Socialization Flashcards
bystander effect
influence of being a part of a large group that makes an individual less likely to take action in a situation
diffusion of responsibility
an effect of being part of a group that makes a person less likely to get personally involved or take action, because they assume someone else will act or has already acted
Kitty Genovese case
a woman who was murdered in Queens, NY with 38 witnesses, none of whom called the police or stepped in
exemplifies the bystander effect
deindividuation
effect of belonging to a group that results in the loss of an individual’s self-awareness or identity
helps explain how seemingly normal, moral people can commit violent acts in a group, such as rioting or wartime actions
social facilitation
idea that the presence of a group and the arousal that it causes improves performance
happens when the most dominant, practiced response is a positive, desired behavior
social loafing
tendency of an individual within a group to put less effort into a task if there is no evaluation of individual performance
can be reduced by giving a role to each individual or by making the task more challenging
socialization
lifelong process of learning how to interact with others and how to behave within social norms
agents of socialization
people, groups, or institutions that help a person learn about social norms or how to interact with others
eg hidden curriculum, peer pressure, mass media
hidden curriculum
values, norms, and beliefs that are learned in schools not through formal communication, but rather through the nature of the learning environment and subtle suggestions by teachers
peer pressure
influences on behavior that are caused by the actions and beliefs of one’s friends
mass media
an agent of socialization that encompasses the information conveyed through television, news, internet, radio, books, and magazines
norms
standards for acceptable behavior in a certain situation or around certain people
often unwritten and unstated, but based on the internalized moral guidelines of the group
folkways
most informal type of norm that includes commonplace, courteous behaviors that have no severe or consistent consequences
eg holding a door for someone or saying bless you
mores
type of norm that is based on moral standards and typically elicits a reaction, but no formal consequences, when they are violated
eg truthfulness and religious prohibitions
laws
type of norm that is based on moral standards and has formal, stated consequences and punishments for violations
eg petty crime and loan sharking
taboos
type of norm that controls a prohibited behavior and can often be punished by law, and always causes a large reaction or outrage when broken
eg incest and cannibalism
deviance
violation of a social norm
dependent on context and can differ based on the groups or societies involved
symbolic interactionist perspective
theory that focuses on the idea that society is a product of the social interactions of individuals
in this theory
deviance is behavior that is different than normal everyday interactions in that given society
theory of differential association
idea that deviance is a learned behavior that comes from interactions with others who violate norms
part of the symbolic interactionist perspective
labeling theory
idea that deviance occurs when a pre-existing behavior is deemed as deviant or as a violation of norms
part of the symbolic interactionist perspective
primary deviance
a behavior that violates social norms, but results in very mild reactions from society and does not affect a person’s self esteem
secondary deviance
behavior that violates societal norms, resulting in serious consequences in society, including a stigmatizing label
strain theory
idea that individuals turn to deviance due to frustration in their inability to reach a socially acceptable goal through conventional, approved-of means
collective behavior
deviant actions displayed by a large number of individuals, often driven by deindividualization
involves a non-exclusive group of people that only interact for a limited time and do not have strong, established norms
fads
type of collective behavior that becomes very popular in a large group of people for a small, transient amount of time
mass hysteria
type of collective behavior characterized by delusions and anxiety regarding these delusions experienced by a large group of people at one time
often caused by exaggerated news
mass psychogenic hysteria (epidemic hysteria)
collective behavior characterized by a large group of people believing that they are experiencing the same symptoms or disease, despite the lack of disease
riots
type of collective behavior characterized by a large group of people engaging ind deviant or violent behavior that goes against social norms
often results in large amounts of property damage, theft, or other violations of laws
group behavior
actions of many individuals that spend a prolonged period of time together that fit in their established set of norms
social cognitive theory
idea that the environment, cognitions, and behaviors all contribute to an individual’s learning
emphasizes the role of interactions with peers in learning
reciprocal determinism
theory that explains the way in which behaviors, cognitions, and the environment can all causally influence each other
originally proposed by Albert Bandura
observational learning
way in which watching behaviors performed by others can cause replication of these behaviors in the watchers
locus of control
amount of influence a person believes they personally have vs the environment has over their behavior and the outcomes of those behaviors
internal locus of control
belief that a person can control their own behaviors and outcomes
individuals with this belief often do better in school and have lower rates of depression
external locus of control
belief that a person’s behaviors or outcomes are largely influenced by the environment, rather than internal influence
eg believing outcomes are due to unfair conditions/luck
learned helplessness
lost ability to identify stressors and pursue coping mechanisms due to repeated inability to cope with stressors outside an individual’s control
tyranny of choice
idea that having excessive options will significantly stress an individual, which often results in dissatisfaction
information overload
the difficulty in making a decision or fully understanding an issue when too much data is provided
decision paralysis
inability to make a choice that can be caused by an information overload
self control
ability to push off instant gratification for the pursuit of long term goals
people with more of this quality tend to do better in school, have better social skills, use less drugs, and have better overall self-management
the marshmallow test
an experiment that places a single marshmallow in front of a preschool child, allowing them to eat it or wait 15 minutes for the reward of getting to eat double the amount of marshmallows
tests self control and delay of gratification
ego depletion
theory that every person has a limited amount of self control, and using it in one scenario results in having less self control in the future
operant conditioning
learning mechanism that uses rewards and punishments to make behavior more or less likely to occur again
this can be used to reduce the need for self control
classical conditioning
learning mechanism that pairs two stimuli to produce an involuntary response to a previously neutral stimulus
can be used to reduce the need for self control
deprivation
removing the object of temptation in an attempt to reduce the desire for that object
often causes a stronger desire for the object
