Sociology 1 Flashcards
What is social facilitation?
individuals perform better on simple task when they are being observed.
HOWEVER worse on more complex task when being observed.
What is the Yerkes Dodson Law and curve?
A parabolic curve with arousal (going from low to high) on x axis and performance on y axis.
The law dictates that performance increases with physiological or mental arousal, but only up to a point.
Person A is self-conscious about their intellect and has anxiety about performing in front of other people.
Person B has a positive self-image, but generally prefers not to perform in front of a crowd.
Person C loves to be the center of attention and thrives under pressure.
Using the Yerkes-Dodson Law, draw a graph in which you predict the performance of Persons A, B and C on BOTH a simple and a complex task, under the following conditions: a) performing the task in front of a friend, b) performing the task in front of an authority figure, c) performing the task in front of a large crowd when one’s performance will dramatically impact one’s life goals.
Person A will have a declining curve as the crowd gets bigger.
Person B will have a normal looking godson curve
Person C will have an increasing line as the crows gets bigger.
What is deindividuation? provide example
Loss of self awareness in groups.
ex: Groups of excited, rioting sports fans celebrating a big win can end up commiting acts they would never do alone, such as vandalism or arson.
what is the bystander effect? provide example
Individuals forgo person morals an decisions and follow other’s lead– especially when someone is in danger and they decide not to help.
ex: Katie stabbed in apartment but no one did anything.
What is social loafing? provide example
Person exerting less effort when they are in a group than if they were alone.
ex: every and any group project you ever work on.
What is peer pressure?
Peer Pressure = Social influence exerted on an individual by a peer or peer group. A peer is another individual that is of the same age, status, or other measure of equality, as oneself.
What are the key findings of Solomon’s Asch’s 1950’s conformity study?
Solomon Asch’s (1952) famous experiment on group conformity included students in groups of six to eight. They were told it was a study of visual perception. All but one of the individuals in the group was told that their job was to put pressure on the remaining person. They were given two cards with lines on them. One was a standard line to which the lines on the second card were to be compared. It was easy to determine that the line marked on the second part was the correct choice. At the beginning of the experiment everyone made correct matches. But when the confederates began answering incorrectly, the student who was uninformed began to feel uncomfortable. Asch found that one third of all subjects conformed through answering incorrectly. These findings suggest we may be willing to question our own beliefs and judgments in the face of disagreement with others.
What is internalization? ex?
A form of conformity ; the process by which an individual accepts as his or her own a set of norms established by people or groups which are influential to that individual. ex: people accepting their parent’s political party as their own
what is identification ?
a form of conformity; process of incorporating the characteristics of a parent or other influential person by adopting their appearance, attitudes and behavior. People ten to identify with persons wo them they are emotionally attached and whom they perceive to be most similar to themselves.
ex: bibi takign hei dad’s lines
Compare and contrast conformity, compliance and obedience. Ex?
Conformity occurs when individuals alter their behaviors or attitudes in order to “fit in” a social context. Generally, conformity is considered to result from the passive influence that others have on our own behaviors and attitudes.
Compliance occurs when a person changes behavior because they are asked to do so by another either explicitly or implicitly. This is obviously a response to an active attempt to alter one’s behavior, but it does not necessarily require changes in thought or attitudes about the behavior.
Obedience is a change in behavior as function of a command from some authority figure. Again, the focus here is on the behavior itself, and the underlying attitude may or may not be affected.
What is social control?
Societal or political mechanisms used to regulate the behavior of individuals to ensure conformity and compliance to the established rules of that group.
What formal social control? what is informal social control?
Formal= laws, sanctions, regulations
informal: socialization, verbal and non verbal or written expressions of disprovals, shame, ridicule, sarcasm,..
Q6. Identify each example as an illustration of either a formal or informal social control:
a) An EPA regulation fines businesses that do not adhere to pollution limits. b) A mother scowls at her daughter when she walks into church wearing revealing clothing. c) A male high school student is ridiculed for his interest in interior design as a career. d) A sign is posted at the city park reading “No Dogs Allowed.” e) Societal norms. f) U.S. leaders implement economic sanctions against a foreign country because of continued civil rights abuses.
a) formal
b) informal
c) informal
d) formal
e) informal
f) formal
What is group polarization?
Tendency of groups to make decisions that are more extreme (on either end of continuum) than would individual members on that group acting alone.
What is concept of Groupthink?
Tendency of groups to make decisions that are incorrect or illogical based on a desire to maximize group consensus and minimize group conflict. Therefore they have a tendency to ignore incorrect or illogical information, ignore true evidence.
What are Irving Janis’ eight symptoms of groupthink?
1) Illusion of Invulnerability
2) Illusion of Morality
3) Rationalization- Members discount warnings and do not reconsider their assumptions.
4) Stereotyping
5) Self-Censorship- Doubts and deviations from the perceived group consensus are not expressed.
6) Illusion of Unanimity- peer pressure against those that would speak up against groupthink
7) Pressure to Conform
8) Mindguards- Members protect the group and the leader from information that is problematic or contradictory to the group’s cohesiveness, view, and/or decisions.
1) A group is most likely to make an inaccurate decision under which set of conditions? A) low consensus, high conflict B) high consensus, low conflict C) low consensus, low conflict D) high consensus, high conflict
A- Low consensus will push the group toward a quick decision in an effort to increase consensus, and high conflict will likewise push them to make a decision in order to resolve conflict. This is the maximum error-inducing condition of the four choices.
What are norms, mores, folkways, taboos and sanctions?
Norms are the rules and expectations by which members of society are expected to follow.
Ex: not being too loud after 10pm.
Folkways are rules for casual social interaction. We all have an understanding that we face the front of an elevator.
Mores are norms that have great moral significance and are widely observed by members of society.
Ex: breaking a more to drive while drinking
Taboos are the most morally significant and even the thought of violation brings about a strong, negative response from members of society. An example of this is having consensual sexual relations rather than forcing another to have sex.
What is anomie?
normlessness; state on instability due to lack of social norms or breakdown of social standards or values.
What does the functional theory says about deviance?
deviance is not necessarily negative- it is in fact necessary for social order. It helps clarify boundaries of social norms and play a positive role in initiating social change.
What is differential association theory ?
Through interaction with others, individuals learn the values, attitudes, and techniques for deviant behavior, essentially criminally behavior.
What is the strain theory as it relates to deviance?
Developed by Merton (1938). The theory states that society puts pressure on individuals to achieve socially accepted goals (such as the American dream) though they lack the means, this leads to strain which may lead the individuals to commit crimes.
What is labeling theory as it related to deviance?
Becker (1960)- is the view of deviance according to which being labeled as a “deviant” leads a person to engage in deviant behavior.
With which sociological perspective, or perspectives (function, differential, strain or labeling) of deviance do the following most clearly align?
a) The man had very limited options. His family was starving and he needed food, so he did the only thing he could. b) Internal locus of control.
c) External locus of control.
d) White abolitionists during the civil war era may have been breaking the law by helping slaves escape to the North, but they should be commended for their role in resisting the awful practice of slavery.
e) In first grade one teacher told Steven he was too dumb to do math. Steven decided he would prove his teacher wrong and went on to become a world- renowned economist and mathematician.
f) Michelle decided to begin selling nude pictures of herself as a college student because she could not find a regular job that would pay her enough to cover her tuition.
a) strain
b) conscious choice to steal-
c) strain
d) functional
e) labeling
f) strain
What’s a stigma?
extreme dislike or negativity toward a person group based on perceived deviance from social norms.
What’s concept of collective behavior?
social processes or behavior by “group-like” entities called “collectives” that do NOT reflect stable social structure but emerge in a spontaneous way.
NEITHER NORMATIVE NOR ABSENT.
–> you don’t now what to do and you improve with a group as to what is best.
What is the difference between collective and group thinking?
Collectives or collective behavior is defined as an unplanned activity among a large number of people that may result in social change. It is often controversial. Collective behavior occurs in both crowds and masses.
Groups are people interacting with one another within primary or secondary group.
Primary group is family , and the individual that have an intimate bond that is long lasting and influential.
Secondary groups are large, impersonal group of members and exist for a short period of time; like high school friends.
What are three examples of collective behavior?
- fads : spinner thing or fashion
- mass hysteria: hysteria over ISIS
- riots: LA riots
What is definition of socialization?
Lifelong process, beginning in infancy, by which an individual acquires the habits, norms and beliefs of society.
what is the difference between primary and secondary socialization?
primary is most influential- parent, sibling, spouses influencing religion, beliefs, morals, …
secondary if how an education, mass media, religion, peers influence beliefs etc…
Identify the following as examples as either primary or secondary socialization:
a) A young child receives positive reinforcement when she smiles, and develops a belief that having a happy disposition is good.
b) A man takes a new job. At his old job he always had snacks at his desk. He observes a co-worker being corrected for eating and decides not to eat at his desk.
c) A girl observes her older sisters and develops a sense that personal modesty is important.
d) A boy’s parents are both members of the Democratic Party. He develops positive ideas about Democrats and negative ideas about Republicans. He decides he is a Democrat.
e) A girl is scolded for speaking loudly with her friends at church and decides that it is improper to speak loudly at church.
f) A man chooses not to buy his groceries from the market across the street because it is operated by an Asian family. He recalls that he often heard his parents describe Asian-Americans in derogatory terms.
a) secondary
b) secondary
c) primary
d) primary
e) secondary
f) primary
What is attribution in the context of social thinking?
Tendency to infer that the behavior we observe can be attributed to specific causes.
Assumptions and generalization we create ourselves without knowledge of root causes.
What’s the difference between dispositional and situational attributions?
Dispositional attributions deal with explaining behavior as a function of an individual’s personality, or disposition.
Situational attributions explain an individual’s behavior as a function of the context and circumstances in which the behavior occurred.
What is fundamental attribution error?
our tendency to explain someone’s behavior based on internal factors, such as personality or disposition, and to underestimate the influence that external factors, such as situational influences, have on another person’s behavior.
What’s attribute substitution?
When fced with complex mental task or judgment, we tend to substitute actual scenario with or problem with a more simple scenario.
What are characteristics of western culture?
more individualistic = more prone to fundamental attribution error (dispositional attributions)
What are characteristics of non western culture?
more collectivist= more prone to make situational attributions.
