Social Bases Flashcards
social psychology
the scientific study of the way in which people’s thoughts, feelings and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people (i.e. the study of social influence)
behaviorism (where did social psychology come from)
studied observable stimuli’s effect on behavior, chooses not to deal with cognition/thinking/feeling, inadequate for understanding social world
gestalt psychology
stressed the importance of studying the subjective way in which an object appears in people’s minds (the gestalt or whole) rather than the objective, physical attributes of the object, emphasis on construal or the way people interpret social situation
-Kurt Lewin - applied Gestalt principles to social perception, stressed the importance of taking perspective of the people in any social situation to see how they construe social environment
naive realism
the conviction that we see things accurately and as “true”
observational method
research observes people, used to describe behavior, provides realistic information
two types of observational method research
ethnography: description from an “insiders point of view”
archival analysis: researcher examines accumulated documents (archives)
benefits and limitations of observational research
Benefits: no expectation of privacy (public); realistic (real world).
Limitations: some behaviors difficult to observe (rarely or in private); reactance (i.e., people behave differently when being observed); archival analysis and missing information; doesn’t show causation.
correlational method of research
two or more variables are systemically measured and the relation between them is assessed; only one group—measure two things at the same time (how much can one variable be predicted by the other?).
correlation coefficient
(r): a statistical technique that assesses how well you can predict one variable from the other.
two things to consider with correlational coefficient
Strength: magnitude
Direction: increase/decrease
way to do correlational research
Surveys: representative sample of people asked about attitudes or behavior; correlations computed using responses to questions; best when random
selection is used.
benefits and limitations of correlational research
Benefits: realistic (access to real world data); can be cheap/easy; can investigate things could otherwise not.
Limitations: typically self-report; need to be careful about representativeness of sample; cannot demonstrate causation.
explain correlation is not causation
Directionality problem: which causes which?
Third variable problem: is there another factor causing?
the experimental method of research
a research design with 3 key features: 1) manipulation of IV;
2) measurement of DV; and 3) random assignment of participants to groups.
-The only way to demonstrate that one variable causes another variable!
-Balancing internal vs. external validity
benefits and limitations of the experimental method
Benefits: demonstrates causation, can control variables.
Limitations: expensive and time consuming; may not resemble real world (lacks external validity).
quasi experimental method
uses existing groups (e.g., culture, nationality); lacks at least one of the 3 key features of experiments (usually manipulation of IV or random assignment); still have measurement of DV.
benefits and limitations of quasi experimental
Benefits: realistic; can be cheap & easy; can investigate things you otherwise could not.
Limitations: cannot demonstrate causation.
internal validity
Extent to which we can say the conclusions we draw are accurate / trustworthy and not influence by other factors
typically high in experiments, can control variables, random assignment.
external validity
The extent to which experiments can be generalized to other contexts
often low in experiments; people & situations.
psychological realism
Deal with dilemma of internal vs. external validity by using psychological realism: the extent to which the psychological processes triggered in an experiment are similar to psychological processes that occur in everyday life.
cover story
description of the purpose of the study, given to participants, that is different from its true purpose & is used to maintain psychological realism.
field experiments
calculated in natural settings rather than a lab.
replications
repeating the study, often with different subject populations or in different settings/methods/contexts.
replication controversy
many experiments are not replicated, no incentives to do so. When they do replicate, many findings do not fit.
meta analysis
average results 2+ studies to see if the effect of the IV is reliable (data points are the study findings), calculating effect size.
ethical dilemma in research
Ethical dilemma of creating real world experiments vs. avoiding causing participants harm.
how to protect participants
informed consent, allow participants to discontinue.
how to create realistic situations in research
-Good design
-Deception: must be necessary, something that people wouldn’t care about, and must debrief.
social cognition
how people think about themselves and the social world (i.e., how they select, interpret, remember, and use social information to make judgment and decisions).
automatic thinking
quick, no conscious deliberation of thoughts, perceptions, or assumptions.
-Not precise (which can lead to poor decisions)
-Has unlimited capacity (good for holding lots of data)
-Decision quality does not deteriorate with increasing complexity.
controlled thinking
effortful and deliberate; based on rules and precise.
-Thinking about the self and environment, and carefully selecting the right course of action.
o Best for simple choices with few factors to consider.
-Not good for complex choices (too much to think about).
types of automatic thinking
schemas
automatic goal pursuit
automatic decision making
schemas
What are they used for
When do we use them
mental structures that organize our knowledge of the social world; influences what people notice, think about, and remember; based on information learned in the past; we have schemas (or scripts, stereotypes) about everything.
-Used to: organize information; interpret new situations quickly (especially ambiguous ones); fill in the blanks of memory (remember schema-relevant information and misremember information consistently with schema).
-We will use schemas when they are accessible: chronically accessible; related to current goal; and temporarily accessible (priming).
automatic goal pursuit
prime goals in a subtle way to see if it influences behavior (e.g., talking about religion and fairness before asking if want to donate money).
automatic decision making
sometimes decide without thinking; distraction improves decision-making when we want to make a good choice or when the decision requires integration of complex information.
self fulfilling prophecy
an expectation about what another person is like that influences how you act toward that person that causes the person to behave in that way and makes your expectation come true.
bias blindspot
people often think that other people have more biases than they do.
heuristics
mental shortcuts that help us make judgements quickly and efficiently; we use them because it is exhausting to search all the options and they usually lead to good decisions quickly (adaptive); occasionally lead us to the wrong decision.
availability heuristic
basing a judgment on the ease with which something can be brought to mind; things that come to mind are typically more common or important; but sometimes what is easiest to remember is not typical of the overall situation, leading to faulty conclusions.
representativeness heuristic
judgment based on how similar something is to a typical case; problem is that people ignore base rate information (i.e., how often something
occurs).
analytical thinking style
focus on objects without considering surrounding context; associated with Western cultures.
holistic thinking style
focus on the overall context and relationships between objects; associated with Eastern cultures.
counterfactual reasoning
mentally changing some aspect of the past by imagining what almost happened (e.g., to feel good—I almost failed that test; to feel bad—I almost passed that test).
The easier it is to mentally undo an outcome, the stronger the emotional reaction.
social perception
the study of how we form impressions and make inferences about other people.
nonverbal communication
how people communicate, intentionally or unintentionally, without words. Nonverbal channels include: facial expressions, tone of voice, gestures, body position, movement, use of touch, and gaze.
encode
express or emit nonverbal behavior.
decode
interpret the meaning of nonverbal behavior.
Ekman research
identified 6 basic emotions (happiness, sadness, disgust, anger, envy, surprise); found that emotion encoding and decoding is not culture for the most part.
affect blends
facial expressions in which one part of the face registers one emotion while another part of the face registers a different emotion.
display rules (culture specific)
unwritten expectations about expressions (e.g., display of emotion, eye contact/gaze, personal space/touch).
emblems (cultural specific)
nonverbal definitions within a given culture (e.g., hand gestures or symbols).
timing of facial expressions
We form first impressions based on facial appearance in less than one tenth of second.
thin slicing
limited exposure can lead to meaningful first impressions of abilities and personalities.
deception and facial expressions
doesn’t work for deception: no single behavior can tell you if someone is lying.
mismatch hypothesis
mismatch between cues that actually signal deception, and cues that people use to detect deception. Relevant channels of
communication include: words, body language, face, and voice. Voice is the most revealing.
primacy effect
an individual’s tendency to remember the first piece of information they encounter better than the information they receive later on.
belief perseverance
stick with original belief even in the fact of new
information/contradictory evidence (can create many problems, e.g., juries, fabricated data, political misinformation).
internal dispositional attribution
infer a person is behaving in a certain way because of something about that person (e.g., attitude, character, personality).
external situational attribution
infer a person is behaving a certain way because of
something about the situation; assume that most people would respond the same way in this situation.
self serving attributions
explanations for successes that credit internal, dispositional factors, and explanations for failures that blame external, situation factors (we are motivated to feel good about ourselves).
why do we make self serving attributions
-We want to maintain self-esteem.
-We want other people to think well of us and admire us.
-We know more about the situational factors that affect our own behavior than we do about other people’s.
fundamental attribution error
tend to make internal attributions for other people’s behavior and underestimate the role of situational factors.
-We tend to focus attention on the person, not the surrounding situation, and use the focus of attention as a starting point.
-Perceptual salience: the seeming importance of information that is the focus of people’s attention.
belief in a just world
people get what they deserve and deserve what they get; a type of defensive attribution (due to the uncertainty of the world); makes people feel better, but they blame the victim.
bias blind spot
people realize that biases in attribution can occur, but believe other people are more susceptible to attributional biases compared to self.
the two step attribution process
applicable in cultures where internal attributions are the default (i.e., Western).
- Step 1: make an internal attribution (occurs quickly and spontaneously).
- Step 2: adjust for the situation (often, we fail to adjust enough).
cultural differences in attribution
-Holistic: Eastern cultures, focus on the object or person AND the surrounding context, and the relationships between them.
-Analytic: Western cultures, focus on properties of an object or people, and pay less attention to context or situation.
self concept
the overall set of beliefs that people have about their personal attributes.
development of the self
-Humans begin to identify self at 18-24 months.
-Child’s self-concept: concerted, references to characteristics (e.g., age, sex, neighborhood, hobbies).
-Maturing self-concept: less emphasis on physical characteristics and more emphasis on psychological states and how other people judge us (more complex).
cultural influences on self concept
Western: self is independent, defined through own internal thoughts/feelings/actions, independence and uniqueness valued.
Eastern: self is interdependent, defined through relationships with other people, recognition of impact on others, connectedness and interdependence valued, uniqueness frowned upon.
self awareness theory
when people focus their attention on themselves, they compare their behavior to their internal standards and values (we do not like being reminded of our
shortcomings).
introspection
the process whereby people look inward and examine their own thoughts, feelings, and motives.
deindividuation
not thinking about who you are (e.g., taking on the identity of a group).
private self consciousness
our concern regarding how we view ourselves; more aware of internal states; higher attitude-behavior consistency; less influenced by others’ opinions.
public self consciousness
relationship between public and private self consciousness
our concern regarding how other people view us; sensitive to others’ evaluations and rejection; more influenced by others social situations; sensitive to whether others share their opinions.
-These two are independently related (i.e., can be high in both, low in both, or be higher in one than the other).
-Tend to be positively related.
-Can be dispositional (personality) or situational.
self perception theory
when our attitudes and feelings are uncertain or ambiguous, we determine how we feel by observing our behavior and the situation in which it occurs, like making attributions about others’ behavior.
intrinsic motivation
engage in an activity because of enjoyment and interest, not external rewards or pressures; will do the activity without the reward.
extrinsic motivation
engage in an activity because of external reasons, not because of enjoyment and interest; won’t do activity if no reward.
-Offering rewards may decrease desired behavior once rewards are removed (making play into work).
the overjustification effect
when people view their behavior as caused by compelling extrinsic reasons, they underestimate the extent to which it was caused by intrinsic reasons; likely to happen when someone is naturally interested in a task.
-Rewards will undermine interest only if interest was initially high.
explain how the type of reward makes a difference in the overjustification effect
Task-contingent rewards: can undermine intrinsic motivation (i.e., you get just from doing the task).
Performance-contingent rewards: less damaging to intrinsic interest (i.e., based on a measure other than completion).
fixed mindset
we have a set amount of an ability that we cannot change.
growth mindset
our abilities are malleable qualities that we can cultivate and grow.
-Mindset affects motivation: fixed mindset more likely to give up and do poorly on subsequent tasks after failure.
social comparison theory
we learn about our own abilities and attitudes by comparing ourselves to other people.
when do we engage in social comparison theory
When: there is no existing objective standard to measure against; when we experience uncertainty.
with whom do we engage in social comparison theory
With whom: initial impulse is anyone around; eventually depends on our goal:
-Improve: upwards social comparison
-Self-esteem: downward social comparison
-Accuracy: comparison to similar other
social tuning
the process whereby people adopt another person’s attitudes.
two factor theory of emotion and the two steps
experience of an emotion is similar to other types of self-perception; we infer our emotions by observing our situation.
steps:
1) experience physiological arousal; and 2) find an appropriate explanation for it.
implications for two factor theory of emotion
-Emotions are somewhat arbitrary (determined by environment).
-Emotions depend on our explanations for arousal.
-Usually the thing causing our arousal is also causing our emotion (sometimes not the case, e.g., coffee and anxiety).
misattribution of arousal
making mistaken inferences about what is causing us to feel the way we do; arousal from one source (e.g., caffeine, exercise, fright) can enhance the intensity of how the person interprets other feelings (e.g., attraction to someone).
self control
executive function of the self.
self regulation
delaying gratification.
thought suppression
doesn’t work well; better to focus on the behavior instead.
depletion effects
can exhaust our self-control.
how self control can improved
believing willpower is an unlimited resource; implementation intentions (i.e., plan ahead); and arrange environment.
impression management
our attempts to get others to see us as we want to be seen.
ingratiation
flattering, praising, and generally trying to make ourselves likable to other person (often with someone of higher status).
self handicapping
creating obstacles and excuses for ourselves; can avoid blaming yourself if you do poorly.
behavioral self handicapping
acting in ways that reduce the likelihood of success so that if you fail, you can blame it on obstacles rather than ability (e.g., pulling an all nighter before a test).
reported self handicapping
rather than creating obstacles to success, you devise ready-made excuses in case you fail (e.g., complaining about not feeling well when you take a test).
self esteem
how we value and perceive ourselves; generally good to have; can cause problems
what problems can self esteem cause
terror management theory and narcissism
explain terror management theory
align with worldview (culture that a part of) to achieve symbol immortality to fend off fears of death and dying; can lead to defending our worldviews violently, prejudice against others.
narcissism
self-love and lack of empathy.
cognitive dissonance
discomfort that people feel when two cognitions (beliefs, attitudes)
conflict, or when they behave in ways that are inconsistent with their conception of themselves.
two general ways to reduce dissonance
internal justification and external justification
what is internal justification and three ways to do it
the reduction of dissonance by changing something about oneself.
- Change one of the dissonant cognitions.
- Add new cognitions.
- Change behavior (but can’t change past behaviors).
what is external justification
an explanation for dissonant behavior that resides outside the individual (e.g., receiving a large reward, avoiding a severe punishment).
what is the justification of kindness (Ben Franklin effect)
assuming you like a person because did a favor for them.
Festinger and Carlsmith study about cognitive dissonance and dull task
seminal study on cognitive dissonance; had two groups do a dull task—one group asked to convince others to complete the task for $1 and one group for $20;
asked how much they liked it $1 group liked a lot (had not external justification for lying) and the $20 group liked a little (had external justification for lying).
dehumanizing the enemy (justifying cruelty)
cruel behavior is dissonant with view of self as a decent human being resolve dissonance by changing thoughts about the victim.
cheating effects
cheaters become more lenient toward cheating when given opportunity to cheat and noncheaters become less lenient towards cheating.
self affirmation theory
bolster the self-concept by adding a cognition about other positive attitudes; as self-esteem increases, dissonance decreases.
self evaluation maintenance theory
we experience dissonance when: 1) someone is close to us; 2) they outperform us; and 3) the dimension is valued (relevant to our self-concept).
post dissonance decision
dissonance aroused after making a decision; typically reduced by enhancing the attractiveness of the chosen alternative and downplaying the rejected
alternatives.
-When decisions are permanent, dissonance increases.
justification of effort
the tendency for individuals to increase their liking for something they have worked hard to attain (i.e., a method for reducing dissonance) (e.g., hazing rituals).
explain punishment, when to use large or small
Large: good if want someone to not do something once (external justification).
Small: good for lasting attitude change (internal justification).
attitudes
evaluations of people, objects, and ideas.
three kinds of attitudes
cognitively based, affectively based, behaviorally based
cognitively based attitudes
evaluations based on people’s beliefs, just the facts (e.g., a car—how many mpg?).
affectively based attitudes and the three things they come from
evaluation based on people’s feelings and values; these come from:
-Values (e.g., religious, moral beliefs)
-Sensory reaction (e.g., liking the taste of something)
-Aesthetic reaction (e.g., admiring lines and color of a car)
conditioning of emotions (classical and operant)
Classical conditioning: stimulus that elicits an emotional response is paired with a neutral stimulus; neutral stimulus takes on the emotional properties of the first stimulus.
Operant conditioning: freely chosen behaviors increase or decrease when followed by reinforcement or punishment; develops positive attitudes towards those behaviors.
behaviorally based attitudes
based on observations of how one behaves toward an attitude object (e.g., I’ve kept my car for 5 years without trading it in, I must like it!).
self perception theory
sometimes people do not know their attitude until they see how they behave; this happens when the initial attitude is weak/ambiguous or there is no other plausible explanation for behavior.
explicit attitudes
attitudes that we consciously endorse, and we can easily report (deliberate, conscious, introspective, slow/cold, self-report).
implicit attitudes
attitudes that are involuntary, uncontrollable, and at times, unconscious (automatic, non-conscious, associative, fast/hot, response time).
implicit association test
people make categorical decisions rapidly,
increase times can reveal how closely linked different concepts are in a person’s mind.
when do attitudes predict behaviors
Attitudes don’t always predict behavior. Attitudes will predict spontaneous behaviors only when they are highly accessible to people.
attitude accessibility
the strength of the association between an attitude object and a person’s evaluation of that object, measured by the speed with which people can report how they feel about the object; direct experience makes more accessible, indirect
experience is less important
deliberate behaviors
the theory of planned behavior; the best predictors of people’s planned, deliberate behaviors are their behavioral intentions.
what three things do behavioral intentions come from
-Attitude toward the behavior (people’s specific attitude toward the behavior, not the general attitude).
-Subjective norms (people’s beliefs about how other people they care about will view the behavior in question).
-Perceived behavioral control (the ease with which people believe they can perform the behavior).
when are people willing to engage in attitude change
cognitive dissonance and self-perception (when the attitude is weak to begin with).
yale attitude change approach study
the study of the conditions under which people are most likely to change their attitudes in response to persuasive messages.
Who: credible, attractive speakers; sleeper effect (non-credible becomes credible with time).
What: message should not be obviously influential, two-sided arguments effective, primacy and recency effects (i.e., what heard first and what heard last).
To whom: distraction is good, low IQ, moderate SE, 18-25, cultural difference (individual vs. group).
elaborative likelihood model
an explanation of the two ways in which persuasive communications can cause attitude change.
central route
when people have 1) motivation, and 2) ability to pay attention; they are persuaded by logic & strength of arguments (high need for cognition).
-People who base their attitudes on careful analysis of the arguments will be more likely to maintain this attitude, more likely to behave consistently with this attitude, and more resistant to counter-persuasion.
peripheral route
when people do not pay attention (lack motivation and ability), they’re persuaded by surface characteristics (e.g., charisma, attractiveness, trust, likeability) (low need for cognition).
-Motivation is influenced by: 1) personal relevance to the topics and 2) need for cognition (the extent to which people engage in and enjoy cognitive activities).
heuristic systemic model of persuasion (two ways persuasive communication can cause attitude change)
two ways in which persuasive communications can cause attitude change (similar to elaborative model):
- Systemically processing the merits of the arguments (i.e., central).
- Using mental shortcuts or heuristics (i.e., peripheral); emotion can be a heuristic (not always a good indicator though).
how to change cognitive and affective based arguments
-If an attitude is cognitively based try to change it with rational arguments.
-If an attitude is affectively based try to change it with emotional appeals.
what are the two kinds of products
utilitarian and identity
utilitarian products
things that need to work (e.g., air conditioners), should have cognitive attitudes about them, effective ads should stress their objective merits (facts) (e.g., price, reliability, efficiency).
identity products
things that say something about who we are (e.g., perfume, clothing), should have affective attitudes about them, effective ads should stress appearance, identity (emotion).
fear arousing communications, what amount of fear works
persuasive messages that attempt to change people’s attitudes by arousing their fears; strong amounts of fear fail if they overwhelm people (they become defensive, deny importance of thereat, cannot think rationally about the issue).
-Moderate amounts of fear work best & provide information on how to reduce fear.
subliminal messages
words or pictures not consciously perceived, but may nevertheless influence people’s judgments, attitudes, and behaviors.
-Requires a controlled environment.
-No evidence that subliminal messages can get people to act counter to wishes, values, or personalities.
attitude inoculation
making people immune to attempts to change their attitudes by initially exposing them to small doses of the arguments against their position.
attitude inoculation and peer pressure and product placement
-Resisting peer pressure: peer pressure operates on values/emotions (liking and
acceptance, not logical arguments); focus on inoculating against emotional appeals helps (e.g., role playing).
-Being alert to product placement: when people are forewarned, they analyze what they see and hear more carefully; more likely to avoid attitude change.
reactance theory
we like to feel free to do whatever we want and when we don’t, we try to restore that feeling.
conformity
a change in one’s behavior due to the real or imagined influence of other people.
informational conformity
conforming because we lack info.
-We see others as a source of information and we believe that others’ interpretation of an ambiguous situation is more correct than others.
autokinetic effect study (Sheriff)
optical illusion in a dark room; found that when done with other group members, their estimates converge.
private acceptance
conforming to other people out of a genuine belief that those people are right; informational social influence often results in private acceptance.
public compliance
belief not necessary for conformity; conforming to other people publicly without believing in what we are doing or saying (because you want other people to like you); informational conformity does not result in public compliance.
when will people conform to informational social influence
-When the situation is ambiguous (the most crucial variable, more uncertainty = more reliance on others).
-When the situation is a crisis (need to take action immediately, but others may not be acting rationally).
-When other people are experts (but experts can be wrong).
normative conformity
conforming because we want to be liked.
social norms
implicit or explicit rules that outline expectations for group members (deviant members are often punished).
Asch’s line study
participants guessed which line in the right box is the same length as the line on the left; almost everyone gets it correct when alone but not when they heard other people (confederates) giving the wrong answer people conformed.
what does normative conformity normally result in
Normative social influence usually results in public compliance without private acceptance.
social impact theory (three things social influence depends on)
the idea that conforming social influence depends on:
-Strength: importance of group to person.
-Immediacy: closeness in time and space.
-Number of people in the group (through diminishing returns).
collectivistic cultures and conformity
more conformity present; showed more conformity with Asch line
judgment tasks; view conformity as a values trait (not as a somewhat negative one); but group identity can be important.
idiosyncratic credits
the tolerance a person earns, over time, by conforming to group norms; if enough credits are earned, the person can, on occasion, deviate from the group without retribution
minority influence
when a minority (small group) changes the attitudes, beliefs and behaviors of a majority; consistency is key (i.e., people with minority views must express the same view over time and members of the minority group must agree with one another).
what kind of influence do majorities and minorities use
Majorities use normative influence and minorities use informational influence.
two types of social norms
injunctive and descriptive
injunctive vs. descriptive norms
injunctive norms: perceptions of acceptable behavior.
Descriptive norms: perceptions of what people actually do.
foot in the door compliance technique
something small first, then something bigger.
door in the face compliance technique
something big to something reasonable.
propoganda
a deliberate, systematic attempt to advance a cause by manipulating many people’s attitudes and behaviors; often through misleading or emotionally charged
information.
obedience
is a social norm (universally valued): without obedience, there would be chaos; we are socialized to obey legitimate authority figures (even if not present); sometimes obey when we should not.
Milgram’s compliance study and how it used both normative and informational influence
conformed under pressure to administer shocks from experimenter (authority figure) asking participants to do so.
-Normative influence: don’t want to disappoint the experimenter, insistent experimenter (difficult to say no).
-Informational influence: crisis, ambiguous, other people were experts.
group
two or more people who interact and are interdependent in the sense that their needs and goals cause them to influence each other.
benefits of groups
-Important source of information (help us resolve ambiguity in the social world).
-Important aspect of identity (help us define who we are, help us feel distinct from other groups).
social norms
expectations about behavior within the group.
social roles
shared expectations about how particular people are supposed to behave in that group; if enmeshed in a role, individual identities and
personalities can get lost.
Zimbardo prison study
illustrated the power of roles.
social facilitation in simple or complex tasks
people do better on simple tasks and worse on complex tasks when they are in the presence of others and their individual performance can be evaluated.
-Simple or well-learned tasks: presence of others improves performance.
-Complex or difficult task: presence of others hinders performance.
how does social facilitation theory work
the presence of others increases physiological arousal (i.e., our bodies become more energized) -> elicits the dominant response (whatever is more likely to happen.
-Simple tasks: dominant response is success.
-Complex or new tasks: dominant response is failure.
three theories to explain arousal and social facilitation
- Other people cause us to become particularly alert and vigilant.
- Other people make us apprehensive about how we are being evaluated.
- Other people distract us from the task at hand.
social loafing
occurs when individual efforts cannot be distinguished from other group members’ efforts; if less noticeable when alone, increased relaxation (the opposite of
social facilitation); people do worse on simple tasks, but better on complex tasks.
difference between social facilitation and social loafing
social facilitation: individual performance evaluated, others are watching, arousal enhances performance on simple tasks but impairs performance on complex tasks
social loafing: individual performance not evaluated, in a group, relaxation impairs performance on simple tasks but improves performance on complex tasks
deindividuation
the loosening of normal constraints on behavior when people cannot be differentiated (e.g., in a crowd), leading to an increase in impulsive and deviant acts.
-More people, more deindividuation.
-Makes people feel less accountable and increases obedience to group norms.
-Doesn’t always lead to aggressive/antisocial behavior (depends on group norm).
-Deindividuation doesn’t require face to face contact.
process loss
any aspect of group interaction that inhibits good problem solving.
failure to share unique information and how to get past it
groups tend to focus on the information they share and ignore facts only some members know (leads to poor decisions).
-How to get groups to share unique information: don’t share initial preferences, long group discussions (getting beyond what everyone knows), and assign people specific areas of expertise (i.e., they alone are responsible for certain information).
transactive memory
the combined memory of two people that is more efficient than the memory of either individual (awareness of others’ access to unique information); when groups have a shared transactive memory, they perform tasks better.
groupthink
a kind of thinking in which maintaining group cohesiveness and solidarity is more important than considering the facts in a realistic manner.
when is groupthink likely to occur
Likely to occur when the group is: highly cohesive, isolated from contrary opinions, ruled by a directive leader who makes their wishes known, high stress, and fails to consider alternatives.
how to avoid groupthink
remain impartial, seek outside opinions, create subgroups, seek anonymous opinions, and have a devil’s advocate.
group polarization
the tendency for groups to make decisions that are more extreme than the initial inclinations of their members; joining a group is likely to lead to an individual’s attitudes to become more extreme through processes of group polarization.
two explanations for group polarization
- Persuasive arguments interpretation: individuals bring to the group a set of
arguments, some of which other individuals have not considered; hearing new arguments creates opinion change. - Social comparison interpretation: when people discuss an issue in a group, they first explore how everyone else feels; people take similar but slightly more extreme opinions.
propinquity effect
the finding that the more we see and interact with people, the more likely they are to become our friends.
functional distance
refers to certain aspects of architectural design that make it more likely that some people will encounter each other more often than with friends (e.g., people who live by mailboxes are more likely to have more upstairs friends).
mere exposure
the finding that the more exposure we have to a stimulus, the more apt we are to like it; basis for the propinquity effect.
similarity
research overwhelmingly suggests similarity not complementarity in relationships.
selection bias
situations you choose to be in expose you to others with similar interests.
reciprocal liking and what can it help overcome
we like people who like us; for initial attraction, reciprocal liking can overcome: 1) dissimilarity in attitudes; and 2) attentional biases to attractive faces.
familiarity
people prefer faces that most resemble their own; related to propinquity, similarity, and reciprocal liking.
physical attractiveness gender differences
Gender differences: differences are larger when attitudes are measured (men > women), but that difference goes away when measured behaviorally.
cultural standards of beauty
symmetry, “average” composite faces preferred.
-“What is beautiful is good” stereotype: similar on some dimension but different with independent vs. interdependent values.
halo effect and self fulfilling prophecy
a cognitive bias by which we tend to assume that an individual with one positive characteristic also possesses other (even unrelated) positive characteristics.
Self-fulfilling prophecy: highly attractive people do develop good social interaction skills and report having more satisfying interaction with others.
evolutionary psychology
trying to explain social behavior in terms of genetic factors that evolved over time according to principles of natural selection.
mate selection
generally, men attracted to appearance (fertile females) and women attracted to resources (need to mate wisely, investment is higher because pregnant).
other explanations for gender differences in mate selection (e.g. females preferring status)
-Gender differences are status differences: women often have less power and wealth (because of patriarchal society), so they need a wealthy man.
-Gender socialization is based on culture.
two types of love
companionate love and passionate love
companionate love
the intimacy and affection we feel when we care deeply for a person; do not experience passion or arousal in the person’s presence; non-sexual relationships, close friendships.
passionate love
an intense longing we feel for a person, accompanied by physiological arousal; when our love is reciprocated, we feel great fulfillment and ecstasy; when it is not, we feel sadness and despair.
attachment style
the expectations people develop about relationships with others, based on the relationship they had with their primary caregiver when they were infants; early attachment style is not fixed.
secure attachment, Ainsworth strange situation
baby is wary but explores; cries when mother leaves, but eventually will calm down; calms down when mother returns; wary of stranger; consistent and responsive concern.
anxious ambivalent attachment, Ainsworth
baby is really scared of new situation; always uneasy; freaks out when mother leaves; never calms down; angry when mother returns
(strange ambivalent behavior); hates stranger; inconsistent caregiving (sometimes responsive).
avoidant attachment, Ainsworth
baby is comfortable in new situation; doesn’t seem to notice when mother leaves and returns; doesn’t treat mother differently than stranger;
caregiving is not responsive.
secure attachment in adulthood
more likely to develop mature, lasting relationships.
anxious ambivalent attachment in adulthood
want closeness but worry that partner will not return affect.
avoidant attachment in adulthood
less able to trust others and find it difficult to develop close, intimate relationships.
kin selection
process in natural selection that favors a trait when it helps an organism’s relatives reproduce, even if it’s at the cost of the organism’s own survival and reproduction
reciprocity norm
social rule that expects people to return benefits for benefits, and respond to harms with indifference or hostility
social exchange theory
studies how people interact with each other and their environment by weighing the costs and benefits of their actions
empathy altruism hypothesis
if we feel empathy, we will help
Latane and Darley 5 steps to helping
the potential emergency (1) captures the attention of the individual, who (2) evaluates the emergency, (3) decides on responsibility and (4) belief of competence, and then ultimately (5) makes the decision to help or not.
diffusion of responsibility
describes how people are less likely to take responsibility for their actions when others are present
urban overload hypothesis
people who live in cities are constantly being subjected to stimuli in their environment. In order to cope, people who live in cities have to learn how to block some things out.
pluralistic ignorance
when people in a group mistakenly believe that others in the group have different opinions, beliefs, or behaviors than their own
the bystander effect
social psychological theory that suggests people are less likely to help someone in need when others are present
