Unit 2: Social Psychological Concepts Flashcards
What is the need-to-belong theory?
Baumeister and Leary (1995) proposed that humans have a strong, universal drive to form and maintain lasting, positive social relationships. A lack of social connections can lead to loneliness and negative mental health effects.
What is sociometer theory?
Sociometer theory suggests that self-esteem acts as an indicator of social connectedness. High self-esteem is linked to strong social ties, while low self-esteem is associated with fewer social connections.
What is social facilitation and how does the Yerkes-Dodson Law relate to it?
Social facilitation occurs when an individual performs better on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others.
The Yerkes-Dodson Law states that moderate arousal improves performance, but too much or too little arousal leads to decreased performance.
What is social inhibition according to Baron?
Distraction-Conflict Theory (Baron, 1986)
Social inhibition happens when the presence of others hinders performance on difficult or unfamiliar tasks.
What is Zajonc’s (1965) drive theory?
Drive theory states that the presence of others increases physiological arousal, making dominant (most likely) responses more frequent. This improves performance on easy tasks but worsens it on difficult tasks.
How does evaluation apprehension theory by Cottrell explain social facilitation?
Cottrell (1972) argued that social facilitation occurs because individuals fear being judged, leading to increased arousal and performance changes.
What is distraction-conflict theory?
Distraction-conflict theory (Baron, 1986) suggests that the presence of others creates attentional conflict, increasing arousal and influencing performance.
What is social loafing?
Social loafing occurs when individuals exert less effort on a collective task than when working alone.
What is the Ringelmann effect?
The Ringelmann effect (1913) states that individuals put in less effort when working in a group, often due to lack of motivation rather than coordination issues.
How can social loafing be reduced?
- Working in smaller, more cohesive groups
- Assigning individual accountability
- Increasing task significance
- Enhancing group identity
What role does culture play in social loafing?
Collectivist cultures (e.g., many Asian and Latin American societies) show lower levels of social loafing because group success is prioritized over individual achievement.
What is group cohesion?
Group cohesion refers to the emotional and social bonds that hold a group together.
It influences motivation, commitment, and group performance.
What is entitativity?
Entitativity is the extent to which a collection of people is perceived as a group. Higher entitativity is found in families or sports teams, while lower entitativity applies to temporary gatherings, like people waiting at a bus stop.
How do social roles influence behavior?
Social roles define expected behaviors for individuals within a group. They help structure interactions but can also lead to rigid behavior patterns, as seen in Zimbardo’s prison experiment.
How does status affect individuals within a group?
Higher-status individuals often have greater access to resources, influence, and better social networks.
Status bias can also cause overestimation of high-status members’ abilities and underestimation of low-status members.
What is minority influence?
Minority influence occurs when a small group persuades the majority to change its views, often through informational social influence.
What factors make minority influence successful?
According to Moscovici (1976), a minority is more persuasive when it:
- Is consistent over time.
- Challenges the dominant view.
- Offers an alternative perspective.
- Demonstrates commitment.
- Makes their view the only plausible solution.
How can minority influence lead to social change?
Minority groups can cause deeper cognitive processing of issues, leading to private acceptance of new ideas. Historical examples include the civil rights movement and women’s suffrage.
What is the difference between compliance, conformity, and conversion?
Compliance: Public agreement with a group while privately maintaining one’s views.
Conformity: Adjusting one’s behavior to match group norms due to real or imagined pressure.
Conversion: A genuine change in private beliefs due to social influence.
What is deindividuation?
Deindividuation occurs when individuals lose their personal identity in a group, leading to uncharacteristic or extreme behavior (e.g., mobs, riots).
