PSYCH 4525: Final Exam
Why might the press want to stoke fear among the population? What is one possible negative consequence?
"If it bleeds, it leads". Press outlets want to beat out their competitors by being more exciting- this means reporting on angrier and more frightening stories and sometimes creating/implying danger that isn't there. A negative consequence is that you are what you consume, so consuming press that stokes fear affects your cognitive associations. Thus, popular opinion about things like crime doesn't match up with reality because there is a lot of press coverage about them.
Define geopolitical fear.
"the belief that the world is a dangerous place full of evil actors seeking to do them harm"; a state of generalized anxiety about the outside world; characterized as pathological - incorrect/mistaken beliefs that inspire irrational action
What are the 3 styles of avoidance?
1. Emotion threats- avoiding info that would arouse negative feelings Ex. Going to get tested for HIV but then not returning for the results to avoid anticipated fear/worry 2. Belief threats- avoiding info that challenges cherished beliefs in an attempt to maintain that worldview Ex. avoiding detailed feedback on your test performance, especially if you have a fixed mindset about intelligence and think you did poorly 3. Behavior threats- avoiding info that would have undesired implications for your behavior (taking or resisting some action) Ex. avoiding going to the doctor because they will tell you to exercise/eat healthier
Describe the 3 methods by which people can REDUCE avoidance.
1. Increase control/efficacy- If you perceive you are capable of dealing with the threat, you will face it. Ex. People are more likely to get tested for a disease if they think it is treatable. 2. Increase contemplation- Use a "system 2" cold approach to encourage more deliberative information processing (more thoughtful, logical) as opposed to a "system 1" hot/gut reaction. This shifts thinking from immediate emotions to long term benefits. *Contemplation helps if knowing the risk can help mitigate the problem.* Ex. People who contemplated the possible consequence of learning information about diabetes risk were less likely to reject the info because they were thinking about the long term. 3. Affirm overall integrity- Instead of disparaging or dismissing the threat, engage in compensatory affirmation. If one domain of self-worth is threatened, affirm other domains. Ex. I may have weight issues, but at least I'm good at my job.
What are the 4 needs of personal security? Which need does "ostracism" threaten most directly?
1. Meaning (existential security) 2. Self-esteem (esteem security) 3. Belongingness (social security) *most threatened by ostracism* 4. Control (agentic security)
What are the 3 main channels by which ostracism can occur (and what are the differences between these channels)?
1. Physical- Involves at least some degree of physical separation from others (e.g., incarceration, exile). 2. Social- Involves someone being ignored and excluded while in the physical face-to-face presence of others (e.g., experiencing the "silent treatment" or "cold shoulder" in social interactions). 3. Cyber- Occurs via electronic media where recognition and communication are anticipated but do not occur within an expected time frame (e.g., ignored texts, emails, or other types of online messages).
Evidence suggests that people (Americans) are becoming more afraid over time, and are chronically afraid. What are three (3) sources of fear appeals?
1. Politics- fearful people seek protection/rally around the flag 2. Press- 24 hr news cycle that thrives on conflict and danger 3. People
What are the 3 temporal stages of ostracism?
1. Reflexive- focus on and react to the cues of ostracism, which threaten need satisfaction; wonder about the reason why they were rejected; increases negative mood 2. Reflective- try to recover basic need satisfaction and thus regain a sense of personal security; attempt to do this via attachment, self-esteem, worldview defense, etc. 3. Resignation- people who chronically experience ostracism and are unsuccessful in recovering their needs can have extreme outcomes (depression, alienation, learned helpless, unworthiness)
What are 3 past areas of personal security research that relate to the concept of symbolic fusion?
1. Terror management theory 2. Belief in a just world 3. Hyperactive agent detection
What are the 4 elements of information avoidance?
1. The avoiding behavior can be action or inaction 2. The avoidance doesn't have to be permanent 3. The avoidance isn't limited to the self (can avoid info about close others/worldview) 4. "Unwanted" info and "undesirable" info are different (ex. surprises, spoilers are desirable, but unwanted because it would ruin the excitement/anticipation)
What are 3 elements that seem to occur in "terrorism-justifying" ideologies?
1. grievance - grievance/injustice against one's group 2. culprit - entity portrayed as being responsible for the injustice 3. morally impelled action - morally warranted and effective method of mitigating/removing the dishonor associated with the injustice
What are 3 factors that may push people to sacrifice physical security for psychological security? What separates these factors?
1. motivational exclusivity- when one's commitment to a given goal is enhanced, alternative goals are inhibited and suppressed; tunnel vision on psychological security = reduced focus on physical security 2. ideology- a collective belief system (based on a group's shared reality), that an individual subscribes to and sees as a means of achieving personal significance; violence/acts that sacrifice physical security can be seen as a means to attain goal of psychological security 3. collectivist shift- a person may identify with a collective loss when redressing grievances or regaining a sense of significance feels impossible at the individual level; can make them more likely to sacrifice themselves
What are some of the main themes of the course? What is some research/concepts related to each of these themes?
1. security is both a feeling and a reality and they are not the same thing 2. security is a trade-off between what you gain vs. what you lose 3. different types of security threats (physical, social, psychological) lead to similar outcomes (same brain areas are used) 4. people engage in compensatory threat reduction strategies in response to security threats
What are 3 elements that relate SIGNIFICANCE LOSS to extremism? Provide an example of each.
1. significance loss- failure in an important pursuit/severe humiliation for an individual or a group can call the validity of values into question and threaten self-worth, so people take action to regain the lost significance ex. Al-Qaeda stressed the dishonor fellow members had to face as a psychological motivator for extreme acts 2. threat of loss- a failure to comply with group norms can constitute a threat to significance, thereby motivating people to take action to avoid losing significance ex. Japanese soldiers volunteered to be kamikaze pilots to avoid losing a sense of pride in honor/solidarity 3. opportunity for significance gain- if an individual perceives themselves/their in-group to be unfairly disadvantaged in comparison to an out-group, this sense of relative deprivation can lead them to think that "the inherent danger in the radical pursuit of the group goals" might provide a sense of psychological security and status ex. feeling disadvantaged in society -> civil disobedience
The Williams and Bargh (2008) study relates physical warmth to social warmth. What are some of the main findings of this study? What past concepts does this study best relate to?
2 main findings: 1. In the study where coffee was the temperature manipulation, people who briefly held the hot coffee cup perceive others to be warmer than those who hold a cup of iced coffee. 2. In the study where a therapeutic pad was the temperature manipulation, people who briefly held the hot therapeutic pad are more willing to act interpersonally than those who held a cold pad. This best relates to the concept of embodied metaphors and the connection between physical and psychological.
Define sympathetic magic. Describe why people or companies may use this concept to gain security.
Connecting the mundane to the divine using symbols, idols, etc. ... 1. for implicit or explicit attempts to receive divine protection for objects 2. to alleviate concerns about randomness in the world and a desire to see the world as orderly/controlled Use this due to need for consistency, structure, and a causal link between religious fusion and reliability.
When is information avoidance a BAD thing?
If learning the info is necessary for circumventing an unwanted outcome or making beneficial changes
When is information avoidance a GOOD thing?
If learning the info wouldn't alter the fact that you cannot change the situation or you couldn't use the information in a meaningful way
What is the relationship between RESOLVING both ostracism and physical pain?
If something can be done to reduce the activation of the dACC and the AI, it will decrease both perception of physical pain and ostracism (social pain). Examples: 1. Providing social support, which reduces activation of the dACC and the AI in response to social distress, also dulls perception of physical pain. 2. Opiates, which reduce activation of the dACC and the AI in response to physical pain, also dull perception of social pain.
Why might a government want to stoke fear among the population? What is one possible negative consequence?
In democratic nations (US especially), leaders' poll numbers rise when the population is afraid. However, since experiencing cognitive dissonance is uncomfortable, people seek to reduce that dissonance. If a person is just trying to stoke false fear, that fear will eventually become the truth to be more internally consistent. Americans consistently believe that they're living in dangerous times.
Explain the Presidential speeches study. How was it conducted? What were the key findings?
Method: 1. They compiled a group of presidential speeches that were broadcasted live to the nation about some domestic/foreign affairs. 2. They rated the perceived level of national threat and transition at the time of the speech. 3. They measured the level of fusion of the system with divinity by seeing the number of religious references. Findings: Speeches that were made during times of national threat or uncertainty contained more references to God's control, to prayer, and to the joining of the nation with God.
Explain the religiosity, decline, and support for U.S. institutions study (Shepherd, Eibach, and Kay, 2016). What were the key findings? What is an implication of this work for policy?
Method: The researchers assessed the participants' perception of US decline in the world and perception of US being aligned with God. They then measured their support for US institutions. Findings: Those who saw the US as declining but part of God's plan maintained the same level of support as those who saw the US as improving. Implication: Symbolically aligning with religion is beneficial to have better public opinion/support.
How and why might people link governments (the state) or institutions to religious iconography or ideas?
People symbolically align governments to religion because both are supposed to provide an element of security and order in the world. However, they are not equal. The state can be accused of being inefficient, ineffective, or incompetent, whereas divinity is omnipotent, omniscient, and sometimes omnibenevolent. Symbolically aligning the two affords a greater sense of religion's awesome power to the state.
What is the relationship between ostracism (social pain) and physical pain? What are some of the main brain areas of interest?
Ostracism (social pain) and physical pain are processed in the same way in the brain. The dACC and the AI light up (activate) in proportion to the amount of social or physical distress experienced.
What is one potentially concerning implication of symbolic fusion?
People are less motivated to pursue long-term goals and politicians are less likely to take any action on any issue at all if they believe God is in control. A divinely guided solution absolves the situation of responsibility.
What are some general consequences of ostracism?
Range of negative consequences: - impaired self-regulation - feelings of dehumanization - aversive physiological responses (e.g., heightened cortisol, cardiovascular difficulties) - increased negative mood states (anger, jealousy, sadness)
Describe how RELATIVE POWER and MANICHAEAN worldviews may prompt increased attention and vigilance to perceived threats.
Relative power- Because the USA is #1 in international politics, it has the most to lose and can only focus on going down; harder to disconnect vital interests from peripheral ones because scope of power/influence is so massive- thus everything is considered a threat to it's global position Manichaean worldview- dualism found in theology: good vs. evil, wrong vs. right -> decision makers interpret others' actions as hostile/less willing to compromise = more likely to perceive those actions as threats
Why do people look for/attend to fear information? Describe both (1) a security concept, and (2) a study which helps demonstrate this.
Security concept: People look for/attend to fear information because losses loom larger than gains. This relates to prospect theory and the negativity bias, which says that negative content has a greater effect on attention, perception, memory, and emotion than positive content. Study: Automatic Vigilance- Negativity shows that people divert attention to bad information faster and for longer amounts of time. In short, loss is seen as more of a threat and thus seems more important.
When will we reject cooperative others? Discuss research that supports the idea of antisocial punishment.
We reject cooperative others when we are COMPETING over cooperative partnerships and the highest cooperators are making us look bad. This is called antisocial punishment, and includes "do-gooder" derogation. Study: Why Hate the Good Guy? Method- Have 4 people play a public goods game, in which they choose an amount of money to put in a pool, which will then be doubled and distributed evenly back to the group. To have max personal gains, you would contribute nothing, but to cooperate most, you would contribute everything. Participants had the option to punish other players based on their level of contribution. This is the control condition. In the market conditions, a 5th person (the observer) is added, who has $50 to contributed to any trustworthy/high contributing members of the group. This creates competition. Results: 1. People engage in substantially more antisocial punishment (punishing high cooperators) in a "competitive" cooperative game. 2. There was no difference in moralistic punishment (punishing low contributors) between groups, so the antisocial punishment was not a reaction to receiving moralistic punishment. 3. People cooperated more over time when there was less antisocial punishment. In other words, antisocial punishment was effective at preventing cooperation escalation.
What is the "cyberball" paradigm? What situations or paradigms cause negative emotional states after being rejected in cyberball? What situations do not cause similar negative arousal?
an online game where one person is playing catch with a 2 other "individuals" (really just a computer program); after a few turns, the 2 other "individuals" stop passing to the participant and start just passing back and forth; this leads to a feeling of social ostracism Negative emotional states occur when... 1. the participant believes the computer program is real people 2. the participant knows it is playing with a pre-programmed simulation 3. the participant believes it is being excluded by a despised out-group 4. the participant is financially rewarded for being ostracized 5. it still occurs when the "ball" is a bomb that will kill you, but the results are mixed***
Define ostracism.
being excluded and ignored (by some group of interest); can be informal (not necessarily physical or verbal) and can include any instance where someone PERCEIVES themselves to be excluded or ignored; can be institutionalized like incarceration or 'time out'
How can bracing help alleviate the distress of security concerns?
bracing: a tendency to forsake optimistic outlooks to avoid or minimize the prospect of disappointment Bracing helps alleviate the distress of security concerns because even a negative outcome can seem good if one expected a worse alternative. (Relates to the concept of relative gains)
What is a placebo button? Provide an example. Why do we have/manufacture/use placebo buttons (what is their VALUE in security terms)?
button that is mechanically sound and can be pushed, but doesn't provide any functionality Ex. crosswalk button does not make the light turn green faster Value: psychological effect; provide the illusion of control over an environment/outcome because doing something feels better than doing nothing
What steps are there from a collective shift to violence?
failure -> collectivism collectivism -> sacrifice significance loss -> violence
Define psychopharmacology.
the scientific study concerning the effects of drugs/medication on human affect, behavior, and cognition
What is the relationship between the "limits of human security" and "compensatory control?"
limits of human security- if residual insecurity undermines confidence in sociopolitical systems/markets, then representatives of those systems should be motivated to restore/shore up confidence in the system's ability to handle threats or eliminate sources of insecurity compensatory control- people have a fundamental need to see their world as orderly and non-random and to ultimately be in control The relationship between the limits of human security and compensatory control is that people want a predictable world (order and control). They might mitigate insecurity by trying to assert their own control, but if they can't they turn to external sources like social systems. If those external sources are undermined, reps should bolster the perception of security so individuals can regain that security.
What is a collectivist shift?
moving attention away from the self and toward the group; a person's conception of themselves overlaps with the group -> sense of collective loss when redressing grievances, cannot regain sense of significance at individual level; consequences - empowerment, sacrifice
What is the quest for significance? What concept does this centrally relate to that we have previously discussed?
the desire (seeking) of a meaningful personal significance, is a central motivational force in human behavior; if someone's feelings of self-worth are threatened, they want to feel personal significance and they can look to other domains to provide that (like extremist ideologies) relates to the tripartite security model/compensatory models in general because if your self-worth is threatened, you can bolster security in another domain such as worldview (which may be attached to an extremist ideology)
Describe the Dunning-Kruger effect.
when someone is so incompetent that they cannot even recognize the gaps in their knowledge; inability to recognize one's own incompetence leads to inflated self-assessments because the person doesn't even know how much they don't know
