MCAT Attraction, Aggression, Attachment, Altruism Flashcards
Interpersonal attraction
Liking and having positive feelings for someone.
Driven by similarity, physical attractiveness, believing your liked, and proximity effects attraction.
Aggression
Behavior that’s intended to harm someone.
Driven by the amygdala
Frustration- aggression model
People who have their efforts blocked or become frustrated can become aggressive.
Attachment. Describe securely attached children and insecurely attached children
Attachment is the emotional bond between child and caregiver.
Securely attached children explore their environment confidently and come back to their caregiver as an emotional base. When caregiver leave they get upset quickly but calms quickly.
Insecurely attached children do not explore environment and can act clingy or indifferent to their caregiver. When caregiver leaves that can be indifferent or get upset.
Altruism
Unselfish behavior that benefits others often to the extent of yourself.
Attributional theory, attributional biases
Attributional theory is the idea that people assign reasons for their behavior. Can be internal (dispositional) or external (situational).
Attributional biases is biases we have when we apply reasons for our behavior.
Self- serving bias
When someone attributes their success to dispositional factors and their failures on situational factors.
Fundamental attribution error
When some over attributes a person’s behavior on dispositional factors rather than situational factors.
Halo effect
When someone applies additional positive qualities to someone who they see already have a positive quality.
Actor- observer bias
When someone attributes their behaviors on situational factors while they attribute other’s behaviors on dispositional factors.
Just- world hypothesis
The idea that bad things happen to people because they deserve it and good things happen to people because they deserve it.
Prejudice
Negative feelings towards an individual or group of people based on generalizations of them.
Power v. Prestige V. Class
- Power - The ability to act in someone’s own interest without restrictions.
-Prestige- amount of respect you have based on your social position.
- Class- determined by socioeconomic status.
** People with less power and prestige experiences prejudice by people with more people and prestige. **
Stereotype
A generalized idea of a group of people. The difference between this and prejudice is that it can be positive, negative, or neutral unlike prejudice which is always negative.
Stereotype threat
The anxiety someone feels when they’re a part of a group that has a stereotype and they’re aware of that stereotype.
Self- fulfilling prophecy
When someone internalizes the stereotype of the group they’re in.
Stigma
Anything that’s view negatively in society in society
Ethnocentrism v. Cultural relativism
Ethnocentrism - when someone view their culture as superior over another culture. Can result in imposing their culture on the other culture and feelings of prejudice and discrimination.
Cultural relativism - When someone examines another society through their lines and not yours. Can promote inclusivity.
Discrimination
Unfair treatment of individuals based on being part of a specific group.
Institutional discrimination is discrimination that has been built into the policies or framework of organizations.
Social facilitation
When completing a well- practiced task becomes easier when other people are present.
Social control
Exertion of power over a group of people to get them to conform to your wants.
Social loafing
When people put into less effort when with a group of people than by themselves.
The bystander effect
People tend to help other people less when other people are around. This is due to the diffusion of responsibility which is the idea that someone else will come forward and help so you don’t have to.
Deinviduation
When a person acts different when being part of a group v. being alone.
Conformity
The adjustment of one’s behavior or thinking to align with the group. This is done to prevent being rejected or to fit in.
Obedience
The compliance of an individual to the orders of an authority figure.
Group polarization
When the group’s opinions become more polarized as they discuss it amongst themselves.
Groupthink
When the group cohesion overshadows critical thinking and individual opinions over the group. This creates the group coming to a consensus without much cohesion.
Norms. Describe each type:
- Folkways
- Mores
- Laws
- Taboos
Norms behaviors that people in society are expected to follow. They differ in how important they are to society.
- Folkways- normative, informal rules ( ie. not burping loud in public)
- Mores - More serious norms that has a moral aspect to it and is connected to cultural values. ( ie. calling someone a slur).
- Laws - formal rules that governs right or wrong behavior.
- Taboos - the most serious norm that’s the most immoral ( ie. eating another human being).
Sanction
Used to enforce normative behavior.
- Can be positive (get reward) or negative (get punishment).
- Formal (written down) or informal (not written down, enforced by members of the community).
Anomie
When a set of social norms are not relevant in a society anymore. (i.e. war causes destruction to a society which disrupts regular life).
Deviance
When someone doesn’t follow the social norms of a society.
Differential association theory
A theory to describe why deviant behavior occurs. States that people participate in deviant behavior because other people are participating in deviant behavior. To them this becomes normative behavior within the group.
Labeling theory
Theory that states that people become deviant because people label them as deviant. Happens in two steps:
Primary deviance- includes the labeling of a deviant and initial acts of deviance, which are usually mild.
Secondary deviance- includes the internalization of the deviant title and the escalation to more serious deviant behavior.
Strain theory
Theory that states people perform deviant behavior because the people’s wants for something but their inability to obtain it.
