Week 23

Question 1

1. Define social psychology.

Answer 1

The study of the dynamic relationship between individuals and the people around them

Question 2

Review the history of the field of social psychology and the topics that social psychologists study.

Answer 2

They started by measuring thoughts, feelings and behaviors of human beings
They looked into Hitler and how he produced such extreme obedience and horrendous behaviors in his followers
These showed/demonstrated the power of the social setting
Study of human aggression
They focused on social cognition-understanding how our knowledge about our social words develop through experience and the influence of these knowledge structures on memory, info processing, attitudes and judgements
Social neuroscience is the study of how our social behavior both influences and is influenced by the activities of our brain

Question 3

3. Summarize the principles of social psychology.

Answer 3

Social cognition and social neuroscience

Question 4

Describe and provide examples of the person-situation interaction.

Answer 4

Person-situation interaction is the joint influence of person variables and situational variables
Lewin’s equation indicates that the behavior of a given person at any given time is a function of both characteristics of the person and the influence of the social situation

Question 5

5. Review the concepts of (a) social norms and (b) cultures.

Answer 5

Social norms-the ways of thinking, feeling, or behaving that are shared by group members and perceived by them as appropriate
Different cultures have different norms
Culture-represents a group of people, normally living within a given geographical region, who share a common set of social norms, including religious and family values and moral beliefs

Question 6

What is collectivism

Answer 6

belief system that emphasizes duties and obligations that each person has towards others

Question 7

Individualism

Answer 7

belief system that exlts freedom, independence, and individual choice as high values

Question 8

1. Define the concept of attitude and explain why it is of such interest to social psychologists.

Answer 8

Every human holds thousands of attitudes, some attitudes are inherited, other attitudes are learned mostly through direct and indirect contact
Attitudes are very useful and enable us to determine which behaviors to engage in and what people to approach or avoid and even what products to buy

Question 9

2. Review the variables that determine attitude strength.

Answer 9

Attitude strength becomes stronger when we have direct positive or negative experiences with the attitude object
Mainly, attitude strength is determined by cognitive accessibility
Attitudes are also stronger when affect, behavior and cognition line up

Question 10

3. Outline the factors affect the strength of the attitude-behavior relationship.

Answer 10

Attitude consistency predicts that the attitudes are most likely to guide behaviour

Question 11

Thoughtful message processing

Answer 11

When we think about how the message relates to our own beliefs and goals and involves our careful consideration of whether the persuasion attempt is valid or invalid

Question 12

Theory of planned behavior

Answer 12

The relationship between attitudes and behavior is stronger in certain situations, for certain people and for certain attitudes

Question 13

The sleeper effect

Answer 13

Attitude change that occurs over time

Question 14

Spontaneous message processing

Answer 14

When we accept a persuasion attempt because we focus on whatever is most obvious or enjoyable, without much attention to the message itself.

Question 15

1. Review the evidence that suggests humans have a fundamental need to belong to groups.

Answer 15

All human activities involve groups-working, learning, worshiping, relaxing, playing, and even sleeping
People consistently seek inclusion over exclusion, membership over isolation, and acceptance over rejection

Question 16

2. Compare the sociometer model of self-esteem to a more traditional view of self-esteem.

Answer 16

Mark Leary’s sociometer model goes as far as to suggest that self-esteem is a part of a sociometer that monitors peoples’ relational value in other people’s eyes

Question 17

3. Use theories of social facilitation to predict when a group will perform tasks slowly or quickly (e.g., students eating a meal as a group, workers on an assembly line, or a study group).

Answer 17

Social facilitation=improvement in task performance that occurs when people work in the presence of other people
Overall, the presence of others can also cause perturbations in our capacity to concentrate and process info
Also the feeling of being judged by others can affect tasks

Question 18

4. Summarize the methods used by Latané, Williams, and Harkins to identify the relative impact of social loafing and coordination problems on group performance.

Answer 18

Social loafing is the reduction of individual effort exerted when people work in groups compared to when they work alone

Question 19

5. Describe how groups change over time.

Answer 19

Groups pass through several stages of development as they change from a newly formed group ino an effective team
Forming phase-oriented with each other
Storming phase-group members find themselves in conflict and some solution is sought to improve the group environment
Norming phase-standards for behavior and roles develop that regulate behavior
performing phase-group has reached a point where it can work as a unit to achieve desired goals
Adjourning phase-ends the sequence of development and the group disbands

Question 20

6. Apply the theory of groupthink to a well-known decision-making group, such as the group of advisors responsible for planning the Bay of Pigs operation.

Answer 20

Groupthink-a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the members striving for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action

Question 21

7. List and discuss the factors that facilitate and impede group performance and decision making.

Answer 21

Group polarization-the tendency for members of a deliberating group to move to a more extreme position with the direction of the shift determined by the majority of the members redeliberation preferences
Common knowledge effect-groups spend more time discussing information that all members know and less time examining information that only a few members know

Question 22

8. Develop a list of recommendations that, if followed, would minimize the possibility of groupthink developing in a group.

Answer 22

Emphasize open inquiry of all sides of the issue while admitting the possibility of failure to avoid polarization
To limit groupthink-leaders can have pro and cons discussions
Break group into small discussion groups

Question 23

Shared mental model

Answer 23

Knowledge, expectations, conceptualizations, and other cognitive representations that members of a group have in common pertaining to the group and its members, tasks, procedures, and resources.

Question 24

1. Distinguish prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination.

Answer 24

Prejudice-an evaluation or emotion towards people merely based on their group membership
Stereotypes-general beliefs about the traits or behaviors shared by a group of people
Discrimination-the behavior that advantages or disadvantages people merely based on their group membership

Question 25

2. Distinguish old-fashioned, blatant biases from contemporary, subtle biases.

Answer 25

Old-fashioned biases-almost gone, blatant biases=conscious beliefs, feelings and behaviours that people are perfectly willing to admit
Subtle biases-automatic, ambiguous and ambivalent (still unfair and disrespectful)
Automatic-unintentional, uncontrollable, occurs outside of conscious awareness and cognitively efficient “favoritism”
Ambiguous biases-favor one’s own in group over another
Ambivalent biases-not always negative but often still unwanted

Question 26

3. Understand old-fashioned biases such as social dominance orientation and right-wing. authoritarianism.

Answer 26

Right Wing Authoritarianism-endorses respect for obedience and authority in the service og group conformity
Social dominance orientation-a belief that group hierarchies are inevitable in all societies and are even a good idea to maintain order and stability (one group on top, to maintain order)

Question 27

4. Understand subtle, unexamined biases that are automatic, ambiguous, and ambivalent.

Answer 27

Automatic-unintentional, uncontrollable, occurs outside of conscious awareness and cognitively efficient “favoritism”
Ambiguous biases-favor one’s own in group over another
Ambivalent biases-not always negative but often still unwanted

Question 28

5. Understand 21st century biases that may break down as identities get more complicated.

Answer 28

As the world becomes more connected, people are encountering a greater deal of diversity of others in everyday life (more and more uncertain, unclear, volatile and complex