POST MIDTERM TEXTBOOK Flashcards
What are the components of attitudes?
Affect (emotion - how much someone likes/dislikes an object - positive or negative emotion which constitutes the affectiveness)
Cognition (Knowledge and beliefs about objects and memories)
Behavior (Behavioral tendency to either approach or avoid something or someone)
Ways to measure attitudes?
Likert scale (1 – strongly disagree and 7 – strongly agree)
Response latency (The amount of time it takes for a person to answer)
Centrality of the attitude (calculate how strongly each one is linked to the others)
Implicit attitude measures (IAT)
Physiological indicators (increased heart rate Sweaty palms associated with fear)
What did the chinese couple going in several restaurants prove? Why is this?
They are denied service by only one of the 250 establishments visited
He reached out to those establishments and they said they were not likely to serve people of the Chinese race
This was inconsistent and proved that ATTITUDES HAVE VERY LITTLE EFFECT ON BEHAVIOUR
- this is because attitudes can conflict with other powerful determinations of behaviour (ex. dietting doesn’t work because don’t always win out over other determinants)
- social influence has a strong effect on behaviour
How do highly specific attitudes tend to do a better job of predicting specific behaviors?
People’s attitudes towards different classes of people, places, things, and events are often expressions of attitudes about a stereotypical example of a given category
If we encounter a situation that is not exactly stereotypical, our general attitude “doesn’t apply to that specific situation”
What is introspection?
The examination or observation of one’s own mental and emotional processes. We feel the need to find a “reason” for liking something/someone
Why can behaviour powerfully influence attitudes?
People tend to bring out their attitudes in line with their actions.
“convince” themselves that their actions are right so their attitude must be wrong - so they change their attitude because it is less effort than changing their behaviour.
What is the Cognitive Dissonance Theory ?
Theory that inconsistency between a person’s thoughts, sentiments, and actions create an aversive emotional state (dissonance) that leads to efforts to store consistency
We tend to justify or rationalize our behaviors and to minimize any inconsistencies between our attitudes and actions
Once you’ve made an irrevocable decision, you’ll try to reduce this dissonance, you’ll rationalize. Once people develop a slight preference for one option over the other they distort subsequent information to support their preference
Effort Justification
Tendency to reduce dissonance by justifying the time, effort, or money devoted to something that turned out to be unpleasant or disappointing
Try to justify doing something more when it is unpleasant and you went ex. were paid only small compensation or ex. went through a hard thing to participate in something boring
What is Induced (forced) Compliance?
Subtly compelling people to behave in a manner that is inconsistent with their beliefs, attitudes, or values in order to elicit dissonance and therefore a change in their original attitudes and values
When do we experience dissonance?
Whenever we act in ways that are inconsistent with our core values and beliefs and if:
the behavior was freely chosen
the behavior wasn’t sufficiently justified
the behavior had negative consequences
the negative consequences were foreseeable
What is insufficient justification?
if a person’s behavior is justified by a powerful incentive of some sort, even behavior that dramatically conflicts with the person’s belief won’t produce dissonance
What are negative consequences when talking about dissonance?
If nothing of consequence results from actions that are at variance with our attitudes and values it’s easy to dismiss them as trivial
People experience dissonance only when their behaviors results in harm of some sort
What is foreseeability?
We typically don’t hold people’s responsible for harm they’ve done if the harm wasn’t foreseeable
Negative consequences that aren’t foreseeable don’t threaten a person’s self-image as a moral and decent person so they shouldn’t arouse dissonance
What is Self-affirmation and dissonance?
By bolstering themselves in one area, people can tolerate a bigger hit in other areas
Ex. “I worry about climate change” but driving a SUV every day to work. but it’s OK because “ I put more volunteer hours than everybody”
If someone makes a prejudicial remark we will often let them slide because confrontation is uncomfortable and can have interpersonal costs
Is dissonance Universal?
dissonance might be a phenomenon unique to Westerners
What is Self-perception theory?
The theory that people come to know their own attitudes by looking at their behavior and the context in which it occured and then inferring what their attitude must be
contends that no arousal is involved – people coolly and rationally infer what their attitudes must be in light of their behavior and the context in which it occurred
Ex; I suffered to get in this frat I must like it
What is the crux of self-perception theory?
that we use whatever cues we have available to us to figure out what we think and how we feel
when we’re happy we smile
we don’t like something wearing inclined to push it away
What is the System justification theory?
The theory that people are motivated to see the existing sociopolitical system as desirable, fair, and legitimate
People who are advantaged because of the system have a reason to justify why it’s a good system and same thing for poor people because they feel the need to justify
For example, sometimes women, such as the nurse shown here, report feeling that they deserve to make less money than their male counterparts doing the same work
What is the core of dissonance theory?
People find cognitive inconsistency uncomfortable and therefore try to find ways to relieve the discomfort.
What is the terror management theory?
The theory that people deal with potentially crippling anxiety associated with the inevitability of death by striving for symbolic immortality through Preserving valued cultural world views and by believing that they have lived up to their cultures standards
What are stereotypes?
A belief that certain attributes are characteristic of members of a particular group
Can be positive or negative
Can be accurate or can be completely false
What is prejudice?
Attitudinal and affective response toward a group and its individual members
Negative attitudes generally get the most attention but it’s also possible to be positively prejudiced towards a group
What is discrimination?
A favorable or unfavorable actions directed towards members of a group
Unfair treatment of others because of their group membership and not on their individual characteristics or abilities
What is intergroup bias?
Stereotypes
Prejudice
Discrimination
These all refer to the beliefs, attitudes and behaviors that drive relationships between groups
What is contemporary prejudice?
Norms about how different groups are viewed and are treated have changed over the years
In Western countries, it is now illegal to show any discrimination or no longer socially acceptable to express sorts of prejudice or stereotypes.
Now people think “how should I feel” and not just feel how they actually feel.
What is the theory of modern racism?
Prejudice directed at racial groups that exists alongside the rejection of explicitly racist beliefs.
White participants were in a position to aid a White or Black person in need of medical assistance. Who will they help if they are in desperate need of help? (screaming of pain)? Who will they help if they don’t seem in too much pain?
If the participants thought they were the only people that could help, they would go aid the black person somewhat more often (94% of the time) than the White person (81% of the time)
If the participants thought someone else was present and could help, or they could also unconsciously “blame” their actions on something (like “I thought someone else would be better at helping than me”) they helped the Black person less than the White person (38% vs. 75%)
What is benevolent sexism?
A chivalrous ideology marked by protectiveness and affection toward women who embrace conventional roles)
Benevolent sexism can be just as damaging as hostile sexism
What is hostile sexism?
Dislike of non-traditional women and those seen as usurping men’s power)
What is ambivalent sexism?
Benevolent sexism often coexists with hostile sexism. They argue that even the seemingly positive stereotypes aren’t benign
Research suggests that the protectiveness and affection displayed by men high in ambivalent sexism convey a sense of warmth to women that can mask the men’s more hostile sexist beliefs
How to measure attitudes about groups?
The implicit association test
Different types of priming procedures
Affect misattribution procedure (AMP)
What is the implicit association test?
The technique for revealing nonconscious attitude towards different stimuli, particularly groups of people
Pictures are presented on a computer screen and the respondent presses a certain key with the left hand if the picture a word conforms to one rule and different team the right hand if it conforms to another rule
What is priming and implicit prejudice?
Show a word and you answer the first thing that pops to your mind
ex. say the word bread the first word will be butter.
People that were sure that they aren’t prejudiced against black people nonetheless respond more quickly to negative word preceded by a picture of black faces and more slowly to positive words preceded by pictures of black faces
What is Affect misattribution procedure (AMP)?
A priming procedure designed to assess people’s implicit association to different stimuli including their association to various ethnic, racial, gender, and occupational groups
What is realistic group conflict theory?
Some of the most intense intergroup tensions arise between groups that are wanting the same limited resource
these observations highlight the core tenets of the economic perspective on prejudice and discriminations
group develop prejudices about each other and discriminate against one another when they compete for material resources
What is Ethnocentrism?
people in the outgroup weren’t often thought of in stereotyped ways and are treated in a manner normally forbidden by one’s moral code
What are superordinate goals?
A goal that transcends the interests of any one group that can be achieved more readily by two or more groups working together
What is the minimal group paradigm?
Readiness to adopt an “us vs. them” mentality
Experimental paradigm in which researchers create groups based on arbitrary and seemingly meaningless criteria and examine how the member of these “minimal groups” are inclined to behave towards one another
Some were told they were over estimators and others under estimators
What is ingroup favouristism?
the majority of participants are interested more in maximizing the relative gain for members of their in groups over the out groups than they are in maximizing the absolute gain for their in Group
doing whatever we can to feel better about the ingroup leads us to feel better about ourselves
What is the Social identity theory?
The theory that a person’s self-concept and self-esteem derives not only from personal identity and accomplishments but also from the status and accomplishments of various groups to which the person belongs
What happens when something from your ingroup is made salient?
You become “defensive” of things and say it is good.
What is boosting the status of the ingroup?
Because our self-esteem is based in part on the status of the group to which we belong we may be tempted to boost the status and fortunes of these groups and their members
What happens if your ingroup is “insulted”
People who are highly identified with a particular group react to criticism of the group as if it were criticism of the self
people appear to be especially motivated to identify with groups and derive self-esteem from their group membership when they feel uncertain about their own attitudes, values, feelings, and place in the world
What is Basking in reflected glory?
taking pride in the accomplishments of other people in one group, such as when sports fan identified with the winning team
People go to great lengths to announce their affiliation with the group and that group is doing well
when losing not so much
What is the cognitive perspective?
Stereotyping is inevitable
People categorize nearly everything both natural and artificial, even color.
Categorizing simplifies the task of taking in and processing the incredible volume of stimuli surrounding us
Stereotypes provide us with those simpler model that allow us to deal with the great blooming, buzzing confusion of reality
What is illusory correlation?
when we see an association between two variables (events, actions, ideas, etc.) when they aren’t actually associated.
Distinctive events capture our attention. We would notice if a student came to a lecture wearing a clown outfit
What is The impact of paired distinctiveness?
The pairing of two distinctive events that stand out even more because they occur together
Stereotypes influence how people interpret the details of events.
i.e; White participants watch a video of a heated discussion between one black and one white man.
How will the participant interpret the situation if the black man shoves the white man? how will he react if the white man shoves the black man?
When the white man shoved the black man it was interpreted as more benign (playing around)
when the black man shook the white man it was interpreted as a more serious action (aggressive behavior)
This is also the case for sports (think black man is better than the white man even though they do the same actions)
What are self-fulfilling prophecies?
People act towards members of certain groups in ways that encourage the very behavior they expect to see from those groups
for example someone who thinks that members of a particular group are hostile might act towards those group members in a guarded manner
What is the outgroup homogeneity effect?
the tendency for people to assume that within group similarity is much stronger for outgroups than for in groups
It is tempting to think of groups that you are not a part of as “they”, to imagine that the group members think alike, act alike, even look alike
we tend to assume that the members of an outgroup are more similar to one another, whereas the member of our in group are more individual and diverse
What is the Own race identification bias?
The tendency for people to be better at recognizing and distinguishing faces from their own race than from other races
What is subtyping?
“he’s an exception” (from the stereotype)
If people were primed with the stereotypical black people prime, what would be the difference between prejudiced and unprejudiced people?
He presented an idea of a man and if they were primed with the stereotypical black people prime then they saw the man as more hostile and more negative overall
this result was found equally for prejudiced and unprejudiced participants
She demonstrated that prejudiced and unprejudiced people differ primarily in their controlled cognitive processes (not their automatic cognitive processes)
Participants had to decide as quickly as possible whether an object depicted in a photo was a handgun or a hand tool, such as pliers. Each photograph was immediately preceded by a picture of either a black face or a white face. What were the results?
the white precipitants were faster to identify a weapon as a weapon when it was preceded by a blackface and faster to identify a hand tool as a hand tool when it was preceded by a white face
Was founded black faces facilitated the recognition of both negative and positive stereotypical items, handguns and sports equipment, but did not feel associate recognition of the non-stereotypical items, insects and fruit, regardless of whether they were positive or negative
Participants are instructed to shoot the person by pressing a key if they are holding a gun and not shoot by pressing another key if he is not as quickly as possible. Some of the people were black and others were white (all different whether they were holding a gun or object). What were the results?
Made both types of mistake shooting an unarmed target and not shooting an armed target, equally often when the target individual was white. But for black targets, participants were much more likely to make a mistake of shooting if the target was unarmed then failing to shoot if the target was armed.
What is the individual approaches to prejudice reduction?
Some efforts used the media or school programs to promote acceptance of outgroups, or to conceive convince people that their peers frown on the endorsement of unfounded or overly broad stereotypes, the expression of prejudice, and the perpetuation of discrimination.
What could help reduce prejudice?
Confronting people, cognitive and emotional training interventions may also help people reduce their prejudice
What is perspective talking?
individuals are instructed to envision themselves in the shoes of an out group member
Doing this should lead to more favorable attitudes towards the outgroup member
What are intergroup approaches to prejudice reduction?
1 all black platoon and three all white platoons
the white soldiers who served in semi integrated units expressed LITTLE resistance to the idea of fighting alongside their black countrymen
respelling was not shared my white soldier in entirely segregated battalions
What is the contact hypothesis?
the proposition that prejudice can be reduced by putting members of different groups in frequent contact with one another
Most of the studies observed an increase in prejudice after schools were integrated
The robbers cave study suggested that contact between different groups would be more positive and productive if what conditions are met?
the group needs to have equal status
different groups must have a shared goal that requires cooperation thereby promoting a common ingroup identity
making school assignments more cooperative and interdependent promotes more favorable attitudes between different ethnic and racial groups
What are the results with university students who were assigned roommates from a different race?
Less racist than other students, reduced anxiety about cross race interactions and registered with significant improvement of implicit measures of attitude towards the other group
What are strategies for the role of diversity ideologies and prejudice reduction?
Multiculturalism and colourblindness
What is Multiculturalism strategy?
A diversity ideology that encourages the acknowledgements and appreciation of people’s unique cultural and ethnic identities
Multiculturalism has an edge over color blindness
Shown to increase perspective taking to enhance support for pro diversity policies, Huge positive evaluations of and behaviors towards a group members and to reduce anxiety about anticipated interracial interaction
Participants from ethnic minority groups have been shown to perform better when working with white participants who have been primed with the multicultural perspective
What are the faults of the Multiculturalism strategy?
multicultural messages and initiative can elicit feelings of exclusion amongst white people and can be seen by a high status group member as an identity threat (threatening the value and relevance of their group)
can have the unintended consequence of increasing race essentialism or the belief that racial group differences are biologically based and immutable
white people’s effort to take a multicultural approach and their interaction with people from other racial group can lead to negative interpersonal consequences, such as the minority spotlight effect
What is the minority spotlight effect?
minority spotlight effect – is minority group identities become uncomfortably salient
What is the colourblindness strategy?
A diversity ideology that encourages treating others as unique individuals and downplaying or ignoring cultural and ethnic group experience
In theory this should put an emphasis on ignoring group differences and treating others as individuals fostering equality, inclusiveness, and acceptance of everyone
a deliberate blindness to cultural differences can lead to more, not less, prejudice and discrimination (associated with a stronger ethnocentrism )
What are faults of the colourblindness strategy?
white participants often try to avoid mentioning race in interactions with all black people
These attempts are cognitively taxing, leading the white participants to express more negativity nonverbally and in turn leading their black interaction partners to judge them as prejudiced
color blindness can backfire and expect more racial and gender bias and less racial and gender diversity
compared to multicultural, people problem with the color blindness minds that are less able to detect instances of racial discrimination
What is the Social Dominance Theory?
A theory about the hierarchical nature of societies, how they remain stable, and how more powerful or privileged groups in a society maintain their advantage
What is Individual discrimination?
Individuals in dominant groups act to preserve their advantage and keep those in subordinate groups in their place
What is Institutional discrimination?
Laws and norms preserve the hierarchy
What are Behavioral asymmetries?
Deference is shown to members of dominant but not subordinate groups and self-fulfilling prophecies undermine the achievements of members of subordinate groups
What is the the great replacement theory?
whites will be replaced by people around the globe
This has caused for acts of violence
They want to maintain power thus discriminating
What is social dominance orientation?
A personality trait that corresponds to a person’s support for socioeconomic hierarchy and the belief that different groups should occupy higher and lower positions in society
Express more prejudice to maintain power
Some religious people or other culturally born people don’t see inequalities and are acceptant of the circumstances as they believe it is the way it should be
What is Believing in Strict Meritocracy, a Just World, and Economic Mobility? (Strict Meritocracy)
argue that it promotes fairness and equality of opportunity, and ensures that the most capable individuals are given the responsibility to make decisions and lead society
What are critics of Strict meritocracy?
it can lead to a lack of diversity and can disadvantage those who come from less privileged backgrounds, who may not have had the same opportunities for education and experience as those from wealthier or more connected families.
What is the just world hypothesis?
The belief that people get what they deserve in life and deserve what they get
What is Justifying Status Differences Through Dehumanization?
The attribution of non-human characteristics and denial of human qualities to groups (generally to groups other than one’s own)
i.e; Nazis towards Jews.
What is Anthropomorphism?
The attribution of human traits, feelings, and intentions to nonhuman entities Like treating a robot like a human etc. We are more likely to anthropomorphize things that are close to humans
Mammals over insects
Robots over a toaster
We are more likely to do this when we are in need of a social connection and when we feel helpless of ineffective
What is the Stereotype content model?
A model that describes nature of common group stereotypes, positing that they vary along the two prominent dimensions of warmth and competence
First, are they a friend or foe? - warmth
Second, we need to know if someone is able to act on the kind or malevolent actions? - competence (A competent friend is a treasure and a competent foe is a threat)
Why are Women in power are put in a double bind?
If they are too warm they are not fit to lead
But if they are too harsh they are considered aggressive
Men are not held to this standard and are accepted for assertive behaviour
What are the Effects of Stereotypes and Prejudice on the Individual?
Bias in law enforcement, in hiring, in what is absent or witheld
What is the difference between the bias in hiring and the bias in what is absent or withheld?
Bias in Hiring
Outgroup names on applications were less likely to get call backs i.e, Jamal, Lakisha etc
Bias in what is absent or withheld
People who have multiple intersectional identities tend to be relatively invisible to others i.e. Asian gay women
There was a study done with photos shown of white and black faces. What were the results of remembering this?
Black women were less memorable than say a white male
What are Systemic inequities?
Historical or contemporary laws, policies, practices, and norms that advantage some groups in society or disadvantage others (genders, ethnicities, etc) when it comes to things like wealth, education, housing, and health care
Hotter in poorer neighborhoods in the US
Parks located in higher income areas
Legal system
What is an example of bias in law enforcement?
White people charged with less severe crimes for committing the same act as a black person
What is attributional ambiguity?
Did I just get this award because I’m black and they are trying to pitty me?
Wondering an accomplishment is attributed to them or was it due to outside factors such as race, gender, etc
What is a stereotype threat?
The fear of confirming stereotypes that others have about one’s group
When women took a test along side a man they performed worse because they were scared of confirming the stereotype that they were bad at math
When they took it alone they performed much better
What are the cost of concealment?
“Staying in the closet”
Takes mental health effects
Increases progression of HIV symptoms
Being open about your orentation or race increases
Self-esteem
Less depression
Less anger etc
What can Cross-group interactions provide?
a new perspective but when money, politics or religion gets involved things can become difficult and people become worried about creating tension based on their views
What are Effects of Stereotypes and Prejudice on Society?
More diverse societies result in more creative and wealthy
Internationally, more ethnic diverse = diminished social trust
What is the Marley hypothesis?
The claim that different racial groups make different assessments of the amount of racism in society today because they differ in their knowledge of racial history
White people do not think there is as much racism going on and they underestimate how much racism is happening
What is the Marley hypothesis?
The claim that different racial groups make different assessments of the amount of racism in society today becuase they differ in their knowledge of racial history
White people do not think there is as much racism going on and they underestimate how much racism is happening
What is evidence for our need to belong?
People who are in relationships or having meaningful connections increases health
Divorced, unmarried or widowed individuals experience higher; Mortality rates, suicide rates, crime
Social relationships provide physical and mental health benefits
Negative effects for people who are lonely
What is the difference between communal and exchange relationships?
Communal relationships
Individuals feel a special responsibility for one another and give and receive according to the principle of need. Such relationships are often long-term
Exchange relationships
Individuals feel little responsibility toward one another; giving and receiving are governed by concerns about equity and reciprocity. Such relationships are usually short-term
Which relationship between communal and exchange relationships would Western people choose if they had the choice? What about East Asian people?
Western society - Capitalist
More likely to favour exchange relationships
East Asian
More likely to favour communal relationships and treat their employees like family
What is the Rewards and the Social Exchange Theory of Interpersonal Relationships?
We gravitate to people who provide rewards
Laughter, support, fun, etc
What is the Social Exchange Theory?
The idea that how people feel about a relationship depends on their assessments of its costs and rewards
Maximizing the most rewards out of a social relationship
Someone who can offer multiple aspects of rewards - laughter, fun and supportive
We want rewards to outweigh costs
What is the difference between comparison level and comparison level for alternatives?
Comparison level
Expectations people have about what they should get out of a relationship
People with high comparison level expect a lot out of a relationship
Comparison level for alternatives
Expectations people have about what they can get out of available alternative relationships
Sticking with one girl or seeking something better out of
someone else
What is the equity theory?
The idea that people are motivated to pursue fairness and equity in their relationship. It is considered equitable when the ratio of rewards to cost are similar for both partners
People may be unattracted when there is too many rewards and not many costs
What is the attachment theory?
The idea that early attachments with parents and other caregivers can shape relationships for a person’s whole life
Children who were rejected by their parents did not seek out their care givers and even rejected the caregiver sometimes
Children who felt really secure with their caregiver felt distressed when they couldn’t find their caregiver
What are different attachment types?
Secure
Avoidant
Anxious-Ambivalent
What is the secure attachment type?
I find it relatively easy to get close with others and am comfortable depending on them and having them depend on me. I don’t often worry about being abandoned or about someone getting too close
What is the avoidant attachment type?
I am somewhat uncomfortable being close; I find it
difficult to trust others completely and difficult to allow myself to depend on others, I am nervous when anyone gets close, and often, love partners want me to be more intimate than I feel comfortable being
A facet of attachment that captures the degree to which a person is comfortable with intimacy and dependence on relationship partners
What is the anxious-ambivalent attachment type?
I find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would
like. I often worry that my partner doesn’t really love me or won’t stay with me. I want to merge completely with another person, and this desire sometimes scares people away
A Facet of attachment captures the degree to which a person is worried about rejection and abandonment by relationship partners
Describe how the quality of relationships can affect the attachment type.
Early attachment styles usually persist into adulthood
Secure attachment style predicts more positive life outcomes
You attachment style can change overtime especially with the change of partners
Certain partners can also change your style as well as they may counter your avoidant attachment style over time
What is functional distance? Can proximity reduce prejudice?
The influence of physical layout that encourages or inhibits certain activities, including contact between people
If you have to walk a certain way to your room you may be more likely to encounter someone on floor 2 on your way to floor 5 where you live, opposed to someone only 1 floor above
People who lived near stair ways were more likely to make friends that those who lived in the middle of the hall
Proximity is also able to reduce the barrier to cross racial friendships
What is the mere exposure effect?
The idea that repeated exposure to a stimulus, such as an object or a person, leads to greater liking of the stimulus.
What is the reason for the effect of you being exposed more often increases your likeness but after being exposed on multiple occasion, your likeness begins to decline?
It is a familiar thing thus easier and fluent to process
We also learn to affiliate that thing with no negative consequences thus feeling safe and pleasant
What do studies of similarity and attraction show? Why?
We tend to be attracted to people who are similar to us
We value physical characteristics over personality traits i.e; Strong > leadership
Similarity within social class, education level and religious backgrounds as well
Similarity gives a sense of consenual validation of your own values and attitudes
When we perceive someone to be similar to us we assume they have other positive qualities thus being more attracted
What about opposites attract?
Romantic attraction increases when each individual offers an elevated status where they themselves are lacking
Complimentary attitudes do not necessarily increase attraction. It does have an effect on differences that can be met by the other person. i.e; Being dependent being attracted to someone who is nurturing
What are benefits to physical attractiveness?
The more attractive, the more popular and higher chance of being a romantic partner. Being attractive gives more favourablity
i.e; Attractive injured female more likely to get help from a male, i.e; Jurors often give attractive defendants a break (Even when convicted they experience lower sentences)
Halo effect
What is the halo effect?
The common belief (accurate or not) that attractive individuals posses a host of positive qualities beyond their physical appearance
We are biased to like attractive people
Being attractive leads to more confidence, happier lives, and less stress
What are the downsides of the halo effect?
Attractive people are believed to be immodest
Women sometimes are considered to be vain and materialistic
How does the halo effect differ across cultures?
The US an independent culture assumes attractive people to be assertive and dominant
South Korea an interdependent culture assumes attractive people to be generous, sensitive and empathetic
How does the role of gender affect attractiveness?
Attractiveness of women matters more than attractiveness for men
Attractiveness also matters for gay men
Explain Evolution and attraction.
We prefer people who signify good health thus being attracted to more symmetrical faces
Ability to resist disease, less health problems, less infections
We have this idea in hopes of passing down good genes to future generations
“Reproductive fitness” - like when our species was created
What are the gender differences when talking about attractiveness/relationships?
Men have less of an investment in offspring thus more likely to seek multiple partners. Desire a greater number of sexual partners. They seek youth as it signifies fertility and prefer beauty, smooth skin, lustrous hair, full lips, etc.
Women seek a man who can care for them and will stick with them - they care more because they are more invested in the offspring (9 months). They look for material resources or characteristics that are associated with acquiring them. Wealth, ambition, social status, physical strength. (perfer older men - more reliable)
Both men and women prefer kindness and intelligence over physical attractiveness - men care more about attractiveness than women do
powerful women look more for attractiveness as well but men always prefer attractiveness
What is love and its 3 categories?
CompaNIONate love
CompaSSIONate love
Romantic love
What is companionate love?
Love for friends and family members
What is Compassionate love?
More like Parents loving their children
What is romantic love?
Also known as passionate love
Intense emotion and sexual desire
An investment model of commitment.
A model of interpersonal relationships maintains there are three determinants that make partners more
Committed to each other
High level commitment from one partner usually reciprocates from the other partner
Relationship satisfaction
Few alternative partners
Investments in the relationship
(Time, effort, care, energy, sharing belongings, memories are investments)
All three determinants seem to be correlated
If they are satisfied with their relationship and made a lot of investments, they are more likely to find alternative mates less attractive
What are predictors of dissatisfaction and divorce/relationship dissatisfaction?
Neurotic people tend to be more anxious, tense and emotionally volatile and melancholy thus leading to higher rates of unhappy relationships and divorce
Low-self esteem due to the fear of rejection from their partner creates hostility and therefore unhappy relationships/divorce
Marrying young = bad
Higher socioeconomic background = good for marry
Education, income, occupational prestige
What are the four most harmful behaviours in relationships?
Continuous criticism
Stonewalling or avoidance
Unable to talk freely or openly
Contempt (looking down on one another)
What are dangerous attributions in a relationship?
Giving your loved one flowers can be interpreted in two different ways
One as being selfish, as they expect a follow up request (This is an unstable relationship)
The other is viewed as being selfless and kind
(This is seen in stable relationships. People in stable relationships are also able to look past problems as well and attribute them to unintended events)
How ca we create stronger romantic bonds?
Capatalizing on the good
Sharing positive events with your partner increases well-being and satisfaction from both parties (capitalization)
Being playful (Fun activities and laughter lead to more satisfied relationships)
However having children lowers overall playfulness and lower satisfaction until children move out
Having relationship goals instead of personal goals
Finding the good in partners
Those who idealized their partners, rated them higher on positive traits than the partner itself
Ex. my partner has this flaw but it helps bring out ___ quality, or “they have this flaw but”
How does being in love help you physically?
Romantic love activates the reward region of your brain thus dopamine
Early stages of romantic love also deactivates the amygdala which is associated with recognizing threats
■ Thus we are easier to idealize our partners
■ This can also lead to us not seeing red flags
What is emotion?
A brief specific response, involving appraisals, experiences, expressions, and physiology, that helps people meet goals, including social goals
Usually specific and easy to determine (and the why behind it)
i.e; i am angry because I was cut in front of in line
What are appraisals?
The interpretation an individual gives to a situation that gives rise to the experience of emotion
■ How pleasant, fair, novel or threatening the situation
How you construe your environment in the present moment, effects the emotions you may feel
What are the three emotions hypothesis by Darwin?
All humans use the same 30-40 facial muscles thus all cultures should be able to perceive emotion in a similar fashion
Humans share an evolutionary history with other mammals thus our emotional behaviours should resemble those of others species
Blind individuals will still show expressions similar to those of the sighted as it has been encoded through an evolutionary process
Is determining emotions universal?
Yes! even other animals have similar emotions/expressions/sounds to show it
it was also determined that that other mammals shift their gaze down in embarrassment as a functioning apology
Are emotions taught or are you born with them?
Blind people expressed pride in a similar fashion to those of the sighted
They also expressed losing in a similar fashion as well
What are focal emotions?
An emotion that is especially common within a particular culture
Interdependent cultures show more embarrassment and shame as they convey modesty
Cultures that value honour may be more exposed to anger
Sexual slurs and insults to family are highly charged events
What is the Affect valuation theory?
Emotions that promote cultural ideas are valued and will tend to play a more prominent role in the social lives of individuals
What is emotion regulation?
The ability to alter one’s own emotional state. It may involve behaviors such as rethinking a challenging situation to reduce anger or anxiety, hiding visible signs of sadness or fear or focusing on reasons to feel happy or calm
What are the three regulation strategies?
Reappraisal
Acceptance
Suppression
What is the reappraisal regulation strategy?
The process of reinterpreting the causes of an emotion and its meaning for the individual
What is the acceptance regulation theory?
Adopting an open and welcoming attitude to one’s emotions
What is the suppression regulation strategy?
An emotion regulation strategy byt which people attenuate the outward signs of the emotion
What is the Social functional theory?
The broad idea that emotions coordinate social interactions in ways that enable people to meet social opportunities and challenges
Emotions and their accompanying patterns of experience, expression and physiology enable people to form, maintain and negotiate the relationships that matter most to them
(Shifting our construal of the social context)
How can emotions help solve the commitment problem?
It signals our commitment to other’s well-being
Can motivate us to act in ways that prioritize the well-being of others
Guilts usually leads to an apology
What is the Neurochemistry of Commitment associated with Oxtytocin?
The chemical Oxytocin, fosters emotion and strengthens commitment in long-term familial relationships and friendships
Produced in the hypothamlamus and released into the brain andbloodstream
Giving birth raises oxytocin levels to enable caregiving abilities (also prevalent in nonhuman species)
How do emotions influence perception?
i.e; being fearful after 9/11 made people more prone to exaggerate threats around them
Being angry at school or at work translated to more hostile interactions at home with their loved ones
How can emotions influence reasoning?
When positive, you are more creative, flexible and open minded.
When negative, you are more angry and closed minded
What is the Broaden-and-build hypothesis?
The idea that positive emotions broaden our thoughts and actions, helping people build social relationships
Negative emotions focus our attention to narrow details
People in a positive emotional state are likely to affilaite with outgroups and sharing deeper similarities with their romantic partner
People in positive condition picked the less obvious combination of shapes - broaden view
What are the two distinct components measurement of happiness?
Life satisfaction “How satisfied are you with your life?”
Emotional well-being
Which countries are the happiest and why?
Countries with the strongest safety nets are the happiest
Good school, care for the elderly, parental leave from work, etc (Finland, Sweden and Norway)
People are the most happy when they are with their friends, romantic partners and relaxing
Least happy commuting, working and spending time on the computer
When are people the most happy in their lives?
Happiness begins to fall during adolescence, reaching low point at age 50 and then going back up to age 75, where it begins to plateau again
What are the benefits of happiness?
It enables better work
Productivity, creativity, curious and rigorous
Helps improve your personal relationships
Sharing laughter and smiles
Better health
Less physical pain, better sleep, fewer headaches
Stronger cardiovascular and immune systems
May even increase life expectancy
What is Effective forecasting?
Predicting future emotions, such as whether an event will result in happiness, anger or sadness and for how long
What is immune neglect?
The tendency for people to underestimate their capacity to be resilient in responding to difficult life events, which leads them to overestimate the extent to which life’s problems will reduce personal well-being
We may predict large feelings of sadness after a breakup but we may not experience as much as expected as we have a psychological immune system
First time breakups and experienced breakups yielded the same amount of happiness but the experienced breakups predicted more unhappiness due to
immune neglect
What is focalism?
A tendency to focus too much on a central aspect of an event while neglecting the possible impact of peripheral considerations or extraneous events
A breakup is the central focus, but we fail to consider that we will now spend more time with friends
Moving into a really nice apartment is the central focus, but we fail to consider the financial stresses
What are three factors that influence recollection of pleasure?
The peak moment
The end
The length
What is the peak moment? (recollection of pleasure)
Has a strong influence
The most beautiful sunset
What is the end? (recollection of pleasure)
Has a stong influence as well
Make sure the end of your date ends on a high note
Inspiring conclusions etc
What is the length? (recollection of pleasure)
Not much of an effect
Duration neglect
The relative unimportance of the length of an
emotional experience, whether pleasurable or unpleasant, in retrospective assessments of the overall experience
How can one increase happiness?
Being around friends and loved ones
Economic stability is a factor in happiness but after $75,000 a year there is no difference in emotional well-being
Gratitude/Gratefulness
Giving over receiving
Try to cultivate experiences that can lead to awe (Being around inspiring people/Being outdoors enjoying nature/Watching awe-inspirng films)
What is moral judgment?
Judgments about what we consider to be universally right or wrong about human action and character and what is worthy of punishment/reward.
Jurors are often told to put their feelings aside when arriving at a decision about the guilt or innocence of the defendant, sentence lengths and punitive damages. (Ignore your feelings and rely on pure reason.)
What is social intuitionist model of moral judgment?
The idea that people first have fast, emotional reactions to morally relevant events that in turn influence their process of reasoning toward a judgment of right or wrong
We feel our way to moral judgments / Reason follow our gut feeling
What are moral intuition and reason in the brain? (trolley and footbridge dilemmas)
moral judgments involve quick emotional responses followed by deliberative reasoning
Trolley dilemma activates brain regions associated with working memory and deliberative reasoning
Footbridge dilemma activates regions of the brain that are involved in emotional processing
What is the Moral foundation theory?
A theory proposing that there are five evolved, universal moral domains in which specific emotions guide moral judgments
This claims that our moral judgments are shaped by deep intuitions within 5 “foundations”
What are the moral intuitions within 5 ‘foundations’ that our judgments are shaped by?
Carelharm foundation
Fairness and reciprocity
Ingroup loyalty
Authority /respect
Purity/sanctity
These foundations are thought to be universal morality within every culture that in turn shapes the social, economic and religious dimensions for that culture.
What is the carelharm foundation?
Centers on a concern for the suffering of others especially vulnerable individuals. (people in need of help)
What is the fairness and reciprocity foundation?
Focuses on concerns that others act in a just, equitable fashion and it is triggered by unfair acts (scamming/deceiving…)
Anger is the quintessential emotion associated with violations of fairness since it fuels our passion for justice
What is ingroup loyalty foundation?
Commitments we made to those in the group in which we belong
Foundation for strong, cohesive social collectives and evokes emotions like group pride (loyalty) or rage (betrayal)
What is authority/respect foundation?
Related to honoring one’s place in social hierarchy
Our intuitions about respect are expressed in our experience of emotions such as embarrassment, shame, envy and pride
What is the purity/sanctity foundation?
Centers on avoiding dangerous diseases and contaminants and socially impure ideas/actions.
Disgust is the emotion more closely associated with this.
Explain moral foundations and political divisions.
Fairness and freedom were more relevant to liberal’s everyday life
Loyalty, authority and purity were more relevant to conservative’s everyday life
Conservatives TEND TO BE AWARE that liberals value fairness and avoidance of harm more than they themselves do and that liberals value the other moral foundations less
Liberals GENERALLY FAIL to realize that conservatives’ views often stem from the emphasis of
In the U.S. liberals feel the sense of loyalty and authority like conservatives to their nation.
What is Altruism?
Prosocial behavior that benefits others without regard to the consequences for oneself
i.e; Because of COVID, a restaurant was closing down so they made meals for the homeless without expecting anything in return (not even praise)
What are motives of altruism actions?
Social reward (selfish motive)
A benefit such as praise, positive attention, something tangible, or gratitude, that may be gained from helping others and thus serves as a motive for altruistic behavior.
Personal distress (selfish motive)
A motive for helping others in distress that may arise from a need to reduce one’s own distress
Empathic concern (unselfish motive)
Identifying with someone in need, including feeling and understanding what that person is experiencing, accompanied by the intention to help the person
Empathy vs. Personal Distress
Empathy
Identifying with someone in need, including feeling and understanding what that person is experiencing, accompanied by the intention to help the person
Personal distress
A motive for helping others in distress that may arise from a need to reduce one’s own distress
Explain the evolution and physiology of empathic concern.
Observations in chimpanzees and bonobos have found that they occasionally provide care to those in need, such as fellow primates have lost their eyesight or are crippled. They also regularly share food with non-kin in their community a basic form of altruistic action
How can people be so indifferent in the suffering of others?
Kitty Genovese and Stanley Milgram’s experiment
Bystander effect
Diffusion of responsibility
Pluralistic ignorance
Victim characteristics (not screaming - maybe not in that much pain, race)
What is pluralistic ignorance?
If someone’s in trouble, bystanders may do nothing if they are not sure what is happening and don’t see anyone else responding.
Ex. No one is doing anything so nothing must be wrong
How to increase your chance of getting help if you need it?
Make your need clear (“ouch! I twisted my ankle, someone help”)
Select a specific person (“you, there, can you help me?”)
Altruism in Urban vs. Rural Settings
Smaller communities might be kinder and more altruistic than larger cities
People in rural areas report higher levels of empathic concerns
Why are people in rural settings more likely to help/be more empathetic?
The amount of stimulation is greater in an urban area/in a city than in a smaller community
Diversity hypothesis
More people are generally around to help in urban areas/cities
In a rural setting (small town), people’s actions are more likely to be judged/observed by others that know you and can comment on their reputations.
What are the effects of Social Class on Altruism?
Those who have less give more, at least in terms of the proportion of their income that they donate to charity
Are people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds more likely to act in a prosocial fashion since they seem to be more altruistic?
Since every religion has their own version of the golden rule (basically being empathetic) people tend to do what when they are close to church or religion is made salient?
More likely to be generous if given $10 – might go out and buy a sandwich for a homeless person…
Even passing by a religious building/background increases prosocial behaviors
What is kin selection?
Evolutionary strategy that favors behaviors that favors the reproductive success of one’s genetic relatives even at a cost to one’s own survival and reproduction
People should be more likely to help those who share more of their genes (ex. Would help sister before first cousins, first cousins more than second cousins…)
What is Reciprocity?
We help our friends too, and sometimes even strangers that we have never met before if they are in danger
What is reciprocol altruism?
Helping others with the expectation that they will probably return the favor in the future.
People would rather cooperate than compete
What is the Prisoner’s Dilemma?
Two people in different rooms and you have to choose compete or cooperate
If both choose cooperate - $5 each
If both choose compete - $2 each
If one picks compete and the other cooperate - $8 to the compete choice
What does the prisoner’s dilemma prove in real life?
Prisoner’s dilemma in real life is more complicated
You see people every day – if it is with someone you know, there is more to think about than what you gain from it.
With strangers, people are more likely to cooperate with someone who smiles and seems nice and similar to themselves.
What is reputation?
The collective beliefs, evaluations, and impressions people hold about an individual within a social network
We tend to interact with people that we know and whose reputations we know from others.
What is the tit for tat strategy?
Strategy in the prisoner’s dilemma game in which the player’s first move is cooperative, thereafter the player mimics the other person’s behavior whether cooperative or competitive. This strategy fares well when used against other strategies.
