Social Psychology Chapter 5

One dramatic finding from developmental psychology (Plomin & Daniels, 1987) is that two children in the same family are, on average,

as different from one another as two children selected at random

Differences in how people greet one another, select and eat their foods, pick out their clothing, and speak with one another reflect differences in

culture

Evolutionary psychology has been criticized for

hindsight biases

False positive

how often you are going to be right vs. how often you are wrong - We are going to falsely accuse men more often if we accept the Me Too movement - If we leave the needle where it is: the false positives are going to be that more women are going to experience this and will not be listened.

Gender roles

- Behavioral expectations for men and women - Some similarities across cultures, as well as variation across time and culture - The majority of the world's population would like to see more parallel male and female roles - In most countries people believe life is more satisfying when both men and women work and engage in childcare

Gender roles and the future

- Gender roles will lessen - As men and women enact more similar roles, some psychological differences will shrink - For today's high status and high tech work roles, male size and aggressiveness matter little, which will impact gene survival - Men and women are fully capable of effectively carrying out organizational roles at all levels - Competitive pressure is for employers to hire the best talent regardless of gender

Across cultures people are more alike than different

- People's natures are alike, it is their habits that set them apart - Morality is similar across culture and time - We are all intensely social - We favor members of our own group; when confronted by dissimilar attributes, we react negatively.

norm

- Prescribed typical and proper behavior within a culture - Societies exposed to threat have stronger, enforced norms - Norms similar across culture explained by evolution - Norms specific to society explained by culture Norms are standards for accepted and expected behavior. Norms prescribe "proper" behavior. (in a different sense of the word, norms also describe what most others do - what is normal) Cultures differ from one another based on what was needed for each culture to adapt and survive.

The impact of peers in changing culture

- Prevailing assumption is that the way parents raise their children determines who they will become - Research demonstrates that o Genetics influence about 30-50% of individual variation o Shared home influences about 1% Siblings are as different as two people off of the street o Values, political affiliation, religious beliefs o Peers influence the remainder: Up to 40%

androgyny

A combination of both masculine and feminine qualities.

To what extent do genetics, the family, and peers influence the development of personality and behavior?

Children tend to be more influenced by their peer than their parents (their parents, however, indirectly affect them by choosing their school/peers etc.) Genetics and culture interact to influence personality and behavior.

culture

Culture is the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next. In Saudi Arabia it is normal for male friends to hold hands while in the US that it isn't. Muslim women wear head covering and most of the women in the western world don't. Similarities across culture are respecting privacy in friendships and disapproving of incest.

evolutionary psychology

Evolutionary psychology is the study of the evolution of cognition and behavior using principles of natural selection. A criticism of this view is that often evolutionary psychologists start with an answer and work backwards. Another criticism is the justification of make aggression as "natural behavior." - Natural selection predisposes not just physical traits, but also psychological traits and social behaviors - Our traits and behaviors are the same as those of our ancestors who survive in an earlier environment - Evolutionary psychology is subject to hindsight bias - Evolution made us for culture - enduring behaviors, ideas, traditions, and attitudes, shared by large groups of people and transferred from generation to generation

How norms are similar and change from country to country

Norms vary between cultures: - Individual choices - Expressiveness - Punctuality - Rule-breaking o Norms especially important in collectivist cultures - Personal space Norms similar among cultures: - Friendship norms - Trait dimensions: stable, outgoing, open, agreeable, conscientious - Social belief dimensions: cynicism, social complexity, reward for application, spirituality, fate control - Status norms - Incest taboo - Norms of war

Describe ways in which males and females are different, typically, on social dominance, aggression, sexuality, empathy, and children's play. Describe ways in which social dominance influences behavior.

Women are less physically aggressive than men. Girls play more intimately and less aggressively than boys. Boys typically play in larger groups while girls play with smaller groups. Women are more likely to describe themselves as having empathy than men. Women typically react with more empathy than men- men and women turn to women when seeking empathy. People see men as more dominant, driven, and aggressive. Women are slightly more likely to commit indirect aggression (gossip).

Describe typical gender differences regarding mating preferences.

Women feel attracted to men that are wealthy, powerful and able to protect. Men feel attracted to women whose features and body imply she is fertile. - Women tend to prefer resources and commitment - Men tend to prefer female features associated with fertility - The Y chromosome, which is distinguished primarily by one gene, directs the formation of the testicles and secretion of testosterone - Testosterone is related to less eye contact, lower language skill, less empathy, and greater aggression - Females have 70% more fat, 40% less muscle, 5" shorter, 40 pounds lighter - Men slower to enter puberty but quicker to que, four times more likely to commit suicide

In psychology, the characteristics by which people define male and female, whether biologically or socially influenced, are referred to as

gender

Which of the following statements about gender roles is true

gender roles vary by culture