social psychology: chapter 17

intimacy component

feelings of closeness and connectedness

strategies to diminish the effects of prejudice and discrimination

increasing contact between the target of stereotyping and the holder of the stereotype, making values of norms against prejudice more conspicuous, providing information about the targets of stereotyping, reducing stereotype threat, increasing the sense of social belonging of ethnic minority students

factors that can change attitudes

message source, characteristics of the message, characteristics of the target

deciding on and implementing the form of helping

After we assume responsibility for helping, we must decide how to provide assistance. Helping can range from very indirect forms of intervention, such as calling the police, to more direct forms, such as giving first aid or taking the victim to a hospital

increasing the sense of social belonging of ethnic minority students

Although almost every college student faces feelings of inadequacy and uncertainty about belonging at the start of college, such feelings are especially strong for members of groups who are underrepresented and have been the targets of prejudice and discrimination. However, research shows that a simple intervention in which members of minority groups are made to understand that feelings of inadequacy are not unique to them—and that such feelings usually diminish with time—can help minority students increase their sense of social belonging

the situation in which the individual is responding

Conformity is considerably higher when people must respond publicly than it is when they can do so privately, as the founders of the United States noted when they authorized secret ballots in voting.

interpreting the event as one that requires help

Even if we notice an event, it may be sufficiently ambiguous for us to interpret it as a nonemergency situation that requires no help. Thus, we make an interpretation as to whether or not the event requires help.

unanimity of the group

Groups that unanimously support a position show the most pronounced conformity pressures. But what about the case in which people with dissenting views have an ally in the group, known as a social supporter, who agrees with them? Having just one person present who shares the minority point of view is sufficient to reduce conformity pressures

noticing a person, event, or situation that may require help

If we are to provide help, we first have to perceive that a situation is one that potentially requires our help and intervention.

assuming responsibility for helping

It is at this key point that diffusion of responsibility is likely to occur if others are present. Moreover, a bystander's particular expertise is likely to play a role in determining whether he or she helps.

characteristics of the message

It is not just who delivers a message but what the message is like that affects attitudes. Generally, two-sided messages—which include both the communicator's position and the one he or she is arguing against—are more effective than one-sided messages, given the assumption that the arguments for the other side can be effectively refuted and the audience is knowledgeable about the topic. In addition, fear-producing messages ("If you don't practice safer sex, you'll get AIDS") are generally effective when they provide the audience with a means for reducing the fear. However, if the fear that is aroused is too strong, messages may evoke people's defense mechanisms and be ignored

characteristics of the target

Once a communicator has delivered a message, characteristics of the target of the message may determine whether the message will be accepted. For example, intelligent people are more resistant to persuasion than do those who are less intelligent. Gender differences in persuasibility also seem to exist. In public settings, women are somewhat more easily persuaded than men, particularly when women have less knowledge about the message's topic. However, they are as likely as men to change their private attitudes. In fact, the magnitude of the differences in resistance to persuasion between men and women is not large

the kind of task

People working on ambiguous tasks and questions (those with no clear answer) are more susceptible to social pressure. When asked to give an opinion on something, such as what type of clothing is fashionable, a person will more likely yield to conformist pressures than he or she will if asked a question of fact. In addition, tasks at which an individual is less competent than others in the group make conformity more likely. For example, a person who is an infrequent computer user may feel pressure to conform to an opinion about computer brands when in a group of experienced computer users.

providing information about the targets of stereotyping

Probably the most direct means of changing stereotypical and discriminatory attitudes is education: teaching people to be more aware of the positive characteristics of targets of stereotyping. For instance, when the meaning of puzzling behavior is explained to people who hold stereotypes, they may come to appreciate the actual significance of the behavior

increasing contact between the target of stereotyping and the holder of the stereotype

Research consistently shows that increasing the amount of interaction between people can reduce negative stereotyping. But only certain kinds of contact are likely to reduce prejudice and discrimination. Situations in which contact is relatively intimate, the individuals are of equal status, or participants must cooperate with one another or are dependent on one another are more likely to reduce stereotyping. On the other hand, even virtual contact via social media may be sufficient to improve intergroup relations

reducing stereotype threat

Social psychologist Claude Steele suggests that many African Americans suffer from stereotype vulnerability, obstacles to performance that stem from their awareness of society's stereotypes regarding minority group members. He argues that African American students too often receive instruction from teachers who doubt their students' abilities and who set up remedial programs to assist their students. As a result of their teachers' (as well as society's) low expectations for their performance, African-American students may come to accept society's stereotypes and come to believe that they are likely to fail.Such beliefs can have devastating effects. When confronted with an academic task, African-American students may fear that their performance will simply confirm society's negative stereotypes. The immediate consequence of this fear is anxiety that hampers performance. But the long-term consequences may be even worse: Doubting their ability to perform successfully in academic environments, African Americans may decide that the risks of failure are so great it is not worth the effort even to attempt to do well. Ultimately, they may "disidentify" with academic success by minimizing the importance of academic endeavors However, Steele's analysis suggests that African Americans may be able to overcome their predicament. Specifically, schools can design intervention programs to train minority group members about their vulnerability to stereotypes and provide them with self-affirmation that reinforces their confidence in their abilities and thereby inoculates them against the fear and doubt triggered by negative stereotypes

making values and norms against prejudice more conspicuous

Sometimes just reminding people about the values they already hold regarding equality and fair treatment of others is enough to reduce discrimination. Similarly, people who hear others making strong, vehement antiracist statements are subsequently more likely to strongly condemn racism

message source

The characteristics of a person who delivers a persuasive message, known as an attitude communicator, have a major impact on the effectiveness of that message. Communicators who are physically and socially attractive produce greater attitude change than do those who are less attractive. Moreover, the communicator's expertise and trustworthiness are related to the impact of a message—except in situations in which the audience believes the communicator has an ulterior motive

characteristics of the group

The more attractive a group appears to its members, the greater its ability to produce conformity. Furthermore, a person's relative status, the social standing of someone within a group, is critical: The lower a person's status in the group, the greater groups' power over that person's behavior

entrapment

a circumstance in which commitments to a failing point of view or course of action are increased to justify investments in time and energy that have already been made

social supporter

a group member whose dissenting views make non-conformity to the group easier

prejudice

a negative (or positive) evaluation of a group and its members. for instance, racial prejudice occurs when a member of a racial group is evaluated in terms of race and not because of his or her own characteristics or abilities-- social psychologists have mainly focused on understanding the roots if negative _____

halo effect

a phenomenon in which an initial understanding that a person has positive traits is used to infer other uniformly positive characteristics

stereotype

a set of generalized beliefs and expectations about a specific group and its members

reciprocity-of-liking effect

a tendency to like those who like us

Implicit Association Test (IAT)

an ingenious measure of prejudice that permits a more accurate assessment of people's discrimination between members of different groups. Uses that fact that people's automatic, instant reactions often provide the most valid indicator of what they actually believe

dispositional causes

are causes of behavior brought about by a person's internal traits or personality characteristics ex: someone who spends hours cleaning the kitchen floor because they are an unusually neat person, doing well on a test because you studied hard, tripping because you are clumsy

situational causes

are causes of behavior that are external to a person ex: when you spill milk and clean it up you aren't cleaning it because you are necessarily a neat person but because the situation requires it, doing well on a test because it was easy, tripping because the curb is uneven

self-fulfilling prophecy-full explanation of prejudice and discrimination

are expectations about the occurrence of a future event or behavior that act to increase the likelihood the event or behavior will occur. for example, if people think that members of a specific group lack ambition, they may treat them in a way that actually brings about a lack of ambition

social roles

are the expectations for people who occupy a given social position. ex: the role of a student is to study, attend class and listen to teacher

norms

beliefs and expectations regarding appropriate behavior for group members, prescribe how people in a group should behave and how they shouldn't. not adhering to group norms can result in retaliation (being ignored or excluded)

two primary information-processing routes to persuasion

central route and peripheral route processing

attribution theory

considers how we decide, on the basis of samples of a person's behavior, what the specific causes of that behavior are

groups

consists of two or more people who (1) interact with one another, (2) perceive themselves as part of a group, and (3) are interdependent--n that is, the events that affect one member affect other members, and the behavior of members has significant consequences for the success of the group in meeting its goals

love consists of three part- Robert Sternberg

decision/commitment, intimacy component, passion component

observational/social learning approach to aggression

emphasizes that social and environmental conditions can teach individuals to be aggressive. aggression is seen as a learned response that can be understood in terms of rewards and punishments

outgroup

groups we don't belong to

models

individuals who provide a guide to appropriate behavior through their own behavior

aggression

intentional injury of or harm to another person

obedience-- Milgram

is a change in behavior in response to the commands of others ex: we may show ________ to our bosses, teachers, or parents because they can reward or punish us

conformity

is a change in behavior or attitudes brought about by a desire to follow the beliefs or standards of other people. subtle or even unspoken social pressure results in this

groupthink

is a type of thinking in which group members share such a strong motivation to achieve consensus that they lose the ability to critically evaluate alternative points of view. most likely to occur when a popular or powerful leader is surrounded by people of lower status. Ex: U.S. presidents and his advisers

discrimination

is behavior directed towards individuals on the basis of their membership in a particular group. can lead to exclusion from jobs, neighborhoods, educational opportunities, may result in lower salaries and benefits, can result in more favorable treatment to favored groups

altruism

is behavior meant to help another without regard for self-interest. it is putting the welfare of others above; requires personal sacrifice oneself. ex: soldiers who risk their own lives to save another soldier who is wounded

compliance

is behavior that occurs in response to direct social pressure

behavioral economics

is concerned with how economic conditions are affected by individuals' biases and irrationality. Rather than viewing people as rational, thoughtful decision makers who are impartially weighing choices to draw conclusions, behavioral economists focus on the irrationality of judgement

diffusion of responsibility

is the belief that responsibility for intervening is shared, or diffused, among those present. the more people present in an emergency, the less personally responsible each individual feels--and therefore the less help he or she provides. ex: Kitty Genovese' case

to explain behavior we must answer one central question:

is the cause situational or dispositional

social influnence

is the process by which social groups and individuals exert pressure on an individual, either deliberately or unintentinally

frustration

is the reaction to the thwarting or blocking of goals

social psychology

is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and actions are affected by others. Considers the kinds and causes of the individual's behavior in social situations. They examine how the nature of situations in which we find ourselves influences our behavior in important ways

prosocial behavior

is the term psychologists use for helping behavior, has been considered under many different condition. does not necessarily require personal sacrifice

four ways to reduce dissonance

modifying one or both of the cognitions, changing the perceived importance of one cognition, adding cognitions, denying that the two cognitions are related to each other

availability heuristic

not a consistent bias in the ways people make attributions

factors involved in helping behavior

noticing a person, event, or situation that may require help, interpreting the event as one that requires help, assuming responsibility for helping, deciding on and implementing the form of helping

attitudes

one of the central concepts of social psychology; are evaluations of people, objects, ideas, and behavior. we have all sorts of ___________, ranging from those about others ("I think the President is great"), to __________ about behavior ("I hate when people are late for appointments"). to _______ toward more abstract concepts ("I support affirmative action"). behavior influences ________.

schemas

organized bodies of information stored in memory that bias the way new information is interpreted, stored, and recalled; sets of cognitions about people and social experiences. ex: people may consider that a mother holds characteristics of warmth, nurturance, and caring

ingroup

our own group; we may think that our own group is better than ones we aren't a part of to boost self-esteem

two main types of love- Robert Sternberg??

passionate love and companionate love

interpersonal attraction or close relationships

positive feelings for others; liking and loving

college students' use of social networking

positively related to civiv engagement, social trust, and life satisfaction

need for cognition

someone's typical level of thoughtfulness and cognitive activity

passionate (or romantic) love

represents a state of intense absorption in someone. It includes intense physiological arousal, psychological interest, and caring for the needs of another; intimacy and passion

information-processing approach

says that in forming an overall judgment of a person, we use a psychological 'average' of the individual traits we see, just as we would find the mathematical average of several members

social neuroscience

seeks to identify the neurological basis of social behavior. it looks at how we can illuminate our understanding of groups, interpersonal relations, and emotions by understanding the neuroscientific underpinnings. psychologists with this perspective believe that moral decisions involve a tug-of-war between the emotional side and rational side of the brain

microaggresions

small, daily slights, put downs, and insults, often perpetrated against members of marginalized groups based on race, gender, and sexual orientation

cognitive dissonance

state of psychological tension; the mental conflict that occurs when a person holds two contradictory attitudes or thoughts. ex: smokers- (1) I smoke, (2) smoking leads to lung cancer Festinger's classic experiment: more participants who were paid $1 changed their attitudes than did participants who were paid $20

aggressive cues

stimuli that have been associated in the past with actual aggression or violence and that will trigger aggression again

social identity theory-explanation of prejudice and discrimination

suggests that people tend to be ethnocentric, viewing the world from their own perspective and judging others in terms of their group membership. we use group membership as a source of pride and self-worth ex: a slogan like "gay pride"

observational learning approaches-explanation of prejudice and discrimination

the behavior of parents, other adults, and peers shapes children's feelings about members of various groups. young children learn prejudice by imitating the behavior of adult models. if the consequences are positive, the behavior is likely to be imitated when observers find themselves in a similar situation

industrial-organizational (I/O) psychology

the branch of psychology focusing on work, and job-related issues, including worker motivation, satisfaction, salary, and productivity

findings about conformity

the characteristics of the group, the situation in which the individual is responding, the kind of task, unanimity of the group

social cognition

the cognitive processes by which people understand and make sense of others and themselves. These psychologists have learned that individuals have highly developed schemas

biases in the way people make attributions. typical biases include:

the halo effect, assumed-similarity bias, the self-serving bias, the fundamental attribution error

decision/ commitment

the initial thoughts that one loves someone and the longer-term feelings of commitment to maintain love

central traits

the major traits considered in forming impressions of others

passion component

the motivations drives relating to sex, physical closeness, and romance

impression formation

the process by which an individual organizes information about another person to form an overall impression of that person

catharsis- Konrad Lorenz

the process of discharging built-up aggressive energy. the longer the energy builds up, the greater the amount of aggression displayed when it is discharged

status

the social standing of someone in the group

companionate love

the strong affection we have for those with whom our lives are deeply involved ex: the love we have for family members, parents and even some close friends; commitment, intimacy

self-serving bias

the tendency to attribute success to personal factors (skill, ability, or effort) and attribute failure to factors outside oneself

central route processing

the type of mental processing that occurs when a persuasive message is evaluated by thoughtful considerations of the issues and arguments used to persuade. a person who is highly involved and motivated use this processing, produces stronger, lasting attitude change ex: Melanie and Jennifer are sisters watching the same ad on tv. Melanie is thoughtfully considering the issues the speaker is bringing forth and Jennifer is paying attention to the speakers hair and clothes. Melanie is taking this route processing.

peripheral route processing

the type of mental processing that occurs when a persuasive message is evaluated on the basis of irrelevant or extraneous factors. a person who is disinterested, unmotivated, bored, or distracted, the characteristics of the message become less important, and this processing becomes more influential, produces weaker, less persistent change ex: Melanie and Jennifer are sisters watching the same ad on tv. Melanie is thoughtfully considering the issues the speaker is bringing forth and Jennifer is paying attention to the speakers hair and clothes. Jennifer is taking this route processing.

assumed-similarity bias

to think of people as being similar to oneself even when meeting them for the first time

fundamental attribution error

which is the tendency to overattribute others' behavior to dispositional causes and the corresponding failure to recognize the importance of situational causes