Unit 13: Psychology in Our Social Lives

Approximately _______ of the participants in Milgram's experiment were willing to deliver the maximum shock level to the participant.

65%

refers to any behavior that is designed to increase another person's welfare, and particularly those actions that do not seem to provide a direct reward to the person who performs them.

Altruism

Time pressures and Stress. High Cohesiveness and social Identity. Isolation from the other sources of information. Directive, authoritative leadership.

Conditions of groupthink

Sometimes we may decide that the source or cause of the behavior was due to characteristics that reside within the individual

Dispositional attribution

claims that though relationships begin with passionate love, or physical attraction, as love progresses it turns into a compassionate love, or friendship.

Elaine Hatfield's theory of love

is when the pursuit of a goal is frustrated which can lead to aggression.

Frustration-aggression hypothesis

The classic "shock" study of obedience is associated with __________.

Milgram

hypothesize that people perform tasks better when there are other people present than they do when they are alone.

Norman Triplett

After their recent test, Carl hears each of his friends say the test was too difficult. Carl knows the test was actually easy, as most people passed it. However, because he doesn't want to make a scene, Carl agrees with his friends.

Normative conformity

when we are with others we experience more arousal than we do when we are alone, and this arousal increases the likelihood that we will perform the dominant response, the action that we are most likely to emit in any given situation.

Robert Zajonc

is defined as the scientific study of how we feel about, think about, and behave toward the other people around us, and how those people influence our thoughts, feelings and behavior.

Social psychology

During the Vietnam war era, Lt. William Calley was convicted of ordering his men to shoot women and children during the My Lai massacre. This incident most resembles the work of which of the following researchers? -Muzafer Sherif's perception of light movement studies -Albert Bandura's observational learning studies -Solomon Asch's line matching studies -Stanley Milgram's obedience studies

Stanley Milgram's obedience studies

People who have higher status, such as those in authority, create more conformity.

Status and authority

Provide rewards for performance. Keep group member contributions identifiable. Maintain distributive justice (equity). Keep groups small. Create positive group norms. Improve information sharing. Allow plenty of time. Set specific and attainable goals.

Techniques That Can Be Used to Improve Group Performance

social identity

The positive emotions that we experience as a result of our group memberships

Conformity reduces sharply when any one person deviates from the norm.

Unanimity

Self-presentation

We may help in order to show others that we are good people.

discrimination

a negative, unfair behavior towards members of a group

Believing that women with blonde hair are dumb is an example of _____________, while refusing to hire a woman with blonde hair is an example of ____________.

a stereotype, discrimnation

When emotions are aroused in an individual after being exposed to an object, we would say that the ____________ component of attitude is present.

affective

Inferences that we make about the causes of our own and others' behavior are termed

attributions

A possible reason why authority figures can be so successful in getting obedience for horrific tasks is that they ______________________.

begin there persecution gradually

self-serving attributions

by judging the causes of our behaviors in overly positive ways.

The process of trying to determine the causes of peoples behavior, with the goal of learning about their personalities, is known as casual attribution.

casual attribution

the idea that observing or engaging in less harmful aggressive actions will reduce the tendency to aggress later in a more harmful way

catharsis

Scott has always strongly believed that it is wrong to cheat. But after he cheats on a physics test, his attitude toward cheating becomes significantly less harsh. What best accounts for this attitude shift?

cognitive dissonance theory

Timothy believes that racism is immoral, but he participates in racially bullying a classmate when he's with a group of friends. It's likely that doing so causes Timothy to feel some level of

cognitive dissorance

Although neither group makes any explicit requests or demands of her, Jane expresses pro-conservative opinions when she is with her conservative friends and she expresses anti-conservative opinions when she is with her liberal friends. Jane's actions best illustrate _____________.

conformity

a change in beliefs or behavior that occurs as the result of the presence of the other people around us.

conformity

The social norm that condones and even encourages responding to insults with aggression is known as the

culture of honor

Amber watches hours of true crime television. When she sees the gory details of a crime in person, she is less bothered than many other people in the crowd. Amber is likely experiencing

desensitization

which is the tendency over time to show weaker emotional responses to emotional stimuli.

desensitization

Amanda saw a young man struggling in the community pool. Because she assumed that one of the many other pool users would offer to help the man, she did nothing. This is an example of

diffusion of responsibility

When a large group of people fails to help an innocent victim of a crime, the most likely cause is ______________________.

diffusion of responsibility for helping

Kitty Genovese was brutally murdered in front of several eyewitnesses who did not intervene or call for help. According to social psychologists, this failure to assist Kitty was due to ______________________.

diffusion or responsibility

occurs when we assume that others will take action and therefore we do not take action ourselves.

diffusion or responsibility

which is aggression that is directed at an object or person other than the person who caused the frustration.

displaced aggression

Which of the following types of attributions do we tend to make for other people's behaviors?

dispositional attribution

do easy or hard task become easier from the presence of other people?

easy

The most fundamental lesson to be learned from Milgram's study of obedience is that ______________________.

even ordinary people, who are not usually hostile, can become agents of destruction

The tendency to help others who are related to us as well as reciprocal altruism are two explanations for helping, according to the __________________.

evolutionary perspective

Regina has just learned that her neighbor's teenage son Anthony was involved in an automobile accident at a nearby intersection. She then remarked to her husband, "Well, Anthony's recklessness has finally got him into trouble!"

fundamental attribution

Lissana was waiting in line at the grocery store for about twenty minutes. When she finally got to the cashier, Lissana was angry that the cashier seemed to be so annoyed. Lissana wondered why the cashier worked there, believing that she was temperamental and had poor social skills and therefore, was in the wrong profession. Which bias does this best illustrate?

fundamental attribution error

The common tendency to overestimate the role of dispositional factors and overlook the impact of situations in judging others is known as the

fundamental attribution error (or correspondence bias)

where the factions of a group discussing an issue get pushed further apart as a result of the discussion.

group polarization

that is, the events that occur while the group is working on the task.

group process

Highly cohesive groups, strong leadership, and time pressure are three of the major contributing factors in the development of ________________.

groupthink

is a phenomenon that occurs when a group made up of members who may be very competent and thus quite capable of making excellent decisions nevertheless ends up, as a result of a flawed group process and strong conformity pressures, making a poor decision.

groupthink

The tendency for group members to overvalue the productivity of the groups they work in is known

illusion of group productivity

Before registering for the next semester, Karen asks her friends about a professor she doesn't know. They all say the professor is a great teacher. Consequently, Karen assumes that this person is a great teacher and enrolls in the course.

informal conformity

Self-serving bias refers to our tendency to make __________________________.

internal attributions for our successes and external attributions for our failures.

Prejudice

is a negative unfair attitude toward members of a group

normative conformity

is conformity that occurs because of the desire to be liked and accepted.

is where people hold the attitude that people get what they deserve such as poor people deserve to be poor and rich people deserve to be rich

just-world phenomenon

Mindy went along with the rest of her social group and cut class because she did not want to be seen as an outcast. This is an example of

normative social influence

As the number of people who are engaging in a behavior increases, the tendency to conform to those people also increases.

number in majority

self-perception

occurs when we use our own behavior as a guide to help us determine our own thoughts and feelings.

People who make the fundamental attribution error when interpreting the behavior of others tend to _______________________.

overemphasize person factors

Graham has a negative attitude toward his coworker, Martin, based on Martin's religion. This is an example of __________.

prejudice

In these cases they may develop a strong emotional reaction that leads people to resist pressures to conform known as

psychological reactance

is the principle that, if we help other people now, those other will return the favor should we need their help in the future.

reciprocal altruism

Cognitive dissonance

refers to the discomfort we experience when we choose to behave in ways that are we see as inappropriate.

refers to the act of communicating with someone frequently without fear of reprisal in an accepting and empathetic environment.

self-disclosure

the tendency to communicate frequently, without fear or reprisal, and in accepting and empathetic manner.

self-disclosure

Thinking that members of a particular group are unfriendly, we may act toward them in a guarded manner. As a result, we may elicit a coldness that confirms our belief. This scenario captures the essence of ____________.

self-fulfilling prophecy

when our expectations about the personality characteristics of others lead us to behave in ways that make those beliefs come true.

self-fulfilling prophecy

the tendency to regulate behavior to meet the demands of social situations- tent to change their behaviors to match the social situation and thus do not always act on their attitudes.

self-monitoring

Nicole asks herself, "Hmmm...do I like Thai food? I guess I do because I eat at a Thai restaurant at least two times a month." The process reflected in this internal dialogue is best understood in terms of _________________.

self-perception theory

Mel is running late for an important meeting, so he decides to run a red light on the way to the office. It is likely that Mel would use a _______________ ________________ to explain his own behavior.

self-serving attribution

The Westlake Hills Little League team just played a double-header. They won the first game, but lost the second one. Afterwards, the Westlake Hills coach said, "We played better than ever today. We would have won the second game also, but the umpires made some really bad calls."

self-serving attribution

Failing to recognize the importance that ___________ factors play in explaining the behavior of others contributes to the fundamental attribution error.

situational

the part of human thinking that helps us understand and predict the behavior of ourselves and others- consider the ways that our judgments about other people guide our behaviors toward them.

social cognition

The tendency to perform tasks better or faster in the presence of others is known as

social facilitation

Imagine you are just learning how to play the piano, so you are not very good. You are practicing by yourself when suddenly your mother and her friends walk into the room to listen. You notice that your performance has changed. Research on _______________ is most relevant to predicting how your performance will change in this situation. Specifically this research suggests that your performance will __________.

social facilitation; worsen

The idea that people favor ingroups over outgroups because it enhances their self-esteem to do so is known as _____________.

social identity

The tendency to perform tasks more poorly or more slowly in the presence of others is known as

social inhibition

Young teens who have recently received a learning driver's permit often have more difficulty driving when their friends are in the car with them. This would be an example of

social inhibition

In the figure above titled "Group Process Loss," you can see that according to Ringlemann's research, people were observed to pull harder on a rope when they thought they were pulling alone than when they thought three others were pulling with them on the same rope. Their effort was even less with eight people! This best illustrates ________________.

social loafing

a group process loss that occurs when people do not work as hard in a group as they do when they are working alone.

social loafing

A __________________ is a widely held belief about the characteristics of a particular group that attributes those characteristics to all members of the group.

stereotype

Research has shown that the academic performance of women and African Americans can be affected by concerns about confirming the expectation that they will not do well relative to individuals who belong to stereotypically high-performing groups

stereotype threat

In explaining social facilitation effects, Zajonc suggests that the mere presence of others leads people to do better on easy tasks and worse on hard tasks when performing in front of others than when performing alone because _________________________.

the presence of other people produces arousal, which in turn affects performance

The concept of altruism refers to _____________________.

unselfish behavior that benefits others without regard to consequences for the self

Research on the effects of viewing violent television programs and other forms of violent media indicates that ________________________.

viewing violence produces a significant increase in aggression

situational attribution

we may determine that the behavior was caused primarily by the situation

interpersonal attraction

what makes people like, and even love each other.

social conformity

which is a type of social influence that results in a change of behavior or belief in order to fit in with a group.

The process of attribution deals with the question of ___________________.

why people act the way they do

Symptoms of Groupthink

• Illusions of Invulnerability • Illusions of unanimity • In-Group favoritism • Little search for new information • Belief in morality of the group • Pressure on dissenters to conform to group norms