Social Psych Flashcards
informative influence
look to group for guidance when you don’t know what to do, and ask what to do.
normative influence
even if you know what’s right, do what group does to avoid social rejection
anomie
breakdown of social bonds between an individual and community.
We conform in little ways, ex. don’t question cereal is breakfast food, or obey traffic lights.
Can have dark side – peer pressure can lead to questionable behaviours. Or the holocaust.
-lose their moral guidance due to the pressures of pursuing societal expectations
internalization
dea/belief/behaviour has been integrated into our own values. Stronger than other types of conformity.
perceptual error
truly believed answer given by others were correct.
just world phenomenon
belief good things happen to good people, and vice versa. Some people use this to justify their actions.
selection bias
selecting studies where randomness is not achieved
sanctions
rewards/punishments for behaviours in accord with or against norms
-norms are reinforced by these
theory of differential association
states that deviance is a learned behavior that results from continuous exposure to others that violate norms and laws – learn from observation of others. Rejects norms/values and believes new behavior as norm.
The people you associate with can determine your deviance… “Association with different people”
Relationships a person forms are very important – if strong relationship to someone deviant, more
primary deviance
no big consequences, reaction to deviant behavior is very mild. Individual behaves in same way without feeling wrong
-secondary is worse
strain theory
if person is blocked from attaining a culturally accepted goal, may turn to deviance. Pushed to attain certain goals, but may not have legitimate ways to achieve success.
Pressures people to commit crimes!… because they are in a state of strain, might not be able to afford stuff
collective behavior
is not the same as group behavior, because of a few reasons. First, collective behavior is time-limited, and involves short social interactions, while groups stay together and socialize for long period of time.
operant cond
focuses on the relationship between behavior and their consequences, and how those in turn influence the behaviour (classical conditioning no change in behaviour)… because they continue the same behavior, but just in response to additional stimuli
primary reimforcers
are innately satisfying/desirable, like food. Secondary reinforcers are those learned to be reinforcers, such as previously neutral stimuli.
token economy
system of behaviour modification based on systematic reinforcement of target behaviour, reinforcers are “tokens” that can be exchanged for other reinforcers (ex. Prizes).
insight learning
solve a problem using past skills, the “aha” moment is insight learning
latent learning
learned behaviour is not expressed until required … subconscious retention of info
3 main characteristics that impact on how we are persuaded for/against a message:
1) Message characteristics – message itself, clarity, how well thought message it. Also includes how well written it was, does speaker have good grasp of grammar, appropriate vocabulary, length of talk, etc.
2) Source characteristics – what is their level of expertise, trustworthy, and is information credible or not. Physical environment, venue of event.
3) Target characteristics – characteristics of listener such as mood, self-esteem, alertness, intelligence, etc. How we receive a message.
reciprocal determinism
is the interaction between a person’s behaviours, personal factors (motivation), and environment. AND HOW THOSE FACTORS INFLUENCE ONE ANOTHER
tyranny of choice
What about too much control? Too many choices can also negatively impact our cognition and behavior
ego depletion
idea that self-control is a limited resource. If you use a lot of it, it can get used up, and less to use in the future.
self concept
is how someone perceives/evaluates themselves, aka self-awareness.
Development of self-concept has 2 parts: first, an existential self and then a categorical self.
• Existential self is most basic part of self-concept, the sense of being separate and distinct from others. Awareness that the self is constant throughout life.
• Existential meaning you “exist”
• Categorical self comes once baby realizes they’re separate – becoming aware that even though we’re separate, we also exist in the world with others. And each of those entities have properties.
• Ability to put “self” into categories such as age, gender, etc.
• Ex. age and gender are first babies learn, then skills and size. Then compare ourselves with others – traits, comparisons, careers.
humanistic theory components
self image, self esteem, ideal self
self esteem
is the respect and regard one has for oneself
how much value we place on ourselves
george mead
As we grow up, how others perceive us is more important, 3 stages:
1. Preparatory stage – imitation, ex. play with pots and pans when parents are cooking. As they grow older, focus more on communication with others instead of simple imitation, and get practice using symbols (gestures/words).
2. Play stage – more aware of social relationships, reflected in children’s tendency to pretend role play as others like firefighters, doctors, etc.
Mentally assuming perspective of others and acting based on their perceived point of view.
3. Game stage – Start to understand attitudes/beliefs/behavior of “generalized other” (society as a whole). With this comes whole new understanding of society. Also realize people can take on multiple roles. Also realize others perceive them, and are influenced by these perceptions and are concerned by reactions of others to what they do. But don’t care about reactions of everyone, only significant others (important relationships, ex. parents/teachers/close peers).
-me is the socialized you, I is the born you
optimism bias
is belief bad things happen to others, but not to us… belief that we are less likely to experience a negative event
kelleys covariation model
consistensy: we say dispositional
distinctiveness: (acting out of normal) we say situational
consensus: we say situational because everyone is doing it
actor observer bias
we are victims of circumstance, but others are wilful actors. ***
• Actor – attribute one’s actions to external causes (there is no dustbin available when you litter)
• Observer – attribute another’s actions to internal causes (people are so inconsiderate when they litter)
frustration aggression hypothesis
not personality based, but more emotional.
• If people get frustrated, it can lead to aggression
-can lead to scapegoating against minorities
relative deprivation
upsurge in prejudice when people are deprived of something they feel entitled to.
Leads to collective unrest, upsurge in prejudice and discrimination.
halo effect
The halo effect is tendency people have inherently good/bad natures, rather than looking at individual characteristics.
The physical attractiveness stereotype – believe attractive people have more positive personality traits.
• Ex. Jim, overall impression is in the middle. His accounting bar is very high, sales negative, leadership is moderately good.
mere exposure effect
repeated exposure to novel people or objects increases our liking for them. More often we see something, more often we like it. Applies to everything – music, numbers, objects, etc
similarity bias
implies we will not befriend people different from us.
projection bias
is when we assume other share the same beliefs we do.
false consensus
is when we assume everyone else agrees with what we do, even if they do not.
parenting styles
- Authoritarian- focus on obedience, punishment over discipline
- Permissive – don’t enforce rules
- Authoritative (best). – create positive relationship, enforce rules.
organizations
are institutions designed for a specific purpose, and try to achieve maximum efficiency.
• Ex. Postal Service, McDonalds, etc.
Normative Organizations – members come together through shared goals, ex. religion groups or MADD. Positive sense of unity and purpose.
• People feel connected, they want to be together working toward the goal
Utilitarian Organizations – members are paid/rewarded for their efforts, ex. Businesses and government jobs, and universities.
• People are there together because it is more or less contractual… they are there to perform a utility
Coercive Organization – members don’t have choice about membership, ex. people in a prison, or the military.
• Membership is forced upon them in attempt of a corrective benefit
ideal beurocracy
max weber:
- distinct roles
- heiarchy
- impartial (equal treatment)
- writting rules
- employment based on technical qualifications
Iron rule of oligarchy
even most democratic of organizations become more bureaucratic over time until they’re governed by select few.
• Why? Once person gains leadership role they might be hesitant to give it up. Also have skills that make them valuable.
mating strategies
1) Random mating- all equally likely to mate with each other, not influenced by environment/heredity or social limitation. Ensures a large amount of genetic diversity.
2) Assortative Mating – Non-random mating where individuals with certain personalities tend to mate with each other at a higher frequency, ex. large animals with large animals. Problem is if animals too genetically similar mate (inbreeding), can be harmful to species overall.
3) Disassortative Mating (Non-Assortative Mating) – opposite of assortative mating – situation where individuals with different or diverse traits mate with higher frequency than with random mating.
functionalism
comes from macrosociology – looks at society as a whole and how institutions that make up the society adapt to keep society STABLE and functioning
eclesia
dominant religious organization that includes most members of society, ex. Lutheranism in Sweden and Islam in Iran.
sects
tend to be smaller and are established in protest of established church. They break away from churches. Ex. Mormon/Amish
cults
are more radical, reject values of outside society. Rise when there’s a breakdown of societal belief systems, but usually short-lived because depend on inspirational leader who will only live so long.
fundamentalism
reaction to secularization, go back to strict religious beliefs. Create social problems when people become too extreme.
sick role
expectation in society that allows you to take a break from responsibilities. But if you don’t get better or return, you’re viewed as deviant.
illness experience
process of being ill and how people cope with illness. Being ill can change a person’s self-identity. Diagnosis of chronic disease can take over your life where every decision revolves around the disease. Stigmas associated with certain diseases like mental illness and STDs. How people experience disease varies too if they have access to resources like palliative care.
social construct
is concept/practice everyone in society agrees to treat a certain way regardless of its inherent value, ex. money.
-on language and social habits
gentrification
which means when redone they target a wealthier community which increases property value. People there before are pushed out because they can’t afford it – leads to great inequality in cities.
Seen in a negative sense because the rich people are pushing out the poor.
demographioc transition
death rate falls, then later birth rate, then they both equilibrate
culture
= rules that guide way people live, and Society = structure that provides organization for people
- CULTURE ADAPTS, IS SHARED AMONG PEOPLE, AND IS TRANSMITTED ALONG GENERATIONS
mass media
functionalist: , its main role is to provide entertainment (manifest)…. ITS ROLE IS ENTERTAINMENT… Also says it can act as an agent of socialization (latent) (ex. Collective experience of watching Olympics on TV, and community building – entire internet communities) and act as an enforcer of social norms.
social conflict: focuses on how the media portrays and reflects and exacerbate divisions that exist in society, ex. Race/social class. gatekeeping
feminist: portrays dominant ideology
interactionsist: shapes day to day behavior
glass ceiling effect
Gender does too. Females experience differences in pay (gender-pay gap), and the glass ceiling effect (poorly represented in higher position in companies)
social capital
They have financial capital, and can invest it to obtain social capital – building up reliable, useful social networks. (Connections)
cultural capital
knowledge, education, and skills transmitted across generations
• Ex. If parents exposing you to trips abroad and learning foreign languages. Or cultural items of social
intersectionality
discrimination based on multiple factors = THE DIFFERENT FACTORS INTERSECT TO CREATE LOTS OF DISCRIMINATION
Many types of discrimination, like sex/gender/culture/race, but what if someone experiences multiple forms at same time?
