Module 11: Social Behavior Flashcards
compliance
surrendering to social pressure regarding public behavior, but their own private beliefs have no changed
conformity
surrendering to real or imagined social pressure
- often higher in collectivist countries than individualistic countries
obedience
form of compliance that occurs when people follow direct order, often from an authority figure
study by Asch
used an easy task to judge something. do you give the same right answer even if everyone around gives the wrong answer?
- 37% gave in to peer pressure and still ended up giving the wrong answer. this increased as the number giving a different answer increased. after many replications of this study and meta-analysis, 25% appear to go along
study by Milgram
conducted an experiment on obedience in which participants had to administer a shock if people answered a question incorrectly. the shock was not really administered, but the participants did not know this. would the participants continue to administer the painful shock? 65% continued to do so. there are few replications of this study and results vary. thus, it is difficult to rule our cultural factors
cooperation
the human ability of people to work together toward a common goal, based on cognitive skill. there are cultural differences, mainly due to the different systems of reinforcement and punishment in countries. punishment may encourage more cooperativeness in high-trust communities compared to low-trust communities
social mindedness
small acts of interpersonal kindness, for example, pulling over when someone wants to pass. more socially minded countries show more prosocial orientations and implementations of environmental protection
in-groups
people with whom we have a history of shared experiences, probably also share a future together, and with whom we experience a degree of intimacy, familiarity and trust
in-group derogation/divergence
when a person has a negative attitude towards their own group
out-group
people who lack qualities of the in-group. the perceptions of out-groups is associated with infrahumanization.
infrahumanization
the belief that others are less human and we compare them to animals or objects
individualistic vs collectivistic
relational mobility
the freedom and opportunity you get to choose and live with interpersonal relationships, including from another group
stereotypes
the generalized view of a particular group of people, which can be either positive or negative
negative stereotypes
about out-groups, are easily developed based on the ethnocentric view of the world
heterostereotypes
about other groups
autostereotypes
about one’s own group
confirmation bias
ignoring what contradicts their view and assuming what would reinforce it (part of stereotype)
collectivist threat
the fear that an in-group member’s behavior may reinforce negative stereotypes about their own group
ethnocentrism
the tendency to view the world through one’s own cultural filters. everyone is ethnocentric: through acculturation we learn what is right and appropriate in our society, and we also learn what is abnormal and wrong
prejudice
the assessment of individuals based on membership in a particular group. has a cognitive component (stereotype) and an affective component (feeling towards the group)
discrimination
the unfair treatment of others based on group membership
explicit prejudice
(and racism) a person says outright that they have a negative prejudice against a particular group
implicit bias
people can have unconscious biases
interpersonal discrimination
the unfair treatment of others based on group membership
institutional discrimination
occurs at the level of a large group, society, organization or institution
consequences of discrimination
lower life satisfaction, depression or anxiety disorders
discrimination vs. prejudice
discrimination includes action, while prejudice is only thoughts
honor cultures
where norms and values are high around upholding good reputation and social status. when the reputation is threatened by insult or threat, reason, for violence arises
micro-aggression
according to Sue: brief verbal, behavioural and environmental aggression that are derogatory, insulting and often racially motivated
contact hypothesis
states that when contact occurs between groups, prejudice will be reduced
good contact
according to the contact hypothesis, only good contact works to reduce prejudice. meaning the two groups must have: equal status, common goals, cooperation between groups, the support form authorities, laws or customs, and personal interaction
Pettigrew and Tropp
intergroup contact reduces prejudice, especially when the groups are equal
Kende et al
examined whether contact in egaliatian cultures causes stronger reduction in prejudice
Kende et al findings
in countries with more egalitarian cultures contact strongly reduced prejudice. in less egalitarian countries contact sometimes led to more prejudice. this is due to different perceptions during contact: majorities focus on similarities, while minorities emphasize inequalities
