Social Psychology (ch 12) Flashcards
What is the social brain hypothesis?
The size of a primate species’ standard social group is related to the volume of that species’ neocortex – primates have larger brains and larger prefrontal cortexes
Ingroups vs Outgroups
People favor their own ingroups
People organize themselves into groups when two conditions are met:
- reciprocity: people treat others as others treat them
- transitivity: people generally share their friends’ opinions of other people
Outgroup homogeneity effect:
People tend to view outgroup members as less varied than ingroup members and show a positivity bias for ingroup members
Social Identity Theory
people not only identify with certain groups but also value those groups and in doing so experience pride through their group membership
Ingroup favoritism
people give preferential treatment to ingroup members
which part of the brain is associated with thinking about other people and categorizing them into groups?
The medial prefrontal cortex
What is the risky-shift effect in group decision making?
groups often make riskier decisions than individuals do, but can also become more cautious depending on group polarization or groupthink
Group polarization
the initial attitudes of a group become more extreme over time
Group think
occurs when a group is under intense pressure and is biased in particular direction to begin with, does not process of information
Social facilitation
presence of others generally enhances performance
What is Zajonc’s proposed model of social facilitation?
presence of other > arousal > enhancement of the dominant response> can either enhance or impair performance
Social loafing
when people do not work as hard when in a group as when working alone, people’s efforts are pooled so that individuals do not feel personally responsible for the group’s output
deindividuation
when people lose individuality as they become part of a group, responsibility is diffused, tend to act according to the expectations of situation or people around
conformity
alteration of one’s beliefs and behaviors in order to meet other people’s expectations or match those of other people
normative influence
when people go along with the crowd to fit in and to avoid looking foolish
informational influence
when there is uncertainty or ambiguity about what is correct, appropriate, or expected so people look to other people for cues about how to respond
factors affecting conformity
group size, lack of consensus, social and cultural context, activity in the medial prefrontal cortex
Situational factors that affect aggression
observational learning, exposure to media violence, when people feel socially rejected, heat
Biological factors that influence aggression
testosterone (reduces the activity of brain circuits that control impulses), serotonin (important in the regulation of aggressive behavior, interferes with the prefrontal cortex’s control)
What did Sherif’s study find?
cooperation created friends, shared superordinate goals reduced hostility between groups
What did Batson vs Cialdini argue about prosocial behavior?
Batson said that prosocial behavior was motivated by empathy, Cialdini argued that it has selfish motives (to manage one’s public image)
Inclusive fitness
adaptive benefits of transmitting genes rather than focusing on individual survival
Idea of reciprocity
one animal helps another because the other may return the favor in the future
True or False: People are less likely to help when the cost of doing so is high
True
Bystander Intervention effect
the failure to offer help by those who observe someone in need
Four main reasons that bystanders do not consistently intervene in emergencies
diffusion of responsibility, fear of making social blunders, anonymous, risk and benefit analysis
attitudes
feelings, opinions, and beliefs
true or false, people develop positive attitudes about new things more quickly than they develop negative attitudes about them
False
Mere exposure effect
the greater exposure leads to greater liking
attitude-behavior consistency
the stronger and more personally relevant the attitude, the more likely it is to predict behavior and remain stable in the face of challenges
attitude accessibility
how quickly your attitude comes to mind
explicit attitudes
those you know about and can report to other people
implicit attitudes
influence their feelings and behaviors at an unconscious level
What is persuasion and when is it most likely to occur
active and conscious effort to change an attitude or behavior, most likely to occur when people pay attention to a message, understand it, and find it convincing
factors that affect persuasiveness
source, content, receiver (attractive and credible are the most persuasive)
elaboration likelihood model
the idea that attitudes change in two ways: through the central route or the peripheral route
factors that increase compliance
good mood, motivation, foot in the door, door in the face, low balling
foot in the door
if people agree to a small request, they are more likely to comply with a large and undesirable request
door in the face
if you refuse a large request, you are more likely to comply with a smaller request
low balling
when you agree to buy a product for a certain price, you are likely to comply with a request to pay more for the product
what does the face communicate
information such as emotional state, interest, competence, and trustworthiness
thin slices of behavior
powerful cues for impression formation
dispositional attributions
places cause of a behavior on internal factors
situational attributions
external attributions
fundamental attribution error
mistaken association between a behavior and a fundamental feature about a person
actor/observer discrepancy
combined forces of two biases, people’s tendency to focus on situations when interpreting their own behavior, focus on dispositions when interpreting other people’s behavior
stereotypes
mental shortcuts (heuristics) that allow for easy, fast processing of social information
Why do people use stereotypes?
to efficiently form impressions of others within the built-in constraints on mental processing
prejudice
negative feelings, opinions, and beliefs associated with a stereotype
discrimination
differential treatment of people based merely on their group membership
effects of stereotyping and discrimination
Violence
Stress-induced illness
Premature death
Stereotype threat
the concern or fear people experience if they believe that their performance on a task could confirm negative stereotypes about their group
Interferes with performance
Interventions to reduce stereotype threat
Informing them about negative consequences of stereotype threat
Bolstering social connections
Reframing: taking a negative stereotype and transforming it from a weakness into a strength
Self labeling: embracing the very slurs used against you
Perspective taking: actively contemplating the psychological experiences of other people
Can reduce racial bias and stereotyping
Perspective giving: when people share their experiences of being targets of discrimination
Birds of a feather
people similar in attitudes, values, interests, backgrounds, and personalities tend to like each other
Which Situational and Personal Factors Influence Interpersonal Attraction
Proximity and Familiarity
Personal Characteristics
Physical attractiveness
Passionate love:
state of intense longing and sexual desire
Associated with activity in midbrain dopamine systems, the same systems involved in reinforcement learning, reward, and motivation
Companionate love:
a strong commitment to care for and support a partner
Develops over time; based on friendship, trust, respect, and intimacy
Passion fades over time
The long-term pattern of sexual activity within relationships shows an initial rise and then a decline
Gottman’s 4 interpersonal styles of communication that are detrimental (four horsemen of apocalypse)
Criticism
Contempt
Defensiveness
Stonewalling
Attributional Style and Accommodation
Happy couples make partner-enhancing attributions
Unhappy couples make distress-maintaining attribution
