Lecture/Studies Note/ Social Psychology Exam #3 Study Guide
true or false: An exclusion experience also triggers increased mimicry of others' behavior in an unconscious attempt to build rapport
true
true or false: The "name letter effect" reflects more than mere exposure
true
true or false: emotions are often more instantenous than thinking
true
true or false: people tend to select as friends, and especially to marry, those who are a "good match" not only to their level of intelligence, popularity, and self-worth but also their level of attractiveness
true
true or false: People's instant feelings of liking or disliking were more affected by exposure than by their more considered, conscious judgments.
true: Can probably recall immediately and intuitively liking or disliking something or someone without consciously knowing why
how important is the need to belong?
we pursue belonging when we don't have it and seek less when our needs are fulfilled. Humans have a fundamental NEED TO BELONG. When it is thwarted, such as through exclusion or ostracism, people feel stressed and lose self-control. Social pain mimics physical pain.
physical attractiveness stereotype
A specific type of halo effect where people tend to rate attractive individuals more favorably for personality traits and characteristics. The presumption that physically attractive people possess other socially desirable traits as well: What is beautiful is good.
Why does proximity breed liking?
AVALIABILITY: obviously, there are fewer opportunities to get to know someone who attends a different school or lives in another town. ANTICIPATION OF INTERACTION: merely anticipating interaction also boosts liking MERE-EXPOSURE EFFECT- more we are exposed to something, the more we like
Latané and Darley Subway Study #2 (How risk effects intervention)
B always addressed both of them, and what changed wsas persona of A: When B trips, threatens physically → 16% intervention w/ right answer When B trips, give "attitude" (social threat) → 28% intervention When B trips, do nothing (control group) → 50% intervention A gives wrong answer, but says "not sure" (low threat) → 82% intervention FINDING: bystanders are reluctant to intervene if there was any risk involved
what are the consequences of ostracism?
Become defensive or antagonistic, become less generous or charitable, threatens basic needs of belonging, work harder to gain others regard. People who have been ostracized are less helpful and more aggressive to others in genera. It also increases anger and sadness, and long-term ostracism can result in alienation, depression, helplessness and feelings of unworthiness.
what happens when our need to belong is thwarted by ostracism?
Being ignored, excluded, and/or rejected signals a threat for which reflexive detection in the form of pain and distress is adaptive for survival. Brief ostracism episodes result in sadness and anger and threaten fundamental needs. Individuals then act to fortify or replenish their thwarted need or needs.
What is the difference between bullying and ostracism?
Bullying, though extremely negative, at least acknowledges someone's existence and importance, whereas ostracism treats a person as if he/she doesn't exist at all.
Latané and Darley Subway Study #1: (Experimenter A,B)
Experimenter A sits next to subway rider and both are then approached by Experimenter B who either asks: A 27% of riders corrected A (rider = total bystander here) Subway rider but then A jumps in w/ wrong answer 93% of riders corrected A Both of them, but then A jumps in w/ wrong answer 50% of riders corrected A FINDING: when Experimenter A provided incorrect information, the subway rider rarely intervened unless the rider had been directly asked to provide the information
Fischer, etc. 2011 Meta Analysis ranging from 60s to 2010. What were the two findings?
FINDING: clear support that "passive bystanders in critical situations reduce helping responses" Tends to diminish, disappear, or reverse when situation involves v. extreme, v. dangerous situation involving physical risk
After completing the second study, Latane and Darleys subway study wanted to test what would happen if the threat left the situation, what was found?
FINDING: ppl didn't give correct answer even when threat was out of earshot (like moment had passed)
Proximity
Geographical nearness (more precisely, "functional distance") and closeness that powerfully predicts liking.
Latane and Darley Theft Study
In 1968, Nu-Way liquor store in NY robbed 96 times Confederate goes in, asks for most expensive beer, clerk (who is confederate) answers that will go get from back Then robber picks up case of beer and walks out while clerk gone Conditon 1) one customer at checkout → 65% inform clerk of theft Condition 2) two customers at checkout → 56% inform clerk of theft Should have been 88% inform if paired customers acting independently bc 100 - (.35 x .35) = .88
Why are interactions important?
Interaction enables people to explore their similarities, to sense one another's liking, to learn more about each other, and to perceive themselves as part of a social unit
Classic study on friendship formation in a housing project: Festinger, L., Schachter, S., & Black, K. (1950). Social pressures in informal groups: A study of human factors in housing. New York: Harper
KEY FINDINGS: The two major factors affecting the friendships that developed were (1) sheer distance between houses (2) the direction in which a house faced -- as the distance between houses increases, it was less common to form friendships -- people that lived in houses that faced the road had less than half as many friends as did those whose houses faced the court area ---> the turning of these houses towards the streets had made involuntary social isolates -- the most popular residence in an apartment building were those whose apartments were located near the stairwell because it was closer for people coming up and down; way more traffic --Residents they found in this apartment who live near a mailbox develop more friendships
What is the negative side of mere exposure effect?
Mere exposure's negative side is our wariness of the unfamiliar-- which may explain the automatic, unconscious prejudice people often feel when confronting those who are different. -- can lead to PREJUDICE
How does masculinity effect the Bystander effect?
Modern research finds ppl who score higher in masculinity less likely to help (perhaps bc fear of making a fool of themselves) Masculinity = inverse relationship w/ helping BUT no correlation w/ femininity
An example of too much exposure reducing liking
Music provides a vivid example: You may grow to like a popular song as you hear it more often, but there eventually comes a point-ugh- when you've heard it too much. "Even the best song becomes tiresome if heard too often"
How does gender effect the Bystander effect?
No significant findings
How does culture impact the bystander effect?
No solid findings about how culture impacts bystander effect
How did the people who didn't report the smoke in the Smoke study rationalize their action?
Ppl who didn't report insisted they weren't influenced by others and instead redefined situation so as not to be emergency (dissonance)
If people tend to be in relationships of the same attractiveness level what about couples with a less attractive person?
The less attractive person could have compensating qualities. -- each partner brings assests to the social market- place, and the value of respective assests creates an equitable match
What specific things that we talked about in class can help eliminate the bystander effect?
When bystanders = friends, don't normally fall prey to BE but actually often help Probably bc better communication 1 person stepping forward can turn crowd from passive to active Less likely to fall prey to BE when know about it When you = victim, make eye contact w/ 1 person + specifically call on them to help Bc gets rid of diffusion of responsibility
What is the silver lining in ostracism research?
When excluded people experience a safe opportunity to make a new friend, they "seem willing and even eager to take it."
Latane and Darley Crash Study (Someone falls nearby)
While students sat in a waiting room, they heard someone fall and apparently injure himself and call for help Condition 1) student alone → 70% offered help AND were faster to help Condition 2) student w/ other student-subject → 40% offered help when bystanders were unacquainted w/ another Should be 91% that someone of the two helps bc 9% chance both sit there but wasn't Conditon 3) students w/ passive confederate → 7% offered help
Latané and Darley Smoke Emergency Study
While students sat in the waiting room, white smoke began pouring in Condition 1) student all alone → reported smoke 75% of time Condition 2) student w/ 2 passive confederates → reported smoke 10% Condition 3) student w/ 2 other real student subjects → reported smoke 38% FINDING: there is not safety in #s w/ diffuse responsibility and bad communication
Ostracism
exclusion from a group
true or false: exclusion does not hurt when rejection comes from a robot
false: Exclusion even hurts when the rejection comes from a robot instead of a person (Nash et al., 2018)
true or false: familiarity foster contempt not fondness
false: Familiarity foster fondness not breed contempt. Familiarity usually doesn't breed contempt but instead increases liking
true or false: Ostracism's social pain, much like physical pain, decreases aggression
false: Ostracism's social pain, much like physical pain, INCREASES aggression
true or false: When looking at their beloved's picture, university students feel markedly more pain when immersing their hands in cold water
false: felt LESS pain
Later Study: Back, M.D Schmukle, S.C., & Egloff, B.. (2008). Becoming friends by chance.
first intro class; students briefly introduced themselves ( 7 TO 8 SECONDS) to group after which everyone in the class rated them and how much they would like to be friends with KEY FINDING: A brief encounter with nearby people predicted friendship choices one year later.
What is more significant than geographical distance?
functional distance
functional distance
how often people's paths cross
Is there such a thing as too much exposure?
if repetitions are incessant, liking eventually drops.
asset matching
people who are "mismatched" in attractiveness tend to have compensating qualities each person brings assets into the relationship for an equitable match Seeking complementary 'assets' allows people to exchange what they want from relationships. The asset-matching process helps explain why beautiful young women often marry older men of higher social status
What is the main factor that researchers have found is necessary in friendship and relationship formation and POWERFULLY predicts liking?
proximity
Does proximity breed more hostility or more liking?
proximity prompts liking ( more than it does hostility)
Example of functional distance
randomly assigned college roomates who interact freqeuntly are far more likely to become good friends than enemies
anticipation of interaction
the common finding that anticipating having interaction with someone makes them seem more attractive/appealing. People also tend to put their best foot forward for those they know they will see again John Darley and Ellen Berscheid (1967) discovered this when they gave University of Minnesota women ambiguous information about two other women, one of whom they expected to talk with intimately. Asked how much they liked each one, the women preferred the person they expected to meet.
matching phenomenon
the tendency for men and women to choose as partners those who are a "good match" in attractiveness and other traits
mere exposure effect
the tendency for novel stimuli to be liked more or rated more positively after the rater has been repeatedly exposed to them
TRUE OR FALSE: Men were more likely than women to predict they would care about a potential date's physical attractiveness, but when it came to decide whom to date, a prospect's attractiveness was SIMILARLY important both men and women.
true
True or false: When people have no strong feelings about a product or a candidate, repetition alone can increase sales or votes
true
true or false: Attitudes towards social groups can also be changed by mere exposure
true
true or false: Attractive wives led to happier husbands, but attractive husbands had less effective on wives' happiness
true
true or false: Exclusion, whether it's cyberostracism or in the real world, hurts longest for anxious people
true
true or false: Men were more likely to vote for physically attractive female candidates, and women were more likely to vote for approachable-looking male candidates
true
true or false: Mere exposure effect has helped our ancestors categorize things and people as either familiar and safe or unfamiliar and possibly dangerous
true
true or false: Ostracism hurts, and the social pain is keenly felt — more than those who are not ostracized ever know
true
true or false: Ostracized people exhibit heightened activity in brain cortex area that also activated in response to physical pain
true
true or false: People remember and relive past social pain more easily than past physical pain
true
true or false: Prejudice can feel a lot like rejection
true
true or false: Sociologists long ago found that most people marry someone who lives in the same neighborhood, or works at the same company or job, or sits in the same class, or visits the same favorite place.
true
true or false: We are more eager to bond with attractive people, which motivates our projecting desirable attributes such as kindness and reciprocal interest into them
true
true or false: When the need to belong is satisfied and balanced with two other human needs — to feel autonomy and competence — the typical result is a deep sense of well-being.
true
true or false: When we do belong — when we feel supported by close, intimate relationships — we tend to be healthier and happier.
true
true or false: across three experiements, male students consistently liked female stuednts who sat closer to them more than those who sat further away
true
true or false: anticipating liking- expecting that someone will be pleasant and compatible- increases the chance of forming a rewarding relationship
true
true or false: even "cyberostracism" by faceless people whom one will never meet takes a toll.
true
true or false: even seemingly dismissive people relish being accepted
true
true or false: exclusion hurts more for younger than older adults
true
true or false: expecting to date someone also boosts liking
true
true or false: feeling close to those close by: people often become attatched to, and sometimes fall in love with, those whom they share activities
true
true or false: feeling socially isoalted is one of the primary risk factors for suicide
true
true or false: many people guess that beautiful people are happier, sexually warmer, and more outgoing, intelligent, and successful but not more honest
true
true or false: men more than women ranked attractiveness as more important in a mate, whereas women more than men assigned importance to honesty, humor, kindness, and dependability
true
true or false: men typically offer wealth and status and seek youth and attractiveness; women more often do the reverse
true
true or false: ostracism hurts even when it comes from a despised group, even when it's expected, and even when it's online or via social media
true
true or false: ostracism is a real pain, and love is a natural painkiller
true
true or false: our need to belong motivates our desire to be continously connected
true
true or false: people get paired off with people who are about as attractive as they are
true
true or false: people who are left out of a simple game of ball tossing feel deflated and more likely to have suicidal thoughts
true
true or false: people who were socially rejected by those close to them subsequently drank more alcohol
true
true or false: people with the strongest need to belong tend to feel homesick
true
true or false: proximity can also breed hostiltiy
true
true or false: reminders of death heighten our need to belong, to be with others, and to hold close those we love
true
true or false: repeated exposure makes the words stand out from others
true
true or false: strangers liked each other more the longer they talked
true
true or false: the richer the man, the younger and more beautiful the woman
true
true or false: the schocking death of a classmate, a co-worker, or a family member brings people together, their differences no longer mattering
true
true or false: the stereotype of someone eating lots of ice cream after a breakup isn't far off
true
true or false: those who were most similar in physical attractiveness were most likely, 9 months later, to have fallen more deeply in love
true
true or false: when couples are dissimilar in attractiveness, they are more likely to consider leaving the relationship for someone else
true
true or false: women more than men say they would prefer a mate who's homely and warm over who's attractive and cold
true
true or false: young women's physical attractiveness is a moderately good predictor of how frequently she dates
true
true or false: Judgment around other issues falters when ostrascized
true: : ostracized people are more likely to believe political conspiracy theories
true or false: Ostracism may even be worse than bullying.
true: In one study, children who were ostracized but not bullied felt worse than those who were bullied but not ostracized
true or false: Sometimes deflation turns nasty, as when people lash out at the very people whose acceptance they desire or engage in self-defeating behavior.
true: In several experiments, students randomly assigned to be rejected by their peers (versus those who were accepted) became more likely to engage in self-defeating behaviors (such as procras- tinating by reading magazines) and less able to regulate their behavior (such as eating cookies)
true or false: Overeating and alcohol use might result from a self-control breakdown
true: Ostracized people show deficits in brain mechanisms that inhibit unwanted behavior.
when does the mere exposure effect have a stronger effect?
when peole recieve stimuli without awareness
Does ostracism create pain?
yes, because parts of the brain act as physical pain
What was the Kitty Genovese story?
1964, NY: Kitty Genovese murdered and not 1 out of 38 ppl who heard her scream telephoned the police
What was the Deletha Word story?
1995, Michigan: Deletha Word grazes man's car and then gets stuck in traffic He rips her clothes off and beats her until eventually she lets go off bridge railing and drowns Ppl in traffic had cell phones + olice station at end of bridge but no one helped
The Smoke Emergency study had a significant finding about the mathematical chance of multiple people in the situation, as pointed out by condition 3 where 38% of the group with 2 other real student subjects. What was the finding?
Condition 3 should have had 98% report, bc likelihood of 3 ppl independently not reporting is 25% (x3 = 2%). Although math suggests should have more chance of reporting when w/ others, NOT true
does ostracism work both ways ( the person being ostracized and the person ostrazcing someone else) ?
Effect moves the other way as well: students who were ordered to ostracize others were just as distressed as those who were ostracized and felt less human
