Social processes, Attitudes and behaviour

Question 1

Excessive stereotyping

Answer 1

the construction of stereotypes against outside opinions involved in groupthink

Question 2

michelangelo phenomenon

Answer 2

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.

Question 3

Social action

Answer 3

actions and behaviors that individuals are conscious of and performing because others are around.

Question 4

social action vs social interaction

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Social facilitation

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Yerkes-Dodson law of social facilitation

Answer 6

People do better at simple tasks(knowledgeable tasks) and worse in unfamiliar tasks in presence of others

Question 7

Deindividuation

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Deindividuation can be enhanced by what

Answer 8

when group is in uniform or masked… disguising the individual w/in the group and increasing anonymity

Question 9

What is bystander effect

Answer 9

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

Question 10

What factors facilitate bystander effect?

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Define social loafing

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Identity shift effect in relation to peer pressure

Answer 12

mechanism behind peer pressure

1. 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
2. individual will experience internal conflict because behavior is outside the normal character of the individual
3. 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

Question 13

What is cognitive dissonance

Answer 13

(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

Question 14

Solomon Asch’s conformity experiment

Answer 14

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)

Question 15

Social interaction is

Answer 15

ways in which two or more individuals can both shape each other’s behavior

contrast to social action (individual affect by others)

Question 16

Define group polarization

Answer 16

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

Question 17

What is choice shift

Answer 17

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

Question 18

What is Group think

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Eight characteristics of Group think?

Answer 19

• Illusion of invulnerability
• Collective rationalization
• Illusion of morality
• Excessive stereotyping
• Pressure for conformity
• Self-censorship
• Illusion of unanimity
• Mindguards

Question 20

Describe Illusions of invulnerability

Answer 20

creation of optimism and encouragement of risk-taking involved in groupthink

Question 21

Collective rationalization

Answer 21

ignoring warning against the idea of the group involved in groupthink

Question 22

Illusions of morality

Answer 22

the belief that the group’s decisions are morally correct involved in groupthink

Question 23

Excessive stereotyping

Answer 23

the construction of stereotypes against outside opinions involved in groupthink

Question 24

Mindguards

Answer 24

the appointment of members to the role of protecting against opposing views; involved in groupthink i.e moral police

Question 25

Fad

Answer 25

behavior that is transiently viewed as popular and desirable by a large community

Question 26

mass hysteria

Answer 26

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.

Question 27

Culture shock

Answer 27

shock caused by cultural differences when traveling outside one’s society

Question 28

Assimilation relative to culture

Answer 28

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

Question 29

How is assimilation of an immigrant group assessed

Answer 29

studying their socioeconomic status, geographic distribution, language attainment, intermarriage

Question 30

What are ethnic enclaves

Answer 30

locations with a high concentration of one specific ethnicity; ie chinatown or little italy

can slow assimilation

Question 31

Assimilation vs multiculturism

Answer 31

assimilation = melting pot (merge)
multiculturalism = cultural mosaic

Question 32

What are subcultures?

Answer 32

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

Question 33

Counterculture

Answer 33

Subculture group gravitates towards an identity that is at odds with the majority culture and deliberately opposes the prevailing social mores

Question 34

Primary socialization is

Answer 34

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

Question 35

What is secondary socialization

Answer 35

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

Question 36

Anticipatory socialization

Answer 36

process by which a person prepares for future changes in occupations, living situations, or relationships (ex: couple living together in preparation for married life)

Question 37

Resocialization is

Answer 37

process by which one discards old behaviors in favor of new ones to make a life change (can have pos or neg connotation)

Question 38

What are norms

Answer 38

societal rules that define the boundaries of acceptable behavior

Question 39

What are mores and taboos

Answer 39

widely observed social norms

socially unacceptable, disgusting, or reprehensible

Question 40

What is social control

Answer 40

regulating behavior of individuals and groups through social means, such as norms

Question 41

What are folkways

Answer 41

norms that refer to behavior that is considered polite in particular social interactions (ex: shaking hands after a sports match)

Question 42

Social stigma

Answer 42

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.

Question 43

Labeling theory posits that

Answer 43

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)

Question 44

Differential association theory

Answer 44

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

Question 45

Strain theory explains deviance as

Answer 45

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.

Question 46

Normative conformity refers to

Answer 46

desire to fit into a group because of fear of rejection; i.e: Asch Experiments

Question 47

Name and describe two types of conformity

Answer 47

• Identification-outwardly accepting but not internally agreeing
• Internalisation- changing your behaviour and attitude to match the group and internally agreeing with the group

Question 48

What is compliance

Answer 48

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

Question 49

Describe the different methods of gaining compliance

Answer 49

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

Question 50

Obedience is

Answer 50

change in behavior based on direct order from an authority figure (whereas compliance = the ppl making requests don’t have actual authority over individual)

Question 51

What is Stanley Milgram known for

Answer 51

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

Question 52

What is social cognition

Answer 52

focuses on the ways in which people think about others and how these ideas impact behavior

Question 53

Components of attitude are

Answer 53

ABC; affective, behavioral, cognitive i.e the way we feel about something, the actions we take and the way we explain those two factors

Question 54

Functional attitudes theory

Answer 54

Attitudes serve four functions:

1. knowledge (knowing others attitudes helps know how they will behave)
2. ego expression
3. adaptation
4. ego defense

Question 55

Learning theory of attitude

Answer 55

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

Question 56

Central route processing involves

Answer 56

deep thinking about information to draw conclusions

Question 57

What is Elaboration likelihood model

Answer 57

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

Question 58

Peripheral route processing model involves

Answer 58

those who do not elaborate, focus on superficial details

Question 59

What is Social Cognitive model

Answer 59

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

Question 60

Example of social cognitive model

Answer 60

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)