Social Psychology Flashcards
SIT
What is self-concept ?
Sense of who we are
SIT
What is Social Identity Theory (SIT) ?
- Humans have a strong desire to ‘belong’
- Our self-esteem comes from group membership and acceptance of others
SIT
What is social behaviour driven by ?
Maintaining a positive self to be a valued member of the ‘ingroup’
SIT
Ingroup ?
Who we see ourselves belonging to
SIT
Outgroup ?
Anyone who is not part of the ingroup
SIT
What is Social Categorisation?
Separation of individuals into the 2 groups (ingroup and outgroup)
SIT
What do Tafjel + Turner argue that of Social Categorisation ?
It’s a basic characteristic of human thought and we have little control over it
SIT
What is Social Identification ?
- Individuals adopting beliefs, values + attitudes of groups they ‘belong’ in.
- Shifts persons thinking and self - concept as a new social identity is formed
SIT
What can follow the change of Social Identity ?
Social Comparison
SIT
What is Social Comparison ?
- Boosting their self-esteem by making comparisons between ingroup and outgroup
- Differences are emphasised and similarities are minimised
SIT
What is ‘Quest for Positive Distinctiveness’ ?
Motivation to perceive our ingroup in a positive light for own self-esteem
SIT
What does Social Comparison lead to ?
- Discrimination between ingroup and outgroup
- Thinking and treating differently
RCT
What is intergroup competition ?
- When 2 or more groups strive for the same goal
- Prejudice and hostility intensifies
RCT
What is Negative Interdependance ?
- When 2 group strike the same goal but only one group can achieve it
- ‘Negative’ - each group will obstruct the other from achieivng it
- ‘Interdependant’ - how one groups win will mean anothers loss.
RCT
What happens during Negative Interdependance ?
- Intergroup relations will detriorate
- Opposing groups will be hostile whereas ingroup will be cooperative
RCT
What is Limited Resources ?
- Competition for resources such as food, territory
- These situations lead to prejudice
- If there is a compromise, pejudice and discrimination lower
RCT
What are Superoordinate Goals ?
- Goals which can only be achieved through intergroup cooperation
- Reduces prejudice, leads to favourable perceptions of the opposing group
Factors affecting prejudice
What are individual differences ?
- Individual charactersitics effect our behaviour rather than situational theories suggested by RCT and SIT
Characteristics:
- Personality type
- Culture
- Gender
Factors affecting prejudice
Definition of personality ?
Combination of characteristics and traits that form an individuals distintive character.
Factors affecting prejudice
Definition of culture ?
A way of life of particular groups of people
- Social norms
- Customs
- Beliefs
Theory of Obedience
Source
Giving the order
Theory of Obedience
Target
Receiving the order
Theory of Obedience
Strength
The amount of authority the source has over the target
Theory of Obedience
Number
Number of sources impacting the target
Theory of Obedience
Immediacy
The closeness (Time and distance) of the source to the target
Theory of Obedience
Multiplicative Effect
Increasing the strength, immediacy and number of source it icreases the impact on the target hugely
Theory of Obedience
Divisional Effect
If there are more targets than sources, strength of the source is divinded by the target
Theory of Obedience
Autoomous State
Someone who acts on their pwn principles and takes responsibility for their own actions
Theory of Obedience
Moral Strain
When an authority figure demands an order which goes against our conscious
2 Contradictions:
- Obey the authority figure (society expectations)
- Obey our conscious (true to self, ‘good person’)
Theory of Obedience
Agentic Shift
Changing from autonomous state to agentic state
Theory of Obedience
Agentic State
Person acting on behalf of someone else, follows their orders so they dont feel resposibile for their actions.
(like an agent)
