Midterm

Question 1

How does the way we evaluate our self-esteem develop and change over time?

Answer 1

Brain, multidimensional, age milestones, preschool: competence and belonging, grade school: physical appearance, older: accurate self-esteem around who they really want to be or who they fear of becoming

Question 2

Why do we say that memories can be subject to misinformation?

Answer 2

Reconstruct information as provided, hot air balloon. You incorporate “misinformation” into your memory of an event after receiving misleading information
Loftus got a bunch of kids to believe they had taken a hot air balloon ride, simply because she had suggested they did on their field trip.

Question 3

Define the fundamental attribution error and give an example

Answer 3

Tendency for observers to underestimate SITUATIONAL influences, and overestimate DISPOSITIONAL influences

E.g. . Cheech beat Anderson Cooper on Jeopardy. But we attribute things like intelligence automatically to news anchors and game show hosts because of their role/job/position

Like a camera you can only see through a small lens

Question 4

What are some suspected causes of prejudice?

Answer 4

Socialization: Theory that we learn to be prejudiced for a variety of reasons that benefit us personally and culturally if we are in a category with privilege. (Lots of supporting research) note: there are people who grow up with wildly racist parents and end up fighting for social justice.

Social Learning: Religion
Religion is often invoked to sanctify the present order
In North American Christianity, church members are more likely to express racial prejudice than nonmembers
Fundamentalist beliefs of all faiths express more prejudice than less traditional/fundamentalist branches
Religion is an important source of socialization

Question 5

Readings - Tropp, L. R., & Uluğ, Ö. M. (2019). Are white women showing up for racial justice? Intergroup contact, closeness to people targeted by prejudice, and collective action. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 43(3), 335-347.

Answer 5

Close contact with someone who is targeted by prejudice predicts whether or not action will be made in the name of social justice for that individual.

Although scholars have suggested that relationships with people of color can enhance White people’s commitment to racial
justice, many women of color have questioned whether White people, and White women in particular, actually “show up” to
protest for racial justice. Focusing on the contact experiences and closeness White women have with people from racial and
ethnic groups different from their own, we tested how these relationships may predict their reported motivations to engage in
protests for racial justice. With a broad online sample of White American women (Study 1), and White women who attended
the 2017 Women’s March (Study 2), our results showed that both positive contact and closeness to people targeted by prejudice
predicted White women’s willingness to participate in protests for racial justice (Studies 1 and 2). Only closeness to people
targeted by prejudice significantly predicted actual participation in collective action for racial justice (Studies 1 and 2) and also
predicted motivation for racial justice among those who attended the 2017 Women’s March (Study 2). Findings suggest that
White women’s inclinations to protest for racial justice may be linked to the close relationships they have with people targeted
by prejudice, while more general forms of positive contact may not be related to such action.

Question 6

When are we less likely to conform (in other words, when are we more likely to resist conformity?)

Answer 6

Reactance Motive to protect or restore one’s sense of freedom Usually arises when someone threatens our freedom of action
Asserting Uniqueness We act in ways that preserve our individuality In a group, we are hypersensitive to how we differ from others

Question 7

Kids with antisocial personality are referred to as having Callous Unemotional traits, what is that and why don’t we just diagnose them or say they are a psychopath?

Answer 7

To prevent stigma or create a negative perception of them, describe traits in order to possibly train the traits out of them and not get the full diagnosis in adulthood.

Callous-unemotional traits are a persistent pattern of behaviors that reflect a disregard for others and self-performance, lack of empathy and generally deficient affect.

We don’t diagnose children as psychopaths because they need to be 18 years old to have the diagnosis. It is also very easy to misdiagnose the child, we don’t know how much is caused by biological or social influence. If they know about the diagnosis, they can have a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Question 8

What is cognitive dissonance, and who would have more cognitive dissonance and why…someone who was paid 1 dollar to lie or someone who was paid 20 dollars to lie?

Answer 8

Two thoughts in which their outcomes don’t align with one another and they experience discomfort as a result. Two trains of thought that are in opposition with one another and to reduce the stress of this, we tend to lean towards illogical ways. 1 dollar more cognitive dissonance (more discomfort, lied for only a dollar), 20 dollars knows exactly why they lied.

Question 9

Why aren’t we born with a sense of self, and when does it develop?

Answer 9

18 months first develop as social interaction and certain brain development is needed before some sense of self is defined and it can be seen to fully detected within 2 years/24 months.

Question 10

What is antisocial personality disorder and how can it impact behavior?

Answer 10

Antisocial personality disorder is a personality disorder characterized by disregard for other people. It can impact behavior by making one impulsive, easily irritated, assaultive, reckless, superficial charm with a lack of guilt and suffering towards others.

Question 11

Define the spotlight effect, and also give an example of it taking place.

Answer 11

The belief that others are paying more attention to one’s appearance and behavior than they really are. The Barry Manilow effect is an example of this, students were forced to wear Barry Manilow shirts to class. They thought that over 50% of students would notice but really less than 20% of students noticed the shirt.
Common example: I had a bad haircut and decided to wear a hoodie to cover it up thinking everyone would notice, when I took it off nobody noticed or mentioned anything unless I really pointed it out

Question 12

What are some social factors that contribute to aggression/aggressive behaviors?

Answer 12

Group influences: can amplify aggressive reactions partly by diffusing responsibility, deindividuation ( don’t consider yourself, just responding immediately –> act impulsively)
Media influence: pornography and sexual violence, television…violent video games (effects can be diminished if parents talk about the material)

Question 13

What are some biological factors that contribute to aggression?

Answer 13

Neural influences: Abnormal neural activity can contribute to abnormally aggressive behavior.
Instinct theory & evolutionary psych: aggression is innate & unlearned → all members of a species show unlearned behavioral patterns

Question 14

Readings - Gaither, S. E., Apfelbaum, E. P., Birnbaum, H. J., Babbitt, L. G., & Sommers, S. R. (2018). Mere membership in racially diverse groups reduces conformity. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 9(4), 402-410.

Answer 14

In closing, from student groups and organizational teams to
juries and governmental committees, questions persist regarding how best to optimize individuals’ decisions in group settings and what impact racial diversity may have. The current research suggests that, in the face of consensus emerging around a questionable decision, racial diversity increases the likelihood that White individuals will hold fast to what they believe to be correct.

Three studies assessed the impact of White individuals’ mere membership in racially diverse or homogeneous groups on conformity. In Study 1, White participants were randomly assigned to four-person groups that were racially diverse or homogeneous in which three confederates routinely endorsed clearly inferior college applicants for admission. Participants in diverse groups
were significantly less likely to conform than those in homogeneous groups. Study 2 replicated these results using an online conformity paradigm, thereby isolating the effects of racial group composition from concomitant social cues in face-to-face settings. Study 3 presented a third condition—a diverse group that included one other White member. Individuals conformed less in both types of diverse groups as compared with the homogeneous group. Evidence suggests this was because Whites in
homogeneous (vs. diverse) settings were more likely to reconsider their original decision after learning how other group members responded.

Question 15

How do cults typically indoctrinate members, what strategies do they use?

Answer 15

Cults are typically characterized by: A distinctive ritual and beliefs related to its devotion to a god or a person, isolation from surrounding “evil” culture, charismatic leader.
Compliance breeds acceptance: initiates become active members of the group.
Foot-in-the-door phenomenon: gradual introduction.
Social implosion: Isolation of members with like minded groups, external ties weaken until the group collapses inward socially.
Examples: Monasteries, fraternities and sororities, therapeutic communities for recovering drug and alcohol abusers.

Question 16

What are the central and peripheral routes of persuasion and how are they different?

Answer 16

The central route uses persuasion, favorable arguments, facts and information to persuade → more durable & likely to influence long term behavior
The peripheral route uses incidental cues such as beauty, fame, and positive emotions→ short term attitude change & superficial
The difference is that central route persuasion is based on our thoughtful thinking, ideas, arguments, and peripheral route persuasion is not affected, for example, by the strength of the arguments, but by the cues that appear positive or trigger positive feelings.

Question 17

What is deindividuation and how can it impact our behaviors?

Answer 17

Deindividuation is the loss of self-awareness and evaluation apprehension; occurs in group situations that foster responsiveness to group norms, good or bad.
The larger the group, the more its members lose self-awareness and become willing to commit atrocities.

Question 18

Name and describe the three types of conformity

Answer 18

Compliance – submission made in reaction to a request
Obedience – tendency to follow orders given by authority figures
Acceptance – experiencing a situation without intention to change it

Question 19

What does modern racism or prejudice look like in comparison to how it typically looked in the 1900s?

Answer 19

Modern racist/prejudice behavior is more implicit behavior and less explicit.
In the 1900’s people would outright say something negative about a group. Today, although there are still people who feel comfortable being explicit about it, most show racism through implicit actions or gestures. (negative unconscious processing → leads to unfair treatment/ judgement)
We tend to view the present and compare it to the harshest past, in order to show how much progress has been gained
Subtle prejudice: labor market discrimination, patronization, avoiding criticism, overpraising accomplishments.

Question 20

What is a stereotype threat, and how can it impact our behavior?

Answer 20

When faced with a negative stereotype, worry that one will be evaluated negatively based on it…disrupts behavior.
Impacts behavior because can lead us to become anxious if we confirm this stereotype, worsened performance
Causes worse behaviors on things like exams ex: if mention girls tend to be worse at math compared to boys before taking math exam → causes girls to score lower even though originally they would have done better w/o learning about the stereotype prior

Question 21

Readings – Baumeister, R. (2005). Rethinking self-esteem: why nonprofits should stop promoting self-esteem and start endorsing self-control. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 3(4), 34-41.

Answer 21

Self-esteem- regarding oneself as a good person as a good person vs Self-control- actually becoming a good person

raising good
children, sustaining healthy relationships, training successful athletes, curing the ill, reforming criminals, improving economies,
clearing pollution, or ending inequality – hinges on self-esteem.

Recently, though, several close analyses of the accumulated
research have shaken many psychologists’ faith in self-esteem.
These studies show not
only that self-esteem fails to accomplish what we had hoped,
but also that it can backfire and contribute to some of the very
problems it was thought to thwart

In contrast, self-control can actually help one become a better person, as opposed to just regarding oneself as a better person. Indeed, self-control sounds a lot like what people used
to call character: the ability to live up to goals and ideals, to
resist temptations, to honor obligations, and to follow through
on difficult tasks or projects. These are good recipes for success in life.

Question 22

Define priming and give an example of priming taking place

Answer 22

Activating particular associations in memory. It occurs when an individual’s exposure to a certain stimulus influences his/her response to a subsequent stimulus, without any awareness of the connection.

Example: using words like cautiously and leisurely in an attempt to have a person walk more slowly.

Question 23

Define confirmation bias and give an example

Answer 23

Tendency to search for information that confirms one’s preconceptions

Helps explain why racists and bigots can stay so blind. They have a horrible preconception about another group, and they only search for information that confirms their world view.

i.e. only viewing articles on terrorism when the world Islamic or muslim pops up on the title

Question 24

Readings - Sternisko, A., Cichocka, A., & Van Bavel, J. J. (2020). The dark side of social movements: Social identity, non-conformity, and the lure of conspiracy theories. Current opinion in psychology, 35, 1-6.

Answer 24

Conspiracy theories pose a threat to democratic systems.
With the development of social media, conspiracy theorists acquired a new platform to spread unsubstantiated
claims at an unprecedented rate and organize dangerous
social movements. In fact, false information on Twitter
travels faster and reaches larger audiences than accurate
information [58]. Social media has allowed for destructive
beliefs to spread and fester in large communities. For
instance, within the same time period, the hashtag
#Qanon has been used roughly as many times (15 million)
as #metoo, one of the most transformative social movements in recent memory. Recently, the FBI labeled
Qanon as ’ conspiracy theory-driven domestic extremists
’ threatening domestic safety [59]. Motivationally distinguishing between content and qualities of conspiracy
theories will be crucial to stopping the spread of pernicious beliefs.

Question 25

van Mulukom, V., Pummerer, L. J., Alper, S., Bai, H., Čavojová, V., Farias, J., … & Žeželj, I. (2022). Antecedents and consequences of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs: A systematic review. Social Science & Medicine, 114912.

Answer 25

In summary, we emphasize the importance of building trust and making information
accessible (in terms of availability, comprehensibility, and attractiveness). Publications on the
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importance of building trust (Nie, 2020) during the COVID-19 pandemic, and models in order to do
so (Henderson et al., 2020), as well as detailed information about the prevention of misinformation
spreading (van der Linden et al., 2020) are available; now is the time to act on them, to stop
detrimental consequences from taking more victims, to stop them from escalating (e.g., political
extremism and violent political action), while countries are gearing up to launch their vaccination
schemes.