Interacting with + understanding others (BS 2 CH3)

Question 1

individual presentation and social interaction

Answer 1

The self is not just an internally maintained concept, but is also projected outwards during social interaction.

Individuals can use a variety of techniques to display aspects of their selves so as to cultivate particular responses or reputations.

Question 2

impression management or image management

Answer 2

Impression management or image management refers to an individual’s conscious or unconscious attempts to shape the perceptions of others by controlling the information and imagery that other individuals receive during a particular social interaction.

Because individuals will wish to cultivate a particular impression during any given interaction, they will control the information about themselves that is presented to others. This control extends not just to words that are spoken, but also to body language used, cultural references made, and other less-direct sources of information presented by an individual.

Some theorists prefer to use the term self-presentation to refer to the process of managing one’s own impression on others and reserve “image management” for the construction of an impression for groups, institutions, and even other individuals (e.g., as an advertising or public relations firm might do for a corporation, or as a celebrity stylist might do for an actor).

Question 3

self-presentation

Answer 3

Some theorists prefer to use the term self-presentation to refer to the process of managing one’s own impression on others and reserve “image management” for the construction of an impression for groups, institutions, and even other individuals (e.g., as an advertising or public relations firm might do for a corporation, or as a celebrity stylist might do for an actor).

Question 4

The dramaturgical approach

Answer 4

The dramaturgical approach to self-presentation or image management was developed by Erving Goffman and employs a theatrical metaphor to highlight the performative nature of all social interaction.

Under this approach, an observer considers all parties to a social interaction to be both performer and audience members. As performers, individuals consider their audience and therefore assume a role and script that would be most appropriate to the situation. As audience members for other parties to the interaction, individuals shape and constrain the roles and scripts that others will choose.

The concepts of role, role strain, and role structure (see Chapter 2: Self and Identity; Role Theory above) play a key part in this theory.

The fundamental point of the dramaturgical approach to self-presentation is to argue that self-presentation is highly situational and performative. Individuals choose only certain aspects of their selves to display at certain times to certain people. In any interaction, individuals curate which aspects of themselves to display based upon their objectives and their perceived audience and then carefully enact only those attributes.

Question 5

Front-stage

Answer 5

Front-stage self refers to self-presentation during interactions in which the “actors” (the individuals in real life) are aware of their audience and therefore present themselves as they imagine the “audience” (the other parties to the interaction) expects and wants to see them.

In a theatrical sense, the individual plays to the audience for acceptance.

Front-stage-presentations are more predictable because the player seeks audience approval and therefore is constrained by their expectations of what the audience prefers.

Individuals attempt to construct versions of themselves that are believable and conventional in terms of social identity, appearance, status, manners, etc., but that are also tailored to the needs of a given particular interaction.

Question 6

Backstage self

Answer 6

Backstage self refers to self-presentation without a perceived audience.

In a backstage-self-presentation, an individual may display unedited feelings and ideas that are usually

repressed or suppressed when the individual is aware of an audience.

Backstage performances may also have an implied audience—namely, one for which the actor secretly wishes (one to whom they can reveal themselves without worrying about societal transgression or guilt).

Question 7

communication 1

Answer 7

Communication broadly refers to the transmission of information from one individual to another.

Verbal communication refers to the transmission of information via language, either orally/aurally (auditorily) or visually through pictorial representations.

Nonverbal communication refers to the means of communication in which non-language cues take the place of spoken language.

• Nonverbal communication includes body language, tone, appearance, facial expression (see BH1: Chapter 7: Behavior II: Universal Emotions), chemical signaling (pheromones or odors), and eye contact, but it also includes less obvious examples like haptic (somatosensory) feedback from an electronic device (e.g., a vibration on a mobile phone).

Question 8

communication 2

Answer 8

Communication is not limited to human beings.

Even simple living organisms can communicate through mechanisms such as cellular signaling and chemical diffusion. Similarly, the disparate cells within a large and complex organism must communicate with each other through these kinds of mechanisms.

Animal signals and communication refer to the ways in which the behavior of one animal may be understood to influence the behavior of another animal.

All living things may be considered to communicate with other living things in some fashion.

Question 9

aggression

Answer 9

Aggression refers to behavior that can cause harm to others or to oneself.

Aggression can be expressed verbally, physically, or emotionally.

It can serve a variety of functions. For example, aggression can be used to show dominance or to express anger, but it can also be the result of fear.

Question 10

Attachment

Answer 10

Attachment is a psychological bond to another person.

• Attachment theory asserts that bonds formed between young children and their mothers or caregivers

affect the bonds that those individuals are able to form throughout life.

• Secure attachment in childhood tends to predict higher self-esteem, better grades, and lower rates of anxiety and depression.
• Stranger anxiety, the distress experienced by young children upon exposure to unfamiliar people, can be seen as a manifestation of attachment.

Question 11

Attraction

Answer 11

Attraction is the state of being drawn to another person.

• Scientists who study attraction consider questions of why individuals seek out the company of specific other individuals. They will seek to answer questions like: Why do we have positive feelings toward certain people and not toward others? Why do friends tend to be very similar to each other? And what causes people to decide on a mate?

Question 12

Factors in attraction:

Answer 12

Proximity: Most friends live near one another in the initial stage of friendship formation.

• Lasting friendships, however, often continue even when geographic distance is considerable.

Association: Individuals are often influenced by the social environment of a first meeting when making new friends.

Similarity: Individuals can be influenced in making new friends by discovering what they have in common.

Reciprocal liking: People tend to feel better in a relationship of that consists of positive feelings from both sides.

Physical attractiveness: Physical attraction influences the choice of friends more than it does of mates.

Question 13

Altruism

Answer 13

Altruism is selflessness of action and concern for the well-being of others.

Altruism is lauded in many traditional cultures and religions, but it is not universally recognized as a virtue.

Altruism can be often tested by the selfish nature of some societies and individuals.

Altruism is often defined by personal sacrifice.

Because altruism is often accompanied by a degree of humility, it is often contrasted to egotism and narcissism (high self-regard).

Question 14

altruism 2

Answer 14

Altruism may be psychological (helping others without thinking about oneself) or biological (contributing to the survival of the species).

Another term for altruistic behavior is prosocial behavior, which describes those behaviors intended to benefit one or more people other than the individual performing a given set of actions.

Examples of prosocial behavior include sharing, cooperating, helping, and comforting others.

Prosocial stands as an antonym to antisocial.

Question 15

Social support

Answer 15

Social support refers to the network of family, friends, and others who provide material, physical, or emotional assistance.
• The availability of social support has a positive impact on health outcomes.

Question 16

Attribution theory

Answer 16

Attribution theory focuses on understanding how we think about others’ behavior.

Question 17

Causal attribution

Answer 17

Causal attribution is the process by which we attribute another person’s behavior to a particular cause.

Dispositional attribution: When we attribute another person’s behavior to inherent qualities of that person.

• Example: “Sally didn’t stop to say hello because she is unfriendly and doesn’t like me.”

Situational attribution: When we attribute another person’s behavior to the external context surrounding that person in a particular place and time.

• Example: “Sally didn’t stop to say hello because she was late for an appointment, and it was raining.”

Question 18

Dispositional attribution

Answer 18

Dispositional attribution: When we attribute another person’s behavior to inherent qualities of that person.

• Example: “Sally didn’t stop to say hello because she is unfriendly and doesn’t like me.”

Question 19

Situational attribution

Answer 19

Situational attribution: When we attribute another person’s behavior to the external context surrounding that person in a particular place and time.

• Example: “Sally didn’t stop to say hello because she was late for an appointment, and it was raining.”

Question 20

The fundamental attribution error:

Answer 20

The fundamental attribution error: When making attributions about others’ behavior, we tend to systematically overestimate the role of internal (dispositional) factors and underestimate the role of external (situational/contextual) factors.

Question 21

self-perceptions

Answer 21

Self-perceptions: Individuals develop self-perception by comparing themselves with others.

It can be difficult to accept an unequal distribution of talent and potential.

The process of evaluating oneself and others shapes our perceptions of others through constant comparisons.

Question 22

Environment:

Answer 22

• Assessing different environments means evaluating them for their positive and negative qualities.
• Discovering whether an environment is nurturing or harmful can influence our view of others.
• We may come to think that people are no better than their environments. That is, if their environment is toxic, then they have been poisoned too, and hence are undesirable to be with.

Question 23

Social facilitation

Answer 23

Social facilitation is also known as “the mere presence effect” because it describes how the mere presence of other individuals can enhance our performance on simple or well-learned tasks.

A well-known example: Cyclists perform better when they compete against each other than when they are racing against a clock; this effect also occurs for many other types of simple tasks.

This effect is thought to be due to elevated arousal, which is triggered by the presence of others and which enhances performance.

Social facilitation is the opposite of social inhibition: performance on complex tasks can be disrupted by the presence of others. For certain tasks, individuals actually perform better in solitude. For example, people tend to solve complex puzzles more quickly when tested alone.

Question 24

social facilitation is the opposite of…..

Answer 24

Social facilitation is the opposite of social inhibition: performance on complex tasks can be disrupted by the presence of others. For certain tasks, individuals actually perform better in solitude. For example, people tend to solve complex puzzles more quickly when tested alone.

Question 25

Social loafing

Answer 25

Social loafing refers to the idea that people working in groups tend not to work as hard as people working individually. Social loafing is observed across most cultures and in a variety of different tasks.

• This could be because members of the group feel less motivated or because there is a lack of individual accountability.

Question 26

the bystander effect

Answer 26

The bystander effect: People in a group are much less likely to help when they encounter a stranger in distress than when an individual encounters the stranger alone.

A well-known example: Kitty Genovese was assaulted and murdered on a street in 1964. Her cries for help were overheard by many neighbors, but none of them came to her assistance.

May be due to diffusion of responsibility; the greater the number of people in a group, the less each person feels individually responsible for failing to act.

Question 27

deindividuation

Answer 27

Deindividuation: Individuals in groups can experience a loss of self-awareness and a diminished sense of personal identity; these effects can lead to disinhibition and mob-like behavior.

This concept was developed by psychologists seeking to understand how seemingly “normal” people could be driven to commit awful acts of violence as members of a group (e.g., lynch mobs, riots, genocide).

The Stanford Prison Experiment: Stanford students who volunteered for this study were assigned the role of “guard” or “prisoner” in a mock prison set up in the basement of the Stanford Psychology Building. Without instructions from the experimenters, the students quickly assumed their assigned roles regardless of their personal identity prior to the experiment, and the “guards” treated the prisoners with such disrespect (bordering on psychological torture) that the study had to be terminated after only six days.

Question 28

peer pressure

Answer 28

Individuals in a group will tend to mold their attitudes and behaviors to conform to the group norm, especially when the other group members are their “peers” in terms of age and socioeconomic status.

-The Asch Conformity Experiments: Each subject was asked to judge the length of a series of lines, doing so in the company of a group of “confederates” who were posing as subjects but were actually part of the team of experimenters. Subjects’ answers were strongly influenced by the responses of the confederates; they succumbed to peer pressure in that they tended to conform their answers to match others in the group, even when the confederates’ answers were consistently inaccurate.

Question 29

Group polarization

Answer 29

Decision making by people in a group tends to be riskier and more extreme than individual decision making.

Individuals’ initial opinions and attitudes tend to become more rigid, strengthened, and extreme after group discussion.

For example, juries tend to award plaintiffs much larger settlements than judges.

Question 30

Groupthink:

Answer 30

A maladaptive pattern of thinking and decision making in which differences of opinion within the group are minimized, debate and discussion are discouraged, risks tend to be ignored, and group members tend to overestimate the probability of successful group action.

Groupthink occurs more often in highly cohesive groups of friends or co-workers. Has been implicated in ineffective governmental and corporate decision making.