week 4 - technology & the social world

Question 1

What is Technology?

Answer 1

technology is an artefact developed by humans used to extend human abilities

Question 2

explain the 2 types of technology?

Answer 2

• Practical technologies: these are used to act on the material world directly (i.e. shovels)
• cognitive technologies: used to act on the mind, self, or other. they change what is recalled, thought, or experiences (i.e. notebooks as a memory aid, films, telephones, postal system, libraries)

Question 3

What is language and what does it do?

Answer 3

• language is a form of cognition
• language enables us to manipulate the attentions of others and their actions
• also can influence our own thoughts & actions through inner dialogue
• e.g. young children solve problems better when they are allowed to talk to themselves
• self talk enables us to plan complex sequences of behaviour, remain focused on the task and overcome problems

Question 4

What is writing, and why is the development of writing important?

Answer 4

• developed as a means to extend our capacity for memory and facilitate communication
• early written records mark time, record quantities, mark events, and prompt narratives
• writing also enabled one person to speak to many people, this writing is essential to coordinating large groups of people
• mass printing enabled people to have direct relationships with religion (i.e. via the bibe rather than oral tradition)

Question 5

What are possible selves?

Answer 5

Markus & Nurius (1986) developed the concept of possible selves
- people have an idea of what they would like to be, but also what they are afraid of becoming
- e.g. ideal selves provide goals and hope, but negative future selves can create fears and threats

Question 6

What is storytelling as a technology?

Answer 6

“cultural technologies can be conceptualised as intervening in our parallel and possible selves, enabling us to both vicariously live out an unactualized aspect of the self and to cultivate a new aspect of the self, which might become actualised in the future” (Gillespie et al., p.304)
- storytelling is a key technology that underscores novels, films, videogames etc
- these technologies allow us to explore alternative worlds and versions of the self

Question 7

What are fairytales as a technology?

Answer 7

• fairytales evolve through many generations passing through cultural and psychological constraints
• they usually involve an inversion of power structures of society
• this provides a welcome affirmation of the way the world should be in contrast to the way the world is
• in fairytales, the harsh injustices of the world of reality are rectified

Question 8

What are avatars as a technology?

Answer 8

• digital technologies have transformed the internet from an ‘information highway’ to a ‘globally shared playground and workspace’
• this has led to the emergence of the “virtual self” known as an avatar:
• these are a virtual representation of a user within the environment which is under their control
• “virtual self is the site of experimentation and imagination, as individuals interact with technology and each other to create new expressions and experiences for what it means to be a person” (Gillespie et al., 2018).
• avatars can be 2D (e.g. chatroom) or 3D (e.g. videogames)

Question 9

what are virtual worlds?

Answer 9

• virtual worlds have grown in popularity and complexity, with varying degrees of possibilities for imagination
• e.g. MMORPGs emphasise fantasy role play where users collaborate to achieve goals and overcome obstacles (e.g. world of warcraft)
• e.g. self-determined worlds (virtual environments built by users) have no preorganised purpose or structure for engagement, but enable imagination around architecture, landscaping, and roleplay (e.g. minecraft)

Question 10

how do avatars relate to the self?

Answer 10

• avatars enable users access to experience with others and realisations of their own identity that are not necessarily possible otherwise
• people can use avatars to construct a template for real life, to explore and try out aspects of personality and physical characteristics
• it is a safe space for exploration due to anonymity of the user

Question 11

what is the Proteus Effect (Yee & Bailenson, 2007)

Answer 11

Built from self perception theory (Bem, 1972) that says people infer their own attitudes and beliefs from observing their own behaviour
- this same process can apply to observing one’s own avatar
- Proteus effect: users infer from their avatar’s appearance , explectations around attitudes and behaviour, and then conform to these expectations

Question 12

Explain Yee & Bailenson’s (2007) Proteus effect experiment procedure and method

Answer 12

2 studies examining individual behaviour conforms to digital self-representation ((1) attractiveness and (2) height)
Method:
- 50 undergad participants took part in the height study
- participants were paired with a confederate of the opposite sex and informed that the study was investigating interactions in virtual environments
- interactions took place in a room with the same dimensions as the virtual room
- participants randomly given an avatar that was 10cm taller, shorter, or the same height as the confederate
- a virtual mirror behind the participant showed them their virtual height
- participants had to play an ultimatum game in four rounds, i.e. agree to split $100 between them, with the person deciding the split alternating
Procedure:
- confederate instructed to always accept the split so long as it didn’t exceed $90 in favour of the participant
- R1: P offers a split
- R2: C offers a 50/50 split
- R3: P offers a split
- R4: C offers a 75/25 split in their favour
- measures: how much did P offer in R1 & R3, and did they negotiate an unfair split in R4

Question 13

Explain Yee & Bailenson’s (2007) Proteus effect experiment results

Answer 13

• the first split was unaffected by condition
• however, by the second split, participants in the tall group split the money significantly more in their own favour than the participants in the short group
• participants in the short condition were twice as likely to accept their unfair offer (72%) as the participants in the tall condition (38%)
• thus, the height of avatars inpacted how confident the participant behaved

Question 14

Briefly explain Yee & Bailenson’s (2009) follow up study on the proteus effect

Answer 14

• follow up study examined the same phenomenon (impact of avatar height and attractiveness) using characters from world of warcraft (WoW)
• both height and attractiveness of the avatar were significant predictors of behaviour
• but also, behavioural changes from the virtual environment transferred to subsequent face-to-face interactions
• this shows that exploring alternative virtual selves can also change our own real and lived self-concept

Question 15

What does Birchmeier et al., (2011) believe about social psychology theories and the impact of technology on them?

Answer 15

• argue that existing social psychological theories already account for many of the psychological phenomena that take place via digital psychology
• online interactions have some unique properties compared with physical interactions:
• anonymity, choice, no geographical constrains, no time constraints
• but the social processes observed are the same
• impression formation, relationship development, group dynamics, ostracism

Question 16

What is Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979)?

Answer 16

explains intergroup relations as a function of group-based self-definitions
individuals define their own identities regarding social groups, and such identifications work to protect and bolster self-identity
social identity is the aspect of a person’s self concept or inage that derive from the social categories they belong to

Question 17

What is the first stage of Social Identity Theory?

Answer 17

1. Interpersonal-intergroup continuum
- personal identity: characteristics that define us as individuals as distinct from other individuals (e.g. personality)
- social identity: the part of our self-concept corresponding to group memberships, and the value and emotional significant attached to those memberships
- personal and social identity are two extremes by which behaviour can be defined. in group situations, we shift from personal to social identity

Question 18

What are the 3 main parts of Social Identity Theory?

Answer 18

1. Interpersonal-intergroup continuum
2. positive self-esteem and intergroup differentiation
3. group strategies to avoid negatively evaluated social identities

Question 19

What is the second stage of Social Identity Theory?

Answer 19

2. Positive self-esteem and intergroup differentiation
- central principle of SIT: people seek to maintain positive social identities
- to maintain or enhance their self-esteem, members of social groups will base their comparisons with relevant outgroups with which they can make a favourable comparison on behalf of the group
- social categorisation -> social identification -> social comparison

Question 20

What is the third stage of Social Identity Theory?

Answer 20

3. strategies to avoid negative social identities
- there is a possibility that groups to which one belongs may not satisfy the motivational principle of maintaining a positive self-esteem and intergroup differentiation
- members of the group avoid negatively evaluated social identity by:
1. individual mobility (e.g. leaving the group)
2. social creativity (e.g. changing the comparison)
3. social conflict (e.g. engaging in collective action)

Question 21

What caused Allport (1954) to develop The Contact Hypothesis?

Answer 21

• background to theory: US Supreme Court ending segregation of black and white students
• would contact between the 2 groups end ethnic prejudice and discrimination?
• Allport though that the situation was more complicated than being resolved by mere contact alone. Casual contact would create anxiety leading to reinforcement of stereotypes
• Allport developed a set of conditions that had to be met for in person contact to create a positive effect

Question 22

What are Allport’s conditions

Answer 22

• equal status: contact must first take place between members of equal status
• cooperation: rival groups must work towards a superordinate goal to reduce stereotypes
• intimate contact: contact must not be superficial, it must allow members to really learn the other side
• institutional support and willingness to participate: support from authorities builds positive social norms, and participants must want to interact, rather than being compelled

Question 23

How does Amichai-Hamburger (2008) apply Contact Hypothesis to online interactions?

Answer 23

Suggests that the internet can support Allport’s conditions
- equal status: cues to gague status differences are not readily available online
- cooperation: virtual workgroups have been shown to be very productive
- institutional support & willingness to participate: online interactions are easier to set up for institutions, and easier for people to volunteer and participate
- intimacy: argues that many interactions online can involve greater sharing of interests quickly

additionally to this:
- online participants have more control in how they present themselves, thus reducing anxiety around interactions
- online interactions are also argued to allow individuals to speak up in a group setting, showing more in-group nuance
- group norms are also argued to form quickly in online settings

Question 24

According to Graham (2008), how has the internet changed writing?

Answer 24

people don’t just read, they can respond via comment threads, and when you disagree, there is more to say

Question 25

what are Ad Hominem attacks?

Answer 25

when people attack the character of the person online instead of the argument they make
- Online forums quickly descend into ad hominem attacks, where people try to understand identity boundaries to boost their own legitimacy and undermine authenticity of outgroups
- Highlights that social psychological dynamics still dominate the way we use technology online

Question 26

How does online gaming cause positive pro-community effects?

Answer 26

• there is a link between online gaming and positive pro-social bonding effects
• social capital = “resources embedded in ties to others which can be leveraged for the individual benefit or the collective good”
• gaming social capital leads to real world social capital. i.e. online friends are more likely to develop face-to-face connections as a result

Question 27

What is the Cyranic illusion?

Answer 27

The cyranic illusion is the tendency for people to perceive a cyranoid as a unified, autonomous person. A cyranoid is a hybrid persona created by combining the body of one person with speech generated by another

Question 28

What are Echoborgs (Corti & Gillespie, 2015)?

Answer 28

A human shadowing the speech of a chatbot

Question 29

What is the Turing test?

Answer 29

• a measure of artificial intelligence based on human social intelligence
• Chatbots: a computer programme designed to simulate conversations with human users

Question 30

Explain the conditions and results of Corti & Gillespie’s (2015) study on echoborgs

Answer 30

study 1
- condition: ps engage with a chatbot via either an echoborg or a human to conduct a turing test
- results: human shadowing increased life-like perceptions of the chatbot, but not the chances of passing a turing test

study 2
- conditions: ps engage with a chatbot via either an echoborg or a human to conduct a turing test, but Ps had to determine if there really was a chatbot or if just pretending to be one
- results: Ps engaging with an echoborg were more likely to perceive their interlocutor as a chatbot

study 3
- condition: Ps are blind to the presence of a chatbot
- results: majority of Ps did not sense a robotic interaction

Question 31

What is Uncanny Valley?

Answer 31

a term used to describe the sense of unease or revulsions towards robots that have human-like appearances and behaviour

Question 32

Why do we reject robotic entities that are trying to be human?

Answer 32

• concerns around authenticity, transparency, privacy, motivations
• concerns about the future (e.g. mass unemployment), control of decision-making
• concerns about the extent to which AI makes us question our own identity of being human and intelligent

Question 33

How do Anderson & Dill (2000) show the link between video games and violence?

Answer 33

• Study 1: (78 male, 148 female undergrads) found that real-life violent video game play was associated with aggressive behaviour and delinquency. stronger for men than women
• study 2: (106 male, 104 female undergrads) laboratory exposure to a graphically violent video game increased aggressive thoughts and behaviour. stronger for men than women

videogames result in short term (laboratory aggression) and long term (delinquency) behaviours

Question 34

How do Beck et al. (2012) show the link between video games and aggression?

Answer 34

investigated violence against women in video games and attitudes towards women
- 110 participants, completed a rape myth acceptance survey, video game survey, and observation of GTA game
- degree of exposure to violent video games did not increase negative attitudes towards women
- however, there was an association between how violent games were and a significant increase in rape myth acceptance for male participants, but not female participants
- theorised that objectification of women leads to lower empathy/sympathy specifically for men

Question 35

What impact does technology have on education according to Dontre (2021)?

Answer 35

examined the detrimental effects of academic distraction via laptops, smartphones and social media use. such use has been exacerbated by online learning environments and covid-19 social distancing
- laptops can be beneficial for note-taking (resulting in greater depth through verbatim transcripts) but can also prevent deeper thought that paraphrases work. laptops can also disturb neighboring students
- Smartphones are associated with lower grades and increased anxiety and disruptive behaviours (e.g. texting in class) but offer benefits in terms of self-directed learning