Chapter 9

Ethnocentrism

belief in the superiority of one's own group

Individualism & Collectivism: cultural differences and influences on behavior

collective-collective-a culture focused on communal relationship with others, such as family, friend, and community are less likely to commit the fundamental attribution error. Individual- a culture that focuses on individual achievement and autonomy have the greatest tendency to commit th fundamental attributes error

Describe the various influences on aggressive behavior.

: behavior intended to hurt or destroy another person •Frustration-aggression hypothesis: aggression is a reaction to frustration •Social roles, situations (deindividuation), modeling, etc. all influences:-Violent TV, movies, and video games related to aggression

Sources of prejudice

Classical Conditioning oModeling oNormalizing prejudice oThreats to social identity / fear / Ingroup favoritism

Classic studies: Obedience (Milgram); Conformity (Asch); Groupthink

Conformity - "occurs when people yield to real or imagined social pressure"Solomon Asch's(1955) classic study demonstrated that people conformed easily to wrong answers given by others in a mock perception test ( peer pressure) General reasons for conformity social influence: other people can provide useful and crucial information Normative social influence: desire to be accepted

Group think

Groupthink: a special form of conformity •Occurs when people place more importance on maintaining group cohesiveness than on assessing the facts of the problem with which the group is concerned Rationalization, pressure, stereotyping, self-deception, lack of disagreement, Insularity, Invulnerability, lack of introspection

What are the factors that make us attracted to others?

Interpersonal attraction : liking or having the desire for a relationship with another person - Physical attractiveness - Proximity: physical or geographical nearness - Birds of a feather: people like people who are similar to themselves Complementarity is another aspect of this - Reciprocity of liking: tendency of people to like other people who like them in return

Describe Robert Sternberg's Triangular Theory of Love.

Love: a strong affection for another person due to kinship, personal ties, sexual attraction, admiration, or common interests 1.Intimacy: Emotional closeness 2.Passion: Sexual attraction 3.Commitment: Dedication to the other and the relationship Romantic love: consists of intimacy and passion •Companionate love: consists of intimacy and commitment •Consummate love: ideal love, in which all three components are present

Obedience

Obedience to Authority Pressure from authority figuresObedience: compliance that occurs when people follow direct commands from someone in authority."The dynamics of obedienceStanley Milgram's classic study (1963) demonstrated that people's tendency to obey is strong, even if they are asked to harm another person Obedience is strongest when :Demands increase gradually. Others take responsibility for your actions .We are motivated to meet the authority figure's expectations. You have little time to think about your actions. Thus, human behavior is determined more by the power of the situation than by the character of the person

Out-group

Out-group: the social group to which you do no belong Out group homogeneity effect—tendency tosee members of the out-group as more similar to each other

Discuss the ways in which we can reduce prejudice.

Overcoming Prejudice •Personal experience: having been "in their shoes" (Jane Elliot's study in the 70s..)•Education and intergroup contact •Equal status contact: groups have equal power •Cooperative contact: •"Jigsaw classroom": educational technique when individuals to work together toward solution •Robber's Cave study Superordinate goals - "goals that require two or more groups to work together to achieve mutual ends" can reduce intergroup hostility

Attitudes & ways to influence attitudes

Predisposition to evaluate some people, groups, or issues in a particular wayBasically, attitudes are "likes" and "dislikes Three components:Affective: feelings or emotions about topic Behavioral: actions regarding the topic Cognitive: thoughts about topic

In-group

Social CategoriesIn-group: the social group to which we belongIn-group bias: tendency to make favorable attributions for members of our in-groupEthnocentrism is one type of in-group bias

o Summarize the principles of attribution theory, including the fundamental attribution error, the actor-observer effect, and the self-serving bias.

Social Cognition: AttributionInferring the causes of people's behavior, including one's ownThe explanation given for a particular behaviorRelevance: how we explain other people's behavior influences whether and how we interact with them Attribution: basic explanations•Situational Attribution: we explain (attribute) the cause of behavior to external factors-Some aspect of the situation caused the behavior or result-EX: He tripped on a crack in the sidewalk•Dispositional cause: we explain (attribute) the cause of behavior to internal factors-The reason lies inside the person-EX: He tripped because he is uncoordinated

Ethnocentrism; stereotypes; prejudice & sources of prejudice

Stereotype: A belief held by members of one group about members of another group Judging a book by it's cover People have more negative attitudes toward outgroup members. 2.People see outgroup members as more alike than they really are 3.People are even likely to see outgroup members as looking more like each other than they actually do Scapegoating: tendency to direct prejudice and discrimination at out-group members who have little social power or influence

The anonymous group: Bystander effect and diffusion of responsibility

The bystander effect: "the tendency for individuals to be less likely to provide help when others are present than when they are alone Bystander Effect Diffusion of responsibility: Reduction of individual responsibility when others are presentwe all think someone else will help, so we don't Hence, you are less likely to get help when many people are around than just a few

fundamental attribution error,

The tendency to overestimate the influence of internal factors in determining behavior while underestimating situational factors-A stronger tendency in individualistic societies (like the USA) than collectivistic societies (like in Asia and Latin America)

self-serving bias.

We have a tendency of to take credit for our successes by attributing them to internal , personal causes, along with a tendency to distance ourselves from failures by attributing them to external situation causes, like individual culturalism. Attribution: Self-serving Bias•Self-serving Bias: tendency to explain our successes differently than our failure so"A" on your midterm = "I'm good at science!"oA dispositional attribution—we take credit for our successe so Fail your midterm: "Teacher wrote tricky questions!"o A situational attribution—something outside of us was the cause

the actor-observer effect,

When we the actor, we tend to attribute to our own behavior to external causes. When we are the observer of someone else behavior, we tend to attribute their behavior to internal causes

o The power that social roles have upon thought, feeling and behavior

a pattern behavior that is expected of a person in a giving setting or group.

Why are stereotypes considered a normal cognitive tendency?

a person innate ability to process and learn information, solve problems, and attend and add manipulation to ones environment

Be familiar with the concept of cognitive dissonance.

paychological discomfort arising from holding two or more inconsistent attitudes, behavior, or cognitive (thoughts,beliefs)

the difference between prejudice and discrimination (types of the latter), in-groups vs. out-groups, stereotypes, etc.

prejudice- negative attitude toward people who belong to a specific social group Prejudging a person because they are a member of a group As an attitude, 3 components:Affective: feelings or emotions about groupBehavioral: discriminationCognitive: stereotypes

The psychological term for "brainwashing" (coersive persuasion) and the conditions necessary for it to happen

refers to social influence capable of producing substantial behavior and attitude change the use of coercive tactics and persuasion

What is impression formation?

the process of developing an opinion or impression of another person

discrimination

treating people differently, usually unfairly, because of their membership in a particular groupPrejudice and discrimination often go together, but this is not always the case.Prejudices and stereotypes can be unconscious

Define prosocial behavior. Be familiar with the Kitty Genovese example from your text. What factors play a role in whether or not someone will help in a situation?

•Voluntary behavior with the intent to help other people. Diffusion of responsibility •Researchers Latané and Darley found that people who were alone were more likely to help in an emergency than people who were with others-One bystander cannot diffuse responsibility Five steps in making a decision to help1.Noticing2.Defining an emergency3.Taking responsibility4.Planning a course of action5.Taking action