Social processes, Attitudes and behaviour Flashcards
Excessive stereotyping
the construction of stereotypes against outside opinions involved in groupthink
michelangelo phenomenon
The concept of self is made up of both the intrapersonal self, the ideas an individual has regarding his own abilities, traits, and beliefs; AND, the interpersonal self, the manner in which others influence creation of the ideal self.
Social action
actions and behaviors that individuals are conscious of and performing because others are around.
social action vs social interaction
social action: considers JUST the individual that is surrounded by others
social interactions = looking at the behavior and actions of two or more individuals who take one another into account
Social facilitation
reflects the idea that performance is not solely influenced by individual ability but also by social environment i.e others influence an individual’s performance
Yerkes-Dodson law of social facilitation
People do better at simple tasks(knowledgeable tasks) and worse in unfamiliar tasks in presence of others
Deindividuation
the idea that people will lose a sense of self awareness and can act dramatically differently based on the influence of a group; can lead to antinormative behavior
individual loses sense of individuality and becomes an anonymous part of a group
ex: violent behavior seen in crowds and riots
Deindividuation can be enhanced by what
when group is in uniform or masked… disguising the individual w/in the group and increasing anonymity
What is bystander effect
occurs when individuals do not intervene to help victims when others are present; the more people standing by, the less likely any one of those people is to help
What factors facilitate bystander effect?
1) in groups ppl are less likely to notice danger (perhaps due to social etiquette where it is rude to watch others)
2) in groups, humans take cues from others. if others aren’t responding, individual is less likely to perceive the situation as a hreat
3) degree of responsibility felt by bystander = determend by competency of bystander, relationship to victim, and whether they consider the victim to be deserving of aid
4) cohesiveness of group (ie group of strangers = has slower speed or response/lowered likelihood of response than that of well-acquainted ppl)
Note: in low danger scenarios, bystanders are less likely to provide aid
Define social loafing
tendency of individuals to put in less effort when in a group setting than individually.
ex. mental effort (ie working on a group project) = may put in less effort
Identity shift effect in relation to peer pressure
mechanism behind peer pressure
- when an individual’s state of harmony is disrupted by a threat of social rejection, the individual will often conform to the norms of the group
- individual will experience internal conflict because behavior is outside the normal character of the individual
- to eliminate this feeling of internal conflict, the individual experiences an IDENTITY SHIFT wherein the individual adopts the standards of the group as his or her own
What is cognitive dissonance
(cognitive confusion) the simultaneous presence of two opposing thoughts or opinions, leading to an internal state of discomfort which can manifest as anxiety, fear, confusion, etc
identity shift due to peer pressur can result in cognitive dissonance
Solomon Asch’s conformity experiment
showed that individuals will often conform to an opinion held by the group (ie when asked which line matched the original card, if confederates said the wrong answer, participants were likely to respond wrongly as well about 1/3 of the time)
Social interaction is
ways in which two or more individuals can both shape each other’s behavior
contrast to social action (individual affect by others)
Define group polarization
tendency for groups to make decisions that are more extreme than the individual ideas and inclinations of the members within the group
can lead to riskier or more cautious decisions
-the more the group discusses the issue, the more extreme they come up with
What is choice shift
initial ideas tend not to be extreme, but through discussion within the group, these ideas tend to become more extreme (toward risk or caution). same thing as group polarization but in reference to a change in the group, not individual
TERM FOR THE BEHAVIOR CHANGE OF THE GROUP
What is Group think
phenomenon in which desire for harmony or conformity results in a group of people coming to an incorrect or poor decision (due to desire to eliminate or minimize conflict among the group members).
loss of independent critical thinking and exclusion of external view points
Eight characteristics of Group think?
- Illusion of invulnerability
- Collective rationalization
- Illusion of morality
- Excessive stereotyping
- Pressure for conformity
- Self-censorship
- Illusion of unanimity
- Mindguards
Describe Illusions of invulnerability
creation of optimism and encouragement of risk-taking involved in groupthink
Collective rationalization
ignoring warning against the idea of the group involved in groupthink
Illusions of morality
the belief that the group’s decisions are morally correct involved in groupthink
Excessive stereotyping
the construction of stereotypes against outside opinions involved in groupthink
Mindguards
the appointment of members to the role of protecting against opposing views; involved in groupthink i.e moral police
Fad
behavior that is transiently viewed as popular and desirable by a large community
mass hysteria
refers to a shared, intense concern about the threats to society
features of groupthink lead to shared delusion that is augmented by distrust, rumors, propaganda, and fear mongering. Ex. 20 ppl executed because of fear of witch craft.
Culture shock
shock caused by cultural differences when traveling outside one’s society
Assimilation relative to culture
process by which an individual’s or group’s behavior and culture begin to resemble that of another group; integrates new aspects of a society and culture with old ones; typically not even blend (ie one group will have more influence than the other)
groups with different cultures begin to merge into one
usually uneven merging of cultures; a melting pot
How is assimilation of an immigrant group assessed
studying their socioeconomic status, geographic distribution, language attainment, intermarriage
What are ethnic enclaves
locations with a high concentration of one specific ethnicity; ie chinatown or little italy
can slow assimilation
Assimilation vs multiculturism
assimilation = melting pot (merge) multiculturalism = cultural mosaic
What are subcultures?
groups of people within a culture that distinguish themselves from the primary culture to which they belong
symbolic attachment can differentiate the group form the majority
ex of subcultures = those based on race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, etc
Counterculture
Subculture group gravitates towards an identity that is at odds with the majority culture and deliberately opposes the prevailing social mores
Primary socialization is
occurs during childhood when we initially learn acceptable actions and attitudes in our society, primarily through observation of our parents and other adults in close proximity
What is secondary socialization
process of learning appropriate behavior within smaller sections of the larger society, occurs outside of the home and is based on learning the rules of specific social environments (ie can change when moving to a new region/changing professions/schoolss
-adolescents and adults and includes smaller changes and refinements to behavior that were established in primary socialization
Anticipatory socialization
process by which a person prepares for future changes in occupations, living situations, or relationships (ex: couple living together in preparation for married life)
Resocialization is
process by which one discards old behaviors in favor of new ones to make a life change (can have pos or neg connotation)
What are norms
societal rules that define the boundaries of acceptable behavior
What are mores and taboos
widely observed social norms
socially unacceptable, disgusting, or reprehensible
What is social control
regulating behavior of individuals and groups through social means, such as norms
What are folkways
norms that refer to behavior that is considered polite in particular social interactions (ex: shaking hands after a sports match)
Social stigma
extreme disapproval or dislike of a person or group based on perceived differences from the rest of society. Can evolve over time for ex. divorce was stigmatized in the early 20th century, but no longer as much now.
Labeling theory posits that
that Labels given to people affect not only how others respond to that person, but also the person’s self-image.
ppl can respond by either conforming more or less (ie a woman labeled promiscuous will either become more promiscuous or less)
Differential association theory
deviance can be learned through interactions with others: intimate exposure to others who engage in deviant behavior lays the groundwork for one to engage in deviant behavior him or her self
while deviance is often assoc. w/ negative behavior (ie crime), functional theorists argue that it is necessary for social order. say deviance provides a clear perception of social nroms and acceptable boundaries, encourages unity w/in society and even promotes social change
Strain theory explains deviance as
explains deviance as a natural reaction to the disconnect between social goals and social structure; deviance results from trying to achieve a social goal outside of a social structure. Example, one committing theft so they may achieve the American dream and own a home.
Normative conformity refers to
desire to fit into a group because of fear of rejection; i.e: Asch Experiments
Name and describe two types of conformity
- Identification-outwardly accepting but not internally agreeing
- Internalisation- changing your behaviour and attitude to match the group and internally agreeing with the group
What is compliance
change in behavior based on a direct request (often by someone who doesn’t have authority over individual);
ex of techniques to get compliance = Foot-in-the-door, Door-in-the-face, Lowball technique, That’s-not-all
Zimbardo
Describe the different methods of gaining compliance
Foot-in-the-door- make small request if accepted, make a larger
Door-in-the-face large request made, declined then a small request is made which is usually accepted
Lowball technique, make a request to gain compliance then increase the cost of it later
That’s-not-all individual offered a request, before making a decision, he/she is informed the deal is even better than thought
Obedience is
change in behavior based on direct order from an authority figure (whereas compliance = the ppl making requests don’t have actual authority over individual)
What is Stanley Milgram known for
Learner vs. teacher expt; participants would administer a shock the would increase in voltage by 15V each time an incorrect shock was given; more than 60% of people will obey even if they are uncomfortable.
MOST NOTABLE OBEDIENCE EXPERIMENT
What is social cognition
focuses on the ways in which people think about others and how these ideas impact behavior
Components of attitude are
ABC; affective, behavioral, cognitive i.e the way we feel about something, the actions we take and the way we explain those two factors
Functional attitudes theory
Attitudes serve four functions:
- knowledge (knowing others attitudes helps know how they will behave)
- ego expression
- adaptation
- ego defense
Learning theory of attitude
posits that attitudes are developed through different forms of learning (i.e: direct contact, direct instruction, others attitudes, classical, observational, operant) i.e a kid licks sweets=+attitude, instructed curse words are bad=-attitude, teen watches others(peers) smoke and thinks its cool=+attitude
Central route processing involves
deep thinking about information to draw conclusions
What is Elaboration likelihood model
separates individuals on a continuum based on their processing of persuasive information (at one extreme those who elaborate/think deeply about infomartion extensively/scrutinize info and form conclusions on htis = called central route processing VERSUS ppl who focus on superfical details like catchphrases/appearance of person delivering the argument = called peripheral route processing
Peripheral route processing model involves
those who do not elaborate, focus on superficial details
What is Social Cognitive model
postulates that people learn how to behave and shape attitudes by observing the behavior of others –> behavior is developed through direct observation and replication of the actions of others, and in tandem with the influence of personal factors and the environment in which we observe the behavior.
so 3 influencers of attitudes = behavior, personal factors and environment
Example of social cognitive model
The work ethic of employees in a company (behavior) is affected by how hard their collegeues work, their previous attitudeds toward hard work (personal) and the systems/infrastructure of the company (environment)
