Final Flashcards
What are descriptive social norms?
Descriptive social norms are beliefs about what people commonly do.
Example: Observing that most people recycle.
Q: What are injunctive social norms?
Injunctive norms reflect beliefs about what behaviors are approved or disapproved of.
Example: A “Don’t Litter” sign
In a recycling study, which had a stronger impact: descriptive norms or personal attitudes?
Descriptive norms had a stronger impact (correlation of 0.33 vs. 0.18 for personal attitudes).
Example: Ads showing that most people recycle were more effective.
Why do people conform to descriptive norms? (2 reasons)
Need to belong: Desire for social approval.
Need to know: Acting in ways that seem sensible in context.
How do threats affect conformity? aka what situations do people conform in?
People conform more when they feel:
A stronger need to belong (e.g., fear of disapproval).
Uncertain or threatened (e.g., fear of disease).
What are the characteristics of tight and loose cultures?
(norms to deviance)
Tight cultures: Strong norms, low tolerance for deviance.
Example: Many Asian cultures.
Loose cultures: Weak norms, high tolerance for deviance.
Example: Many Western cultures.
How did tight and loose cultures respond to COVID-19?
Tight cultures: Fewer cases and deaths.
Loose cultures: Higher rates of cases and deaths.
What historical factors contribute to tightness in cultures?
Tight cultures develop in areas with more historical threats, like disease or food scarcity.
What is social categorization?
It’s the natural tendency to group people based on characteristics like race, age, or gender.
What is the “outgroup homogeneity effect”?
The tendency to see outgroup members as more similar to each other than ingroup members.
Example: Thinking “all [outgroup] members look alike.”
How can intergroup contact reduce the outgroup homogeneity effect?
Spending time with outgroup members helps people see them as individuals.
What are decategorization and recategorization?
Decategorization: Viewing people as individuals, breaking down “us vs. them.”
Recategorization: Creating a shared identity that includes both groups.
What is ingroup favoritism?
A preference for one’s own group, leading to increased trust and cooperation within the group.
Example: Favoring ingroup members during hiring.
What is the “double minority situation”?
When both groups feel outnumbered and threatened, leading to preemptive aggression and reduced interest in peaceful resolutions.
Why do people cooperate more with ingroup members than outgroup members?
(3 reasons)
Reputation concern: Desire for positive standing.
Expected cooperation: Belief that ingroup members are more cooperative.
Self-fulfilling prophecy: Expecting cooperation leads to cooperation.
What is the categorization-individualization model?
Categorization phase: People group individuals based on broad features (e.g., race).
Individualization phase: Attention shifts to distinguishing features within groups.
Why is categorization less accurate for outgroups?
Outgroups are perceived using shared features, making differentiation harder.
What is prejudice?
Prejudice is a negative evaluation of a group or its members based on group membership.
What is benevolent sexism, and why is it problematic?
Benevolent sexism involves seemingly positive stereotypes that reinforce traditional roles.
Example: Assuming women are nurturing but less competent.
What is the Stereotype Content Model (SCM)?
Classifies stereotypes along two dimensions:
Warmth (e.g., friendliness).
Competence (e.g., capability).
Example Categories:
High warmth & high competence: Admiration (e.g., middle-class citizens).
High warmth & low competence: Pity (e.g., elderly).
How does perceived vulnerability influence prejudice?
People express stronger prejudice when they feel vulnerable to threats like disease.
What is stereotype threat?
Fear of confirming a stereotype about one’s group, leading to stress and poor performance.
How can stereotype threat be mitigated? (2 ways)
Reframe tasks (e.g., “problem solving” instead of “math test”).
Make stereotypes less salient (e.g., ask demographics at the end).
How does anticipating prejudice affect health?
Anticipating prejudice leads to emotional and cardiovascular stress, even without direct interaction.
What is altruism?
Altruism is helping motivated by the desire to improve another’s welfare.
What is the empathy-altruism hypothesis?
Empathy creates truly altruistic motives.
Example: Helping someone because you feel their pain.
What is reflexive altruism?
Instinctive, “thoughtless” helping based on evolution.
Example: Jumping into a river to save someone.
What is the Genovese Effect?
The diffusion of responsibility when multiple bystanders are present.
What is the tragedy of the commons?
A dilemma where individuals overuse shared resources, leading to depletion.
Example: Overfishing.
What are the 4 I’s of managing commons dilemmas?
Incentives: Reward cooperation.
Information: Clarify others’ intentions.
Identity: Build shared group identity.
Institutions: Foster trust in systems.
How can wise interventions improve voter turnout?
Framing voting as an identity (“be a voter”) rather than an action (“vote”) increases participation.
What are wise interventions?
Targeted psychological interventions that cause lasting change.
Characteristics:
Psychologically precise.
Target recursive processes.
Context-dependent.
