Social Psychology

Question 1

What is socialisation

Answer 1

The process of how peooople learn the beliefs, customs and appropriate behaviours of a society or group. 2 key forms are Primary socialisation and secondary socialisation.

Primary socialisation - the process of learning the beliefs, customs and appropriate behaviours of a group during the early stages of life typically from parents and close family members

The process of learning the beliefs customs and appropriate behaviours of a group via teachers, extended family, friends and the mediea

Question 2

Gender Role Formation:
Social Learning Theory

Answer 2

Social Learning Theory of gender role formation is based on the assumption that there are no innate psychological differences between the sexes, and the gendered behaviour is learnt as a child through socialisation. Based on what they witness in their culture or society.

Question 3

Gender Role Formation:
Vicarious reward and punishment (Social Learning Theory)

Answer 3

A vicarious punishment is when a child observes a behaviour being punished and that child ceases the behaviour themselves

A vicarious reward is when a child observes a behaviour being rewarded and beings actioning that behaviour to see the same reward.

Question 4

Gender Role Formation
Social Learning Theory Limitations

Answer 4

Limiations:
Social Learning theory suggests that gender is passively acquired, which research has demonstrated is not the case. Research shows that children actively participate in their socialisation

Question 5

Sex and Gender
Sex vs Gender

Answer 5

Sex: determined by the biological chromosome make-up expressed through an individual’s reproductive organs, genetils and other physical characteristics

Gender: socially and culturally constructed idea of what make and female are, this can include - but not limited to - personality traits, social behaviours, and physical appearance

Question 6

Kohlberg’s cognitive theory of gender

Answer 6

States that children go through three stages:

Gender Identity:
- Think about gender as soon as cognition begins
- 2-3 years of age - children understand if they are male or female and try to guess others. Associate gender/sex with behaviours and actions rather than biological characteristics.

Gender Stability:
- understand that sex will not change over time
- age 3-4
- don’t understand the difference between sex and gender

Gender Constancy:
- age 5
- understand that sex is constant over time, not just for themselves.
- They identify whether they are male or female by biological characteristics
- Understand that if someone changes their actions or behaviour, they’re sex does not change

Question 7

Gender Schema Theory

Answer 7

A gender schema is a mental representation of each gener, often based on gender detereotypes. It is a mental representation of what it is to be male or female.

Gedner Schema theory - a theory of gender role formation that people build over time that providesinformation about how male or female should behave

Gender Scripts - gender roles and behaviours that children come to consdier as normal, based on their observations of everyday

Question 8

The biological theories of gender role formation

Answer 8

The overarching theory that individua;’s gender is predetermined by their biological sex - thier genitals and reproductive organs

Question 9

Evolutionary Psychology

Answer 9

Males:
Aggressive, competitiveness, leaving women time to raise children

Female:
Easy birthing of children, breastfeeding

Question 10

Biological Differences between Sexes

Answer 10

Males:
Testosterone

Females:
Estrogen and Testorerone

Question 11

Social Influence Theory

Answer 11

Suggests that people are more likelt to change their attitudes, beliefs or behaviours because of conpliance , identification or internalisation

Compliance - A change in peoples public attitudes (not privetely) - so that they are more likeable to their group (e.g. Rachael smoking on friends)

Identification - Change in attitude and behaviour - because you are influenced by someone and relate to the content of the new attitude (e.g. if you were racist (1956) - then moved next door to an African American family you may change your views)

Internalisation - A change in people ‘s attitude and behaviour because they have taken on a new attitude and have taken thid into their belief system.

Question 12

Social Influence theory on gender role formation

Answer 12

The social influences on an individual are constantly changing (defferent teachers, classmates etc.)

Despite this constant change, views on gender role formation are stable

Social influence theory does not adress why people don’t constantly change their views on gender

Strength of the social influence theory

Question 13

Stanford’s Prison Experiment
(Author, Aim, IV/DV, Participants, Results, Conclusion, Limitations, Ethical Issues)

Answer 13

Author: Zimbardo et al (1973)

Aim: to determine if the brutality reported amongst gaurds in prisons across America was caused by sadistic personalities of gaurds (dispositional) or the prison environment (situational)

Hypothesis: Prisoners and guards may have personalities that make conflict inevitable, with prisoners lacking respect for law and order and guards being domineering and aggressive. Alternatively, prisoners and guards may behave in a hostile manner due to the rigid power structure of the social environment in prisons

Participants: n=24 of the most physically and mentally stable, the most mature and least involved in anti-social behaviour. Randomly assigned to role of prisoner or guard in stimulated prison environment, with a final total of 9 prisoners and 9 guards (three “on call” for each)

Procedure: Prisoners were arrested in their own homes without warning and taken to police station where they were fingerprinted, photographed and booked. Driven blindfolded to the “prison” where they were stripped naked, deloused, had all personal possessions locked away, given prison clothes and bedding and referred to only by their number. Guards were instructed to do whatever they thought was necessary to maintain law and order to command respect of prisoners. No physical violence was permitted.

Results/Conclusion: The results support the hypothesis that mock guards with considerable power and status will engage in more dominating, controlling, behaviour whereas mock prisoners with minial power and little or no status will engage in more passive resisant behaviour

Limitations: Biased/non-representative sample (same sex, age, ethnicity, educational backgrounds); many situation may have been unlike actual prison-life because of inability to replicate and incorrect social perceptions as for how to act in participant’s mock roles; participants may be responding to personal or experimental expectations

Generalisaitons: The behaviour of normal, well educated men can be significantly affected when a role they are given involves considerable status and power. Harsh and inhumance treatment of prisoners in real life mat be due to guards having too mch power and status and prisoners having little or no power and status

Ethical Issues: Serious psychological and/or physical harm to participants; not ending the study as soon as this was evident; not supporting participant withdrawal rights

Question 14

Status and Power:
Groups and Power

Answer 14

Rules to define a group: consists of two or more people, individuals must interact with each other over a period of time, individual’s must influence eachother, must have a common purpose.

Question 15

Summarise Milgram

Question 16

Define Obedience Authority

Answer 16

Obedience - where an individual or group behaves in a certain way on the orders or rules set down by authority

Authority - the power to order individuals to behave in a certain manner

Question 17

Conformity
Asch - 1951

Answer 17

Aim: To investigate the extent to which an individual within a group will conform to the majority opinion

Procedure: 50 males participated in line judging task. Asch put naive participant in room with seven confederates. Asch measured number of times each participant conformed to majority view.

Findings: average 32% of participants went along and cnoformed with the clearly innocent majority on the critical trials

Over the 12 critical trials, about 75% of participants conformed at least once, 25% never conformed. In control group with no presure less than 1% conformed

People conform for two main reasions: because they want to fit in with the group (normative influence) or beleive group is better informed (formational influence)
Findings:

Question 18

Managing social norms for persuasive impact
(Cialdini et al., 2006)

Answer 18

Aim:
To examise our main hypothesis rhat in a situation characterised by unfortunate levels of socially does

Method:

Results:

Significance:

Strengths and Limitations

Question 19

Define Social Norms

Answer 19

Social norms are standards that govern what people should or should not do in different social situations

Altohugh social norms are often not written down or explicitly stated, they are known ways of behaving in particular social groups or society in general

We learn about the social norms for our culture or wider society by observing what other people say and do

Question 20

6 main social norms (Cialdini)

Answer 20

Liking - If people like you, because they sense that you like them or because of things you have in common, they are more apt to say yes to you

Reciprocity - People tend to return favours. If you help people, they will help you. If you behave in a certain way, they will respond in kind.

Social Proof (or Consensus) - People will do things they see other people doing – especially if those people seem similar to them.

Consistency - People want to be consistent, or at least to appear to be. If they make a public, voluntary commitment, they will try to follow through

Authority - People defer to experts and to those in positions of authority (and typically underestimate their tendency to do so).

Scarcity - People value things more if they perceive them to be scarce.

Question 21

Define descriptive and injuctive norms

Answer 21

Descriptive Norms
- Refer to what is common done
- Motivate by providing evidence about what is likely to be effective and adaptive action

Injunctive
- Refer to what is commonly approved/disapproved
- Motivate by promising socail rewards and punishments

Question 22

Factors that make conformity more likely

Answer 22

Deindividuation - Loss of individuality in a large group situation (or crowd) can lead to loss of normal inhibitions and conformity by behaving atypically

Group size - conformity tends to increase with group size of up to four, them little influence

Unanimity - when every group member agrees

Information - when we are uncertain about what to do, want to be right and the group can meet that need

Norms - following social/group norms to meet the need for acceptance or approval

Cultural - conformity tends to be higher in collectivist rather than indivdualist cultures

Social loafing - conforming to the group but with less effort due to a belief that input will not make much difference to the outcome

Question 23

Bystander Intervention Model
Analyse model of bystander intervention
Case Study: Bystander Intervention in Emergencies - Darley and Latane

Answer 23

Aim: to investigate why, in some circumstances, people don’t help those in need. Hypothesised that people do not fail to help because of “moral decay” or “alienation”, but because of the presence of bystanders. The more bystanders present in an emergency, the less likely (or more slowly) any one bystander will intervene to provide aid.

Participants/Method: 59 female and 13 male participants and told they were participating in an experiment investigating the kinds of personal problems faced by normal college students in a high pressure, urban environment. Participants placed into a booth (to protect them from the potential embarrassment of sharing personal information) where they were given a set of headphones and a microphone. Told when it was their time to speak, they’d only have two minutes. A recording spoke first (participant thought it was real), then the participant spoke last, the next time the recording spoke, they had a seizure. The dependent variable was how long it took for the participant to report the seizure from the moment the seizure starts up until six minutes (the experiment was terminated if it wasn’t reported by six minutes). Independent variable was number of people present, there was either a two-person group (victim and participant), a three person group (victim, confederate voice and participant), or six person group (victim, four confederate voices and participant). Within three person group, researchers attempted different combinations of male and female confederates to determine if sex had any impact on reporting

Results: As predicted. The presence of bystanders reduced the individual’s feelings of personal responsibility and lowered the speed of reporting (p<0.01). Concluded that the explanation for why people do not tend to help others may lie in the bystander effect than in their indifference to the victim.

Evaluation:
This experiment sought to replicate the bystander effect occurance in the murder of Kitty Genovese which showed an apparent lack of conscience and inhuman lack of intervention to assist her from bystanders. This methodology ensured bystanders were unable to communicate face to face, increasing the ecoglogical validity of the study.

Lacks external validity due to laboratory setting

Uneven number of male and female participants, all were undergraduate psychology students, decreasing popolation validity

Easily replicated for student experiments by and shows similar results if a student were to drop books in a corridor

Question 24

Social Factors that Influence prosocial Behaviour:
Define prosocial behaviour and explain the biological and environmental (and interaction between the two) explanation behind the behaviour.

Answer 24

Prosocial behaviour is a helping behaviour that benefits other people and society in general. Usually voluntary. Aiding and assisting, charity, cooperation, friendship, rescuing, etc. Can be an automatic response or deliberate and occur over time

Biological (nature) - socio-biologiy, sees prosocial behaviour as genetic - humans naturally assist others as a way of protecting out common gene pool

Environmental (nurture) - not innate, instead learnt during the process of socialisation. Suggests that classical and operant conditioning, and social learning (also referred to as observational learning) all contrivute to the development of prosocial behaviour. Children can learn prosocial behaviour of others around them, and through being rewarded for appropriate behaviour.

Interaction between biological and environment factors (nature and nurture) - suggests that although we might be born with innate tendency to help others, exactly how we help is the product of social learning.

Note: this applies to antisocial behaviour as well

Question 25

Social factors that influence prosocial behaviour:
Describe the factors that influence prosocial behaviour

Answer 25

The following factors influence the liklihood of people engaging in prosocial behaviour:
The situation, social norms, personal characteristics of the helper, altruism.

Question 26

Social Factors that Influence Prosocial Behaviour
Desribe situational influence on prosocial behaviour through the bystander effect

Answer 26

Bystander intervention is the act of a person involuntarily helping someone else. The bystadner effect is where a bystander is more likely to help others in an emergency when there is no one else around than when there are bystanders.

Bystander effect is prosocial when theres a small amount of people and antisocial when there is a large amount of people

Question 27

Social Factors that Influence Prosocial Behaviour:
Describe social norms’ influence in prosocial behaviour

Answer 27

Prosocial behaviour is the social norm in most societies - especially where there is minimal cost to the helper.

Two norms that are influential in prosocial behaviour are peciprocity principle (the social expectation that you will respond in kind to someone who has helped you or done you a favour) and social responsibility (the expectation that members of a society will provide help to people who are dependent or in need, without the expectation of favours being reutrned)

Question 28

Social factors the influence prosocial behaviour:
Describe personal characteristics that influence prosocial behaviour

Answer 28

Empathpy - the capacity to understand and respond to the distress or emotions of other, which often leads to prosocial behaviour

Empathy causes social behaviour because of arousal (bystanderhelp others in distress because it relieves the unpleasant emotional feeling that comes from empathising with those who are suffering. This explanation sees bystanders helping for selfish reasons rather than genuine concern), similarity (we are more likely to feel empathy if we percieve those in need to be similar to ourselves: the greater the similarity, the stronger the feelings of empathy and arousal are likely to be. This is because the helper can more easily identify with the person in need), genuine desire to help (some helpers genuinely feel sad for the victim. By helping the victim, the helper also feels better).

Mood - the emotional state that can affect our perception, thoughts and behaviours, found to influence their propensity to behave in prosocial way. People in good mood more likely to demonstrate prosocial behaviour than people in bad mood. Research has found that when people are made to feel good by succeeding at a task, they are more likely to be helpful than those who have failed in a task. Similarly, people who hear good news or experience good weather are more likely to fell optimistic and positive towards others and help them. When people feel bad or depressed, they are more likely to focus inwardly on themselves rather than outwardly towards others in need.

Question 29

Social Factors that Influence Prosocial Behaviour:
Describe the influence of altruism and competence in prosocial behaviour

Answer 29

Competence - an individual’s ability to respond effectively to a situation or to perform a task successfully

Altruism - a prosocial behaviour that involves selflessness or helping others, even if there is nothing to be gained personally or if there is some personal cost

Question 30

Social Factors that Influence Prosocial Behaviour:
Describe the influence of altruism and competence in prosocial behaviour

Answer 30

Competence - an individual’s ability to respond effectively to a situation or to perform a task successfully

Altruism - a prosocial behaviour that involves selflessness or helping others, even if there is nothing to be gained personally or if there is some personal cost

Question 31

Factors that influence antisocial behaviour:
Define and describe antisocial behaviour

Answer 31

Antisocial behaviour is harmful to individuals and the community. There are two types, agression and predjudice

Question 32

Factors that influence anti-social behaviour:
Explain the factors that influence antisocial behaviour that link to the bystander effect.

Answer 32

Diffusion of responsiblity - the ideas that bystanders are less likely to take responsibility for helping in the presense of other. Each bystander believes that it is the responsibility of the other bystander to take action

Audience Inhibition - the reluctance of bystanders to help due to the percieved negative appraisals of others (or due to feelings of self-consciousness). Fear of social blunders)

Social Influence - the liklihood that bystanders will be more likely to help based on the reaction of others

Answer 33

Cost benefit analysis - A model of behaviour that suggests that when bystanders are confused with emergencies, they wigh up the pros and cons of providing help compared to those not helping

Question 34

Factors that influence anti-social behaviour:
Explain group think and

Answer 34

Group think - the tendency of a group to make decisions based on maintaining group cohesion rather than by critically analysing the realistie

Individuals in these situations characteristically tend to put aside their personal beleifs and adopt the beliefs of the hroup

Question 35

General Aggression Model:
What is agression and what are the two types

Answer 35

A behaviour directed towards others that is intended to cause harm. Gang fights, riots, child abuse, bullying, ethnic cleansing

Hostile Agression - emotional, impulsive agression that is a reaction to pain or distress (i.e. punching someone who says something mean)

Intrumental agreesion - agression that si deliberately planned (i.e. )

Question 36

General Agression Model
What is the General Aggession Model (GAD)?

Answer 36

The General Aggression Model (GAM) - Offers explanation for aggression.

Suggests that when shown violent or aggressive stimuli for a short period, this can increase someone’s aggression - seen through cognitive, affective and arousal measures (e.g. playing a violen video game may prime agressive conditions)

Question 37

General Aggression Model:
What is hostility and describe the two two types

Answer 37

Hostility - two types of hostility that contribute to someone’s perception and interpretation of a situation

Hostile attribution bias - the tendency to interpret the behaviour of others as having agressive intent - even when it may be accidental or ambiguous

Hostile perception bias - the tendency to interpret social interactions as agressive rather than pleasant events

Question 38

Media’s Influecne on Aggression:
Explain advertising’s influence on aggression.

Answer 38

Advertising need to grabs your attention and this can involve aggressive tactics - this can cause a desensitisation to aggressive (e.g. Captain Risky Budget Direct Ads)

Governement campaigns use shock tactics that use agressive tactics to expose the dangers of violence, abuse and dangerous behaviour with intention (ans success) to decrease that behaviour and raise awareness

Question 39

Media’s Influecne on Agression:
Video Games

Answer 39

While playing violent video games will not cause someone to become aggressive, research has found that repeated exposure to television in childhood has been shown to predict aggressive behaviour in adulthood

Question 40

Media’s Influecne on Agression:
Social Media

Answer 40

Videos of people fighting only are being shared on social media almost as entertainment, repeated exposure may normalise aggressive behaviour. In general social media has the power to normalise agressive thoughts and behaviours

Connected with people constantly and have the power to socialise through things like instagram, facetime, facebook - connection/community

Cyberbullying - can be traumatic/cause self-harm, can’t escape it whether your at home or at work or school.

Slender Man was an idea and story that was shared amongst social media amongst teenagers and incited agressive behaviour.

Question 41

Biological Theories of Attraction:
Define attraction. Describe the two apects of physical attraction

Answer 41

Attention is the ability to evoke interest and attention

1. Physical Attractiveness - attributes that can be seen on the eterior of a person that draws people to that person
2. Reproductive fitness - a measure of how likely a person is to pass their characteristics to the next generation

Question 42

Biological Theories of Attraction
Attractiveness Halo Effect

Answer 42

The theory that people who are physically attractive are presumed to have additional positive qualities

Question 43

Biological Theories of Attraction
Factors that affect attractiveness

Answer 43

Facial Symmetry (2 explanations)
1. Evolutionary Advantage View - the theory that sugests the reason why symmetry in facial characteriscs is so attractive is because symmetry suggests good health
2. perceptual bias view - a theory that states the reason why symetrical faces are mroe attractive is because the visual centres of the brain find symmetrical information easier to processs

Macsulinity/Femininity - more feminine faces are preferred (for males and females, no matter sexuality). EXCEPT in ovulation, females are more likely to find masculine faces more attractive

Genetics
Genes - a portion of your DNA that codes for a particular characteristic
Phenotype - the physical representation of what your gene codes for (brown hair, blue eyes)
DNA - genetic information that is inherited from your parents
Pheromones - a chemical substance released by the body that can affect other people
Natural selection - mechanism for evolution that can predict the liklihood of survival based on an organism’s phenotype.

Question 44

Biological Theories of Attraction
Case Study: Buss et al.

Answer 44

Aim/Hypothesis:
This research was aimed to investigate cultural differences in mate selection in 33 countries across six continents and five islands.

Participants/Method:
9474 participants. Complete two questionaires - one asked about factors used in choosing a mate, one asked about preferences for a partner. Used a quasi-experimental and correlational design to establish key difference between cultures

Results:
Largest difference across cultures was views on chastity. This trait was most valued for participants from Asia and Middle Eastern countries. Home, children and good housekeeping were characteristics that varied in importance between cultures. Western cultures generally found these traits to be somewhat irrelevant, whereas African cultures indicated that these traits were invaluable. There were very few difference on mate characterics, showing these to be universally important in mate selection

Conclusion:
Concluded that although there are large variations, in some of the preferences for mate characteristics, in general there were many common characteristics that were important to both sexes and across all cultures.

Evaluation:
- Very detailed, could be used as background reading or an introduction to the values and cultural norms in different cultures.
- Had very large sample size and used translators, so language used in each instrument reflected the word choice in each culture. Adds to intrument validity and reliability of data recorded. Quality of translators were unknown - could have diminished reliability.
- As correlational, survey-based research method, no real cause and effect.
- The numbe rof participants in each culture was not equal and could have biased results
- All participants were volunteers and may not have be representative of the population

Question 45

Social and Cognitive Origins of Attraction:
Recognise proximity as a social and cognitive origin of attraction

Answer 45

Proximity is the physical closeness to another person

The theory suggests that increasing yor proximity over time with a potential mate, you are more likely to feel attracted to them in both romantic and platonic relationships

Mere exposure effect - a phychological phenomenon that predicts individuals who spend more time with someone and become familiar with them, will prefer them to others who have spent little time. Proximity increases the opportunity for communication

Question 46

Social and Cognitive Origins of Attraction:
Recognise reciprocity as a social and cognitive origin of attraction

Answer 46

Reciprocity is how much each person in a relationship is giving to the relationship. Satisfaction increases when each person gives the same amount of effort.

Social exchange is meaningful interactions with others. Equity is equal investment in the relationship from both parties

Question 47

Social and Cognitive Origins of Attraction:
Recognise similarityas a social and cognitive origin of attraction

Answer 47

Similarity is characteristics that are alike between those in a relationship.

Similarity-attraction hypothesis - people who are similar to each other are more likely to find each other attractive and start a relationship compared to those who are not similar.

Question 48

What is relationship dissolution and

Answer 48

Relationship Dissolution - the ending of relationship initiated by at least one partner in the relationship

Duck’s Model of relationship dissolution:
1. Intrapsychic: an individual feels unsatisfied and thinks that they want to end things but has not spoken to their significant other yet
2. Dyadic: the couple starts to discuss their issues and depending on the result of the discussion, may end the relationship
3. Social: The couple seeks support from their social environment; they start to think they may be better off without their significant other
4. Grave-dressing: the individual reflects over the relationship and start to rebuild their life
5. Ressurection: the individual seeks new relationships and also often changes elements of their lifestyle to match the new changed version of themselves