Exam #3 Review
What is the difference between individuating someone versus applying stereotypes?
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What factors influence conformity to a group norm?
> Group size > Group unanimity > Group cohesiveness > Expertise & status of group members > Culture > Ambiguity or difficulty of task > Anonymity
According to the Experienced Distress Motive Theory of Helping Behavior, why do we help?
> Helping to reduce one's own distress caused by witnessing another's distress (much like idea of negative state relief hypothesis in compliance) > Helping and compliance: I feel bad, therefore I will comply (i.e., help) which will aid another, thereby making me feel good
What were the different variables in Milgram's research that influenced obedience levels?
> Immediacy of the victim > Physical closeness of the authority > Two peers "rebelling"
What is excitation transfer and which research supports it?
> Misattribution of arousal; Arousal produced by one source (e.g., exercise, adrenaline) is attributed to another stimulus > The Vancouver bridge test supports this
Understanding of reasons we are so bad at affective forecasting (e.g., immune neglect, focalism; functional dissociation)
> Affective forecasting = Predicting our future emotions (e.g., whether an event with make us happy or sad, and for how long). Turns out, we often do not know what will make us happy (or unhappy), though we think we do > Immune neglect = The tendency to underestimate our capacity to be resilient in responding to difficult life events, which leads us to overestimate the extent to which life's difficulties will reduce our personal well-being > Focalism = A tendency to focus too much on a central aspect of an event, while neglecting to consider the impact of other aspects of the event or the impact of other events > Functional Dissociation = If we knew how 'easily' we could recover (break-up; friendship dissolution), we may not work as hard to maintain that relationship during times when it is challenged. If it is an important relationship, we 'need' to overestimate how painful it would feel for it to end to motivate us to work at it
What is the bystander effect and why do people fail to help in emergency situations? What causes it?
> Bystander effect = The more people present when a person needs help, the less likely it is that help will be given (and if given, the slower it will arrive) > Diffusion of responsibility = Sense of personal responsibility decreases when we know others are around who could help (main cause of bystander effect)
What did Bandura find in his Bobo Doll Research and which theory of aggression does this support?
> Children exposed to aggressive models behave more aggressively than did children exposed to non aggressive models or no models > Social Learning Theory is supported
What are the necessary features of the contact hypothesis in order to reduce prejudice?
> Common goals exist > Interacting partners have equal status > Contact is personal > Cooperative activities occur > Social norms favor inter-group contact > Exposure to stereotype-disconfirming group members occurs
What is competitive altruism and how does it explain purchasing green products (Research study on 'Going Green To Be Seen;' Griskevicius et al., 2010)?
> Competitive altruism = Individuals may behave altruistically for reputational reasons because selective benefits (associated with status) accrue to the more generous > Status leads to green purchasing only if the products are costly. Status participants evolutionarily rational: choose green product only when more expensive to engage in costly signaling and competitive altruism
What factors are most influential in getting people to comply to environmentally responsible behaviors (e.g., "Everybody else is doing it....")?
> Conformity = Changing oneself (by copying others) in response to real or imagined group pressure > Compliance = Acting in accord with another person's direct request > Obedience = The performance of an action in response to a direct order > Persuasion = Getting someone to change his/her attitudes
What are considered effective ways of reducing prejudice (e.g., contact hypothesis) and how do they work? What approaches do NOT work?
> Contact hypothesis = The theory that under certain conditions, direct contact between antagonistic groups will reduce prejudice (Allport, 1954) > Extended contact effect = if a friend has a friend in an outgroup, we are more likely to like this person, because our friend does > Dissonance use of hypocrisy = with attitudes and behavior at odds, can capitalize on dissonance reduction and reduce prejudice and discrimination > Categorization processes = be more inclusive; encourage superordinate categorizations > Accept categorizations with mutual respect = color-blindness is dissatisfying and unrealistic; Multicultural perspective
Types of aggression and examples of each
> Direct Aggression = any behavior that INTENTIONALLY harms someone who is PHYSICALLY present > EX: Punching someone; shooting someone (Men more likely then women to use direct aggression) > Indirect Aggression = any behavior that harms someone who is NOT PHYSICALLY present > EX: Burning down a house; GOSSIP > Reactive Aggression = "Hot," impulsive, angry behavior motivated by desire to harm someone > Proactive Aggression = "Cold," premeditated, calculated harmful behavior that is a means to some practical or material end > EX = War, robbery
What is institutional discrimination and what are some examples?
> Discrimination built into the legal, political, social and economic institutions of a culture EXAMPLES: > Children of alumni receive preferential admission > Persons accused of a crime who cannot post bail are imprisoned and thus appear in court dressed in prison uniform > The YWCA/YMCA offers a reduced family membership rate > A fire department requires that applicants for the position of firefighter be 5'8" or taller
Culture, display rules, and emotion expression (e.g., Japanese versus Americans)
> Display rules = Culturally specific rules that govern how and when and to whom we express emotions. Collectivist cultures encourage individuals to show emotional restraint > Japanese versus Americans American students = showed similar disgust reaction in both conditions; Japanese students disgust reaction was reduced in authority figure condition
What is the difference between emotion and mood?
> Emotion = specific, toward people or events > Mood = Enduring affective state, not clearly linked to an event or object
What research evidence supports the idea that emotions serve social functions?
> Emotions more vividly displayed in groups than alone mediated by self-reported motives to affiliate (Jakobs et al., 1999, 2001) > Emotion mimicry is greatest for ingroup faces (Weisbuch & Ambady, 2008) > Emotion identification is most accurate for ingroup faces (Elfenbein & Ambady, 2002; Young & Hugenberg, 2010)
Techniques for inducing compliance (e.g., foot-in-the-door technique, door-in-the-face technique)
> Foot-in-the-door = Compliance with an initial, small request makes us more likely to comply with a later, larger request > Low-ball = We agree to an initial, attractive deal something happens to alter the bargain, bad elements are introduced, or good elements are removed we still go along with the modified, worse deal > Door-in-the-face = Refusing an initial, large request makes us more likely to comply with a later, smaller request > Free gifts = Giving someone a free gift also activates the norm of reciprocity we comply to repay this nice "favor" > What is scarce is valuable = Limited-time offers, limited availability make an offer seem more attractive than it might otherwise > Like-me-then-help-me = We are more likely to be influenced by attractive, nice, similar, trustworthy others > That's-not-all approach = The influencer makes a large request, then immediately offers a discount or bonus before the initial request is refuse
What is the Shooter Bias? Who shows it? Why?
> NOT guided by prejudice > Both Black and White participants show shooter bias that negatively impacts Black targets > Effect is driven by Black and White participants knowledge of the stereotype associating African American with hostility
What is the relationship between time of day, heat, and aggression?
> Nighttime = Heat, plus increased deindividuation opportunity of nightfall leads to continuous increase in aggression > Daytime = Gets so hot, people become inactive overall, which reduces assault
Parental investment theory, intrasexual competition, and sex differences in physical aggression
> Parental Investment Theory = Refers to what each sex has to invest - in terms of time, energy, survival risk, and forgone opportunities - to produce and nurture offspring. Sex with smaller investment will be more vigorous in mating opportunities. Sex with larger investment will be more conservative in mating opportunities > Intrasexual competition = the ways that men and women compete with other members of their own sex to gain advantage in the mating market > Sex differences in physical aggression = Females are more inclined to indirect aggression whereas males gravitate more towards physical aggression
What is the relationship between serotonin, testosterone, and aggression?
> Serotonin = Inhibits aggression > Testosterone = Increases aggression
What are stereotypes? What is prejudice? What is discrimination?
> Stereotypes = Beliefs about a group of people that are generalized to all members of the group. A prototype about a social group > Prejudice = Negative attitude or emotions toward a group of people > Discrimination = Unjustified negative action toward a member of a group simply because of his or her membership in that group
Elaboration Likelihood Model and Attitude Change (i.e., central versus peripheral appeals to change attitudes)
> Theory that persuasive messages can cause attitude change in two ways, each differing in the amount of elaboration (careful thought) it requires > Central route persuasion = occurs when people think carefully about a persuasive message and are influenced by the strength of its arguments > Peripheral route persuasion = occurs when people do not think carefully about a persuasive message and instead are influenced by cues that are irrelevant to the content or quality of the message
What is the evolutionary explanation for why we have specific emotions? Which emotions motivate which kinds of adaptive behaviors?
> They aid us in survival and reproduction by prompting adaptive responses Emotions that motivate adaptive behaviors: > Gratitude = motivates reciprocal helping > Guilt = motivates repairing one's transgressions > Anger = motivates the other to repair transgression > Disgust = leads to avoidance of members who violate cultural values > Desire = increases likelihood of sexual contact > Love = facilitates commitment to a long-term bond and increases bond between parent and offspring > Jealousy = motivates protection of mate from rivals
How are cultures of honor related to aggressive behavior?
A society that places high value on individual respect, strength, and virtue, and accepts and justifies violent action in response to threats to ones's honor
How did Burger's 'replication' of the obedience studies relate to Milgram's original findings?
Burger (2009) found a statistically EQUIVALENT amount of obedience compared to Milgram's original study (1963).
What kinds of adaptive problems did aggression evolve to solve?
Competing to acquire the best mate for producing the better offsrpings
What is the relationship between empathy, the ability to change one's mood, and willingness to engage in helping behavior (it is actually evidence against altruism!)
Empathy does promote prosocial behavior, but not simply because we want to help another person (altruism). Rather, empathy promotes helping because it causes us to experience PERSONAL distress.
What is stereotype threat?
Fear of confirming a negative stereotype about one's group; This fear can actually disrupt performance and result in confirming the stereotype
What is the social rewards motive for helping?
Helping to increase one's esteem in the eyes of others; Praise, positive attention, honors, gratitude, tangible rewards
Informational versus Normative Influence
Informational influence = Being influenced by other people because one sees their comments or actions as information about what is "correct" Normative influence = Being influenced by other people because one desires their approval and does not want to be excluded or ostracized
Which emotional expressions are considered universal in their perception across cultures?
Joy, disgust, surprise, sadness, anger, fear
Realistic Group Conflict Theory and Prejudice
Limited resources lead to conflict between groups & result in increased prejudice
Does catharsis work to reduce future aggression? Why or why not?
No. It only further increases and stores aggression to be released at a later time
Kin Selection Hypothesis and Helping Behavior
Our kin share our genes, so 'altruism' toward genetically related others benefits our own genes
According to social exchange theory, when do we help?
Perceived benefits must outweigh costs to motivate helping behavior
What is the negative state relief hypothesis?
Some people engage in certain actions, such as helping or agreeing to a request, to relieve negative feelings or to feel better
What is social identity theory?
Suggests that people seek to enhance their self-esteem by identifying with specific social groups, & perceiving those groups as better than other groups
What is the minimal groups paradigm (think dot over-estimators versus dot under-estimators), and what does it tell us about the prejudice and discrimination?
The findings that people show favoritism toward ingroup members even when group membership is randomly determined
What is the 'weapons effect?'
The increase in aggression that occurs as a result of the mere presence of a weapon
What is the relationship between gender, sociosexual orientation, and aggression?
The relationship between these shows that people are willing to show aggression to acquire what they want especially sexual, mating partners
What is the relationship between violent video games and aggression?
Violent video games show an increase in violent behavior via the things people do/say, think, and feel more than those who do not play them