Relational Influences

Question 1

What types of relationships do we form?

Answer 1

Familial
Friendships
Romantic
Acquaintances

Question 2

What is the factor that influences a person’s ability to form a relationship with others?

Answer 2

Proximity

Question 3

What are the three factors of closeness?

Answer 3

Familiarity
Availability
Expectation of continued social interaction

Question 4

What is familiarity?

Answer 4

It is getting to know people more after meeting them several times. You become comfortable with them, which leads to openness.

Question 5

What is availability?

Answer 5

This is where people are easily accessed by living near each other, or through work, school, sports, and religious communities. It enhances the development of friendships.

Question 6

What is Expectation of continued interaction?

Answer 6

If people live, work, play near each other, and there is interest between people, then there is an expectation that they will see each other often.

Question 7

How is similarity important?

Answer 7

Require communication between people, in order to identify commonalities between people.

This openness leads to mutual attraction between people.

Similarities help connect people and it makes us comfortable and welcoming with others.

Question 8

What is the Social Exchange Theory - Thibaut & Kelly (1959)

Answer 8

Considers how people exchange rewards based on the level of their relationships.

Question 9

What is theory is the Social Exchange Theory link with?

Answer 9

It’s linked to the economic theory which is ‘If I am in a relationship. what will it cost me? And what can I get from it?’
Seeks to maximise rewards for least cost

Question 10

What are the four stages of relationship development are suggested by Thibaut & Kelly (1959)?

Answer 10

Sampling
- checking cost/benefits and comparing them to others.

Bargaining
- Give and take of rewards to test true value.

Commitment
- When we focus on the other. Cost of relationships drops and enters a more predictable stage.

Institutionalisation
- Development of norms that recognise legitimacy of the relationship

Question 11

What are peers?

Answer 11

They are a group of familiar people in a close friendly relationship who want to be engaged activities together.

Question 12

What is family?

Answer 12

Very close relationship bonds that can usually weather any “disagreements and rebellion” shown by teenage.
Provides boundaries for teenagers to push against.

Question 13

What are the three levels of peer groups?

Answer 13

Dyads - pairs of close friends or lovers
Cliques - small groups which interact frequently
Crowds - larger groups of adolescents with similar identities and/or affiliations.

Question 14

What is the outline of Dunphy’s Observation experiment?

Answer 14

1960, Dexter Dunphy conducted a series of ‘Participant Observations’ by following participants within their own environments and contexts for 6 months.

Question 15

What did Dunphy find?

Answer 15

Developed a 5 stage changing structure of changing structure of adolescent groups.
- Reflects the changing levels of maturity and development in individuals.

Question 16

What are the characteristics of stage one of Adolescent Group Dynamics?

Answer 16

Typically, are made of same sex, young people cliques (4-10 individuals)
They meet to share social events and activities
Typically, a tight structure with a dominant personality being the leader of the group.
Conformity is a requirement of being a member, as is deferring to the leader
Continued membership also dependent on forming close relationships with members of the opposite sex.

Question 17

What are the characteristics of stage two of Adolescent Group Dynamics?

Answer 17

Unisex cliques start to interact with one another, creating a crowd.
An individual can be part of a crowd if they belong to a clique.
Crowd increases interaction w/ members of opposite sex
Mixed social events and activities become more frequent and are more structured.

Question 18

What are the characteristics of stage three of Adolescent Group Dynamics?

Answer 18

Where higher ranking clique members start forming heterosexual cliques

Question 19

What are the characteristics of stage four of Adolescent Group Dynamics?

Answer 19

The crowd is composed of a number of couples that regularly associate with each other.

Question 20

What are the characteristics of stage five of Adolescent Group Dynamics?

Answer 20

The couples go about their own way - crowd fragments and dissipates

Question 21

What is social conformity?

Answer 21

Is caused by close affiliation of individuals with a crowd/clique, as they must blend in with the others in order to remain in the group.

Question 22

What is pro-social behaviour?

Answer 22

Also known as altruism

Voluntary type of behaviour where our actions benefit to others.

Question 23

What is an Altruistic behaviour?

Answer 23

It is when a person is motivated by desire to help others rather than oneself.
Unselfish in nature - no benefit to the person, only the other being helped.

Question 24

What explains altruistic behaviour?

Answer 24

Biological Basis
Learned Behaviours
Empathy

Question 25

What is the altruistic biological basis?

Answer 25

Survival of the human species depends on helping others.
Tendency could be innate, instinctive and inborn.
The tendency to help family members and close friends rather than strangers to help further familial gene pool is a consideration by researchers (although not seen as a real cause of altruism).

Question 26

Why is rewarding done?

Answer 26

Praise and re-enforcement of positive behaviour leads to behaviour change towards altruistic behaviours.

Question 27

What is (altruistic) instruction?

Answer 27

An explicit instruction of how to behave leads to changes in behaviour towards altruistic behaviours/

Question 28

What is modelling?

Answer 28

Children observe others act positively towards others - this leads to replication of positive, altruistic behaviours.

Question 29

What is helping?

Answer 29

Child help others with increasing regularity. This is also affected by family exptectations

Question 30

What is empathy?

Answer 30

Element of altruistic behaviour

The ability to identify with and understand another person’s feelings - it takes the perspectives of others.

Question 31

What are the two components of empathy?

Answer 31

Affective - is biological in nature, it appears in fancy - predisposition to react emotionally to others.

Cognitive - are learned behaviours that are built by observing others and by interacting with others positively.

Question 32

Types of variables affecting altruism are what?

Answer 32

Personal Variables - some reasons why people might not act altruistically toward others:

• Possible lack of empathy to others.
• Feel adequate (or unqualified) for the task. (Might not know the person in trouble or distress)

Situation Variables - Location has been found to impact how people behave.
e.g - might be more prepared to help those on a main street during the day rather than a side street at night.
Country people are more likely to help someone, than city folk.
- Baron & Byrne (1991) suggests that this is due to the feeling of community and personal relationships between people.

Social Variables
- In a group are less likely to help a person in need quickly - they think others will intervene first.
Bystander effect - presence of others reduces likelihood of pro-social behaviour

Question 33

What is Darely & Lafane (1968)?

Answer 33

Bystander Effect is due to ‘diffusion of responsibility’
- If a person is alone they accept responsibility to help, when others are present they all assume that others will take it up, so they don’t/

Question 34

What is anti-social behaviour?

Answer 34

The type of behaviour is intentional and is aimed at hurting or causing distress to others.
Ranges from mild (yelling, swearing etc) to severe (causing physical harm, arson, etc).

Question 35

What is bullying?

Answer 35

Negative behaviour
Bullying intends to hurt recipient
Can be - physical hitting, offensive gestures, intimidation, verbal insult and name-calling.

Question 36

What are factors that influence people to act anti-social?

Answer 36

Biological Basis

• Possible links to brain structure or changes to the brain
• Amygdala plays a role in aggression - tumours on it affects people’s behaviour.
• Serotonin - lowered levels of serotonin has been linked to increases in violent behaviour

Learned Behaviour

• Social Norms - in some groups, anti-social behaviour is accepted and encouraged.
• Direct Teaching - parents, friends and significant others teach aggression to children.
• Observation - children view others being violent, and copy behaviours.
• Direct Re-enforcement - pay-off for the antisocial act - like increasing social standing

Attribution & Personality
- Different reactions to same event - based on timing and intent
Example - accidentally tripping a person up versus deliberately tripping a person with the intent to harm them, or cause them embarrassment.

Question 37

Role of Video Games Theories

Answer 37

Anderson & Bushman (2001)
- Exposure to violent games increased aggressive thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

Carnagey et al. (2006)
- Desensitises people to real violence, with increased tendencies towards violence.

Question 38

What is restorative justice?

Answer 38

Introduced in the 1990s (WA schools) (used in justice systems for years prior to that).
Involves a mediator. The approach has led to LOWER suspension rates, and INCREASES respect and pro-social behaviour.

Question 39

What were the aims of the restorative justice system?

Answer 39

To make people aware of the impact of their behaviour

Take responsibility of their actions and take steps to put things right.