Social Behaviour

Question 1

Attitudes

Answer 1

• Positive or negative feelings regarding a situation, object or event
• Three major components: cognitive (beliefs), affective (feelings) and behavioural
• Attitudes can contain 1 to 3 of these components
  ie. Mary believes safe abortion should be accessible to women who need it (cognitive). She feels sad knowing that women go through unsafe abortions or no abortions at all (affective). Since Mary feels passionately about this issue, she is an avid advocate for safe abortions and is more than comfortable debating the issue (behavioural).
• Attitudes vary in strength, accessibility and ambivalence
• Strength: how durable an attitude is
• Accessibility: how often it comes to mind
• Ambivalence: negative and positive feelings towards the attitude

Question 2

Attributions

Answer 2

• Reasons given to explain behaviour
• Observers are more likely to ignore situational factors and make internal attributions
  ie. They lashed out because they are volatile and angry
• Models are more likely to make external attributions for their behaviour
  ie. I lashed out because I was late for work, forgot my lunch and fell down the stairs

Question 3

Bystander Effect

Answer 3

• The larger the group, the less likely it is for someone to offer help
• Less likely to show when people are in physical danger or in groups of friends
• Most likely in ambiguous situations when people tend to look around to see if others think there is an emergency
• Hesitation leads to lack of action
• “Someone else will help”

Question 4

Channel

Answer 4

• One of the four components of messaging
• Medium used to convey a message
  ie. TV, internet, handwritten letter sent by a mysterious lover from Venice etc.

Question 5

Cognitive Dissonance

Answer 5

• Leon Festinger’s Dissonance Theory
• Occurs when two or more related ideas contradict each other
• Dissonance creates uneasy, negative feelings which leads people to reduce dissonance by changing their ideas
  ie. You watch a boring movie and were paid $1 to lie to your friend about how good it was. This overt lie creates dissonance, and since $1 is not a good reason for lying, you may convince yourself the movie wasn’t really that bad
• Effort justification also reduces dissonance
  ie. You spent half your paycheque on an online shopping spree. Once you got the order, you regretted the purchases. You may reduce the dissonance by thinking “these are actually kind of cute” instead of “I spent so much money on these, and they’re not worth it”

Question 6

Collectivism

Answer 6

• Group goals and ambitions are prioritized over personal ones
• Identities are formed around what groups one is a part of
• Less prone to the fundamental attribution error and exhibit a self-efficacy bias as opposed to a self-serving one
• Collectivist cultures show higher rates of conformity

Question 7

Commitment

Answer 7

• One factor of companionate love
• Intention to keep a relationship going, despite costs or difficulties
• Increases with time

Question 8

Compantionate Love

Answer 8

• Warm, intimate affection for someone whose life is deeply related to yours
• Can coexist with passionate love
• Companionate love can be broken into commitment and intimacy
• Strongly related to relationship satisfaction

Question 9

Defensive Attribution

Answer 9

• Observers blame victims actions for unfortunate or traumatic events, as opposed to external factors
• This leads to victims being paired with unfavourable traits, leading to stereotypes surrounding victims
• Protects observers from facing the truth that misfortune can befall them as well
  ie. Upon learning that her college was raped, Moreen proceeds to say “She must have led him on. I’m sure she drank too much and wasn’t dressed appropriately”

Question 10

Discrimination

Answer 10

• Behaving differently around members of a group

- Closely related to prejudice

Question 11

Elaboration Likelihood Model

Answer 11

• Created by Richard Petty and John Cacioppo
• Two basic routes of persuasion:
• Central route: persuasion is based on the content of and reasoning behind the message
• Peripheral route: persuasion based on factors such as attractiveness or emotion
• The central route is more effective and leads to more durable changes in attitude

Question 12

Ethnocentrism

Answer 12

Tendency to view groups one belongs to as better than others

Question 13

Explicit Attitudes

Answer 13

Attitudes we consciously hold and can talk about

ie. One may have an explicit attitude believing prejudice is wrong

Question 14

External Attributions

Answer 14

• Reasons made for behaviour based on external influences
• More common for models to make external attributions than observers
  ie. I lashed out because I was late for work, forgot my lunch and fell down the stairs

Question 15

Foot-in-the-Door Technique

Answer 15

• Manipulation tactic
• Small requests are made to increase the probability of bigger requests being accepted in the future
  ie. A charity group may knock on your door one day and ask for a signature for a petition. If you oblige, they may come back another day and ask for a donation.
• Works because people want to behave in consistent ways and they don’t want to turn back on their sense of commitment

Question 16

Fundamental Attribution Error

Answer 16

Observers tendency to make internal attributions for models behaviour while ignoring possible external factors

Question 17

Group

Answer 17

Two or more people who interact and are dependent on one another

Question 18

Group Cohesiveness

Answer 18

• How much members of the group like each other and the group itself
• High group cohesiveness can lead to groupthink
• Highly cohesive groups tend to be more loyal, committed and close-knit

Question 19

Group Polarization

Answer 19

• Occurs when group discussion strengthens a group’s point of view and leads them to make more extreme decisions
• Can lead to riskier or more cautious decisions

Question 20

Groupthink

Answer 20

• Studied by Irving Janis
• Members of a group begin to think in the same ways, decreasing the inability for a group to think critically
• Inhibits smart decision making
• Pressure to conform increases and the group may being harbouring judgements towards outgroup members
• Confirmation bias increases as members begin to only search for information that supports their views and beliefs

Question 21

Illusory Correlation

Answer 21

Occurs when people overestimate the amount of confirmations of an idea they have seen

Question 22

Implicit Attitude

Answer 22

• Attitudes that people don’t seem to overtly control, but still have influence over their behaviour
• Implicit attitudes provoke subtle, unconscious behaviour
  ie. sitting further away from a member of an outgroup, making less eye contact or even communicating less in general

Question 23

Individualism

Answer 23

• Personal goals and ambitions are prioritized over group ones
• Identity is formed based on one’s achievements
• Individualistic cultures have lower rates of conformity
• Prone to self-serving biases and the fundamental attribution error

Question 24

Informational Influence

Answer 24

• Occurs when people look to others when they are unsure how to behave in unfamiliar situations
• Occurs due to concern to act in a correct way
• Reason for conformity

Question 25

Ingroup

Answer 25

A group one is apart of

Question 26

Internal Attributions

Answer 26

• Attributions made based on internal factors
• Observers are more likely to make internal attributions to models behaviour, while ignoring externa factors

ie. “Mary missed work because she is a flake” = internal attribution
“Mary missed work because her daughter is sick and she sprained her wrist” = external attribution

Question 27

Interpersonal Attraction

Answer 27

• Positive feelings between two people

- Involves liking, friendship, love, lust, admiration etc.

Question 28

Intimacy

Answer 28

• One factor of companionate love
• Closeness, warmth and sharing between two people in a relationship
• Increases with time

Question 29

Lowball Technique

Answer 29

• Manipulation tactic
• People are drawn into an attractive proposition then slowly hidden fees are revealed
• Works because people don’t like to back out of commitments
  ie. Seeing a great deal on a new car, then having realized features that were made to seem included actually come at a cost, on top of dealership fees etc.

Question 30

Matching Hypothesis

Answer 30

People of similar physical attractiveness tend to choose each other as partners

Question 31

Mere Exposure Effect

Answer 31

Repeated exposures to a stimulus generally lead to the stimulus becoming increasingly better perceived

ie. The more you try watermelon, the more you tend to like it

Question 32

Message

Answer 32

• One of four components in messaging
• What the source is attempting to convey to the receiver
• Strong arguments that attempt to arouse fear are effective
• Two-sided arguments make the source seem more credible
• Repetition increases the chances the receiver will believe the message

Question 33

Normative Influence

Answer 33

• Occurs when people conform for fear of unwanted consequences
• Fear of being criticized or rejected by society
• Reason for conformity

Question 34

Obedience

Answer 34

• Occurs when people follow orders from another, normally in a position of power
• Seen across all cultures

Question 35

Conformity

Answer 35

• Occurs when people act as others in a group are, despite personal beliefs
• Seen in all cultures, but the highest levels are in collectivist cultures
• Occurs due to normative influence and informational influence
  ie. Your friends are all insisting 3+3 is 7, although you know it is 6. Caving, and agreeing with your friends is you conforming

Question 36

Outgroup

Answer 36

Groups one is not a part of

Question 37

Passionate Love

Answer 37

• Categorized by complete infatuation with one another
• Includes tender sexual feelings and intense emotions
• May coexist with companionate love
• Tends to peak early on then fizzle out
• Brain imaging research shows that when thinking about a person one is passionately in love with, dopamine receptors light up, similarly to how they light up under influence of cocaine

Question 38

Person Perception

Answer 38

• Forming impressions of people

- Impressions are based on physical attraction, gestures, groups they are apart of and verbal communication

Question 39

Prejudice

Answer 39

• Negative attitude held towards members of a group (ethnicity, sex, age, etc)
• May lead to discrimination
• Three components: beliefs, emotions and behavioural dispositions
  ie. “Swedes are all introverted alcoholics; I hate them. I would never drink Jamba Juice with a Swede.”

Question 40

Receiver

Answer 40

• One of the four components of messaging
• The person whom the information is sent to
• Prior knowledge, strengths of attitudes, preparedness and personality all influence how easily a message will be believed

Question 41

Reciprocity Norm

Answer 41

• The idea that one should give in kind what they have received
  ie. Salespeople giving free samples or gifts with purchases
• Can be made into a manipulation tactic
• Give something of small value in hopes of getting something much better in return

Question 42

Self-Serving Bias

Answer 42

• Seen mostly in individualistic cultures
• People’s successes are attributed to personal factors and failures are attributed to situational factors

ie. If you pass a test: “I am so smart.”
If you fail a test: “The teacher included material we didn’t even learn, she completely messed up the test.”

Question 43

Social Loafing

Answer 43

• Tendency to reduce effort when in groups
• Responsibility is shared, so people feel that they do not need to work as hard
• People with high achievement motivation or who are high in agreeableness or conscientiousness are less likely to be social loafers
• Social loafing is less likely when individual contributions are public, when groups encourage productivity and, when groups are smaller and more cohesive
• Less prominent in collectivist cultures

Question 44

Social Neuroscience

Answer 44

Approach to theory that combines neuroscience with social psychology to explain behaviour patterns

Question 45

Social Psychology

Answer 45

• Branch of psychology interested in learning about how people’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours are influenced by others
• Person perception, attribution, interpersonal attraction, attitudes, conformity and obedience, group behaviour and social neuroscience

Question 46

Social Roles

Answer 46

Societal expectations on how those belonging to a group or who are in a certain position should act

ie. Children should be playful and lighthearted, whereas adults should be serious and driven

Question 47

Social Schemas

Answer 47

• Preexisting ideas about social situations or group
• Some schemas are created through experience and others are created through stereotypes
  ie. Schema of a picnic: “Picnics are cold and messy, since the wind blows around all the napkins. There are also too many ants and bugs.” If this is your schema of a picnic, it would be reasonable for you to dislike picnics and deny invitations to them

Ideas of what “jocks”, “stoners” and “preps” should look like and how they should act

Question 48

Source

Answer 48

• One of four components of messaging
• Where the information is coming from
• Sources seem more believable when they show credibility, expertise and trustworthiness
• People tend to believe sources easier when they are attractive, likable and similar to them
  ie. Your friend, a news reporter, or a stranger on the phone you overhear in the stall next to you while you’re trying to pee

Question 49

Stereotypes

Answer 49

Beliefs that people have certain attitudes, behaviours, or traits based on the groups they belong to

Question 50

Solomon Asch

Answer 50

• Demonstrated how “central traits” influence person perception
• Studied conformity
• Performed the study where students were supposed to state which line was different, 5 of the 6 were accomplices and would band together to give obviously wrong answers to test how often people would conform
• Discovered group size (up to 4) increases the likelihood of conformity
• Group unanimity influences conformity, if one person does not conform, the likelihood of others conforming falls

Question 51

Mark Zanna

Answer 51

• Studied how stereotypes influence behaviour towards groups in two studies:
• First study: white undergrad men interviewed either a white or black job applicant
• If the applicant was black, the interviewer used a “non-immediate style” and sat further away, made less eye contact, stumbled more with his speech and ended the interview quicker
• If the applicant was white, the interviewer used a more “immediate style” and sat closer, used more eye contact, took their time etc.
• Second study: white accomplices would interview white applicants in either an immediate or non-immediate style
• Non-immediate styles led to the applicants experiencing anxiety and not performing as well
• These studies show that if you believe certain things about a group, you may behave in ways that perpetuate those beliefs

–

• Attitudes vary in strength, accessibility and ambivalence
• Strength: how firmly attitudes are held
• Accessibility: how often an attitude comes to mind
• Ambivalence: negative and positive feelings towards an attitude

Question 52

Dennis Krebs

Answer 52

• Believes some biases were adaptive in human history
  ie. Physical attractiveness was associated with good health and fertility
• States that categorizing people into ingroups and outgroups inhibits one from expressing empathy towards members of outgroups, enabling one to feel little to no guilt for not liking and discriminating against them

Question 53

Fritz Heider

Answer 53

• Demonstrated how people make assumptions
• Believed cause of behaviour was attributed to personal factors (within a person) or environmental factors (outside a person)

Question 54

Bernard Weiner

Answer 54

• Assisted in differentiating between internal and external attributions by expanding on Heider’s theory
• Four categories of attribution based on stability:
• Internal-stable: ie. your ability
• Internal-unstable: ie. work you put in
• External-stable: ie. lack of competition
• External-unstable: ie. good luck

Question 55

Elaine Hatfield and Ellen Berschield

Answer 55

• Pioneers in the study of love

- Defined passionate and companionate love

Question 56

Robert Sternberg

Answer 56

• Expanded on Hatfield and Berschield’s findings on love
• Broke companionate love into intimacy and commitment
• Believes passionate love peaks early then fizzles out and that intimacy and commitment increase with time at different rates

Question 57

Cindy Hazan and Phillip Shaver

Answer 57

• Researched similarities between infant and adult attachment
• Infancy attachment is a good predictor of adult attachment
• Attachment anxiety: worry about abandonment
• Attachment avoidance: emotional distance kept from partners
• These work together to create four relationship attachment styles:
• Secure: low attachment anxiety, low attachment avoidance. Comfortable with intimacy and autonomy
• Preoccupied: high attachment anxiety, low attachment avoidance. Preoccupation with the relationship
• Avoidant Dismissing: low attachment anxiety, high attachment avoidance. Unconcerned about abandonment, but emotionally distant
• Avoidant Fearful: high attachment anxiety, high attachment avoidance. Fearful of abandonment and emotionally distant

Question 58

David Buss

Answer 58

• Collected data on what people look for in partners
• Certain trait preferences transcend culture such as: mutual attraction, kindness, intelligence, good health etc.
• Gender differences exist universally, with men putting more importance on youthfulness and women putting more importance on ambition and apparent willingness to contribute to offspring

Question 59

Leon Festinger

Answer 59

• Dissonance theory
• Study: male college students came to the laboratory where they did boring tasks for an hour. After the time was up, the experimenter paid off the subjects to lie to the next subject about how fun the tasks were
• Some subjects were paid $1, others up to $20
• When asked a second time about the enjoyment of the tasks, those who were paid less reported higher enjoyment
• Festinger believes dissonance creates psychological discomfort and can create physiological arousal

Question 60

John Cacioppo

Answer 60

• Elaboration Likelihood Model
• Central and peripheral pathways to perception
• Both can work, but central leads to more successful, durable attitude changes

Question 61

Stanley Milgram

Answer 61

• Controversial study on obedience influenced by the German’s disturbing following of Hitler
• Subject and an accomplice were labelled as “teacher” and “learner”, respectively
• The teacher had to ask questions, and apply a shock to the learner from another room if they answered incorrectly
• At 150 volts, the learner would bang on the wall in protest and refuse to answer questions, at this point an experimenter would approach the teacher and firmly state no answer is the same as wrong, and they must continue
• Out of 40 subjects, 5 quit when the learner pounded on the wall and only 14 quit before all the shocks had been administered. 26 of 40 subjects administered all levels of shock
• Subjects obeyed, even when showing clear signs of significant emotional distress

Question 62

Irving Janis

Answer 62

• Developed groupthink model
• When groups get sucked into groupthink they cease critical thinking practices, begin to censor the information they bring to the group and pressure to conform increases
• Some members serve as “mindguards” who protect the group from information that does not support their views

Question 63

William Cunningham

Answer 63

• Used explicit and implicit evaluations to study the role the amygdala plays in response to race
• Amygdala has been shown to play a role in fear responses
• fMRIs were used to track white subject’s responses to various stimuli, including pictures of black or white faces
• Black faces produced greater response in the amygdala than white faces