PSY-340 Midterm #2

outgroup

"them" - a group that people perceive as distinctively different from or apart from their ingroup we contrast our groups with other groups, with a favorable bias toward our own group

ingroup

"us" - a group of people who share a sense of belonging, a feeling of common identity gain self-esteem by associated ourselves with certain groups strengthens our self-concepts seeing our groups as superior helps us feel even better when people's personal and social identities become fused, they become more willing to fight or die for their group

racism

(1) an individual's prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory behavior toward people of a given race, or (2) institutional practices (even if not motivated by prejudice) that subordinate people of a given race institutional practices that discriminate, even when there is no prejudicial intent

sexism

(1) an individual's prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory behavior toward people of a given sex, or (2) institutional practices (even if not motivated by prejudice) that subordinate people of a given sex institutional practices that discriminate, even when there is no prejudicial intent

subgrouping

*acknowledged as a part of the overall diverse group* accommodating individuals who deviate from one's stereotype by forming a new stereotype about this subset of the group form a new stereotype for those who don't fit tends to lead to modest change in the stereotype as the stereotype becomes more differentiated

subtyping

*exceptions to the group* accommodating individuals who deviate from one's stereotype by thinking of them as "exceptions to the rule" high-prejudice people tend to subtype positive ourgroup members (seeing them as atypical exceptions) low-prejudice people more often subtype negative outgroup members

ingredients of persuasion - the audience

*life cycle explanation* ∙ attitudes change as people grow older *generational explanation* ∙attitudes do not change; older people largely hold onto the attitudes they adopted when they were young - creating generational gap adolescent and early adult experiences are formative partly because they make deep and lasting impressions knowing someone is going to try to persuade you -> breeds counterarguments persuasion is also enhanced by a distraction that keeps people from thinking about counterarguments

prejudice

*negative attitude* a preconceived negative judgment of a group and its individual members comes in many forms - for our own group and against some other group Involves race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, obesity, age, immigrants, politics an attitude - a combination of feelings, inclinations to act, and beliefs ABC's of attitudes: A - affect (feelings) B - behavior tendency (inclination to act) C - cognition (beliefs) unequal status breeds prejudice prejudice springs from unequal status and from other social sources, including our acquired values and attitudes - our families and cultures pass on all kinds of information people become more likely to favor (or oppose) discrimination after haring someone else fo so, and are less supportive of women after hearing sexist humor those who conformed most to other social norms were also most prejudiced "frequent and repetitive exposure to hate speech leads to desensitization" to such speech and to "increasing outgroup prejudice" passion provokes prejudice

discrimination

*negative behavior* unjustified negative behavior toward a group or its members often has its source in prejudicial attitudes much discrimination reflects no intended harm; it's simply favoritism toward people like oneself

how to appear credible

*perceived expertise* ∙saying things the audience agrees with ∙helps to be seen as knowledgeable on the topic *speaking style* ∙speak confidently and fluently ∙balance between talking and listening *perceived trustworthiness* ∙more willing to listen to a communicator we trust ∙trustworthiness is higher if the audience believes the communicator is not trying to persuade them ∙have someone else convey your expertise ∙humor can distract from distrust

power of persuasion (*examples* show that efforts to persuade are sometimes diabolical, sometimes controversial, and sometimes beneficial)

*the spread of false beliefs* ∙ex: about 1 in 4 Americans and 1 in 3 Europeans thinks the sun revolves around the earth *attitudes around equality* ∙ex: in the space of 50 years, the U.S. went from a country that asked its Black citizens to sit in the back of the bus to one that elected an African American president - twice *climate change skepticism* ∙ex: 60% of Americans in 2014 believed that reports were "generally exaggerated" going up - by 2017, 45% of Americans said they "worry a great deal" about global worming *promoting healthier living* ∙ex: only 15% of Americans smoke cigarettes, half the rate of 40 years ago

interaction *example*

Animal studies suggest that epigenetic changes can be passed down through several generations. When pregnant females are exposed to toxins or unhealthy diets, for example, the effects are seen not just in the babies but in their Page 138 offspring as well (the "grandchildren").

ingroup bias *example*

Ask children, "Which are better, the children in your school or the children at [another school nearby]?" Virtually all will say their own school has the better children.

normative influence *examples*

At first they tried warning students about the consequences of binge drinking, but binge-drinking rates stayed about the same. Then they spread information about the norm, telling them that "most students drink moderately." That technique was successful: Binge drinking was cut in half over 10 years. Teens are much more likely to smoke when their friends smoke and thus they see smoking as the norm.

What can we conclude about genes, culture, and gender?

Biological and cultural explanations need not be contradictory. Indeed, they interact. Biological factors operate within a cultural context, and culture builds on a biological foundation. Emerging research in the field of epigenetics shows that genes are expressed in some environments and not others.

How are males and females alike and different?

Boys and girls, and men and women, are in many ways alike. Yet their differences attract more attention than their similarities. Social psychologists have explored gender differences in independence versus connectedness. Women typically do more caring, express more empathy and emotion, and define themselves more in terms of relationships. Men and women also tend to exhibit differing social dominance and aggression. In every known culture on earth, men tend to have more social power and are more likely than women to engage in physical aggression. Sexuality is another area of marked gender differences. Men more often think about and initiate sex, whereas women's sexuality tends to be inspired by emotional passion.

stereotype *example*

British are reserved Americans are outgoing women love children men love sports elderly are frail Asians are good at math overgeneralizing = when people believe Black men are taller, more muscular, and thus potentially more threatening than same-sized White men to stigmatize the obese as slow, lazy, and undisciplined is inaccurate

Milgram's obedience studies

Burger and his colleagues (2011) later analyzed their participants' spontaneous comments. Whether people stopped or obeyed was not predictable from their expressing concern for the learner's well-being, which most did, but from their voicing feelings of responsibility for their actions. Argued that Milgram's studies were unethical because the participants were deceived about their purpose, and thus could not give truly informed consent. Argued the participants' self-concepts may have been altered

Ways to stimulate people's thinking:

By using rhetorical questions By presenting multiple speakers (for example, having each of three speakers give one argument instead of one speaker giving three) By making people feel responsible for evaluating or passing along the message By repeating the message; or by getting people's undistracted attention

What predicts conformity?

Certain situations appear to be especially powerful for eliciting conformity. For example, people conform most when three or more people model the behavior or belief. Conformity is reduced if the modeled behavior or belief is not unanimous—if one or more people dissent. Conformity is enhanced by group cohesion. The higher the status of those modeling the behavior or belief, the greater likelihood of conformity. People also conform most when their responses are public (in the presence of the group). A prior commitment to a certain behavior or belief increases the likelihood that a person will stick with that commitment.

What is conformity?

Conformity—changing one's behavior or belief as a result of group pressure—comes in two forms. Acceptance is believing in as well as acting in accord with social pressure. Compliance is outwardly going along with the group while inwardly disagreeing; a subset of compliance is obedience, compliance with a direct command.

Why conform?

Experiments reveal two reasons people conform. Normative influence results from a person's desire for acceptance: We want to be liked. The tendency to conform more when responding publicly reflects normative influence. Informational influence results from others' providing evidence about reality. The tendency to conform more on difficult decision-making tasks reflects informational influence: We want to be right.

ingredients of persuasion - the message *example*

For example, many people who distrust vaccines developed their attitudes through the emotion-laden idea that their children might be harmed. Informing them that this attitude was wrong—that vaccines do not harm children—did little to change attitudes. But when they read a mother's emotional story about her unvaccinated child contracting measles and saw pictures of children with the disease, their attitudes toward vaccines became markedly more positive. New emotions may sway an emotion-based attitude.

personal space *example*

For reasons unknown, cultures near the equator prefer less space and more touching and hugging. Thus, the British and the Scandinavians prefer more distance than the French and the Arabs; North Americans prefer more space than Latin Americans.

cohesiveness *example*

High school, often a time of cohesive groups, often leads students to drink as much alcohol as their peers in order to become (or stay) popular. People within an ethnic group may feel a similar "own-group conformity pressure"—to talk, act, and dress just as everyone else does in their own group. In fact, Blacks who "act White" or Whites who "act Black" may be mocked by their peers for not conforming to their own ethnic group. And after observing cheating by someone wearing a T-shirt from their own university, participants in another experiment became more likely to cheat. But if the cheater wore a T-shirt from a competing university, it had the opposite effect: the participants became more honest

How are we influenced by biology?

How are we humans alike, how do we differ—and why? Evolutionary psychologists study how natural selection favors behavioral traits that promote the perpetuation of one's genes. Although part of evolution's legacy is our human capacity to learn and adapt (and therefore to differ from one another), the evolutionary perspective highlights the kinship that results from our shared human nature. Evolutionary psychologists theorize how evolution might have predisposed gender differences in behaviors such as aggression and sexual initiative. Nature's mating game favors males who take sexual initiative toward females—especially those with physical features suggesting fertility—and who seek aggressive dominance in competing with other males. Females, who have fewer reproductive chances, place a greater priority on selecting mates offering the resources to protect and nurture their young. Hormonal influences on behavior may be one mechanism by which sex differences are influenced by biology. Critics say that evolutionary explanations are sometimes after-the-fact conjectures that fail to account for the reality of cultural diversity; they also question whether enough empirical evidence exists to support evolutionary psychology's theories and are concerned that these theories will reinforce troublesome stereotypes.

How can persuasion be resisted?

How do people resist persuasion? Developing counterarguments can help. A mild attack can also serve as an inoculation, stimulating one to develop counterarguments that will then be available if and when a strong attack comes. This implies, paradoxically, that one way to strengthen existing attitudes is to challenge them, although the challenge must not be so strong as to overwhelm them.

door-in-the-face technique *examples*

If students were first asked to participate in a long-term blood donor program and then to donate blood that day, they were more likely to comply than if they were simply asked to give blood Or consider finishing a meal in a restaurant when the server suggests dessert. When you say no, she offers coffee or tea. Customers first offered dessert were more likely to say yes to the next offer

racism *example*

If word-of-mouth hiring practices in an all-White business have the effect of excluding potential non-White employees, the practice could be called racism—even if an employer intended no discrimination.

conformity *examples*

If you rise to cheer a game-winning goal, drink coffee, or wear your hair in a certain style because you want to, and not due to the influence of others, you are not conforming. But if you do those things because other people do them, that's conformity. Dental flossing. Sarah Schmiege and her cohorts (2010) told students either that "Our studies show that [fellow] University of Colorado students your age floss approximately [X] times per week," where X was either the participant's own flossing rate, as reported in prior questioning, or five greater than that number. Those given the inflated estimate flossed more often over the ensuing three months. Cancer screening. Monika Sieverding and her colleagues (2010) approached middle-aged German men on the street and invited them to sign up to receive information about cancer screening. If led to believe few ("only 18%!") of other men in Germany had undergone the screening, a similar 18% signed up. But 39% signed up after being told that most other men ("indeed 65%!") had been screened. Health education campaigns had best not publicize low participation rates, surmised the researchers. Soccer referee decisions. In many sports, from figure skating to soccer football, referees make instantaneous decisions amid noise from the crowd, which often erupts Page 149 when the opposing team (but not the home team) commits a foul. Christian Unkelbach and Daniel Memmert (2010) examined 1,530 soccer matches across five seasons in Germany's premier league. On average, home teams received 1.89 penalty cards and opposing teams 2.35. Moreover, the difference was greater in louder soccer stadiums. And in laboratory experiments, professional referees who judged filmed scenes of fouls awarded more penalty cards when a scene was accompanied by high-volume noise. Eating. Across 38 studies, people ate more when sitting with someone else who ate more, and ate less when their companion ate less. Shovel in the food, and the other people at your table might follow suit; eat little, and others are more likely to pick at their plates.

obedience *examples*

If your father tells you to clean up your room and you do—even if you don't want to—that's obedience. If you get a flu shot because your mom tells you to—rather than because you think it will help—that's obedience.

mass hysteria *example*

In August 2009, a Lexus with four passengers suddenly accelerated past 100 miles per hour on a San Diego County freeway. The driver called 911 but was unable to stop the car's acceleration, and it crashed and burst into flames, killing all four passengers. The accident received widespread news coverage, and suddenly many people started reporting that their vehicles were accelerating out of control. However, an investigation later determined that the car that crashed, a loaner from a repair shop, had a floor mat from a larger vehicle that was too big and became lodged over the accelerator pedal. There was nothing wrong with Lexuses, no Page 147 issue with the car's original floor mats, and no "demons" making the cars accelerate, as some speculated. There were no runaway cars—just runaway news coverage that led to "unintended acceleration" as a convenient explanation for any driving mishap. It was all mass hysteria.

realistic group conflict theory *examples*

In Canada, opposition to immigration since 1975 went up and down with the unemployment rate. In the United States, concerns about immigrants taking jobs are greatest among those with the lowest incomes.

just-world phenomenon *examples*

In one scenario, a woman and her boss meet for dinner, go to his home, and each have a glass of wine. Some read this scenario with a happy ending: "Then he led me to the couch. He held my hand and asked me to marry him." In hindsight, people find the ending unsurprising and admire the man's and woman's character traits. Others read the same scenario with a terrible ending: "But then he became very rough and pushed me onto the couch. He held me down on the couch and raped me." Given this ending, people see the rape as inevitable and blame the woman for provocative behavior that seems faultless in the first scenario. Assume: rape victims must have behaved seductively, battered spouses must have provoked their beatings, poor people don't deserve better, sick people are responsible for their illnesses, teens who are bullied online deserve it

fear-then-relief technique *example*

In one study, a confederate approached a passerby at a Polish train station and said, "Excuse me... Haven't you lost your wallet?" Everyone immediately checked their pockets or bags to find, to their relief, that their wallet was still in place. The confederate then explained she was selling Christmas cards for a charity. Nearly 40% bought the cards, compared to only 10% who heard the appeal but had not felt the relief of still having their wallets.

natural selection *example*

In the snowy Arctic environment, gene programming a thick coat of camouflaging white fur have won the genetic competition in polar bears.

sexism *example*

Job ads for male-dominated vocations feature words associated with male stereotypes ("We are a dominant engineering firm seeking individuals who can perform in a competitive environment"). And job ads for female-dominated vocations feature the opposite ("We seek people who will be sensitive to clients' needs and can develop warm client relationships"). Without intending any prejudice, the gendered wording helps sustain gender inequality.

outgroup homogeneity effect *examples*

Many non-Europeans see the Swiss as a fairly homogeneous people. But to the people of Switzerland, the Swiss are diverse, encompassing French-, German-, Italian-, and Romansh-speaking groups. Many non-Latino Americans lump "Latinos" together. Mexican Americans, Cuban Americans, and Puerto Ricans—among others—see important differences. Sorority sisters perceive the members of any other sorority as less diverse than the members of their own.

recency effect *example*

Miller and Campbell gave another group of students a section of testimony to read. A week later, the researchers had them read another section and then immediately state their opinions. The results were the reverse of the other experiment—a recency effect. Apparently the first section of arguments had largely faded from memory in the ensuing week.

social dominance orientation *examples*

Often support policies that maintain hierarchies, such as tax cuts for the well-off. They tend to prefer professions, such as politics and business, that increase their status and maintain hierarchies. They typically avoid jobs, such as social work, that, by virtue of their aid to disadvantaged groups, undermine hierarchies. And they frequently express more negative attitudes toward minority persons, especially those who exhibit strong racial identities.

attitude inoculation *example*

One research team had high school students "inoculate" seventh-graders against peer pressures to smoke. The seventh-graders were taught to respond to advertisements with counterarguments. They also acted in role plays in which, after being called "chicken" for not taking a cigarette, they answered with statements such as "I'd be a real chicken if I smoked just to impress you." After several of these sessions during the seventh and eighth grades, the inoculated students were half as likely to begin smoking as were uninoculated students at another middle school—one that had an identical parental smoking rate.

epigenetics *example*

One study of New Zealand young adults revealed a gene variation that put people at risk for Page 120 depression, but only if they had also experienced major life stresses such as their parents' divorce. Neither the stress nor the gene alone produced depression, but the two interacting did.

Who conforms?

People who seek to please others and are comfortable following social rules (those high in agreeableness and conscientiousness) are the most likely to conform. Although conformity and obedience are universal, different cultures socialize people to be more or less socially responsive. Social roles involve a certain degree of conformity, and conforming to expectations is an important task when stepping into a new social role."

What are the motivational sources of prejudice?

People's motivations affect prejudice. Frustration breeds hostility, which people sometimes vent on scapegoats and sometimes express more directly against competing groups. People also are motivated to view themselves and their groups as superior to other groups. Even trivial group memberships lead people to favor their group over others. A threat to self-image heightens such ingroup favoritism, as does the need to belong. On a more positive note, if people are motivated to avoid prejudice, they can break the prejudice habit.

outgroup homogeneity effect

Perception of outgroup members as more similar to one another than are ingroup members - thus "they are alike; we are diverse" when we assign people to groups - athletes, drama majors, math professors - we are likely to exaggerate the similarities within the groups and the differences between them we assume other groups are more homogeneous than our own the greater our familiarity with a social group, the more we see its diversity

What are the consequences of prejudice?

Prejudice and stereotyping have important consequences, especially when strongly held, when judging unknown individuals, and when deciding policies regarding whole groups. Once formed, stereotypes tend to perpetuate themselves and resist change. They also create their own realities through self-fulfilling prophecies. Prejudice can also undermine people's performance through stereotype threat, by making people apprehensive that others will view them stereotypically. Stereotypes, especially when strong, can predispose how we perceive people and interpret events.

What is the nature and power of prejudice?

Prejudice is a preconceived negative attitude. Stereotypes are beliefs about another group—beliefs that may be accurate, inaccurate, or overgeneralized but based on a kernel of truth. Discrimination is unjustified negative behavior. Racism and sexism may refer to individuals' prejudicial attitudes or discriminatory behavior, or to oppressive institutional practices (even if not intentionally prejudicial). Prejudice exists in subtle and unconscious guises as well as overt, conscious forms. Researchers have devised subtle survey questions and indirect methods for assessing people's attitudes and behavior to detect unconscious prejudice. Racial prejudice against Blacks in the United States was widely accepted until the 1960s; since that time it has become far less prevalent, but it still exists. Similarly, prejudice against women and gays and lesbians has lessened in recent decades. Nevertheless, strong gender stereotypes and a fair amount of gender and sexual orientation bias are still found in the United States and, to a greater degree, elsewhere around the world.

What are the cognitive sources of prejudice?

Recent research shows how the stereotyping that underlies prejudice is a by-product of our thinking—our ways of simplifying the world. Clustering people into categories exaggerates the uniformity within a group and the differences between groups. A distinctive individual, such as a lone minority person, has a compelling quality that makes us aware of differences that would otherwise go unnoticed. The occurrence of two distinctive events (for example, a minority person committing an unusual crime) helps create an illusory correlation between people and behavior. Attributing others' behavior to their dispositions can lead to the group-serving bias: assigning outgroup members' negative behavior to their natural character while explaining away their positive behaviors. Blaming the victim results from the common presumption that because this is a just world, people get what they deserve.

subgrouping *example*

Recognizing that the stereotype does not apply for everyone in the category, homeowners who have "desirable" Black neighbors can form a new and different stereotype of "professional, middle-class Blacks."

foot-in-the-door phenomenon *example*

Researchers posing as volunteers asked Californians to permit the installation of huge, poorly lettered "Drive Carefully" signs in their front yards. Only 17% consented. Others were first approached with a small request: Would they display three-inch "Be a safe driver" window signs? Nearly all readily agreed. When approached two weeks later to allow the large, ugly signs in their front yards, 76% consented.

reactance *examples*

Romeo and Juliet - love was intensified by their families' opposition When teens were told that others believed eating fruit was healthy, they said they intended to eat less fruit. But when they heard that most other teens made an effort to eat sufficient fruit, they ate more fruit over the next two days. Because we know we should do something that's healthy, it becomes difficult to actually do it without feeling our freedom is compromised. If we know others are doing it (normative influence again), we're more likely to do it too, due to the principles of conformity.

counterarguments *example*

Seeing the ad again thus also brought to mind the puncturing counterarguments. Antismoking ads have effectively done this, for example, by re-creating a "Marlboro Man" ad set in the rugged outdoors but instead showing a coughing, decrepit cowboy. These ads use images similar to the real ones but feature the powerful counterargument that smoking harms health.

Do we ever want to be different?

Social psychology's emphasis on the power of social pressure must be joined by a complementary emphasis on the power of the person. We are not puppets. When social coercion becomes blatant, people often experience reactance—a motivation to defy the coercion in order to maintain their sense of freedom. We are not comfortable being greatly different from a group, but neither do we want to appear the same as everyone else. Thus, we act in ways that preserve our sense of uniqueness and individuality. In a group, we are most conscious of how we differ from the others.

What paths lead to persuasion?

Sometimes persuasion occurs as people focus on arguments and respond with favorable thoughts. Such systematic, or central route, persuasion occurs when people are naturally analytical or involved in the issue. When issues don't engage systematic thinking, persuasion may occur through a faster, peripheral route, as people use heuristics or incidental cues to make snap judgments. Central route persuasion, being more thoughtful and less superficial, is more durable and more likely to influence behavior.

primacy effect *examples*

Students who read positive TripAdvisor.com reviews of a hotel before the negative reviews liked the hotel more than those who read the negative reviews first. Super Bowl viewers were more likely to remember brands when the commercial advertising was first in the block of commercials.

discrimination *example*

Such was evident when researchers analyzed the responses to 1,115 identically worded e-mails sent to Los Angeles area landlords regarding vacant apartments. Encouraging replies came back to 89% of notes signed "Patrick McDougall," to 66% from "Said Al-Rahman," and to 56% from "Tyrell Jackson"

How are we influenced by culture?

The cultural perspective highlights human diversity—the behaviors and ideas that define a group and that are transmitted across generations. The differences in attitudes and behaviors from one culture to another indicate the extent to which we are the products of cultural norms and roles. Yet cross-cultural psychologists also examine the "essential universality" of all people. For example, despite their differences, cultures have a number of norms in common, such as respecting privacy in friendships and disapproving of incest. Much of culture's influence is transmitted to children by their peers. The most heavily researched of roles—gender roles—reflect biological influence but also illustrate culture's strong impact. The universal tendency has been for males, more than females, to occupy socially dominant roles. Gender roles show significant variation from culture to culture and from time to time.

subtyping *example*

The positive image that British schoolchildren form of their friendly school police officers (whom they perceive as a special category) doesn't improve their image of police officers in general.

informational influence *example*

The same is true while you're reading the restaurant reviews on Yelp or the hotel reviews on TripAdvisor: If you haven't been there before, other people's experiences can provide important information. These types of reviews are good examples of informational influence.

What are the social sources of prejudice?

The social situation breeds and maintains prejudice in several ways. A group that enjoys social and economic superiority will often use prejudicial beliefs to justify its privileged position. Children are also brought up in ways that foster or reduce prejudice. Those with authoritarian personalities are said to be socialized into obedience and intolerance. The family, religious communities, and the broader society can sustain or reduce prejudices. Social institutions (government, schools, media) also support prejudice, sometimes through overt policies and sometimes through unintentional inertia.

What are the classic conformity and obedience studies?

Three classic sets of experiments illustrate how researchers have studied conformity: Muzafer Sherif observed that others' judgments influenced people's estimates of the movement of a point of light that actually did not move. Norms for "proper" answers emerged and survived both over long periods of time and through succeeding generations of research participants. Solomon Asch had people listen to others' judgments of which of three comparison lines was equal to a standard line and then make the same judgment themselves. When the others unanimously gave a wrong answer, the participants conformed 37% of the time. Stanley Milgram's studies of obedience elicited an extreme form of compliance. Under optimum conditions—a legitimate, close-at-hand commander, a remote victim, and no one else to exemplify disobedience—65% of his adult male participants fully obeyed instructions to deliver what were supposedly traumatizing electric shocks to a screaming, innocent victim in an adjacent room. Behavior and attitudes are mutually reinforcing, enabling a small act of evil to foster the attitude that leads to a bigger evil act.

Best advice for persuasion:

Use logic or emotion, depending on the audience and the message. Ask a small favor before making a big request. Offer two-sided messages that challenge arguments against your message. Go first or last—not in the middle—for best results.

What breeds obedience?

Victim's distance or depersonalization Closeness and legitimacy of the authority Whether the authority was part of a respected institution Liberating effects of a disobedient fellow participant -------------------------------------- Asch and Milgram studies share these similarities: They show how compliance can take precedence over moral sense. They succeed in pressuring people to go against their own consciences. They sensitize us to moral conflicts in our own lives. They affirm two familiar social psychological principles: the link between behavior and attitudes and the power of the situation.

group-serving bias *examples*

We grant members of our own group the benefit of the doubt: "She donated because she has a good heart; he refused because he's using every penny to help support his mother." When explaining acts by members of other groups, we more often assume the worst: "She donated to gain favor; he refused because he's selfish." In one classic study, the light shove that Whites perceived as mere "horsing around" when done by another White person became a "violent gesture" when done by a Black person

What are the elements of persuasion?

What makes persuasion effective? Researchers have explored four factors: the communicator (who says it), the message (what is said), the channel (how it is said), and the audience (to whom it is said). Credible communicators tend to be persuasive. People who speak unhesitatingly and who talk fast seem more credible. So do people who argue against their own self-interest. An attractive communicator is especially effective on matters of taste and personal values. Associating a message with good feelings makes it more convincing. People often make quicker, less reflective judgments while in good moods. Fear-arousing messages can also be effective, especially if the recipients feel vulnerable but can take protective action. People are more likely to do a small favor if they are asked to do a big favor first (the door-in-the-face technique) and are more likely to agree to a big favor if they agree to a small favor first (the foot-in-the-door phenomenon). A variation on the foot-in-the-door phenomenon is the lowball technique, in which a salesperson offers a low price, elicits a commitment from the buyer, and then increases the price. How discrepant a message should be from an audience's existing opinions depends on the communicator's credibility. And whether a one- or two-sided message is more persuasive depends on whether the audience already agrees with the message, is unaware of opposing arguments, and is unlikely later to consider the opposition. When two sides of an issue are presented separately, the primacy effect often makes the first message more persuasive. If a time gap separates the presentations, the more likely result will be a recency effect in which the second message prevails. Another important consideration is how the message is communicated. Usually, face-to-face appeals work best. Print media can be effective for complex messages. The mass media can be effective when the issue is minor or unfamiliar, and when the media reach opinion leaders. Finally, it matters who receives the message. The age of the audience makes a difference; young people's attitudes are more subject to change. What does the audience think while receiving a message? Do they think favorable thoughts? Do they counterargue? Were they forewarned?

own-race bias *example*

When White students are shown faces of a few White and a few Black individuals and then asked to pick those individuals out of a photographic lineup, they show an own-race bias: They more accurately recognize the White faces than the Black ones, and they often falsely recognize Black faces never before seen.

stereotype threat *examples*

When told that there were no gender differences in test scores and no evaluation of any group stereotype, the women's performance consistently equaled the men's. Told that there was a gender difference, the women dramatically confirmed the stereotype. Blacks did worse than usual when a golf task was framed as a test of "sports intelligence," and Whites did worse when it was a test of "natural athletic ability." "When people are reminded of a negative stereotype about themselves—'White men can't jump' or 'Black men can't think'—it can adversely affect performance"

acceptance *examples*

You might exercise because you accept that exercise is healthy. You stop at red lights because you accept that not doing so is dangerous. You get a flu shot because you believe that it will help prevent you from getting sick.

compliance *examples*

You put on the necktie or the dress, although you dislike doing so. You say you like your friends' favorite band even though you don't. These acts of compliance are often to reap a reward or avoid a punishment—for example, you might have followed your high school's dress code even though you thought it was dumb, because that was better than detention.

cohesiveness

a "we feeling"; the extent to which members of a group are bound together, such as by attraction to one another the more cohesive a group is, the more power it gains over its members a minority opinion from someone outside the groups we identify with sways us less than the same minority opinion from someone within our group

distinctinveness

a Black person in an otherwise White group, a man in an otherwise female group, or a woman in an otherwise male group seems more prominent and influential and to have exaggerated good and bad qualities people define you by your most distinctive traits and behaviors the extra attention we pay to distinctive people creates an illusion that they differ from others more than they really do feeds self-consciousness use distinctive cases as a shortcut to judging groups vivid cases distort judgments and create stereotypes our attentiveness to unusual occurrences creates illusory correlations the features that most distinguish a minority from a majority are those that become associated with it our preexisting stereotypes can lead us to "see" correlations that aren't there

self-fulfilling prophecy

a belief that leads to its own fulfillment

conformity

a change in behavior or belief as the result of real or imagined group pressure acting differently due to the influence of others (being affected by how they act)

sleeper effect

a delayed impact of a message that occurs when an initially discounted message becomes effective, such as we remember the message but forget the reason for discounting it the impact of a noncredible person may correspondingly increase over time if people remember the message better than the reason for discounting it

stereotype threat

a disruptive concern, when facing a negative stereotype, that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype unlike self-fulfilling prophecies that hammer one's reputation into one's self-concept, stereotype threat situations have immediate effects undermines performance bc: stress, self-monitoring, suppressing unwanted thoughts and emotions negative stereotypes disrupt performance - positive stereotypes facilitate performance

testosterone

a hormone more prevalent in males than females which is linked to dominance and aggression one way biology influences sex differences

social dominance orientation

a motivation to have one's group dominate other social groups some people notice and justify status differences those high in social dominance orientation tend to view people in terms of hierarchies they like their own groups to be high status leads people in high social dominance to embrace prejudice and to support political positions that justify prejudice status breeds prejudice, especially for people high in social dominance orientation

reactance

a motive to protect or restore one's sense of freedom -reactance arises when someone threatens our freedom of action people act to protect their sense of freedom attempts to restrict a person's freedom often produce an anticonformity "boomerang effect"

authoritarian personality

a personality that is disposed to favor obedience to authority and intolerance of outgroups and those lower in status as children, they often faced harsh discipline the insecurity of authoritarian individuals predisposes them toward an excessive concern with power and status and an inflexible right-wrong way of thinking that makes ambiguity difficult to tolerate "my way or the highway"

prejudice *example*

a prejudiced person may dislike those different from self and behave toward them in a discriminatory manner, believing them ignorant and dangerous

interaction

a relationship in which the effect of one factor (such as biology) depends on another factor (such as environment) biology and culture may interact experience uses genes to change the brain - genes are not set in stone, they respond adaptively to our experiences science of epigenetics suggests that environmental factors shape lifelong biological changes, showing that nature and nurture work together not independently interact when biological traits influence how the environment reacts

gender roles

a set of behavior expectations (norms) for males and females gender socialization gives girls "roots" and boys "wings" culture helps construct our gender roles - varies culture to culture vary over time - time bends genders

stereotype

a social belief about the personal attributes of a group of people sometimes overgeneralized, inaccurate, and resistant to new information (and sometimes accurate) to stereotype is to generalize problem with stereotypes arise when they are overgeneralized or just plain wrong it's especially when we have strong views about group differences that our beliefs exaggerate reality

door-in-the-face technique

a strategy for gaining a concession after someone first turns down a large request (the door-in-the-face), the same requester counteroffers with a more reasonable request

lowball technique

a tactic for getting people to agree to something people who agree to an initial request will often still comply when the requester ups the ante people who receive only the costly request are less likely to comply with it works only if people verbally commit to their choice a harmless initial commitment often moves us toward a larger commitment

obedience

a type of compliance involving acting in accord with a direct order or command complying with a direct command doing something you wouldn't do otherwise because someone else says you need to

benevolent sexism

acceptance of positive stereotypes of males and females that leads to unequal treatment "women have a superior moral sensibility" still impede gender equity by discouraging the hiring of women in traditionally male-dominated occupations

credibility

believability a credible communicator is perceived as both expert and trustworthy

ethnocentric

believing in the superiority of one's own ethnic and cultural group, and having a corresponding disdain for all other groups share certain tendencies: an intolerance for weakness, a punitive attitude, and a submissive respect for their group's authorities, as reflected in their agreement with such statements as "Obedience and respect for authority are the most important virtues children should learn"

gender similarity

common result for most variables studied overlap between the sexes is larger than the difference

normative influence

conformity based on a person's desire to fulfill others' expectations, often to gain acceptance concern for social images produces normative influence our desire to be liked "going along with the crowd" to avoid rejection, to stay in people's good graces, or to gain their approval

informational influence

conformity occurring when people accept evidence about reality provided by other people the desire to be correct produces informational influence our desire to be right captures how beliefs spread

acceptance

conformity that involves both acting and believing in accord with social pressure occurs when you genuinely believe in what the group has persuaded you to do - you inwardly and sincerely believe that the group's actions are right (variety of conformity)

compliance

conformity that involves publicly acting in accord with an implied or explicit request while privately disagreeing conforming to an expectation or a request without really believing in what you are doing an insincere, outward conformity (variety of conformity)

group-serving bias

explaining away outgroup members' positive behaviors; also attributing negative behaviors to their dispositions (while excusing such behavior by one's own group) we grant members of our own group the benefit of the doubt - when explaining acts by members of other groups, we more often assume the worst positive behavior by outgroup members is more often dismissed disadvantaged groups and groups that stress modesty exhibit less of this group-serving bias can subtly color our language blaming occurs as people attribute an outgroup's failures to its members' flawed dispositions

racial prejudice

explicit prejudicial attitudes can change very quickly most people support racial equality and deplore discrimination, however modern prejudice appears subtly (exaggerating ethnic differences, feeling less admiration and affection for immigrant minorities, rejecting them for supposedly nonracial reasons) in our preferences for what is familiar, similar, and comfortable prejudiced attitudes and discriminatory behavior surface when they can hide behind the screen of some other motive bias found in employment discrimination, favoritism galore, traffic stops, patronization implicit bias can leak into behavior some people more quickly learn positive associations (and more slowly learn negative associations) to neutral stimuli - such people tend to exhibit little implicit racial bias even when race does not bias perception, it may bias reaction - as people require less evidence before firing

attitude inoculation

exposing people to weak attacks upon their attitudes so that when stronger attacks come, they will have refutations available to understand an assertion is to believe it - at least temporarily, until one actively undoes the initial, automatic acceptance inoculation can occur by leading people to consider counterarguments

androgynous

from andro (man) + gyn (woman) - thus mixing both masculine and feminine characteristics capable of both assertiveness and nurturance

attractiveness

having qualities that appeal to an audience an appealing communicator (often someone similar to the audience) is most persuasive on matters of subjective preference our liking may open us up to the communicator's arguments (central route persuasion), or it may trigger positive associations when we see the product later (peripheral route persuasion) *physical attractiveness* ∙arguments, especially emotional ones, are often more influential when they come from people we consider beautiful *similarity makes for attractiveness* ∙we tend to like people who are like us ∙people who act as we do, subtly mimicking our postures, are more influential

prejudice: implicit and explicit

illustrates our dual attitude system we can have different explicit (conscious) and implicit (automatic) attitudes toward the same target prejudiced and stereotypic evaluations can occur outside people's awareness people may retain from childhood a habitual, automatic fear or dislike of people from whom they now express respect and admiration implicit attitudes may linger, changing only as we form new habits through practice implicit biases modestly predict behaviors ranging from acts of friendliness to work evaluations

gender

in psychology, the characteristics, whether biological or socially influenced, that we associate with males or females can be rooted in biology, culture, or both such as wearing dresses, liking sports, having long hair, wanting more sexual partners, being more physically aggressive, etc.

recency effect

information presented last sometimes has the most influence recency effects are less common than primacy effects forgetting creates the recency effect (1) when enough time separates the two messages and (2) when the audience commits itself soon after the second message

ingredients of persuasion - the message

it matters not only who says something but also what the person says thoughtful, involved audiences often travel the central route to persuasion - more responsive to reasoned arguments uninterested audiences more often travel the peripheral route - more affected by their liking of the communicator when people's initial attitudes are formed primarily through the peripheral route, they're more persuaded by later peripheral, emotional appeals when their initial attitudes are formed primarily through the central route, they are more persuaded by later information-based, central route arguments messages become more persuasive through association with good feelings, such as what often accompanies munching food or hearing pleasant music good feelings often enhance persuasion, partly by enhancing positive thinking and partly linking good feelings with the message messages can be effective by evoking negative emotions - the more frightened and vulnerable people feel, the more they respond gain-framed messages focusing on the advantages of healthy behavior are more effective than those framed in terms of loss if your audience will be exposed to opposing views, offer a two-sided appeal

ingredients of persuasion - the communicator

it's not just the content of a message that affects an audience's response, but also the presumed source people are more willing to agree with statements made by leasers in the political party they identify with

LGBT prejudice

most cannot comfortably disclose who they are and whom they love prejudice includes: job discrimination, gat marriage support is mixed but increasing, harassment hurts, rejection happens state policies predict gay folks' health and well-being, community attitudes also predict LGBT health, toxicity of gay stigma and the benefits of its removal

Asch's studies of group pressure

most people tell the truth even when others do not individualistic cultures -> fewer students willing to conform to the group judgment collectivistic cultures -> more willing to conform experiments lacked "mundane realism," but had "experimental realism"

gender prejudice

norms are prescriptive; stereotypes are descriptive strong gender stereotypes exist and members of the stereotyped group accept them persisted across time and culture stereotypes (beliefs) and not prejudices (attitudes) attitudes toward women have changed as rapidly as racial attitudes people don't respond to women with gut-level negative emotions as they do to certain other groups gender attitudes are ambivalent women discriminate against women as well

central route to persuasion

occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts if those arguments are strong and compelling, persuasion is likely if the message offers only weak arguments, thoughtful people will notice that the arguments aren't very compelling and will counterargue against them explicit and reflective can lead to more enduring change when people think deeply rather than superficially, any changed attitude will more likely persist, resist attack, and influence behavior

peripheral route to persuasion

occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker's attractiveness rather than analyzing whether the arguments are compelling, we focus on cues that trigger automatic acceptance without much thinking implicit and automatic emotion-based appeals (not reason-based) are more effective across a variety of products

primacy effect

other things being equal, information presented first usually has the most influence first impressions are important when the two messages are back-to-back, followed by a time gap, the primacy effect usually occurs

terror management

people's self-protective emotional and cognitive responses (including adhering more strongly to their cultural worldviews and prejudices) when confronted with reminders of their mortality shield themselves from the threat of their own death by derogating whose challenges to their worldviews further arouse their anxiety prejudice helps bolster a threatened belief system can heighten communal feelings

aggression

physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone in laboratory experiments, this might mean delivering electric shocks or saying something likely to hurt another's feelings men are more aggressive gender difference fluctuates with context - when people are provoked, gap shrinks

prejudgments

prejudice involves preconceived judgments guide out attention and our memories prejudgments are self-perpetuating - when a group member behaves as expected, we duly note the fact; our prior belief is confirmed

counterarguments

reasons why a persuasive message might be wrong false claims were more likely to persist if people were simply told they were wrong - but if people learned detailed counterarguments, false beliefs were more likely to be debunked

autokinetic phenomenon

self (auto) motion (kinetic) - the apparent movement of a stationary point of light in the dark You find yourself seated in a dark room. Fifteen feet in front of you, a pinpoint of light appears. At first, nothing happens. Then for a few seconds it moves erratically and finally disappears. The experimenter asks you to guess how far it moved. The dark room gives you no way to judge distance, so you offer an uncertain "six inches." The experimenter repeats the procedure. This time you say, "Ten inches." With further repetitions, your estimates continue to average about eight inches. The next day you return to the darkened room, joined by two other participants who had the same experience the day before. When the light goes off for the first time, the other two people offer their best guesses from the day before. "One inch," says one. "Two inches," says the other. A bit taken aback, you nevertheless say, "Six inches." With repetitions of this group experience, both on this day and for the next two days, will your responses change? The results suggest they will: Sherif's male student participants changed their estimates markedly.

peripheral route to persuasion *example*

smart advertisers adapt their ads to their consumers' thinking! ambient German music in a store may lead customers to buy German wine, and those hearing French music may reach for French wine instead of providing arguments in favor of smoking, cigarette ads associate the product with images of beauty and pleasure

transgender

someone whose psychological sense of being male or female differs from their birth sex may feel like a woman in a man's body or vice versa

norms

standards for accepted and expected behavior prescribe "proper" behavior (also describe what others do - what is normal) all cultures have their accepted ideas about appropriate behavior restrain and control us - so successfully and so subtly that we hardly sense their existence cultures vary in their norms for expressiveness, punctuality, rule breaking, and personal space cultures vary in how much they emphasize the individual self versus other and the society

mass hysteria

suggestibility to problems that spreads throughout a large group of people mimicry (suggestibility) occurring on a large scale

attractiveness *example*

sure, Girl Scout cookies are tasty, but a lot fewer people would buy them if they were sold by unattractive middle-aged men instead of cute little girls

social identity

the "we" aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to "who am I?" that comes from our group memberships we categorize, we identify, we compare

peer influence

the ability to influence individual behavior among members of a group based on group norms, a group sense of what is the right thing or right way to do things, and the need to be valued and accepted by the group children and youth learn their culture mostly from peers most teens talk, act, and dress more like their peers than their parents

personal space

the buffer zone we like to maintain around our bodies its size depends on our familiarity with whoever is near us

ingredients of persuasion

the communicator the message how the message is communicated the audience ↓ who says what, by what method, to whom?

hostile sexism

the condemnation of women with negative instead of positive stereotypes and the use of threats and violence to enforce women's subservience to men "once a man commits, she puts him on a tight leash"

culture

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next biology and culture interact to produce the diversity of behavior we see around us gene expression depends on the environment

natural selection

the evolutionary process by which heritable traits that best enable organisms to survive and reproduce in particular environments are passed to ensuing generations implies that certain genes - those that predisposed traits that increased the odds of surviving long enough to reproduce and nurture descendants - became more abundant

need for cognition

the motivation to think and analyze assessed by agreement with items such as "the notion of thinking abstractly is appealing to me" and disagreement with items such as "I only think as hard as I have to" what we think in response to a message is crucial stimulating thinking makes strong messages more persuasive and (because of counterarguing) weak messages less persuasive people who like to conserve their mental resources - those with a low need for cognition - are quicker to respond to such peripheral cues as the communicator's attractiveness and the pleasantness of the surroundings

two-step flow of communication

the process by which media influence often occurs through opinion leaders, who in turn influence others in any large group, it is these opinion leaders and trendsetters - "the influentials" that marketers and politicians seek to woo in study after study, most people agree that mass media influence attitudes - other people's attitudes, but not their own media influences penetrate the culture in subtle ways

epigenetics

the study of environmental influences on gene expression that occur without DNA change considers how environments modify gene expression science of epigenetics suggests that environmental factors shape lifelong biological changes, showing that nature and nurture work together not independently

evolutionary psychology

the study of the evolution of cognition and behavior using principles of natural selection studies how natural selection also predisposes psychological traits and social behaviors that enhance the preservation and spread of one's genes we are the way we are because nature selected those who had advantageous traits highlights are universal human nature

own-race bias

the tendency for people to more accurately recognize faces of their own race recognize faces from their own races better than from another's when looking at a face from another racial group we often attend, first, to group ("that man is Black") rather than to individual features when viewing someone of our own group, we are less attentive to the race category and more attentive to individual details such as the eyes

foot-in-the-door phenomenon

the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request when people commit themselves to public behaviors and perceive those acts to be their own doing, they come to believe more strongly in what they have done

just-world phenomenon

the tendency of people to believe that the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get From early childhood we are taught that good is rewarded and evil punished. Hard work and virtue pay dividends; laziness and immorality do not. From this it is but a short leap to assuming that those who flourish must be good and those who suffer must deserve their fate. discounts the uncontrollable factors that can derail good efforts even by talented people leads people to justify their culture's familiar social systems

ingroup bias

the tendency to favor one's own group supports a positive self-concept feeds favoritism more prone to ingroup bias when our group is small and differs in status relative to the outgroup - when our ingroup is the majority, we think less about it ascribe uniquely human emotions to ingroup members, and are more reluctant to see such human emotions in outgroup members if our status is secure - we feel "authentic pride" that's rooted in accomplishment - we have less need to feel superior, and we express less prejudice

realistic group conflict theory

the theory that prejudice arises from competition between groups for scarce resources maximum competition will exist between species with identical needs

scapegoat theory

the theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame frustration feeds hostility This phenomenon of "displaced aggression" (scapegoating) contributed to the lynchings of African Americans in the South after the Civil War. Between 1882 and 1930, more lynchings occurred in years when cotton prices were low and economic frustration was therefore presumably high

sex

the two biological categories of male and female two biological categories based on chromosomes, genitals, and secondary sex characteristics such as greater male muscle mass and female breasts

empathy

the vicarious experience of another's feelings; putting oneself in another's shoes being able to feel what another feels women are more empathetic women tend to outperform men at reading others' emotions women are better than men at recalling others' appearance women are more skilled at expressing emotions nonverbally

channel of communication

the way the message is delivered - whether face-to-face, in writing, on film, or in some other way written and visual appeals are both passive mere repetition can make things believable - serves to increase its fluency (the ease with which it spills off our tongue) which increases believability rhyming increases fluency and believability when evidence supports out views, we find it cogent when the same evidence contradicts our views, we fault it people tend to remember the original story, not the retraction the more familiar people are with an issue, the less persuadable they are active experience strengthens attitudes the major influence on us is not the media but our contact with people - personal contact persuades the more lifelike the medium, the more persuasive its message - easy messages messages are best comprehended and recalled when written - hard messages

classifying people into groups

we simplify our environment by categorizing cluster objects into groups human classifies people - allowing us to think about them more easily can provide useful information with minimal effort stereotypes are energy-saving schemes for making speedy judgments and predicting how others will think and act rely on stereotypes when: pressed for time, preoccupied, tired, emotionally aroused categorization provides a foundation for prejudice

Reflections on the classic studies

when external influences override inner convictions, attitudes fail to determine behavior a powerful social pressure (the experimenter's commands) overcame a weaker one (the remote victim's pleas) external behavior and internal disposition can also feed each other although people predict they would be upset by witnessing a person making a racial slur and would reject that person, those actually experiencing such an event typically exhibit indifference saying what we would do in a hypothetical situation is often easier than doing it in a real situation evil results from social forces - from powerful situations that help make a whole barrel of apples go bad situations and strong beliefs can induce ordinary people to capitulate to cruelty

gender and mating preferences

women seek to produce wisely, men widely men are more aggressive toward other men when they are thinking about dating and mating nature selects traits that help send one's genes into the future emotions execute evolutions's dispositions, much as hunger executes the body's need for nutrients women will prefer men with the resources to help with he labor-intensive and expensive process of raising a child to full adulthood men favor fertility in women, generally signaled by a youthful and healthy appearance

Sherif's studies of norm formation

wondered whether it was possible to observe the emergence of a social norm in the laboratory when people were retested alone a year later, they continued to support the group norm our views of reality are not ours alone - if you've ever accepted a story on social media that turned out to be "fake news," you've experienced this firsthand friends function as a social system because our behavior influences our attitudes and emotions, our natural mimicry inclines us to feel what the other feels people are more likely to help someone whose behavior mimicked their own mimicking another's anger fosters disliking

Do stereotypes bias judgments of individuals?

yes! our stereotypes mostly reflect reality people often evaluate individuals more positively than the individual's groups - after someone knows a person, stereotypes may have minimal impact on judgments about that person people may have strong gender stereotypes, but ignore them when judging an individual they meet or learn about when stereotypes are strong, they color our judgments of individuals stereotypes color how we interpret events when stereotypes are strong and information about someone is ambiguous, they can subtly bias our judgments of individuals we evaluate people more extremely when their behavior violates our stereotypes