Concept 7B Flashcards
Social action
actions and behaviors that individuals are conscious of and performing since others are around
Social facilitation
people tend to perform better on simple tasks when in presence of others (Yerkes-Dodson law of social facilitation)
Deindividuation
Loss of individual identity, anonymity in social environment
Bystander effect
individuals do not intervene to help victims when others are present. Kitty Genovese.
Social loafing
tendency of individuals to put in less effort when in a group setting than individually
Social control
Various means used by a society to bring its members back into line with cultural norms.
- Formal Social Control: prisons, etc.
- Informal Social Control: parents, etc.
Peer pressure
social influence placed on an individual by group of people or another individual.
Mechanism:
1. Identity shift effect
2. Cognitive dissonance
Conformity
matching one’s attitude, beliefs, and behaviors to the societal norms
- Internalization: privately agreeing
- Identification: outward acceptance
Obedience
changing one’s behavior in response to a direct order from an authority figure. Milgram
Group polarization
tendency for groups to make decisions that are more extreme than individual ideas and inclinations of the same members within the group (risky & choice shift)
Groupthink
social phenomenon; desire for harmony or conformity results in group of people coming to incorrect or poor decision. Irving Janis study.
8 indicative factors
8 Indicative Factors of Groupthink
- Illusion of invulnerability: creation of optimism and encouragement of risk-taking
- Collective rationalization
- Illusion of morality
- Excessive stereotyping
- Pressure for conformity
- Self-censorship
- Illusion of unanimity
- Mindguards
Social norms
Standards for what behaviours, set by groups of individuals, are acceptable, and which are not
Sanctions
Rewards/punishments for behaviors in accord with or against norms respectively.
- Positive sanction
- Negative sanction
- Formal sanction
- Informal sanction
Folkways, mores, laws, and taboos
- Folkways: the mildest type of norm, just common rules/manners we are supposed to follow on a day to day base
- Mores: norms based on some moral value/belief
- Laws: norms still based on right and wrong, but have formal/consistent consequences
- Taboos: behaviors completely forbidden/wrong in any circumstance, and violation results in consequences far more extreme than a more
Anomie
breakdown of social bonds between an individual and community
Deviance
any violence of norms, rules, or expectations within a society
Theories on deviance
- Labeling theory
- Differential association
- Strain theory
- Conflict theory: social, political, or material inequalities of a social group lead to deviance
Labeling theory
Labels given to people affect not only how others respond to that person, but that person’s self-image.
- Primary deviance: no big consequences
- Secondary deviance: more serious consequences
Differential association theory
deviance can be learned through interactions with others.
Strain theory
if person is blocked from attaining a culturally accepted goal, may become frustrated/strained and turn to deviance
Aspects of collective behavior
- Fads: behavior that is transiently viewed as popular and desirable by a large community
- Mass hysteria: shared, intense concern about the threats to a society. Mass psychogenic illness.
- Riots: characterized by large number of people who engage in dangerous behavior
Collective behavior vs. group behavior
- collective behavior is time-limited, and involves short social interactions, while groups stay together and socialize for long period of time.
- Collectives can be open, while groups can be exclusive.
- Collectives have loose norms, while groups have strongly held/well-defined norms.
Agents of socialization
family, school (hidden curriculum), peers, mass media, pop culture
