Exam 2 Flashcards
Motivation
An inferred process within a person or animal that causes movement either towards a goal or away from an unpleasant situation.
Theories of motivation
an over-arching explanation for why people do the things that they do
Instincts
automatic, involuntary, and unlearned behaviour patterns triggered by particular stimulation
i.e. cats know how to catch a mouse
Fixed-action patterns
an instinctual behavioural sequence that’s relatively invariant within the species
i.e. mother turkeys and how they protect their young
Releaser
is the triggering stimulus–what cues the fixed action pattern
i.e. the “cheap, cheap” sound of babies turkeys
Drives
a biological trigger that tells us we may be deprived of something and causes us to seek out what is needed, such as food or water.
Primary drives
are innate like thirst, hunger, and sex
Secondary drives
are needs that have been conditioned to have meaning like money
Incentives
are the stimuli we seek that can satisfy drives such as food, water, social approval, companionship and other needs
Theories of Motivation–Drive reduction theories
we feel unpleasant tension when we stray from homeostasis
we become motivated (driven) to restore that physiological equilibrium (satisfy the need)
Arousal Theory
humans are motivated to engage in behaviours that either increase or decrease arousal levels
Yerkes-Dodson law
Performance increases with arousal only up to a point, beyond which performance decrease
relationship can be characterized as a bell shaped curve where arousal can increase performance only up to a point
when levels of stress or arousal become too high, performance decreases
Different tasks require different levels of arousal for optimal performance. How does this work for simple and complex tasks?
simple or well-learned tasks: performance improves as arousal increases
complex, unfamiliar or difficult tasks: the relationship between arousal and performance reverses after a point, and performance declines as arousal increases
What is the Hierarchy of Needs? and who created it?
Abraham Maslow created the Hierarchy of Needs in the 1940’s.
He believed that individuals possess a constantly growing inner drive that has great potential.
What are the levels of the Hierarchy of Needs from bottom to top?
Self-actualization needs
Aesthetic needs
Cognitive needs
Esteem needs
Belongingness needs
Safety needs
Physiological needs
Self-Determination theory
proposes that people have 3 primary motives:
1. Autonomy
2. Relatedness
3. Competence
Autonomy
To cause outcomes in your own life–act consistently with your self concept
Relatedness
To feel connected with others who are important to you–care for others and experience caring
Competence
To feel mastery over your life–to perform tasks at a satisfying level
Extrinsic Motivation
performance motivation
a person tends to do a task or activity mainly because doing so will yield some kind of reward or benefit upon completion.
i.e. a paycheck
Intrinsic Motivation
mastery motivation
is characterized by doing something purely because of enjoyment or fun
i.e. if you have an awesome workplace where you enjoy what you do
Over Justification Effect
The addition of external motivation can undermine internal motivation
i.e. students who previously enjoyed solving puzzles showed less intrinsic motivation after being paid
Self efficacy
confidence that one can plan and execute a course of action
Approach goals
enjoyable and pleasant incentives that we are drawn toward, such as praise or financial reward
i.e.getting married in order to live a shared life
Avoidance goals
unpleasant outcomes such as shame, embarrassment, or emotional pain, which we try to avoid
i.e. getting married to avoid being alone
What are the 3 motivational conflicts?
- Approach-approach conflicts–when you are equally attracted to 2 or more possible goals
- Avoidance-avoidance conflicts–require you to choose the lesser of 2 evils because you dislike both alternatives
- Approach-avoidance conflicts–when a single activity or goal has both positive and a negative aspect
Hunger
the need to consume enough nutrients so that you have enough energy to function
what does the ventromedial hypothalamus do?
stimulation to this area reduces eating; destruction to it causes overeating (“off” switch)
What does the lateral hypothalamus do?
stimulation to this area increases eating; destruction reduces eating to a level of starvation (“on” switch)
The biology of weight
research does not support the idea that people that people who are overweight are emotionally disturbed
heaviness is not always caused by overeating
biological mechanisms regulate your body weight and are influenced by genetics
Set point
genetically influenced weight range for an individual
when your body falls below your “set point” weight, increased hunger and a lower metabolic rate may combine to restore weight lost (and vice versa)
how are genes are involved in some types of obesity?
mutations in the ob gene may cause obesity in some individuals
ob gene causes fat cells to secrete a protein called leptin that acts on the hypothalamus and helps to regulate appetite
normals levels of leptin cause us to eat enough for maintenance
low levels cause us to overeat
what do the receptors in the nose and mouth do?
urge us to eat
what do the receptors in the gut do?
urge us to stop eating
What does the hormone ghrelin do?
it makes you hungry
What does leptin do?
it turns off your appetite
what does sugar do?
activates pleasure-inducing dopamine pathway
What is the prevalence of obesity in Canada?
approximately 26% of women and 35% of men
It has been increasing over the years and is not solely from genetics
What does “kummerspeck” mean?
“grief bacon”
sometimes people eat when they don’t physiologically need to–there are other things that influence whether we eat, beyond just hunger
Social facilitation
eating more when we’re around other people–it’s a social acivity
impression management
eating in order to fit in or not be embarrassed
i.e. eating less on a date
Minimal eating norm
good manners–at least in some social and cultural settings–is to eat small amounts to avoid seeming rude
Modeling
eating whatever others eat
“Mindless Eating” study 1
they gave away free popcorn in either medium or large containers
moviegoers who were given fresh popcorn ate 45.3% more popcorn when it was given to them in large containers
they were influenced by the container size
“Mindless Eating” study 2
in another study some participants were given stale, 14 day old popcorn
even though people disliked it, they still ate 33.6% more popcorn when eating from a large container than from a medium container
when asked if they thought they ate more because of the size of the container: 77% of those given the large tubs said they would have eaten the same amount if given a medium container
Implications
what is an appropriate “serving size”?
Bottomless bowl of soup study (2005)
individuals stopped eating after consuming, on average, over 70% more than those participants who knowingly refilled their bowls
shows how people’s consumption is determined, in part, by external cues such as the bowl
Master’s and Johnson’s four stages of the sexual response
- Excitement
- Plateau
- Orgasm
- Resolution
Compared to women, men…
- think about sex more
- initiate sex more often in relationships
- desire sex more in relationships
- masturbate more
- report fewer problems with low sex drive
- more often pay money or offer gifts for sex
- more often watch porn
- have orgasms more reliably and easily than women
Clark and Hatfield (1989) study about sex on campus
“I’ve been noticing you around campus. I find you to be very attractive. Would you…”
“go out with me tonight?”
“come over to my apartment tonight?”
“go to bed with me tonight?”
-men and women both said about 50-55% for the date
-70% of men and only 5% of women agreed to go to the apartment
-75% of men and 0% of women agreed to go to bed
What does better sex result in?
- men less likely to leave
- more satisfied wives two years later
- men’s satisfaction fluctuated with frequency of sex
Better relationships result in?
- higher sex satisfaction 18 months later, if relationship satisfaction and effective communication are high
- greater sex satisfaction 1 year later if wife has open communication and high perceptions of stability
- more sexual satisfaction, following 5-session marital communication intervention
People can engage in sex for approach reasons like:
-to feel good
- to share intimacy/be closer with our partner
- to have fun
People can engage in sex for avoidance reasons like:
- to stop our partner from leaving
- to stop our partner from being upset
- To stop feeling guilty
Affiliation need
the need to build relationships and to feel a part of the group
Humans are innately social beings–3 points
-the need to belong affects thoughts, emotions and behaviors
-feelings of love activate the brain’s reward and safety systems
-social isolation increases the risk for mental decline and poor health
The standard of beauty has changed. How?
In 1900-1950, larger and heavier women were considered more attractive than now
Study on waist-to-hip ratio and fertility (1990)
-married women with higher ratio reported more difficulty getting pregnant
Matching Phenomenon
men and women of similar attractiveness are drawn to one another
(couples, friends, and spouses tend to share the same values, attitudes, and beliefs)
Opposites do not attract
attractive people and unattractive people have different standards
Good News about matching
regardless of the level of physical attractiveness, people generally rate their spouses as attractive
What did they find out about attractiveness?
attractiveness is NOT universal, beauty is all determined individually
Eastwick & Finkel (2008) study about matching
-people were asked to rate the importance of attractiveness and earning prospects (self reported)
-the self reported found that men value physical attractiveness and women value earning prospect
-then went on little 4 minute “speed dates”
-then rated the attractiveness and earning prospects
-these did not pan out in actual rating of partners
Online Dating services
customers typically end up going out with feweer than 1% of the peoples whose profiles they study online
when you have all these criteria to consider, and so many people to choose from, you start striving for perfection
Speed-Dating event
the average participant makes a match with at least 1 in 10 of the people they meet; some studies have found the average is 2 or 3 out of 10
people realize there aren’t an infinite number of possibilities. If they want to get anything out of the evening, they have to settle for less than perfection
Stereotype about dating
-men are indiscriminate pursuers who will go for anyone with a heartbeat
-women are selectors—- the romantic gatekeepers who thrive on saying “no”
What is the bottom line about attraction?
many factors play a role in what we find attractive, and we don’t always know why we are attracted to some people
often beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder
Passionate Love
Aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually at the beginning of a live relationship
Companionate Love
The feelings of intimacy and affection we feel toward someone with whine our lives are deeply intertwined
Triangular Theory of Love (Sternberg)
suggests to at love has 3 basic ingredients:
-intimacy
-passion
-commitment
Intimacy (Triangular Theory)
feelings of being close and bonded
Passion (Triangular Theory)
arousal and sexual attraction
Commitment (Triangular Theory)
short term commitment to love your partner, long term to maintain that love and stay with them
Emotions have the following 3 components:
- a subjective thought and/or experience with
- accompanying patterns of neural activity and physical arousal and
- an observable behavioural expression
Emotion
is a state of arousal involving facial and bodily changes, brain activation, cognitive appraisals, subjective feelings, and tendencies toward action
The fast route
skips the visual cortex and goes straight to the amygdala for an instant emotional reaction
stimulates activity in sensory areas
Amygdala
a brain structure involved in the arousal and regulation of emotion and the initial emotional response to sensory information
Assesses Threat
becomes activated during the perception of arousing or aversive/fear-inducing stimuli
i.e. loud noises, odours, bad tastes
Slow pathway
sensory input is routed to the cortex for analysis and then transmission to the amygdala
Prefrontal cortex
the most forward part of the frontal lobes of the brain
associated with emotional experience and emotional regulation: modifying and controlling what we feel
Left Prefrontal cortex
more tuned to approach emotions
i.e. happiness, enthusiasm
if damaged results in loss of joy
Right Prefrontal cortex
more tuned to unpleasant emotions
involved in withdrawal and escape from unpleasant and frightful stimuli
i.e. disgust
Autonomic nervous system
a control system that acts largely unconsciously and regulates bodily functions such as the heart rate, digestion
Schachter & Singer: Two Factor Theory
The experience of emotion depends on two factors:
-Physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation
Emotion:
-physical response
-cognitive interpretation
-conscious experience
Schacter and Singer’s classic study
all participants received an epinephrine injection (adrenaline)
told that it either causes arousal or has no effect
participants were then put in a waiting room with someone else who either acted.. Angry or Euphoric/Goofy
results:
if participants expected the shot would increase arousal, then it did not have an effect on their emotions
However, if participants did not expect the shot to affect arousal, participants interpreted it based on the situation
Dutton & Aron-arousal river study
Capilano river:
high scary suspension bridge
low stable suspension bridge
Approached by an attractive female research assistant and then she gave them her number to “call her for the results”
Results:
the males that met the woman on the suspension bridge found her more attractive and were more likely to call her (12.5% vs. 50%)
the feelings of arousal that the male hikers experienced on the bridge were misinterpreted as attraction (Misinterpretation attraction)
what is the bottom line about interpretation
emotion is determined, in part, by our appraisal/interpretation of the situation
the same principle occurs for evaluations of stressful events (an event is only stressful for people if they interpret it that way)
Body language
nonverbal signals of movement, posture, gesture and gaze
Emotional dialects
variations across cultures in how common emotions are expressed
Display rules
social and cultural rules that regulate when, how and where a person may express emotions (or must suppress)
Health psychology
is the branch of psychology concerned with the promotion of health and the prevention of illness
Placebo effect
the percepton that one has received an intervention improves one’s symptoms
Nocebo effect
An intervention that one has received an intervention decreases symptoms or increases side effects
Theories of emotion generally address two major questions. What are they?
- Does physiological arousal come before or after emotional feelings?
-How do feelings and cognition interact?
James-Lange Theory
William James and Carl Lange:
emotions are caused by bodily sensations
e.g. “I feel sad because I cry”
Arousal–>Emotion
Heart races–>Fear
What’s the issue with the James-Lange Theory?
The physical experience of arousal is not uniquely distinct for each emotion.
e.g. what emotions result in sweaty hands, increased heart rate and rapid breathing?
-Fear
_Anxiety
-Excitement
-Love
-Anger
-Exercise
Cannon-Bard Theory
Walter Cannon and Philip Bard:
emotions and arousal co-occur
stimulus activates body (body arousal)
Stimulus activates cortex (awareness of emotions)
both at the same time
What are the issues with Cannon-Bard?
It’s saying that physiological sensations are irrevlavent to emotional expressions–they are co-occuring not causal
but research identifies at least some connection between body and emotional expression
Pretend sadness
only 15% of subjects managed to get the eyebrows, eyelids, and forehead-wrinkle exactly right, mimicking the way true grief is expressed spontaneously
How can you tell if someone is real or fake smiling?
People can fake a smile but a real smile is distinct because it involves raising the cheeks and having crows’ feet appear at the eyes
Reward smiles
are displayed to communicate positive experiences or intentions
Affiliative smiles
create and maintain social bonds and signal appeasement
Dominance smiles
to signal status
primary emotions
-emotions considered to be universal and biologically based
-generally include fear, anger, disgust, sadness, joy, surprise and contempt
Secondary emotions
emotions that develop with cognitive maturity and vary across individuals and cultures
Cross-cultural Emotion difficulties
based on 97 studies (22,148 participants):
emotion judgements made within culture were 13% more accurate than cross cultural judgements
Some cultures have words for specific emotions unknown to other cultures. like?
Hagaii (Japanese)- helpless anguish paired with frustration
Schadenfreude (german)- joy at another’s misfortune
Fremdschamen- vicarious embarrassment (being embarrassed for someone else)
What were the most common causes of death in the early 1900s
influenza, pneumonia, tuberculosis, measles, and other contagious diseases
What are the most common causes of death in the early 2000s?
heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes are linked to unhealthy behaviours such as inactivity, obesity and smoking
What is stress?
a psychological and physiological reaction that occurs when perceived demands exceed existing resources to meet those demands
What is stress?
a psychological and physiological reaction that occurs when perceived demands exceed existing resources to meet those demands
Stressor
- an event, item or experience that causes a stress response
- The stress response helps living things deal with stressors
Who first applied the term stress in a psychological context?
Hungarian endocrinologist Hans Selye
What would have been a better word instead of stress?
Strain
“strain” in physics refers to what happens in the response to the stress
because in psychology we are interested not only in stressors but also in the stress response.
HPA axis
hypothalamus
pituitary
adrenal glands
(critical aspects of body’s physical stress response)
general adaptation syndrome
the body’s response to stressors
When a person is in danger or under stress the hypothalamus sends messages to the endocrine glands along ___ major pathways
2
What is pathway 1
hypothalamus
automonic nervous system
adrenal medulla
secretes ephinephrine and norepinephrine
What is pathway 2 (the HPA axis)?
hypothalamus
pituitary
adrenal cortex
secretes corisol and other hormones
Short term: Fight-or-flight response
a set of physiological changes that occur in response to psychological or physical threats
Long term: General adaptation syndrome (GAS)
a theory of stress responses involving stages of alarm, resistance and exhaustion
Alarm
cognition of the threat and the physiological reactions that accompany it including increases in blood pressure, muscle tension, heart rate and adrenaline release
Resistance
body attempts to resist or cope with stressors that cannot be avoided
An individual uses his or her physical and mental resources to response to the stressor in an appropriate way
Resistance
body attempts to resist or cope with stressors that cannot be avoided
An individual uses his or her physical and mental resources to response to the stressor in an appropriate way
Exhaustion
when the stressful exp[erience depletes your physical resources and your physiological stress response declines
this leads to physical problems and eventually to illness
Acute stress
-enhances immunity
-increases number of lymphocytes and macrophages
-dependent on adrenal secretion; lasts 2-5 days
Chronic stress
-suppresses immunity
-reduces number of lymphocytes and macrophages
-increases the severity of common illnesses
Stress and Wound healing study
researchers gave students a biopsy wound on the hard palate using a “standardized wound machine”
they did it either during summer vacation or 3 days before first major exam
Results: students took an average of 3 days longer to heal during exam time (40% longer)
What are the 4 common sources of stress?
- frustration–blocked goal
- Pressure– expectations to behave in certain ways
- Change– having to adapt
- Conflict– 2 or more incompatible motivations. Should I stay or should I go?
Crowding to do with stress
increases arousal levels, spread of diseases
Poverty to do with stress
is associated with reduced control over one’s enviroment
Type A Personality
people who tend to be organized but, impatient and worry about time, and are ambitious, motivated and competitive but easily angered
Type B peronality
People who are more laid back and characterized by patient, easygoing, and relaxed disposition
Cynical and antagonistic hostility
people who are mistrustful of others and always ready to provoke mean, furious arguements
Coronary issues and personality
In the 1960’s, doctors noted that people with Type A personalities tended to develop coronary problems earlier than Type B personalities
They found that Hostility was more important than other aspects of Type A personality in determining heart problems
What is the significance of the Jesus movement?
-estimate over 3 million people were saved
-Lonnie Fisbee (music) led almost 85,00 people to the lord alone
-contemporary Christian music came out of this movement
Change aspect–Holme and Rahe (1967)
They suggested that stress is the
degree to which people have to
change and readjust their lives in
response to an external event
What did Holmes and Rahe devise that quantifies the amount of stress due to different life events?
The Social Readjustment Rating Scale
What did they discover about stress and health?
not everyone who experiences stress becomes ill
some people experience extremely stressful situations and have nonadverse health affects
Microstressors
Cumulative effects of stress
What did Richard Lazarus think about stress?
it is subjective stress that causes health problems
Control and Aggression study—Donnerstein & Wilson, 1976
In this study participants completes surveys while they experienced a loud or normal noise
loud: 95 db. (jackhammer at 50 feet)
normal: 55 db. (between a whisper and normal convo)
results: people were much more aggressive in the noisy environment
Locus of control
A general expectation about whether the results of your actions are under your own control (internal locus) or beyond your control (external locus)
Appraisal
The cognitive act of assessing and evaluating the potential threat and demands of an event
our cognitive appraisal of a stressor is really important. explains why petiole have different emotional responses to the same stressors
Cognitive appraisal of a stressful event
when we think we have the resources to overcome the stressor, we experience a “challenge” response
when we think we don’t have the resources to overcome the stressor, we experience a “threat” response
Problem Focused Coping
Attempting to reduce stress directly by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor
Emotion-Focused Coping
trying to find ways of reducing effects of negative emotions
Coping Strategy #1–management
deal with the micro stressors in your life that you can change and control
little hassles add up otherwise and really matter
Positive Psychology
Examines how positive emotions and personality traits enhance well-being, health and resilience
Coping strategy #2–positive mood
intentionally participate in activities that put you in a positive mood
e.g watching funny movies
Study about Positive Emotions having healthful benefits
study of 180 Catholic nuns found that longevity was related to frequency of positive emotions
nuns whose life stories contained the most words describing positive emotions lived on the average of 7 years longer (i.e happiness, interest, love, hope)
positive emotions may counteract high arousal caused by negative emotions/chronic stressors
Coping strategy #3–optimism
adopt an optimistic outlook
Optimism
The general expectation that things with go well despite setbacks
Pessimism
The tendency to have a negative perception of life and expect negative outcomes
Relative to pessimists, optimists tend to…
-have lower HPA activation in response to stress
-be less vulnerable to illness
-live longer
-be active problem solvers
-don’t give up or escape
-keep a sense of humour
People with a pessimistic explanatory style are…
-more likely to get depressed
-more vulnerable to illness
-more likely than optimists to develop heart disease
Coping strategy #4–relaxation
relaxation procedures can provide relief from headaches, high blood pressure, anxiety and insomnia
Relation Training
had been used to help Type A personality heart attack survivors reduce their risk of future heart attacks
Coping strategy #5–Religious Involvement
religiously active people tend to live longer than those who are not religiously active
Coping strategy #6– forgiveness
let go of grudges reduces physiological arousal and restores feelings of control
holding on to grievances increase blood pressure, heart rate and skin conductance
Coping strategy #7– Confession
divulging private thoughts that make you ashamed or depressed is linked to better health
Coping Strategy #8– spend time outdoors
research shows that spending 20-30 mins sitting or walking in a place that provides you with a sense of nature at least 3x a week significantly lowers cortisol levels
Earthing
grounding the human body to earth reduces cortisol
resynchronizes cortisol hormone secretion in alignment with the natural 24-hour circadian rhythms profile
improves sleep and reduces pain and stress
Coping strategy #9– exercise
aerobic exercises lessen the negative effects of stress and has a host of positive physical and psychological health benefits
super good for you if you have a high level of stress
Coping strategy #10– maintain social connections
chronic social isolation is as great a mortality risk as smoking, obesity and high blood pressure
one estimate suggested that having social connections is associated with a 50% reduced risk of early death
Social Support related too…
*lower blood pressure
*lower cortisol
*better immune system functioning to fight illness
Need to belong and well-being study
200 participants completes 6 bi-weekly surveys during first semester at university
-measure self esteem
-measured quality of social bonds
(social stress, number of friends)
-measures health problems
(classes missed due to illness, doctors visits)
lower self esteem students missed 4.6 more classes than higher self esteem students
lower self esteem students visiting the doctor 1.6 more times than higher self esteem students
results: higher self esteem resulted in fewer health problems
Happy marriages have health benefits:
*unmarried women are 50% more likely to die from heart disease, several forms of cancer, cirrhosis of the liver and other preventable disease than are married women
*the number rises to 250% for unmarried men
*better off being single than in an unhappy marriage though.
*unhappy marriages and marriage disruption because of a spouse dying are among the most stressful events one can experience
Bottom line about social support?
social support is reliably related to beneficial effects on the cardiovascular, endocrine, and immune system
why??
buffers stress
affective states
health promoting benefit
social psychology
is the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to others (or the imagined presence of others)
social psychologists
use scientific methods to study social behaviour (empirical approach)
they study the social influences that explain why the same person will act differently in different situations
What are the 3 major themes in Social Psychology:
social thinking
social influence
social relations
they study how we think about situations and how situations affect us and how we affect one another through social interactions.
Social Thinking
Topics:
-attributions (fundamental attribution error)
-attitudes and attitude change (central vs. peripheral route to persuasion… cognitive dissonance theory)
attributions
the reasons we provide for why others do what they do
attribution theory
people are motivated to explain their own and other people’s behaviour by attributing causes of that behaviour to a situation or a disposition
external/situational attribution
something in the situation or environment caused the behaviour
internal/disposition also attribution
something in the person (e.g. traits or motive) caused the behaviour
the fundamental attribution error
the tendency, when analyzing others behaviour, to over estimate the influence of personal traits and underestimate the effect of the situation
that is to attribute behaviour to dispositions over situations
Take home message about the fundamental attribution error
over default assumption is that other people are doing things because of who they are
we don’t take into account the power of the situation
What’s the huge exception to the Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE)?
we’re NOT prone to the fundamental attribution error when explaining our own behaviour
we have something called “self serving biases”—-habits of thinking that make us feel good about ourselves
Implications for relationships—happy couples
make situational explanations for negative behaviour (“he forgot about our date because didn’t get much sleep last night”)
make disposition all attributions for positive behaviour (“he got me flowers because he is such a thoughtful person”)
implications for relationships—unhappy couples
make dispositional attributions for negative behaviour (“he forgot about our date because he is a thoughtless jerk”)
make situational attributions for positive behaviour (“he bought me flowers out of obligation”)
why should you beware of the fundamental attribution error?
Karney and Bradbury (2000) classified newlyweds according to their “attributional style”
those prone to attributing to their partners slip ups to permanent internal characteristics rather than temporary external factors were much for likely to wind up divorcing
What should you do to avoid this problem with FAE?
Think before you blame:
research shows that we make the fundamental attribution error automatically, but once you’re aware of it, you can consciously compensate.
when you find yourself blaming your partners mistake on a character flaw or permanent problem. force yourself to consider more compassionate explanations: then give your partner the benefit of the doubt
Example of avoiding the FAE
your romantic partner shows up late to a special date at a nice restaurant
instead of concluding that they are unreliable, selfish, rude or that they don’t love you anymore
make external attributions: traffic was bad, a crisis at the office etc
What are the 2 different ways we think about persuasive messages?
Central route persuasion (thinking hard)
Peripheral route persuasion (little thinking)
central route persuasion
offers evidence and arguments to trigger thoughtful responses
peripheral route persuasion
uses incidental cues to try to produce fast but relatively thoughtless changes in attitudes
Central route—motivation
people will be more likely to process info through the central route rn they are highly motivated, and when they have the knowledge or expertise to understand the info
central route—-opportunity
central route is effective when people have sufficient time and freedom from distraction, and when the info is not overwhelmingly complex relative to their knowledge
What do we do when we don’t have time to analyze all the issues?
we often use peripheral route by using simple rule-of-thumb heuristics
-“trust the experts”
-“long messages are credible”
-speaker is articulate and appealing
-has apparently good motives
-has several arguments
these are examples that will usually cause us to take the easy peripheral route and accept the message without much thought
Summary of central vs. peripheral processing
The central route is reflective, requires mental effort, and relies on cognitive elaboration (motivation—willingness, ability—understand)
The peripheral route is reflexive, based on mental shortcuts (credibility, heuristic cues)
cognitive dissonance
the tension (discomfort) that arises when our attitudes are inconsistent with our behaviour or when we are simultaneously aware of two conflicting attitudes
it feels uncomfortable to have inconsistent thoughts, feelings and behaviour
Dissonance—changing behaviour vs. attitudes
-either of these two methods will reduce dissonance
-people tend to use the easiest available method
-it is often easier to change attitudes than behaviour
Cognitive dissonance study (festinger & carlsmith, 1959)
-participants complete a boring task
-induced to lie about how fun the task was to another participant for either $1 or $20
-asked by research assistant how fun the task really was after the lie
results:
people who lied for $1 felt they had to “justify” more for the dollar so they lied to the research assistant after by changing their attitude towards the study
What areas of our life could cognitive dissonance affect?
-justifying unhealthy behaviour
-liking the choices we make
-finding meaning in terrible experiences
social norms
written/unwritten guidelines for how to behave in social contexts
social roles
specific set of behaviours that are associated with a position in a group (i.e. professor, student)
social influences
shape our behaviour, thoughts and feelings
conformity
a change in behaviour due to the real or imagined influence of others
chameleon effect
the nonconscious mimicry of the postures, mannerisms, and facial expressions of one’s interaction partner
Verbal mimicry and tipping (2003)
servers mimicked or didn’t mimic customers by repeating their order back to them
mimicked tipped 81% of time (average = $2.11)
non-mimicked tipped 61% of time (average = $1.25)
social pressure study (Asch, 1951)
given a question with an obvious right answer (pick the line of out 3 that matches another line)
others around them all picked an obviously wrong answer.
how did it affect the person in the study?
75% of the participants confirmed at least once, giving an answer they knew to be wrong
obedience
social influence in which a person complies with a direct request
especially obedience to authority: leaders, bosses, parents, police, doctors
Milgram’s (1963) obedience study
“teachers” believe they are delivering shocks to a “learner” (appear to be randomly assigned to the roles)
everytime the learner gets an answer wrong, he gets a shock that increases by 15 volts everytime
strongly encouraged by experimenter to continue, even when the “learner” protests
went to such a high voltage that eventually the the “learners” stopped answering and went silent (simulating death)
results: over 60% of people kept administering shocks all the way until “death”
need for social acceptance (normative social influence)
people sometimes conform because they want to be liked or they fear rejection
need for information (informational social influence)
sometimes people also conform to be right: because they believe others know what to do better than they do
social norms
rules or expectations, written or unwritten, on how people should behave
i.e. people shouldn’t go into someone else’s house and start smoking
social roles
are shared expectations by group members how particular people in the group are supposed to behave
i.e. women in the kitchen
The Stanford Prison Experiment
Phil Zimbardo (1971)
24 Stanford undergrad students, 1/2 assigned to be “guards” and 1/2 assigned to be “prisoners”
supposed to be a 14 day experiment but cancelled after 6 days because:
-rioting in the second day
-prisoner went “crazy”
-sleep deprivation
-bathroom denied and stripped
-solitary confinement
-1/3 “sadistic” by day 6
this is because people adopted their roles
The bystander effect study (1968)
-“Experiences at University” study
-step into booth
-believe that there are 1-5 others in the study
-actually no other (just tape recorders of others answers)
-first “participant” mentions they have epilepsy
-emergency, the first participant starts to have a seizure and pleas for help
results: if the person thought they were the only one listening 90% went to go help. but as there was more people in the study the percentage of those who helped went down significantly. people thought the others would help.
bystander effect
the greater the number of bystanders who witness an emergency, the less likely any one of them will help
diffusion of responsibility
everyone assumes that someone else will help, and as a result, no one does
the thought: “someone else will do something!”
pluralistic ignorance
a false impression of how others are thinking, feeling, or responding
pluralistic ignorance study (1987)
gave students impossible to understand articles
then asked if they had any questions
no one raised their hand to tell the prof that they did not understand
results: every individual was confused. but because nobody else is letting on that they’re confused, everybody also thinks that everyone else is understanding the article
pluralistic ignorance study (interpret an emergency) 1968
smoke pouring in from the sides of a testing room
if people were alone in the room they were more likely to report the smoke
those in groups looked around but waited way longer to report the smoke because no one else in the group was reacting to it
social facilitation
the presence of others arouses people, improving performance on easy or well-learned tasks but decreasing performance on difficult tasks
social loafing
tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal then when individually accountable
the causes of social loafing
acting as part of a group and feeling less accountable (their individual performance can’t be evaluated)
feeling individual contributions does not matter
taking advantage when there is lack of identification with the group
groupthink
a tendency for all members of a group to think alike for the sake of harmony and to suppress disagreement
what are the symptoms of groupthink?
an illusion of invulnerability
self-censorship
pressure on dissenters to conform
an illusion of unanimity
deindividuation
the loosening of normal constraints on behaviour when people are in a group, leading to an increase in impulsive and deviant acts because of a reduced sense of self
interlinkages among left and right-leaning tweets (polarization)
the internet often doesn’t expose us to differing viewpoints: instead it connects and magnifies the inclinations of likeminded people
showed with twitter users:
people overwhelmingly sent messages to and retweeted messages from those who share their liberal (blue) or conservative (red) ideology
group polarization
if a group is like minded, discussion strengthens, rather than moderates, prevailing opinions
in group
social definition of who we are— and are not (our group)
out group
are people not in our group, who are perceived as different
ingroup bias
favouring our own group
explicit processes
conscious, controlled and effort full
implicit processes
unconscious, automatic, rapid
reflective bodily responses
unconscious body language
i.e. startle eye blink, face processing, social distance
unconscious patronization
lower expectations, inflated praise and insufficient critical for minority student achievement
implicit racial associations
Implicit Associarion Test (IAT) results: even people who deny racial prejudice may carry negative associations with certain groups
tells you whether you have implicit prejudices towards specific groups of people
important note:
these tests lack reliability and validity, so take results with a grain of salt
race influenced perceptions
white perceives tend to “over attribute” hostility to Black make faces, being quicker to perceive them as angry relative to white male faces
social identities
people associate themselves with others and form groups
