Social Psych #4

Evolutionary perspective (on mate selection)

men look for younger women who are more likely to bare their children and keep their name going, women look or men who are more mature and typically order and financially stable in order to support for their possible family

Egoism (Egoistic-based helping)

motivated by purely selfish concerns or simple conformity to social norms, or because it relieves you comfortableness

Altruism (Altruistic-based helping)

motivated by the desire to increase anothers welfare

5 Step Model of Helping (Latane & Darley, 1970)

noticing something is happening- realizing that it is an emergency- taking responsibility for providing the help- deciding how to help- helping

Situational factors that affect helping behavior-

noticing that there is an emergency, interpreting the severity of the emergency and how much that person needs help, looking to what other people are doing (bystander effect), diffusion of responsibility, pluralistic ignorance

Factors that increase helping (e.g., social modeling)

A good mood increases helping behaviors. As well as observing others who are helping, if it is a social norm to help based on fairness or what is right

What does research on personality and altruism suggest? According to the research, is there a true altruistic personality?

A lot of research say that there is not an altruistic personality but It suggested that there are not consistent, reliable personality characteristics that predict helping behavior across situations. But rather two qualities empathy and advanced moral reasoning being able to take prospective of the others is connected to helping someone in an altruistic way, as far as advanced moral reasoning people that have this behave more altruistically than others, people whose focus is on themselves are more likely to not engage in helping behavior

According to evolutionary theory, how do mating preferences (i.e., partner selection tendencies) differ for men and women? What do women look for in a romantic partner? What do men look for in a romantic partner? What does Buss's (1989) research suggest about gender differences?

According to evolutionary theories men prefer women that are younger and look better with wider hips because the associate this with good abilities to bear children. Women prefer men that are older because they associate this with the ability to support their family. Men look for good looks women look for good financial standing but both are interested in qualities such as being funny, dependable, and see these things as important. There are age discrepancies men want younger women, women want older men

Why is aggression adaptive from an evolutionary perspective? From this perspective, what function does it serve?

Aggression was seen as a good thing it allowed you to protect your offspring, and therefore had a greater change of having a family, if they could fight there were also valued as a part of the community, they mostly fight when their reputation is at stake. Between genders aggression usually surrounds sexual jealousy. Females primarily only aggress when it is to protect their offspring. Activating a status motive increased direct aggression responses in men, whereas it increased indirect aggressive responses in women

Can any helping behavior ever be considered altruistic? What factors would need to be considered in order to make this determination?

Batson believes that someones motive behind helping can truly be altruistic be believes that empathy play a key role in that. If you see a person in need and you are able to imagine how that person feels then you may genuinely just want to help that person to benefit them, but if you don't adopt their feelings and you are only acting to reduce your own personal stress then you re acting out of egoism.

How do social psychologists define aggression, and how can different forms of aggression be distinct (e.g., instrumental vs. emotional, overt vs. relational)?

Behavior that is intended to harm another individual, there are many different forms of aggression. Instrumental aggression in which harm is inflicted as a means to a desired end, for personal gain, attention, or even in self defense. There is also emotional aggression, the means and the end coincide, impulsive and carried out in the heat of the moment, example revenge or rival fans at a sporting event, indirect or relational aggression is used more by women and involve telling lies to get someone in trouble or ostracizing them , overt aggression is just physical aggression .

Describe the Arousal:

Cost-reward model of helping. - the proposition that people react to emergency situations by acting in the most cost-effective way to reduce the arousal of sock and alarm. Emotional and cognitive factors determine whether a bystander to an emergency will intervene. Cost and rewards if one out weighs the other that will dictate is the person intervenes when it is potentially rewarding for either the self or the victim more so than costing to either than the bystander will help

What does equity theory state about close relationships?

Equity theory is the theory that most people are satisfied with a relationship when ratio between benefits and contributions is similar for both partners. Meaning that if these things are out of balance the there will be an unhappy state of the relationship

Discuss evolutionary and motivational perspectives on helping behavior. How do they differ? How are they the same?

Evolutionary perspective on helping behavior is that we help others in order to protect the possibility of our race continuing. Also helping someone else increases the likelihood of you getting help which you may need to survive this is called reciprocal altruism. Other ideas include group selection in that people help those in their own groups, more recent works look at evolved characteristics such as morality, and empathy that can be seen in humans and animals. Things like perceiving similarities between you and the victim increase helping, being in a good mood increase helping, in close relationships its also easier to give and receive help

How can gender roles help explain aggressive behavior? Do gender roles differ for men and women?

Gender roles allow it to be more socially acceptable for men to display aggressive behavior in fact boys who deal with their problems through violence are often rewarded socially, where as girls are seen negatively and possibly ridiculed for fighting because its not lady like. That's why more often then not girls use relational aggression.

What is the significance of testosterone and serotonin in understanding aggression?

High testosterone is associated with higher levels of aggression and since men have more testosterone they are prone to be more aggressive, low levels of serotonin can also be associated with high levels of aggression

Why was Bandura's (1961) research on aggression important? What were the implications? How do "scripts" affect aggression according to this perspective?

In 1961 bandura looked had adults act aggressively towards a blow up doll in an experiement, then they left kids in the room that was filled with other toys and the blow up doll the children who had seen an adult act violently to the doll followed the adults model and were also violent towards the doll. This experiment and others that came after show that the influencial person does not even have to be in the room they can be on tv. This is called a script, in a study with people who had been involved with violent crimes they found a high number of the criminals had seen people behave in similar ways

What does research on jealousy, according to evolutionary theory, suggest? How does fear of infidelity differ for men and women? What type of infidelity distresses women relative to men?

Jealousy are infidenelity occur because of fear of loosing either their financial support or their baby makes. men get angry and react with violence because they are protecting their mate and their ability to have a family in some cultures and at some times this was considered an attractive quality to have someone able to defend. Women fear about infidelity due to the fact they may loose they financial ability to support their family if the fall in love with the women that's why they fear emotional infidelity rather that physical.

Batson- What leads to an altruistic action is empathetic concern for a person in need produces an altruistic motive for helping.

Perception of person needing help-yes - empathic concern- emotional element/empathetic conern- altruistic- reduction of others distress Perception of person needing help-no-cognitive-personal distress- egotistic- reduction of ones self stress

Overt/physical vs. indirect/relational aggression & gender

Ranges in severity but consists of physical assault or injury vs. behavior that is intended to harm another person but is enacted outside that persons view ex. Telling a rumor

What does research on "opposites attract" demonstrate?

Research demonstrates that people are more likely to be attracted to those that they share things in common with. Ex. Eharmony match dot com etc.

Describe several ways to reduce aggression using social psychological research and theory.

Reward non aggressive behavior, provide attractive models of peaceful behavior, reduction of frustration by improving quality of life, reduce access to display of weapons, apologize when you are angered someone, stop and think, communication and social support are critical

What role does symmetry play in affecting perceptions of beauty? According to evolutionary explanations, what is so important about symmetry?

Symmetry features are those that pair up from left to right if they are folding up together. Evolutionary psychologist suggests that the need for symmetry is associated with natural beauty health fitness and fertility, which are all qualities that are highly desirable in a mate.

What was the significance of studies such as the "Seizure Study", the "Good Samaritan Study", and the "Smoke Filled Room Study"? What did the results of these studies reveal about factors that can influence helping behavior?

The good semaritin study showed that being later or in a hurry could effect whether or not you decide to help a person, the smoke filled room study showed that other people not reacting to a seemingly dangerous situation could cause you to not respond even if it means putting yourself in danger, the seizure study showed that when others were around that people were extremely less likely to leave the room but when participants were in the room alone and thought there were others in other rooms the left immediately to get the seizing person help .

The "Good Samaritan Study" (the role of "being in a rush"

The good semartinin study involved men studying to be priests and they were on their way to giving a speech, some were told that they were early, others that they were right on time, and some that they were late. On their way to the auditorium they passed someone in need of help. Those who were ahead of time offered the most help 63%, those who were on time 45%, and those who were later 10%. Being in a rush caused even the most non selfish moral examples to not help a person in need

What was the significance of Li et al.'s (2002) research on mate preferences? Do the results support evolutionary theories of mate selection? Why?

Their research supports the evolutionary prespective. Men spent more play money on physical attractiveness and women spent more play money on social standing, they spent equal play money on kind, lively, and creativeness when they had a large budget. When they had a small budget men spent more money on physical attractiveness and women on social status. This is consistent with women looking for someone who can support their future family and men looking for someone who can provide that family

Discuss situational factors that can lead to aggression (e.g., weather, the presence of weapons).

There are many situational factors that can increase aggression such as frustration, heat as in weather can increase aggressive behavior, being socially rejected, and being in the presence of a weapon. Those who had a gun instead of a badmitten racket gave more shocks, supporting the idea that the weapon increases the aggressive behavior. Cultures of honor, aggressive thoughts

What does research suggest about the relationship between viewing violent pornography and aggression?

Violent pornography is a triple threat is causes arousal, negative emotions like shock alarm or disgust, and aggressive thoughts. They have a stronger effect than any other type of program. Male to female aggression is increased greatly after viewing such media. It is also a situational factor that can increase aggression even if nothing provokes it, especially if the women is somehow depicted as enjoying her own victimization

Need to belong

a desire to feel connected to others, one of the things threatened when you are ostracized

Social exchange theory (in close relationships)

a perspective that views people as motivated to maximize benefits and minimize costs in their relationships with others, rewards-costs-comparison level=satisfaction- comparison level for alternative+ investments= commitment

Prosocial behaviors (defined, and examples)-

actions intended to benefit others, taking a neighbor or friend to the airport, donating clothes or food after a natural disaster, get your neighbors mail for them

Evolutionary perspectives on aggression

back in the day human warfare originated not only to obtain valuable resources but to attract mates and be part of a group. This is how it became human nature. Those who would fight would bring greater chances for support and reproduction, pass those tendancies to offspring and therefor be more desirable. Men fight, women protect their children because women are much more limited in the number of children they can have. That's why men use more risky behavior and direct physical aggression where as women as passive aggressive and use relational aggression. If the women becomes a rival female this can damage her reputation

Negative state relief model (Cialdini et al.'s perspective)

because there is a positive effect when helping people, those who are feeling bad may be inclined to help others in order to improve their mood. Aka service in AA

Aggression (definition & factors to consider)-

behavior intended to harm another individual, many different forms of aggression failure to act, saying mean things in an argument, spreading rumors, instrumental aggression where inflicting harm on another is done in order to obtain something hit man, emotional aggression where the aggression is a means to an end

Social learning theory perspective on aggression

bendera- the theory that behavior is learned theory through the observation of others as well as through the direct experience of rewards and punishments aggressive, meaning that aggressive models of behavior can increase aggressive behavior in a person, but observing non aggressive behavior can cause and aggressive person to settle down rather than strike out

Arousal

cost-reward model- the position that people react to an emergency by acting in the most cost effective way to reduce the arousal of shock and alarm

"Culture of Honor" Experiments-

found that those born in the us were more acceptin of aggression than those who immigrated from the middle east, especially if they immigrated after the age of 11. In Chicago Guerra found that Hispanic school children who had been in the us longer showed greater approval of aggression. Giovanna report adolescent boys in villages in Italy are engcouraged to aggress as an indication of sexual powell and role in a household. Machisimo leads to the increase in violence in latin americans man European American men. Southerners have a consistently higher rate of violence, more likely to agree a man has a right to kill to defend his family and protect honor than people in other parts of the country. Experiment where people got bumped into on campus, southerns were more primed for aggression

Instrumental aggression vs. emotional aggression

inflicting harm in order to obtain something of value, inflicting harm for its own sake

Kitty Genovese & Angel Torres

kitty and angel were two people that were affected by the bystander effect. Both were victims of a violent crime where multiple passed them by and gave no help.

Equity theory (in close relationships)-

people are most satisfied in a relationship when the ratio between benefits and contributions is similar for both parties, in close relationships it is common to need to restore the balance if you feel insecure

The "Seizure Study" (how it relates to group influence)-

people were more likely to help the person if they were alone in the room and others were thought to be in other rooms, if there were multiple people in the room participants mostly did not get up to help

Pluralistic ignorance & Diffusion of responsibility-

pluralistic, the group mistakenly thinks that their own individual thoughts feelins or behaviors are different from the others in the group , diffusion- the belief that others will or should intervene and take on the responsibility of helping the person in need

Ostracism

purposely excluding individuals from a group, actively not including a person or a group, they are socially rejecting them. Being ostracized threatens and individuals need to belong, they're sense of control, they're self-esteem, and their meaningful existence.

Desensitization

reduction in emotional related physiological reactivity in response to a stimulant

Audience inhibition

scared you'll do the wrong thing. reluctance to help for fear of making a bad impression on observers

Sociocultural perspectives (on mate selection)-

some results can be interpreted in terms that are psychological rather than evolutionary. Common argument- women trade youth and beauty for money not for reproductive purposes but rather because they often lack direct access to economic power. The more access women have to economic power the more physical attractiveness was to them. Meaning that the lower ses the less they care about attractiveness of a mate for women. Men are more scared of sexual infidelity where as women are more scared of emotional infidelity not because of fear of reproduction but because they fear intimate relationships also mean emotional relationships.. love. Sociocultural perspective means we adapt.

What-is-beautiful-is-good-stereotype?

the belief that physically attractive individuals also possess desirable personality characteristics

Need for affiliation

the desire to establish and maintain many rewarding interpersonal relationships

Bystander effect

the effect whereby the presence of others inhibits helping

Mere exposure effect

the phenomenon whereby the more often people are exposed to a stimulus the more positively they evaluate that stimulus. The more people see an image regardless of this they are aware of seeing the image they like it more when it is shown to them

The empathy-altruism hypothesis (Batson's perspective)

the position that empathic concern for a person in need produces an altruistic motive for helping, if they take the other persons perspective and feel empathy towards them they are much more willing to help regardless of if the can get out of it

Matching hypothesis

the proposition that people are attracted to others who are similar in physical attractiveness. Things that match go together, those things are alike, so people who are alike in regards to physical attractiveness with get together romantically

Weapons effect

the tendancy for the presence of a weapon to increase the likelihood of aggression

Empathy

understanding or vicariously experiencing another individual's perspective and feeling sympathy and compassion for that individual

Proximity/Nearness effect

we are more likely to become attracted to someone we have seen and become familiar with them

The "Smoke Filled Room Study" (role of ambiguous situations)

where participants were in a room and smoke started to come under the door. Those who were alone immediately left to get help, however, those who were in a room full of people who were not reacting to the smoke also did not react. They ignored the physically dangerous situation because others did to.

Displacement vs. catharsis

-aggression against a subtle target because aggressive acts against source of frustration are inhibited by fear or lack of access vs. a reduction of the motive to aggress that is said to result from imagined, observed, or actual act of aggression

Frustration-aggression hypothesis

1) the idea that frustration- is produced by interpreting a persons progress towards the expected goal- will always elicit the motive to aggress 2) all aggression in caused by frustration When individuals are frustrated they are more likely to agress but that's not always the case due to other factors

What does social exchange theory state about close relationships? What is meant by "rewards" and "costs" in relationships according to this theory?

A perspective that views people as motivated to maximize benefits and minimize costs in their relationships with others. Rewards are things like love, companionship, comfort in times of distress sex. Costs are things like working to maintain the relationship, working through conflicts, compromise, and sacrifice of other opportunities. There is also a third element which is your investment in the relationship which you cannot get back if it ends, due to those things people are more likely to stay in their relationships.

Is aggression an innate tendency within the individual or is aggression learned from others? Discuss the evidence that supports one or both perspectives. What factors need to be considered in addressing this question?

Aggressive behavior is some what genetic but it also has to do with the environment that you are in. it is a combination of being a naturally aggressive person, being raised in an aggressive environment, and being provoked in some way that causes some people to show aggression where other people don't. mention the video we watch in class. The guy who had the gene but was not aggressive and the boxer who had the gene and his boxing and environment brought it out.

Discuss the distinctions between altruism and egoism. What does each concept state about motivation for helping?

Altruism is purely self-less motive, you do not benefit at all. Egoism means that you benefit in some way either physically by you reputation or emotionally. Each of these have to do with ones motive when helping someone. If your motive is altruistic then you want to help them because you have sympathy for them and you have no reason not to help them and your genuinely concerned for their safety, if the motive is based on egoism then the person helping benefits in some way from helping the person they want to help said person not based on their concern for them.

Discuss Batson's (1991) Empathy-altruism hypothesis. According to the model, what leads to an altruistic motive? What leads to an egoistic motive? What research supports the model? What research refutes the model? What are alternative explanations to altruistic behaviors? Next, discuss Cialdini et al.'s (1987) negative state relief model, contrasting it with Batson's (1991) empathy-altruism hypothesis. Provide one example of a helping behavior, and then explain the motivation behind this behavior according to each perspective.

Batson- perception that someone needs help yes or no- then emotion response empathetic conrcern or no, then type of motive altruistic or egoistic, then satisfaction of motive reduction of others distress or reduction of ones stress. Empathy creates altruistic motive however it does not always mean help if the risk benefit is not in favor of them. Altruistic behaviors can benefit and produce a better reputation and therefore be slightly egoistic. An example of this would be cialdini's research someone feels bad about themselves so they want to help others feel good, however doing this also makes them feel good so their motive in internal. An example of helping behavior would be helping someone in with their groceries, if this person is a cute girl and you are a guy your motive may be egoistic because you don't really care about helping this person you are just trying to get with her. If you see a girl struggling with her groceries and you're a married and you decide to help its not because your trying to get with the girl but because you feel bad and want to help. Chaldini aren't motivated by altruistic per se rather they are motivated by the guilt and anxiety that's associated with not helped someone, people help in order to avoid feeling upset or guity and to enhance their mood to avoid personal distress, he thinks batson's way of thinking can be explained by his way Empathetic conern- feelings of sadness and need for mood enhancement- egotistic motive for helping You see someone suffering- makes you feel personal distress- you help in order to remove personal distress

Discuss the cases of Kitty Genovese and Angel Torres. According to research on the bystander effect, what is the social psychological explanation for why these tragedies likely occurred? What social psychological concepts possibly contributed to people's inaction to help in these events?

Both were involved in violent crimes and were the victims of not only the crime but of the bystander effect. Both individuals were seen or heard by multiple people before they received any help. When there are more people around our personal responsibility is reduced, also the risk may be to high in helping for us to make the decision to help. Also another thing that could have occurred is that because to many people were a witness they all assumed someone else will help or has already called for help.

How does stress affect affiliation according to Schachter's (1959) research? Are people more or less inclined to affiliate with others in times of stress? What does Sarnoff & Zimbardo's (1961) research suggest about the relationship between stress and fear of embarrassment?

Extrenal threats trigger us to affiliate with others who are facing a similar threat. Those in his experiment expected to receive painful shocks and chose to wait with other nervous patients than waiting alone. The reason that they seek other people out is to gain cognitive clarity about the danger that they are in. in Sarnoff and zimbardos experiment they tested this theory while introducing embarrassing behavior. The participants had to suck on bottles of pacifiers, when facing an embarrassing situation being with others is more likely to increase the stress than reduce it. Therefore those in his experiment were less likely to affiliate with others. Misery loves company that is in the same situation

Evolutionary perspectives on helping (Kin selection & Reciprocal altruism)

In kin selection you help those who are close to you in genetic makeup as to make you family name live on it is the strongest when the stakes are the highest, reciprocal altruism is the thought that your family aren't the only people you will help you will help almost anyone in the hope that you would get help if you needed it

Discuss whether or not media violence causes aggression. What are important considerations? What does the research demonstrate?

Media violence does not cause real word violence, that is to say that real world violence can occur regardless of the presence of media or video game violence, however, media violence does contribute to real aggression and violence. It is important to note that watching violent media does not mean that you will be a violent person but that it does increase aggressive behavior, aggressive cognitions, aggressive effect, physiological arousal, and decrease in helping behavior. Media violence can not cause aggression however being constantly bombarded by violence in the media can cause us to be desensitized or be more okay with violence.

Who is more aggressive, men or women? What factors need to be considered in addressing this question?

Men and women are equally aggressive however they aggress in different ways. Men tend to be more physical where are women are more passive aggressive. The situation also has to do with it.

What has social psychological research revealed about people's tendencies to be biased by beauty? That is, how can beauty bias people to think and behave differently toward those perceived to be physically attractive?

One idea that is that it is inherently rewarding to be in the presence of someone who is aesthetically pleasing, another idea is that people tend to associate other positive qualities with physical attractiveness. There is even a sterotype that is what-is-beautifu-is-good. Studies show that good looking people are thought to be more smart, successful, happy, well adjusted, social skilled, confident, and assertive.

What are the main factors that contribute to attraction? How does similarity influence attraction?

People are interested in having relationships with people that can be rewarding in some way whether that be attention, support, money, status, information, feeling good because you are with someone who might be beautiful, smart, or funny. We are also most likely to become attracted to someone we are familiar with. Meaning that proximity to a person and being exposed to them in essential for creating a relationship. Similarity also comes into play although the saying is opposites attract really people are more likely to be attracted to those that have similar interested as them. There are four parts of similarity that are important demographics of all types, the sharing of values opinion interests, similarity in attractiveness, and similarity of subjective experiences.

Be able to discuss how pluralistic ignorance and the diffusion of responsibility affect helping behavior in emergency situations. Be able to distinguish these two concepts, and provide an example illustrating each.

Pluralistic ignorance is where people believe that their thoughts feelings or behaviors are different from those of the others in their group, diffusion of responsibility is where the belief that others will or should take responsibility for providing assistance to a person in need. Pluralistic ignorance is like the smoke study when other people aren't doing anything they don't do anything even though others may have the same fear, an example of diffusion of responsibility would be when angel was hit by the car and people didn't help because they thought someone else would or should.

What is beauty? Is beauty an objectively definable characteristic, or is beauty in the eye of the beholder - a subjective quality? What does social psychological research suggest about this question?

Researchers have found that beauty is a objective quality that even babies have it, however research suggests that physical attractiveness is subjective. That beauty really is somewhat in the eye of the beholder due to that fact that in different cultures different things are found to be attractive. Here in America we want to be skinny with big butts boobs and tiny waists, where as in other cultures being fat is attractive because it means you have money. Social psychologist have found that our preceptions of beauty can be inflated or deflated depending on various circumstances

What does social learning theory state about aggression?

Social learning theory suggests that aggression can be increased when individuals are around others who are displaying aggressive behavior, in contrast their aggressive behavior can be reduced if they around someone who is calm

What are some of the explanations offered by the sociocultural perspective for why men and women exhibit differences in mate selection behaviors? What are sociocultural explanations for differences in the type of jealousy men and women experience?

Sociocultural explanations on jealousy state that men don't get jealous of a womens sexual infidelity due to their fear of less children but because for women sexual intimacy is often related to love. They fear of loosing their partner just as womens emotions. Socio thinks that women trade youth and beauty for money not reproductive purposes but rather because they lack direct access to economic power.