Social Thinking & Interaction Flashcards
What is the hierarchy of salience theory?
It says that the various identities that compromise the self are ranked according to how frequently they’re used, and how likely to be used in a situation
What does the self discrepancy theory say?
It says the self is not just one thing, it is made up of 3 “selves”. Perceived differences between them lead to negative feelings.
What are the 3 selves of the self discrepancy theory?
Actual self – the way we see ourselves currently
Ideal self – the person we would like to be
Ought Self – are representation of the way others think we should be
Self-esteem
Our self worth, how we feel about ourselves
Self efficacy
Our measure of our ability to succeed
Locus of control
This is the way we characterize influences in our lives. There are two types: internal LOC and external LOC.
People with an internal LOC view…?
View that they themselves control their own fate
People with an external LOC view…?
View that their fate is controlled by luck or outside influences
Looking glass self theory
A theory composed by Charles Cooley which said that our self perception is based on how we “guess” others think of us, it’s NOT how we actually perceive ourselves
I vs me (George Meade)
I - this is what allows us to make spontaneous decisions, less likely to conform to society’s norms,
Me - how we believe the generalized other/society sees us, the socialized aspect of self
George Meade’s perception of self
He believed that only certain people influenced children’s perception of self & only during certain periods of life. He theorized that children go through 3 stages to develop the “me” and “I”
What is the 1st stage in Meade’s theory of development of self?
Prepatory stage - children interact through imitation (when mom cooks, baby holds and plays with a pot/pan
Play stage in Meade’s theory of development of self
Child interacts by pretend playing. Pretends how to be a teacher, doctor, etc. Understands that everyone has a role in society (only 1 role however)
Game stage in Meade’s theory of development of self
Children start to understand the behaviors of others and society as a whole. They realize people can have more than one role (be a mom and a teacher as well as wife)
True or false:
According to Mead, the “I” is developed through the play stage while the “me” is formed through interactions with society in the game stage.
True
Self-concept
-Our awareness of ourselves as distinct from others
-Our internal list of answers to the question “Who am I”?
What is an in-group vs. out-group?
In-group - a group to which a person belongs to and identifies with
Out-group - a group to which a person doesn’t identify and belong
What is a reference group?
It is a comparison group to which the individual compares themself to (person doesn’t necessarily have to belong to this group, but can aspire to be part of it)
What is a primary group vs. secondary group?
Primary group - a smaller group of individuals who are emotionally close
Secondary group - a large group of people who come together to accomplish something, impersonal foundation
Give an example of a primary group vs a secondary group
Primary group - your family
Secondary group - your staff and employees who work under you
What is social facilitation?
The phenomenon where the presence of others watching you enhances performances of on easy, well-rehearsed/practiced tasks.
What is social impairment?
The phenomenon where the presence of others watching you decreases your performances of difficult or unfamiliar tasks.
The impact of other people watching you perform a task on your performance of that task depends on which factor?
The nature of the task itself. If the task if familiar to you, you are more likely to perform better. Unfamiliarity w/ the task causes you to perform worse when in front of others vs. being alone.
Define deindividuation.
The loss of individual self-awareness when one is part of a large group. Factors contributing to this phenomenon include:
-Participating in an emotionally arousing activity
-Large group size
-Diffusion of responsibility
-Reduced sense of personal responsibility and increase sense of anonymity
What are examples of deindividuation?
Being part of a riot, in the old days crowds which practiced public lynching
What is impression management?
When a person tries to influence how one is perceived by others by exhibiting certain behaviors.
Bystander effect
Phenomenon where individuals are less likely to help when there are others present, whereby the more people present, the more time passes until someone provides help.
What are social roles?
An individual’s expected behavior in social situations.
What is the difference between role strain and role conflict?
Role strain is having multiple obligations within a single role which lead to tension.
Role conflict is having expectations from two or more roles which create tension w/ each other.
What is role exit?
The process by which an individual disengages/leaves from a social role.
Example: a doctor retiring at 60 to travel with their spouse
What is groupthink?
A phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which the desire for harmony & conformity results in an irrational/incorrect decision.
When an individual values getting along more than critical evaluation of alternative options.
What are the different symptoms that point to groupthink occurring?
Illusions of invulnerability, group’s inherent morality, group rationalization, outgroup stereotyping, suppression of dissension, self-censorship, illusions of unanimity, mindguards
Explain illusion of invulnerability.
Group has heightened sense of optimism/illusion which can lead to risky behaviors.
Explain group’s inherent morality.
The group fosters belief that their actions are above moral reproach.
Explain group rationalization.
Group members don’t question any assumptions of the group and ignore any warnings that can deter the group.
Explain out-group stereotyping.
Group members view those outside of the group as ignorant, morally inferior.
Explain suppression of dissension.
Group members feel pressure to not voice their opinions.
Explain self-censorship.
Group members who doubt the group don’t voice their concerns and censor themselves.
Explain mindguards.
These are specific group members who shield the group from any outside information that can harm the group.
What is social loafing?
When an individual exerts less effort as a member of a group than they would when working alone.
The following is an example of?
Group members adopt a more extreme attitude/decision after group discussion.
Group polarization
Give an example of formal vs. informal social control.
Formal - sanctions, regulations
Informal - shame, ridicule, sarcasm
Prejudice
Unfavorable judgments/opinions about someone based on their status in a certain group (race, class, gender)
Discrimination
An actual action carried out due to prejudice or bias on the basis of race, age, religion, gender, etc.
What qualifies as institutional discrimination?
Discrimination of an individual/group of individuals by social institutions through systematic policies and procedures resulting in unfair treatment.
Example: school board, university policies, government, companies, etc
What is stereotype threat?
When worry about a negative stereotype leads to underperformance on a task involved in that stereotype.
What was the purpose of the Solomon Asch Conformity study?
To shed light on the power of social influence on individual decision-making, dynamics of group behavior, factors influencing conformity…
What did the Solomon Asch Conformity study show?
Participants in the study were more likely to conform to the incorrect group opinion, even if it contradicted their own judgment just because it was the choice made by the majority.
Also, the larger the group of confederates (posing as participants to influence) grew, the more likely the actual participants conformed to the majority opinion.
What is conformity?
When individuals alter their behaviors in order to fit in a “social group/context”.
What is normative conformity & informational conformity?
Normative - conforming in order to avoid social rejection; occurs when individual identifies w/ the people in the group
Informational - conforming either the individual is uncertain of what to do and believes others know what to do
What is compliance?
This occurs when a person changes behavior
because they are asked to do so by another person (equal status) either explicitly or implicitly.
What is obedience?
When someone changes a behavior/does an action due to a command from some authority figure.
What was the purpose of the Milgram study
Participants were required to administer shocks in sequence for every wrong question under the command of an authority figure. To investigate obedience to authority and the willingness of individuals to follow orders that conflicted with their moral beliefs.
What were the key findings of the Milgram study?
-Individuals often dissociate personal responsibility for their actions when they are following orders from an authority figure
-Individuals were more likely to obey when the authority figure was in close proximity of them, rather the authority figure being a different room
What did the Stanford Prison experiment study?
It placed participants into guard or prisoner roles, mimicking a prison setting. Specifically, it studied how situational factors and perceived power roles influence human behaviors.
What were the key findings of the Stanford prison experiment?
-Participants quickly internalized their assigned roles as guards and prisoners, that is the behavior they exhibited with their given roles started to also influence their attitudes
-Deindividuation played a role in facilitating abusive behavior displayed by the guards
-Showed that even ordinary individuals when given power abused it
What is the name of the phenomenon that the participants as prison guards experienced in the Stanford experiment?
“Role-playing effects”
What factors influence conformity?
-Group status
-Size of group (3-5 people)
-Staying anonymous in decision
-Feelings of insecurity
-Majority makes one unanimous decision
-Socioeconomic status
-Culture
-Mood
What is internalization?
The process of an individual accepting and integrating societal norms and values into their own personal belief system.
What is identification?
The process of an individual adopting the beliefs, attitudes, behavior, and appearance of a person with whom they are emotionally attached to and look up to as a “role model”.
This can lead to internalization of the values and beliefs this role model/influential figure possesses.
What are social norms?
Standards for what kinds of behaviors are acceptable and what kinds aren’t
4 different types of norms:
Folkways - mild common courtesies/manners
Mores - norms based on values, but don’t have serious consequences
Laws - norms based on values & have serious consequences
Taboos - completely forbidden behaviors in any situation
Suicide is a violation of what kind of norm?
Taboo - it’s the most deviant, and has serious punishment such as societal shunning and involuntary confinement/treatment
What is deviance? What is secondary deviance?
Deviance - any behavior which significantly differs from what is considered the norm
Secondary deviance - more deviant behavior that results from being publicly labeled as deviant
What theory explains this best:
Claims that deviance is a learned behavior which results from continued exposure to others who violate norms/laws
Theory of differential association
What does the labeling theory of deviance say?
Emphasizes the aspect of behaviors becoming deviant if others have judged it to be deviant, the stigma people place on others (emphasizes society’s reaction to the behavior & not so much the actual behaviors)
What does the strain theory of deviance emphasize?
Argues that people engage in deviant behavior when they are unable to attain socially acceptable goals because of limited access/opportunities
According to strain theory there are 5 ways, people respond to this gap between a goal:
- Conformity - pursue goals to extent they can through socially accepted means
- Innovation - pursue goals through criminal or deviant means instead
3.Ritualism - pursue goals by lowering their goals until they can reach them through socially acceptable ways - Retreatism - retreat society’s norms/goals of financial success & become beggars
- Rebellion - rebel against society’s goal (through terrorism, freedom fighting)
What does the social disorganization theory of deviance posit?
Asserts that crime is most likely to occur in communities with weak social ties and absence of social control. Strong emphasis on environment
What is symbolic interactionism? Who was responsible for devising it?
A micro-sociological view looking at individual interactions instead of large social institutions. Emphasizes that individuals assign different meanings to things and meanings can change depending on the individual’s experience.
George Herbert Mead
What does the differential association theory of deviance say?
Individuals learn deviant behavior from observation and interaction of those close to them..(emphasis on more generational effects, than personal choice)
What does the conflict theory of deviance say?
Says that social and economic factors are the causes of crime and deviance because they create inequalities (emphasized social class, financial status)
Define peer pressure
The direct influence on an individual by his or her peers, making the individual more likely to behave in a certain fashion.
What are sanctions?
Informal punishments for violating social norms
What is generalized game theory?
Theory that people make social decisions as if they were playing a game. The goal is to maximize your own benefit:cost ratio.
1. Decisions are made based on cooperation, competitions, and exploitation depending on the social situation.
Compare zero-sum vs. non-zero sum games
Zero-sum-games –> where the player’s interests are in direct conflict w/ each other, so only 1 player gains while the other loses
Non-zero-sum game –> when players interests are not in direct conflict, both players can gain
How is evolutionary game theory different from generalized game theory?
Evolutionary game theory attempts to explain why organisms behave in certain ways, an exhibit behaviors such as mating, aggression, and altruistic behaviors in order to increase their inclusive fitness.
Generalized game theory explains how human behavior is motivate to maximize the benefits and minimize the cost.
