Exam 2 Chapter 5-8 Flashcards
Which of the following are true about gender?
- In many cultures, the belief is that everyone must be assigned a gender.
- There are some gender differences between males and females.
- There are some gender similarities between males and females.
Testosterone plays a role in_______ , which could explain why males are more likely to be violent than females.
aggression
Evolutionary psychology has been criticized for
- overemphasizing the role of nature
- hindsight bias
- reinforcing gender stereotypes
The ________ perspective emphasizes human diversity and the ______ perspective emphasizes human kinship.
- cultural
- evolutionary
Which of the following is/are examples of natural selection?
- The chameleon’s ability to change colors
- The speed of a cheetah
Individual variation in personality is accounted for by
- Genetic influences
- Shared environment
- Peer influence
Learning the rules, roles, and norms of your gender through cultural institutions is called
gender socialization
Which group tends to have more permissive attitudes toward sex?
men
Natural Selection
The evolutionary process by which heritable traits that best enable organisms to survive and reproduce in particular environments are passed to ensuing generations.
Evolutionary Psychology
The study of the evolution of cognition and behavior using principles of natural selection.
Sex
males and females as two biological categories based on chromosomes, genitals, and secondary sex characteristics such as greater male muscle mass and female breasts
Gender
In psychology, the characteristics, whether biological or socially influenced, that we associate with males and females.
Transgender
Someone whose psychological sense of being male or female differs from their birth sex.
Hominids migrated from Africa to Asia due to
- availability of food
- climate change
Steven Pinker “sunscreen for the tropics”
people developed lighter skin to synthesize vitamin D
Charles Darwin evolutionary process
Natural selection enables evolution
Humans most fear
what is immediate and sudden
Humans everywhere tend to agree on what
rank others by authority and status
Socially how is gender defined
diminishing ambiguity of intersex children
The transgender rate in the US
.4% (4 of 1,000)
Differences in men and women
- Men think about sex more
- Masturbate more
- Desire greater number of sexual partners
Why do men think of sex more
Cheap for men but a big commitment for women
Women invest reproductive opportunities through signs of resources and commitment
Physically dominant males
excel in female attraction -> passed through generations
Emotions execute
evolutions dipositions
David Buss humans are
living fossils produced by prior selection pressures
Explains
- male aggression
- differing sexual attitudes
- behaviors of females and males
Testosterone
A hormone more prevalent in males than females is linked to dominance and aggression.
Androgynous
From andro (man) + gyn (woman)—thus mixing both masculine and feminine characteristics.
What women look for in men (evolutionary)
- Men whose wealth, power, and ambition promise resources for protecting and nurturing offspring
- Men slightly older than them
What men look for in women (evolutionary)
Fertility in women - by look of youth and healthy
What both men and women look for in each other (evolutionary)
- Kindness
- Love
- Mutual attraction
During ovulation, women can
- Detect potential threatening man easier
- Detect men’s sexual orientation easier
- Behave more flirtatiously
Ways biology influences sex differences
- Men have higher levels of testosterone
- Only one chromosome Y (male)
People maturing to middle age
become more androgynous
-
Women are
- more assertive
- self-confident
-
Men more
- empathic
- less domineering
- Why?
- Hormone changes
- role demands
Evolutionary Psychologist research method
start with finding then work backward to construct explantation
Paul Ehrlich & Marcus Feldman
evolutionary theorists hardly lose when using hindsight
Critics of evolutionary psychology
Explanations for gang violence, homicidal jealousy, and rape might justify male aggression as natural behaviors
Epigenetics
The study of environmental influences on gene expression that occurs without DNA change.
Norms
Standards for accepted and expected behavior. Norms prescribe “proper” behavior. (In a different sense of the word, norms also describe what most others do—what is normal.)
Personal space
The buffer zone we like to maintain around our bodies.
Its size depends on our culture and our familiarity with whoever is near us.
Nature predispose us to
learn whatever culture we’re born into
Most of our behavior is
socially prgrammed
How to achieve peace
Appreciation for both genuine differences and deep similarities
As time goes on our world’s cultures
mingle more than ever before
Individual choices and norms
Cultures vary in emphasis of individual self
Expressiveness and norms
Some cultures seem more warm and friendly than others
Rule-breaking and norms
Collectivist culture is more likely to stigmatize people seen as different
Judith Rich Harris
Nature Assumption -
parental nurture govern who children become
Robert Plomin & Denise Daniels developmental psychology
two children from the same family as different from one another as pairs of children selected randomly in the population
What explains personality differences
- Genetic influence explains 40% of individual variations in personality trait
- A shared environment explains 0 to 1% of personality differences
- Peer influences explain the majority of personality differences
Why do cultures differ
human adaptability
Common norms for friendships (Micheal Argyle & Monika Henderson)
- Respect friends privacy
- Make eye contact while talking
- Don’t tell other secrets
- Most value traits
- Honesty
- Fairness
- Kindness
- Judgment
- Curiosity
People describe others with two and five universal personality dimensions
5 universal dimensions of social beliefs
- Social complexity
- The reward for application - hard working
- Spirituality
- Fate control
- Cynicism - lower life satisfaction
Universally cultures see women and men as
- women as caregiver givers
- men as physical
Women vs. men typically described as
Women based on physical appearance
men on professional topics
The majority of the world view on male and female roles
men and women should both work
Culture reinforces
gender roles that originate with biological demands
Similarities across cultures might represent
male social power rather than evolved differences
Behavioral changes accompanied
shift of attitudes towards gender roles
Societies with more gender equality
less likely to engage in war
less violent
Similarities between men and women
- 45 unisex chromosomes
- Physical traits
- Developmental milestones during infancy
- Psychological traits
Differences between men and women
-
Physically Females have
- 70% more fat
- 40% less muscle
- 5 inches shorter
- 40 pounds less
- Females more sensitive to smell and sound
- Females twice as likely to experience anxiety disorders or depression
- Males are slower to enter puberty but quicker to die
- Males are three times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD
- Males are four times more likely to commit suicide
- Males are five times more likely to be killed by lightning
- Males more capable of wiggling ears
Women describe themselves in
- relational terms
- welcome help
- experience relationship linked emotions
- attuned to others relationships
Girls and play
Girls talk more intimately and play less aggressively
Empathy
The vicarious experience of another’s feelings; putting oneself in another’s shoes.
Precarious Manhood
man’s greatest social power.
Aggression
Physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone. In laboratory experiments, this might mean delivering electric shocks or saying something likely to hurt another’s feelings.
Interact
A relationship in which the effect of one factor (such as biology) depends on another factor (such as environment).
Biological factors operate within
a cultural contacts and builds on a biological foundation
Cultural norms affect
our attitudes and behaviors
Sexual fantasies difference between men and women
Men =
women unattached and lust-driven
Women =
male emotionally consumed by devoted passion for women
Cultures everywhere attribute
greater value to female than male sexuality
Gay men tend to
report more interest in uncommitted sex compared to lesbians
Men expressed more desire for
unrestricted sex
Aggression in men and women
- Men typically are more physically aggressive
- When provoked men women equally aggressive
- Women more likely to commit indirect aggression
Precarious Manhood makes men
feel the need to prove their masculinity
Men versus women leaders
-
Women
- excel
- relational or transformational leadership
-
Men
- direct
- task-focused leaders
People perceive leaders as having
more culturally masculine traits
Gender differences shrinking in industrialized societies due to
women assume more managerial and leadership positions
In most societies men are
more socially dominant
People tend to rate men
as more dominant, driven, and aggressive
Women are more skilled at expressing emotions
nonverbally
Women report friendships with women to be
more intimate, enjoyable, and nurturing
Girls vs boys on empathy
Girls react with more empathy
Women vs men smiling
Women smile more than men
Family relations
Women bind families
buy 3x more gifts and cards
vocation and gender role
- Women more interested in jobs dealing with people men in jobs with things
- Women less interested in math-intensive careers
- Men like jobs that enhance inequalities
Western culture would describe social influence as ______, while Eastern culture would describe the same type of actions to fit into a group as ______.
conformity
communal sensitivity
In Sherif’s autokinetic experiment, subjects described the distance that ______.
a pinpoint of light moved
After 330 volts the “learner” in Milgram’s experiment fell silent. Which verbal prods were used to keep the participant going?
- Please continue.
- You have no other choice; you must go on.
- The experiment requires that you continue.
Some critics argued that the Milgram studies were unethical because the participants were
deceived about the experiment’s purpose.
Conformity
A change in behavior or belief is the result of real or imagined group pressure.
Acceptance
Conformity involves both acting and believing in accord with social pressure.
Compliance
Conformity involves publicly acting in accord with an implied or explicit request while privately disagreeing.
Obedience
A type of compliance involving acting in accord with a direct order or command.
Auto-kinetic Phenomenon
Self (auto) motion (kinetic). The apparent movement of a stationary point of light in the dark.
Mass hysteria
Suggestibility to problems that spread throughout a large group of people.
Two forms of conformity
- Acceptance
- Compliance
- Obedience
Muzafer Sherif wanted to
figure out social formation through lab experimentation
Found: People will change answers depending on others
Robert Jacob and Donald Campbell studied
transmission of false belief
Found: Our views of reality are made up of others
Micheal Platow found
we presume funny when laughing audience is similar to us
Peter Totterdell found
“mood linkage”
being around happy people makes us happier
Tanya Chartrand & John Bargh form of social contagion
“Chameleon effect”
mimicking someone else’s behavior
Chameleon effect develops
in early childhood
Rick van Baaren found in regards to mimicry
mimicry helps people look more helpful and likable
The exception to the imitation-fosters-fondness rule
mimicking someone’s anger fosters dislike
Mass hysteria can lead to
increase of gun violence & suicides
Sherry Towers found
shootings causing at least four deaths lead to two week period of increased gun violence
Bert Hodges & Anne Geyer found
most people tell the truth even when others don’t
Conformity patterns
- Collectivist countries more willing to conform
- US 1970s to 1980s more willing to conform than 1950s
- Women more than men
- Recently settled frontier states less
Micheal Mosander & Oskar Eriksson on internet conformity
majority conformed to an incorrect answer
Criticism of Asch’s experiment
Lacked “mundane realism”, no pressure from outside world
Milligram’s Obedience Studies
tested what happens when the demands of authority clash with the demands of conscious
Found people outside the experiment
self-estimates may reflect self-serving bias
Jerry Burger replication of Milligram study today found
individualism might have reduced obedience
4 mirror well-documented psychological effects of milligrams study
- Slippery slope of small requests that escalate into larger ones
- Framing of shock giving as a social norm for the situation
- Opportunity to deny responsibility
- Limited time to reflect on a decision
Ethical issues of Milgram’s studies
- Participants were deceived about their purpose
- Participants not given informed consent
- Put participants through unnecessary stress
- Participant self-concepts may have been altered
- Debriefing less extensive
- Participants distress was greater than he suggested
Four factors that determine obedience
- The victim’s emotional distance - easier to do cruel acts when not close to or can’t see other people
- Closeness and legitimacy of the authority - when the person making command is physically close compliance increases if authority is perceived as legitimate
- If Institutional authority is respected - authorities backed by institutions wield social power
- The liberating effects of group influence - conformity can be constructive because it’s easier to fight in a group than alone
Difference between general and wartime conformity
The reality of war and genocide goes beyond conformity
Similarities between Asch & Milgram studies
- Show how compliance can take precedence over moral sense
- Succeed in pressuring people to go against their own consciousness
- Sensitized us moral conflicts in our own lives
- Affirm two familiar social psychological principles
External influences override internal convictions attitudes
fail to determine behavior
External behaviors + internal disposition can
feed each other
Initial attitudes help
later behavior
Evil results from
social forces - evil situation produces evil behavior
The drift towards evil comes in
small increments without conscious intent to do evil
A group of more than five
increases conformity
David Wilder Group “packaging”
agreement of independent small groups make the position more credible than large groups
Cohesive
A “we feeling”; the extent to which members of a group are bound together, such as by attraction to one another.
Normative influence
Conformity is based on a person’s desire to fulfill others’ expectations, often to gain acceptance.
Informational influence
Conformity occurring when people accept evidence about reality provided by other people.
Reactance
A motive to protect or restore one’s sense of freedom. Reactance arises when someone threatens our freedom of action.
It’s easier to stand up for something if
you find someone else to stand up with you
Observing someone else strain from a group decision
even if wrong encourages us to stray from the group too
Minority opinion from someone outside group we identify with
sways us less than the same minority opinion from someone within our group
Higher-status people tend to have
more impact on conformity
People conform more when they must respond
in front of others rather than writing answers privately
A prior commitment to a certain behavior or belief
increases the likelihood that a person will stick with that commitment
Morton Deutsch and Harold Gerard are two forms of social influence
- Normative influence
- Informational influence
Groups often do what to non-conformers
reject them
The normative influence works better when
we see others before rejected for the act we are about to do
Friends influence experiences that
inform our attitudes
Conformity to others opinions last
no more than 3 days
Brain activity when conforming to the wrong answer
region dedicated to perception becomes active
Brain activity when going against the group
region dedicated to emotion becomes active
In a group, people are more conscious of
how we differ from others
People feel better when they see themselves as
-
moderately unique and act in ways that assert their individuality.
- Individuals high in “need for uniqueness” conform least
People feel uncomfortable when
they appear to differ from others or exactly like everyone else
Most apparent in individualistic Western cultures
Personality traits of people more likely to conform
- People who value getting along with others
- People who follow social norms for neatness and punctuality
Personality traits for people less likely to conform
- People high in openness to experience
- Novelty seekers
- Students with a strong belief in their own free well and personal control
- More liberal views
Collectivist countries have a
higher conformity rate
When did the shift of conforming rates happen in Western societies
before 1950s high conformity rate after 1950s low conformity rate
US views on conformity
- Children who conform = less intelligent
- University students less conforming
The positive side to role-playing
People change themselves or empathize with people whose roles differ from their own
What can repair a relationship
temporary conformity
Social roles involve a
a certain degree of conformity and conforming to expectations is an important task when stepping into a new social role
Individuals value
sense of freedom and self-efficacy
If we know others are doing something this makes us
want to do it too.
Central Route to persuasion
Occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts.
Peripheral Route to persuasion
Occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker’s attractiveness.
Persuasion occurs via
one of two routes
When motivated and able to think about an issue
central route to persuasion
When distracted, uninvolved, busy
peripheral route to persuasion
Easily understood, familiar statements more persuasive than a novel statement
Advertisers adapt ads to spontaneous decisions so use which route more
peripheral route
Magazine prescriptions, drug ads use which route
central - offer information
Two routes of persuasions were forerunners for
today’s dual processing model of the human
The ultimate goal of advertisers
behavior change
Petty believed
Central route processing can lead to more enduring changes than the peripheral route
Central route appeals over the years
dwindled in recent years
Ingredients of persuasion
- Communicator
- The message
- How the message is communicated
- The audience
People are more willing to agree with statements made by leaders
in the political party, they identify with
Message + who says it
more persuasive
Effect of credibility
diminishes after a month or so
Impact of not a credible person
may increase over time if a person remembers the message better than the reason it’s discounted
How to become an authoritative “expert”
- Say things the audience agrees with
- Seem knowledgeable on the topic
How to control speaking style to build credibility
- Speaking confidently and fluently
- Balance talking and listening
People are more willing to listen to a communicator that
they trust
In regards to comments, people are more likely to believe
negative comments than positive comments
Trustworthiness is higher if the audience believes
communicator is not trying to persuade them
Start with information, not arguments
Having someone else convey your expertise
builds credibility
Source credibility before and after message
- Before =
- more favorable thoughts in response to the message
- After =
- message generates favorable thought
- high credibility strengthens our confidence in our thinking
- strengthens the persuasive impact of the message
Attractiveness
Having qualities that appeal to an audience. An appealing communicator (often someone similar to the audience) is most persuasive on matters of subjective preference.
Foot-in-the-door Phenomenon
The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request.
Humor is used to
distract from distrust
Does not improve persuasion
direct eye contact
Our attraction or liking the person increases our
ability to think they’re credible person
Attractiveness forms
- Physical attractiveness
- Similarities
What matters most when people are making superficial judgments
attractiveness + fame
People are more responsive to rational appeals (central route)
- Well educated or analytical people
- Audiences that have time and motivation to think through the issue
When initial attitudes formed through peripheral route more persuaded by
peripheral route later
Megumi hears a political ad on the radio and initially disagrees with it. However, after time has passed, she remembers the message but not her first reaction. She decides that she agrees with the message now. This delayed persuasion over time is called
The sleeper effect
Effects of good feeling on message
becomes more persuasive
Why does good feeling affect the message
enhances positive thinking + linking good feeling with message
Unhappy people
less easily swayed by weak arguments
Products associated with humor
liked more and chosen more
More frightened and vulnerable people feel
more they respond
Fears work best if the message
- Leads people to fear
- Perceive a solution
- Feel capable of implementing
Foot-in-the-door Phenomenon
The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request.
Door-in-the-Face technique
A strategy for gaining a concession. After someone first turns down a large request (the door-in-the-face), the same requester counteroffers with a more reasonable request.
Primacy effect
Other things being equal, the information presented first usually has the most influence.
Recency effect
Information presented last sometimes has the most influence. Recency effects are less common than primacy effects.
Channel
The way the message is delivered—whether face-to-face, in writing, on film, or in some other way.
Context of your message and what makes a big difference in how persuasive it is
context a message and what immediately precedes it
Lowball technique works even when
we are aware of a profit motive
Acknowledging the opposite arguments pros and cons
- Cons =
- Confuse the audience
- Weaken the case
- Pros =
- Seem fair
- Be more disarming if it recognizes the opposite arguments
If the audience will be exposed to opposing views
offer a two-sided appeal
Early information colors interpretation of
later information
Forgetting creates a recency effect when
- When enough time separates the two messages
- When the audience commits itself soon after the second message
Best advice for persuasion
- Use logic or emotion depending on the audience and message
- Ask for a small favor before making a big request
- Offer two-sided messages that challenge arguments against your message
- Go first or last - not in the middle - for best results
Appeals that are passive
written
visual appeals
Mere repetition and rhyming can make things
- believable
- Increase fluency
- Credibility
More familiar people are with an issue
less persuadable they are
Two-step flow of communication
The process by which media influence often occurs through opinion leaders, who in turn influence others.
Life cycle explanation
attitude change as people grow older
Generational explanation
older people largely hold onto attitudes they adopt when younger because attitudes are different from those being adopted by young people today a generational gap develops
Active experiences strengthened
attitudes
Persuasion studies found major influence on us is
connections with people
Elihu Katz found
many of media affects operating two-step flow of communication
Opinion leaders are
individuals perceived as experts
The two-step flow model shows media influences penetrate
culture in subtle ways
More life-like the media medium
more persuasive it’s the message
- Live (face-to-face)
- Videotaped
- Written
Messages best comprehended and recalled when
written
Communication flows from
adults to children
Best not to make a big deal out of something to
get a child to do it
People social and political attitudes correlate with
their age
Two possible explanations for age differences:
- Lifecycle explanation
- Generational explanation - evidence stronger
crucial period for formation of attitudes and values
adolescent and early adult
Circumstances that breed counterargument
When you know someone is trying to persuade you
Need for cognition
The motivation to think and analyze. Assessed by agreement with items such as “The notion of thinking abstractly is appealing to me” and disagreement with items such as “I only think as hard as I have to.”
Attitude inoculation
Exposing people to weak attacks upon their attitudes so that when stronger attacks come, they will have refutations available.
Counter arguments
Reasons why a persuasive message might be wrong.
Poison parasite defense
combines a poison (Strong counterargument) with a parasite (similarities to an opponents’ ads)
What disarms counter arguing
distractions that keep people from thinking about counterarguments
Analytical people are high in
need for cognition
People low in need for cognition tend to
quick to respond to peripheral cues
Ways to stimulate peoples thinking
- Using rhetorical questions
- Presenting multiple speakers
- Making people feel responsible for evaluating the message
- Repeating the message
- Getting people’s undistracted attention
Stimulating thinking makes
- strong messages more persuasive
- weak messages less persuasive
To understand an assertion is too
believe it - at least temporarily
Wait for inoculation to occur
leading people to consider counterarguments
Ways to bring forth counterarguments
“Poison parasite” defense
Teens are more likely to eat healthy food if
framed as a rebellion
Attitude inoculation helps
counter growth of fake news
Anti-smoking and drug education programs persuasion principles
- Inoculation procedures
- Use attractive peers to communicate information
Countries that restrict advertising that targets children
- Belgian
- Denmark
- Greeks
- Ireland
- Italy
- Sweden
Children especially under the age of eight years old ads
- Trouble distinguishing commercials from programs
- Fail to grasp persuasive intent
- Trust television advertising rather indiscriminately
- Badger parents for advertisement products
Seven and eight-year-old children who play advert games more likely to
choose food higher and sugar and fat
Inner-city seventh-graders able to think critically about ads
have medium resistance skills
better resist peer pressure
Implications of Attitude Inoculation
Paradoxically - one way to strengthen existing attitude is to challenge them although the challenge may not be as strong as to overwhelm them
William McGuire was a pioneer in the field of
attitude inoculation
Which of the following are examples of circumstances that increase self-awareness, thus decreasing the likelihood of deindividuation?
- Mirror
- Name tags
- Camera
Group
Two or more people who, for longer than a few moments, interact with and influence one another and perceive one another as “us.”
Co-actors
Co-participants working individually on a non-competitive activity.
Social facilitation
- Original meaning: the tendency of people to perform simple or well-learned tasks better when others are present.
- Current meaning: the strengthening of dominant (prevalent, likely) responses in the presence of others.
Marvin Shaw thought all groups have what in common
members interact
Different groups meet
different human needs
- To achieve
- To gain a social identity
- To affiliate
Effects of others mere presence
- Social loafing
- Deindividualization
- Facilitation
Social influence in interacting groups
- Group polarization
- Groupthink
- Minority influence
Social arousal facilitation allowed for people to
- Better tune simple motor tasks
- Hinder performance of difficult tasks
How home team advantages
- Officiating bias
- Travel Fatigue
- Familiarity with the home context
- Home-team crowd noise disruption
Evaluation Apprehension
Concern for how others are evaluating us.
Social Loafing
The tendency for people to exert less effort when they pool their efforts toward a common goal than when they are individually accountable.
Larger audiences interfere with
well learn automated behaviors and difficult ones
Being in a crowd intensifies
positive and negative reactions
When others are close by
feel emotionally closer
Crowding similar effect to being observed by a crowd
enhances arousal that facilitates dominant responses
Nickolas Cottrell found
presence of blindfolded people didn’t boost performers well-practiced responses
Enhancement of dominant responses is
strongest when people think they are being evaluated
Glenn Sanders, Robert Baron, & Danny Moore believed arousal comes from
the conflict between paying attention to others and paying attention to the tasks
Zajonoc believed arousal comes from
the mere presence of others even without evaluation apprehension or arousing distraction
Social facilitation occurs when
people work toward individual goals and efforts can be individually evaluated
Max Ringelmann found
the collective effort of tug-of-war teams was half the sum of individual efforts
When five others believed to take part inactivity
you lessen your effort by 1/3
Social facilitation and evaluation concerns
Being observed = increases evaluation concerns
Lost in crowd = decreases evaluation concerns
Strategy to motivate group members
make individual performances identifiable
Free-Ride
People who benefit from the group but give little in return.
Deindividuated
Loss of self-awareness and evaluation apprehension;
occurs in group situations that foster responsiveness to group norms, good or bad.
Workplace social loafing
employees produce more when individual performance posted
Non-communists collective cultures and social loafing
- Less social loafing than western societies
- Women less social loafing
People may slack off at efforts that are
- not individually monitored
- rewarded
One goal is compelling and maximum output from everyone is essential
team spirit maintains an intensified effort
People in groups loaf less when
- task is
- Challenging
- Appealing
- Involving
- Members are
- Friends
- Feel identified with
- Indispensable to their group
Social facilitation vs social loafing experiments
Social facilitation = groups arouse people
Social loafing = Groups can defuse responsibility
Unrestricted behaviors commonality
- Provoked by the power of being in a group
- Group can generate a sense of excitement
Larger group size (everyone is doing it) people can
attribute behavior to the situation rather than their own choices
Self-awareness
A self-conscious state in which attention focuses on oneself. It makes people more sensitive to their own attitudes and dispositions.
Group polarization
Group-produced enhancement of members’ preexisting tendencies; a strengthening of the members’ average tendency, not a split within the group.
