Social Psychology Flashcards
Define attitudes?
Attitude: a positive or negative evaluative reaction toward a stimulus, such as a person, action, object, or concept
Attitudes influence behaviour more strongly when situational factors that contradict our attitudes are weak
Describe the theory of planned behaviour?
See slides
Ajzen 1991 - smooking cessation
What is cognitive dissonance?
Conflict between ideas.
I’m a smoker vs Smoking causes cancer
How do you resolve dissonance?
- Change behaviour: In the case of smoking, this would involve quitting, which might be difficult and thus avoided
- Acquire new information: Such as seeking exceptions e.g. “My grandfather smoked all his life and lived to be 96”
- Reduce the importance of the cognitions(i.e. beliefs, attitudes). A person could convince themself that it is better to “live for the moment”
How can you changing attitudes?
Message more effective if:
- Reaches recipient
- Is attention-grabbing
- Easily understood
- Relevant and important
- Easily remembered
Message more effective if:
- Reaches recipient
- Is attention-grabbing
- Easily understood
- Relevant and important
- Easily remembered
Define framing?
Refers to whether a message emphasises the benefits or losses of that behaviour
Research shows that:
When we want people to take up behaviours aimed at detecting health problems or illness (e.g. HIV testing) loss-framed messages may be more effective When we want people to take up behaviours aimed at promoting prevention behaviours (e.g. condom use) gain-framed messages may be more effective
See slides for examples
Define sterotypes
Generalisations made about a group of people or members of that group, such as race, ethnicity, or gender. Or more specific such as different medical specialisations (e.g. surgeons)
Define prejudice
To judge, often negatively, without having relevant facts, usually about a group or its individual members
Define discrimination
Behaviours that follow from negative evaluations or attitudes towards members of particular groups
What are some case studies on sterotypes and prejudice?
See slides
Define social loafing?
The tendency for people to expend less individual effort when working in a group than when working alone
When is social loafing/diffusion of responsibility more likely to occur?
- The person believes that individual performance is not being monitored
- The task (goal) or the group has less value or meaning to the person
- The person generally displays low motivation to strive for success
- The person expects that other group members will display high effort
What does social loafing/diffusion of responsibility dependent on?
- Occurs more strongly in all-male groups
- Occurs more often in individualistic cultures (western cultures)
When does social loafing disappear
- Individual performance is monitored
- Members highly value their group or the task goal
- Groups are smaller
- Members are of similar competence
Describe some confomrity study?
Asch 1956 (lines) Medical students and knee aspiration
What factors affect conformity?
Group size:
- Conformity increases as group size increases
- No increases over five group members
Presence of a dissenter:
- One person disagreeing with the others greatly reduces group conformity
Culture:
- Greater in collectivistic cultures
What is bystander apathy?
Related with the diffusion of responsibility. Woman was murdered - 37 people saw the murder didn’t call the police.
People are more likely to help if they are by themselves. If there are other people we feel as if everything is ok
Describe the Darley and latane experiment ?
Helping student having an epileptic seizure in an adjacent room.
87% helped if they believed it was just them and the other student.
But only 31% helped when they believed they were in a group of 4 people, hardly anyone helped if group was above 4.
If participant had not acted within first 3 minutes they never acted.
Describe the 5-step bystander decision process?
- Notice the event
- Decide if the event is really an emergency
Social comparison: look to see how others are responding - Assuming responsibility to intervene
Diffusion of Responsibility: believing that someone else will help - Self-efficacy in dealing with the situation
- Decision to help (based on cost-benefit analysis e.g. danger)
How do you increase helping behviour?
Reducing restraints on helping:
- Reduce ambiguity and increase responsibility
- Enhance concern for self image
Socialise altruism:
- Teaching moral inclusion
- Modelling helping behaviour
- Attributing helpful behaviour to altruistic motives
- Education about barriers to helping
Describe a study concerning the bystander effect in medical care?
“who is my doctor?”
Francis report
What are factors that influence obedience?
Shock learning study
Factors That Influence Obedience:
- Remoteness of the victim
- Closeness and legitimacy of the authority figure
- Diffusion of responsibility: obedience increases when someone else does the dirty work
- Not personal characteristics
Define Groupthink and give a clinical example
The tendency of group members to suspend critical thinking because they they are striving to seek agreement
Clinical study with surgery and MDT
Define group polarization
The tendency of people to make decisions that are more extreme when they are in a group as opposed to a decision made alone or independently
When is groupthink more likely to occur?
- Is under high stress to reach a decision
- Is insulated from outside input
- Has a directive leader
- Has high cohesiveness
What are the different types of leadership styles?
Autocratic or authoritarian style
Participative or democratic style
Laissez-faire or “free rein” style
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different leadership styles?
See slides
