learning the rules of specific social environments.

Question 18

Anticipatory Socialization and Resocialization

Answer 18

• Anticipatory socialization is the process by which a person prepares for future changes in occupations, living situations, or relationships.
• Resocialization is a process by which one discards old behaviors in favor of new ones to make a life change, and can have positive or negative connotations. (Armed forces obeying orders without hesitation).

Question 19

Norms

Answer 19

• Societal rules that define the boundaries of acceptable behavior.
• Provide a mechanism for regulating the behavior of individuals and groups and thereby serve as a means of social control. Penalties for misconduct or rewards for appropriate behavior, called sanctions, can also be used to maintain social control.
• Norms provide us with a sense of what is appropriate, what we should do, and what is considered taboo (socially unacceptable, disgusting, or reprehensible).
• Mores are widely observed social norms.
• Folkways are norms that refer to behavior that is considered polite in particular social interactions (ex: shaking hands after a sports match).

Question 20

Deviance

Answer 20

• Refers to any violation of norms, rules, or expectations within a society
• Can vary in severity
• Also includes any act that meets with disapproval from the larger society

Question 21

Stigma

Answer 21

• Social stigma is the extreme disapproval or dislike of a person or group based on perceived differences from the rest of society
• These deviations from the norm can include differences in beliefs, abilities, behaviors, and appearances.
• Stigma can also spread to affect others who are associated with a particular individual.
• Stigma also evolves over time (ex: whereas divorce was stigmatized in the early 20th century, it no longer has such strong negative connotations).

Question 22

Labeling Theory

Answer 22

• Strongly linked to deviance, stigmatization, and reputation.
• This theory posits that the labels given to people affect not only how others respond to that person, but also the person’s self-image. This can lead to channeling of behavior into deviance or conformity.
• Ex: members of a society label a woman as promiscuous, which could lead to either further promiscuity or to a change in behavior toward something more in line with what is accepted in that society.

Question 23

Differential Association Theory

Answer 23

• Deviance can be learned through interactions with others.
• In this theory, intimate exposure to others who engage in deviant behavior lays the groundwork for one to engage in deviant behavior themselves. However, this same person will also likely come into contact with norm-abiding individuals.
• Differential association, then, is the degree to which one is surrounded by ideals that adhere to social norms vs. ideals that go against them. In this theory, when associations with others engaging in deviant behavior are more numerous or intense than those engaging in normative behavior, the individual begins to gravitate toward deviant behavior themselves.

Question 24

Strain Theory

Answer 24

• Attempts to explain deviance as a natural reaction to the disconnect between social goals and social structure.
• Ex: American dream. It is considered a desirable social goal, but the structure of society is unable to guarantee the education and opportunity needed to achieve this goal to all citizens. Therefore, deviant behavior such as theft may arise as an attempt to achieve the social goal outside of the limiting social structure.

Question 25

Conformity

Answer 25

• Matching one’s attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to societal norms.
• Normative conformity is the desire to fit into a group because of fear of rejection.
• Types of conformity: Internalization and Identification
  
  • Internalization involves changing one’s behavior to fit with a group while also privately agreeing with the ideas of the group.
  • Identification refers to the outward acceptance of other’s ideas without personally taking on these ideas.
• Ex: Stanford Prison Experiment

Question 26

Compliance

Answer 26

• A change in behavior based on a direct request.
• Several techniques used to gain compliance of others:
  
  • foot-in-the-door technique
  • door-in-the-face technique
  • lowball technique
  • that’s-not-all technique

Question 27

Foot-in-the-Door Technique

Answer 27

• A small request is made, and after gaining compliance, a larger request is made

Question 28

Door-in-the-Face Technique

Answer 28

• Opposite of foot-in-the-door technique, wherein a large request is made at first and, if refused, a second, smaller request is made. Often, this smaller request is the actual goal of the requester.

Question 29

Lowball Technique

Answer 29

• The requester will get an initial commitment from an individual, and then raise the cost of the commitment. Cost not only includes money, but can include effort and time.

Question 30

That’s-not-all Technique

Answer 30

• An individual is made an offer, but before making a decision, is told the deal is even better than she expected. This method is frequently seen in infomercials.

Question 31

Obedience

Answer 31

• While compliance deals with requests made by people without actual authority over an individual, obedience is changing one’s behavior in response to a direct order from an authority figure.
• People are far more likely to obey than comply due to the real or perceived social power of the individual.
• Ex: Milgram’s shock experiment

Question 32

Social Cognition

Answer 32

• Focuses on the ways in which people think about others and how these ideas impact behavior.
• Our attitudes (the ways in which we perceive others) impact the ways we behave toward them.

Question 33

Attitude

Answer 33

• The expression of positive or negative feelings toward a person, place, thing, or scenario.
• Attitudes develop from experiences with others who affect our opinions and behaviors.
• Even prior to meeting someone, past experiences and information from others can influence your attitude toward a person.
• 3 primary components of attitude: affective, behavioral, and cognitive

Question 34

Components of Attitude Mnemonic and Explanation

Answer 34

• Components of attitude: ABC
  
  1. Affective: refers to the way a person feels toward something, and is the emotional component of attitude
  2. Behavioral: the way a person acts with respect to something
  3. Cognitive: the way an individual thinks about something, which is usually the justification for the other two components

Question 35

Functional Attitudes Theory

Answer 35

• States that attitudes serve 4 functions: knowledge, ego expression, adaptation, and ego defense
• The knowledge function is important in that it provides consistency and stability: attitudes help provide organization to thoughts and experiences, and knowing the attitudes of others helps to predict their behavior.
• Ego expressive: allows us to communicate and solidify our self-identity
• Adaptive: the idea that one will be accepted if socially acceptable attitudes are expressed.
• Ego-defensive: if they protect our self-esteem or justify actions that we know are wrong.

Question 36

Learning Theory

Answer 36

• Posits that attitudes are developed through different forms of learning.
• Direct contact with the object can influence attitudes.
• Direct instruction from others can also influence attitudes.
• Our attitudes can also be influenced by others’ attitudes.
• Finally, attitudes may be formed through classical conditioning, operant conditioning, or observational learning.

Question 37

Elaboration Likelihood Model

Answer 37

• Separates individuals on a continuum based on their processing of persuasive information.
• At one extreme are those who think deeply about information, scrutinize its meaning and purpose, and draw conclusions or make decisions based on this thought (high elaboration). This deep thinking is referred to as central route processing.
• At the other extreme are those who do not elaborate, focusing on superficial details, such as appearances, catchphrases and slogans, and credibility (low elaboration). This is known as peripheral route processing.

Question 38

Social Cognitive Theory

Answer 38

• Postulates that people learn how to behave and shape attitudes by observing the behaviors of others.
• According to this idea, behavior is not learned y trial-and-error, but develops through direct observation and replication of the actions of others, and in tandem with the influence of personal factors (such as thoughts about the behavior) and the environment in which we observe the behavior.
• These 3 factors are not independent concepts, but influence each other.