Social Psychology

Stereotype

Belief that associates a group of people with certain traits

Need for Affiliation:

"desire to establish social contacts with others" o Stress increases the desire to affiliate o Affiliation can reduce the negative impact of a stressful situation

What are the components of Deindividuation?

1. Arousal 2. Anonymity/reduced self-awareness 2. Group size 3. Group identification 4. Accountability cues 5. Attentional cues

What are causes of group think?

1. Highly cohesive group 2. Under pressure to attain unanimity 3. Group is insulated from outside influence. 4. Group has a highly directive leader. 5. The group does not have a procedure in place to ensure consideration of pros and cons of alternative decisions. 6. Group suffers from high stress from external threats. 7. There is a strong desire within the group for group consensus. 8. Often occurs with stressful situations, and when groups overestimate their effectiveness and capabilities and become close-minded. 9. Members...force conformity, selectively withhold opposing information, suppress independent thinking, prematurely rationalize or justify their position 10. The more a member identifies with the group the stronger that member's conformity

In Gustave Le Bon's book "The Crowd", is associated with what concept?

Deindividuation

Physical features considered beautiful in women:

Face: Large eyes, small nose, small chin, appear feminine and youthful, prominent cheekbones, narrow cheeks, and a broad smile • Body: Normal weight, with waists that are noticeable narrower than their hips (waist-to-hip-ratio of .7: waist is 30 percent smaller than hips)

when does Group think usually occur?

Group think usually occurs in situations when pressure for unanimity takes precedence over accurate information and appropriate decisions.

Attraction and (Evolutionary Theory)

Humans exhibit patterns of attraction and select mates that favor conception, birth and survival of their offspring

Opposites attract?

NO! Actually, people tend to associate with those who are similar to themselves o This is true of opinions, interests, values, and attitudes o Matching hypothesis: couples tend to become involved romantically with others who are equivalent in their physical attractiveness

Discrimination

Negative behavior directed against persons because of their membership in a particular group

What evidence supports Group identification contributes to individuation?

Reicher, Spears, and Postmes (1995) - Movement from personal identification to group identification, leading to focus on group norms as opposed to personal norms

The Proximity Effect

The best predictor of whether two people will get together is physical proximity; We are most likely to become attracted to those we are near and familiar with

Bystander Effect

The presence of others reduces the likelihood of an individual taking action or intervening (in an emergency). As the number of bystanders increases, the likelihood of response decreases.

Accountability cues and deindividuation

affect the individual's cost-reward calculations • when accountability is low, individuals who commit deviant acts are less likely to be caught and punished, so they may deliberately choose to engage in gratifying behaviors that are usually inhibited

Matching hypothesis

couples tend to become involved romantically with others who are equivalent in their physical attractiveness

Basics of Deindividuation and Attenuational cues.

focus an individual's attention away from the self • when an individual's self-awareness declines, the individual attends less to internal standards of conduct, reacts more to the immediate situation, and is less sensitive to long-term consequences of behavior; aka: acting on impulse

Examples of international agreement on what is considered beautiful

humans rate symmetrical faces and symmetrical bodies as more attractive than asymmetrical bodies

who first studied "group think" ?

in 1982 by Irving Janis. Janis was considering some poorly made decisions by U.S. presidents and their advisors.

The bias of beauty:

o Good looking people are perceived as possessing other attractive characteristics, such as being interesting, smart, successful, happy, well-adjusted, socially skilled, confident, and assertive o Research shows beautiful people actually do have more friends, better social lives and better sex lives o Overall, men report higher interest in physical attractiveness than women, but it is important to both sexes

Disadvantages of beauty:

o Highly attractive people can't tell if attention and praise are due to talent or just because of their looks o Social pressure to maintain one's appearance Can lead to anorexia nervosa or bulimia

Formation of a Stereotype:

o Historical: come from past events o Political: means by which groups in power come to rationalize war, religious intolerance, and economic oppression o Sociocultural: Real differences between social groups contribute to perceived differences

What did Gustave Le Bon's book "The Crowd", suggest about the psychological crowd?

psychological mechanisms of anonymity, suggestibility and contagion transform an assembly into a "psychological crowd" with a loss of personal identity, however empirical studies suggest that deindividuation causes a shift from a personal identity to a social identity, which is shared by members of the crowd.

What is Group think?

when decision making in a group session is impaired by the desire to reach a consensus, regardless of how the consensus is reached or the negative effects of the consensus.

Ways to Avoid Deindividuation:

• Be aware of this effect and how you are being influenced • Increase group members' self-awareness • Single members out • Use a member's name • Verbalize the member's behaviors

Social Identity Model of Deindividuation Effects (SIDE):

• Deindividuation does not always lead to deviant behavior • According to SIDE, the effects of deindividuation reflect the characteristics and norms of the group immediately surrounding the individual (think group of nurses vs. KKK) • Conclusion: the consequences of losing your personal identity depend on which group you identify with

Theoretical Explanations for the Bystander Effect:

• Diffusion of responsibility • Social Influence/pluralistic ignorance- • Confusion of responsibility- People who would help or want to help do not because they don't want to be misperceived as involved in the emergency, or as a perpetrator. • The Bystander effect may be result for any of the above or a combination of factors

Physical features considered beautiful in Men:

• Face: Strong jaws and broad foreheads • Body: Waists are slightly narrower than hips (waist-to-hip-ratio .9)

Theories for Attraction:

• Humans are attracted to others with whom a relationship has the potential to be rewarding • Humans exhibit patterns of attraction and select mates that favor conception, birth and survival of their offspring (Evolutionary Theory) • The Proximity Effect: the best predictor of whether two people will get together is physical proximity; We are most likely to become attracted to those we are near and familiar with • Need for Affiliation: "desire to establish social contacts with others" o Stress increases the desire to affiliate o Affiliation can reduce the negative impact of a stressful situation • The Mere Exposure Effect: The more people see a novel stimulus, the more people like it

Two Formation Processes of stereotypes

Categorization: Process to sort people into groups * * Tend to overestimate differences between groups and to underestimate the differences within them o In/Out Groups: groups we belong to (in) are different from those we do not (out) Out-group homogeneity effect: individuals assume that there is a greater similarity among members of out groups than among members of one's own group • don't often notice differences among out groups because we have little personal contact with them • people often do not encounter a representative sample of out group members o * These two processes are by-products of how people think and process information o * Also influenced by situational factors

An experiment by Darley & Latane (1968) tested the decision-making process involved in emergency interventions. Process to helping in an emergency:

o Step 1: notice that something is happening Obstacle 1: distraction and self-concerns o Step 2: Interpret event as an emergency Obstacle 2: ambiguity, relationship between attacker and victim, and pluralistic ignorance o Step 3: Take responsibility for providing help Obstacle 3: diffusion of responsibility o Step 4: Decide how to help Obstacle 4: lack of competence o Step 5: Provide help Obstacle 5: audience inhibition and costs exceed rewards

Deindividuation reduces an individual's _________ and deemphasizes normative regulation of ________, and is usually associated with _______ behaviors, although it can have a positive effect as well.

self-restraint behavior negative

How does Arousal contribute to deinvidualization?

Alcohol, level of arousal, mediation or deep thinking, becoming deeply involved in a task, external stimulation

According to deindividuation theory how are behaviors different in crowds compared to isolated situations?

Behaviors are influenced more by group norms and situational influences than by personal norms and societal influences

Social Influence/pluralistic ignorance

People look to others for an understanding of the situation before acting. If others are just watching and appear calm, the individual may reassess the situation to not be an emergency. In this way a person who would help is being discouraged from helping by the social cues.

Confusion of responsibility

People who would help or want to help do not because they don't want to be misperceived as involved in the emergency, or as a perpetrator.

• Diffusion of responsibility-

Perceived responsibility to act is divided among the number of people present. Therefore, the more people that are present the less any one individual feels compelled to act. Often, people assume that the person is already being helped or help is on the way.

How does group size effect deindividuaulization? What evidence?

Potential for deindividuation is directly proportionate to the size of the group Mullen (1986) - Mobs were more likely to behave violently when the group size was larger

The Mere Exposure Effect

The more people see a novel stimulus, the more people like it

What evidence is responsible for showing Anonymity/Reduced Self-awareness relates to deindiviuation?

Zimbardo (1969) - Women subjects were more likely to administer what they believed to be electric shocks to another person when the women were wearing oversized lab coats and hoods Watson (1973) - Warriors were more likely to increase violence when wearing masks or body or face paint Johnson and Downing (1979) - Subjects wearing Ku Klux Klan like outfits were more likely to behave violently while subjects wearing outfits resembling nursing attire were less likely to behave violently Factors that promote self-awareness decrease the effect of situational influences; Ex: Name tags, video taping

• Deindividuation

the psychological state of decreased self-evaluation, usually in response to having one's identity masked or concealed by membership in a group. • Deindividuation reduces an individual's self-restraint and deemphasizes normative regulation of behavior, and is usually associated with negative behaviors, although it can have a positive effect as well.