PSYC315 Flashcards
What are the three things that are said to emphasize what forms a group?
Common fate, face to face interactions, and social structure.
What do the BLM experiments by Eberhardt (2019) show?
Police more likely to focus on black men, they are seen as capable of doing more harm, and police are quicker to press the shoot button when they see a black man with a gun. They are more likely to be stopped and arrested when driving. It shows that people assign individuals to certain groups based on prejudice and stereotype without knowing anything about the individual.
What is subjective group membership?
A group exists when two or more individuals perceive themselves to be members of the same social category.
What is the conflict surrounding groups and what they are made of?
Some believe that groups are not a thing, but rather are a set of individuals that come together.
What is group mind?
The idea that when individuals come together, they form a group mind in which the individuals behaviour changes. This can cause people to do things they would not normally do.
What did Mead et al. believe about how groups are made and how they are similar/different to individuals?
Rejected the idea of group mind. Believe that group processes are distinctive from individual processes and that these emerge from a network of relations between people in groups. Group behaviour is different from individual behaviour due to social processes and differences in group reactions. Similar perceptions form group norms, beliefs, and values.
Explain the interpersonal - intergroup continuum. What are the 3 criteria that distinguish the levels?
Social behaviour lies on a continuum from interpersonal to intergroup. Criteria: presence or absence of 2 or more groups, high or low variability between persons in the group, high or low variability in one persons attitudes toward those in each group.
Explain interpersonal behaviour and what the three criteria are that make interpersonal behaviour?
There is only the presence of one group, there is high variability in attitudes and behaviour, and high variation in ones attitudes toward collections of other individuals. There is high variation because everyone is thinking of themselves as individuals rather than a group, and therefore all have their own ideas and norms.
Explain interpersonal behaviour and what the three criteria are that make interpersonal behaviour?
There is only the presence of one group, there is high variability in attitudes and behaviour, and high variation in ones attitudes toward collections of other individuals. There is high variation because everyone is thinking of themselves as individuals rather than a group, and therefore all have their own ideas and norms.
Explain intergroup behaviour and the three criteria needed to meet this category.
There is presence of two distinct groups, low variability in the attitudes and behaviours of group members, and low variability in people’s attitudes toward group members. When we see things in terms of groups, there is a lot less variation in attitude and behaviour.
Explain the example of distinction regarding the couple in a relationship who turn on each other, and how this can explain self-concept.
A couple split after spending the night together when they learn they are working for rival groups. It shows that the relationship has changed from interpersonal to intergroup, as she begins to treat the man as part of a group than an individual, causing a change in attitudes and behaviour. Turner says it is a change of the functioning of self-concept.
What is the self-concept comprised of and what is the continuum it lies along?
Self-concept is comprised of personal identity and social identity, and runs on the continuum of personal self to social self.
What are the three main points regarding the differences between groups and individuals?
- Group behaviour does not emerge due to amounts of people congregating. There can be two people from different groups and the behaviour can emerge.
- The distinction between individuals and groups is a continuum.
- If we accept there are qualitative differences between individual and group behaviour we need different theories to explain them.
What is the idea behind crowd behaviour?
When people gather in crowds they develop a sense of power and anonymity, leading to a collective unconscious personality that is inherently barbaric.
What are the 4 issues with deindividuation theory?
- Crowd behaviour is often under control and not irrational.
- Crowds are not always anonymous.
- If people lose awareness in crowds that means they respond to cues in situations, how come people respond differently?
- If crowd behaviour leads to a loss in identity how come it can lead to a sense of pride?
What ideas to Reicher and Drury present about group behaviour?
- Almost all episodes of crowd behaviour involve the members of more than one group.
- People take on a new identity when within groups rather than becoming anonymous. There is a shift along the interpersonal group continuum from personal to social identity. There is a change in what is seen as appropriate behaviour. Norms are now determined by the group for what is acceptable behaviour.
How should Police act within crowds that need settling and why?
Police should not act in an aggressive way or show up with weapons as it causes escalation in behaviour. Instead, police should be sent undercover to liase with crowds to de-escalate difficult crowd goers.
What is the bystander effect?
When there is a large group of people around, no one is likely to intervene in a situation.
What are the three main issues with elementary processes in groups?
- How people change when they become group members.
- The processes by which people become group members.
- How group norms affect behaviour.
How does our group identity influence our sense of self?
When we feel we belong to a certain group, we take on part of the group identity within our sense of self.
What is identity fusion?
The way in which our sense of self and group identity fuse together.
What is identity enactment?
When some people act out their identity within their actions.
What did Zander et al. discover about the relationship between cohesive vs non-cohesive groups and their self-esteem?
Groups who are cohesive show that the feedback they receive personally impacts their self-esteem. Negative feedback is negative to their self-esteem and vice versa. Non-cohesive groups show that the group feedback does not impact on their self-esteem.
What did Cialdini et al. (1976) discover about our connections with sports teams when they win/lose?
When our team wins, we like to identify ourselves with the groups. When the team loses, we tend to cut ourselves off from the team.
What are the 4 points about why groups complete initiations?
- Ceremonies are symbolic for both the group and the individual.
- Initiation introduces new members to the groups normative standards.
- initiation can elicit some form of sympathy or loyalty.
- Making the initiate undergo a difficult experience could lead them to value the group more.
What is the affiliative hypothesis?
When people are stressed, they become more affiliative and depend on one another more.
What are group norms?
A norm is a scale of values with defines a range of acceptable and unacceptable attitudes and behaviours for group members.
What did the study by Cohen & Nisbett (1996) about culture of honor show?
The study showed that in areas where is it culturally acceptable to be violent, there is higher rates of innate violence in people.
What did the biological evidence in the culture of honor study show?
Those who were raised in culture of honor states showed increases in testosterone levels and cortisol when in aggrevating situations. The results showed that those who were raised in these cultures took on physical signs of anger in aggressive situations.
What is the general difference in viewpoints between college students in first and third year?
First years often more conservative, third years generally more liberal. College lifestyle promotes a more liberal standpoint.
What are the three functions of norms?
- Help regulate social existence and reduce uncertainty.
- Help attain goals.
- Help maintain or enhance identities.
What does Sherif’s autokinetic effect study show about social norms?
Individuals tend to go along with the answers others give about the movement of light and give a similar answer - they are in an uncertain situation and so they look to others for assurance and mould their answers to what others say.
What is social influence?
The processes whereby people’s beliefs, opinions, attitudes, values, and behaviours are changed or controlled through social interaction as a function of social relationships between the recipient(s) and source(s) of influence.
What did the Asch study show about conformity?
People are likely to conform to the social/group norms even if they don’t actually agree.
What 7 factors affect majority influence?
Size of majority, consensus of majority, culture, population, the source of the information, priming, and task importance.
What did the Asch study show about the importance of the size of the majority?
When there is a larger majority, there is higher chance of conformity.
