chapter 11 psych
in the field of social psychology, attitude means
describes an opinion or perspective that someone has towards a person, behavior, a belief or a concept
observational learning approach to aggression
emphasizes that social and and environmental conditions can teach individuals to be aggressives
Social Exchange Theory (Models of Relationships)
evolving exchange of goods where objective is to minimize costs and maximize benefits
Investment Model
examines ways commitment, investment, and the availability of alternate attractive partners predict relationship satisfaction and provide stability long term
Social Loafing
exerting less effort-lower accountability
features were participants accurate at detecting or determining, based on view a photograph, having a brief interaction, or only watch brief video clip?
-a person's propensity for violence -a person's romantic interest in the participant -a person's sexual orientation
ways to reduce cognitive dissonance
-change the attitude causing the dissonance -change the behavior causing the dissonance
factors that related to cross-cultural differences in cultural traditions and conformity
-differing weather -differing terrain
neurotransmitters and/or neurohormones associated with prosocial behavior
-dopamine -oxytocin -serotonin
cognitive determinants of aggression
-observing others engaging in aggression -the presence of a weapon
when are attitudes more likely to guide behavior
-when a person has strong attitudes -when a person is very aware of his or her own attitudes -when a person rehearses and practices his or her strong attitudes
Prosocial Behavior Psychological Factors
Empathy: feel what others are feeling, put ourselves in someone else's shoes • Personality: Agreeableness is most strongly associated with prosocial behavior • Mood: Happy people are more likely to help others; however, helping someone could boost mood
social perception
Process by which a person uses social stimuli to form impressions of others • First impressions (100 millisecond to form impression) • Are first impressions accurate? Many studies say yes!! • Power of the face/how we perceive physical attractiveness
elaboration likelihood model
identifies two pathways of persuasion: a central route and a peripheral route
Social contagion
imitation of behavior ex. Laughing at commercial
Social Facilitation
improved performance with others
self-perception theory
individuals often make inferences about their attitudes by perceiving their own behavior
low levels of which of the following personality traits are associated with agression
low levels of conscientiousness and low levels of agreeableness
self-fulfilling prophecy
social expectations cause people to act in ways that make expectation come true Ex. Today is going to be a bad day...then you have a bad day if people think that members of a specific group lack ambition, they may treat them in a way that actually brings about a lack of ambition
Attitudes can predict behavior when:
1. Attitudes are strong 2. Person shows strong awareness and is seen practicing and rehearsing such attitudes 3. When the person has a vested interest
prosocial behavior
Behaviors that benefit another person or society • Sharing • Helping • Donating • Volunteering
altruism
Giving aid to another person with the ultimate goal of benefiting that person, even if it's costly to person giving help
aggression
Objective is to harm someone physically or emotionally • Seen in humans and non humans • Stem from: biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors • (Biological) Genes: unprovoked aggression could be related to genes • Reactive aggression is seen in environmental effects • Neurobiological factors: • Limbic system: areas of self control • Murders: issues with frontal lobe and limbic system • Lower levels of serotonin • Testosterone
normative social influence
Want others to like us
obediance
Want others to like us
Individualistic cultures
value individuals and individual accomplishments and emphasize differences and uniqueness.
conformity
a change in behavior brought by following the standards of others a change in behavior to coincide more closely with a group standard
stereotype
a generalization about a group's characteristics that does not consider any differences
stereotype threat
a person's fast acting self fulfilling fear of being judged based on a negative stereotype about his or her group • Ex. Female with blonde hair saying something "dumb"
door-in-the-face strategy
a persuasion tool that involves making a big pitch at the beginning of a sale
a situation where groupthink is most likely to occur
a powerful leader surrounded by people of lower status
several factors that contribute to attraction
acquaintance, similarity, proximity
heuristics
are cognitive shortcuts that enables us to make decisions rapidly
attitudes
are our opinions, beliefs about people, objects and ideas • How we feel about the world
higher levels of serotonin
associated with prosocial behavior
solomon asch
carried out the classic experiment of conformity
faces participants rate as attractive
faces that were an "average" (composite) of several other faces
positive illusions
favorable views of the self that are not necessarily rooted in reality
example of mere exposure
finding someone attractive because you bump into him or her frequently
risky shift
group decisions tend to be riskier than decisions made by an individual
Group Polarization
group views strengthened once topic is discussed
aggression, like other social behaviors has
has multiple determinants
egoism
helping another person for personal gain (to feel good or to avoid guilt) giving to another person to ensure reciprocity
foot-in-the-door strategy
involves making a smaller request ("Would you be interested in a three-month trial subscription to a magazine?") at the beginning, saving the biggest demand ("How about a full year?") for last. The foot-in-the-door strategy works because complying with the smaller request sets the stage for the person to maintain consistency between their prior behavior and the next one (and avoid dissonance).
door-in-the-face technique
involves making the biggest pitch first ("Would you be interested in a full-year subscription?"), which the customer probably will reject, and then making a smaller "concessionary" demand ("Okay, then, how about a three-month trial?"). This technique relies on the fact that the customer feels a sense of obligation: You let him off the hook with that big request; maybe he should be nice and take the smaller offer.
persuasion
involves trying to change someone's attitudes and/or their behavior
groupthink
is a type of thinking in which group members share such a strong motivation to achieve consensus that they lose the ability to critically evaluate alternate points of view.
Stereotype threat
is an individual's fast-acting, self-fulfilling fear of being judged based on a negative stereotype about his or her group (Griffin & Hu, 2015; Schmader, Hall, & Croft, 2014). A person who experiences stereotype threat is well aware of stereotypical expectations for him or her as a member of the group.
prejudice
is an unjustified negative attitude toward an individual based on his or her group membership preconceived opinion not based on experience or fact
discrimination
is behavior directed toward individuals on the basis of their membership in a particular group
social cognition
is the area of social psychology that explores how people select, interpret, remember and use social information. How we think in social situations
self-esteem
is the degree to which we have positive or negative feelings about ourselves
social exchange theory
is the equity in a relationship
empathy
is the feeling of oneness with the emotional state of another person
social comparison
is the process in which individuals evaluate their thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and abilities in relation to other people We most likely compare ourselves to those who are similar
obedience
is the social psychological term for a change in behavior in response to the commands of others.
The group polarization effect
is the solidification and further strengthening of an individual's position as a consequence of a group discussion or interaction.
cognitive dissonance
modifying attitudes, rationalizing attitudes, and/or changing behavior are all ways to reduce it. Psychological discomfort caused by two inconsistent thoughts • Ex. Eating junk food is not good but do it anyway • To reduce dissonance we can: change behavior to fit attitude or change attitude to fit behavior
Deindividuation
reduces individual identity (less responsible)
social loafing
occurs when an individual exerts less effort in a group because of the reduced accountability for individual effort
affectionate love or companionate love
occurs when an individual has a deep, caring affection for another
social facilitation
occurs when an individual's performance improves due to the presence of others
relational aggression
refers to activities such as gossiping and spreading rumors
the murder of Kitty Genovese inspired researchers to examine whether
people are less likely to help if other people are present
Overt aggression
refers to physically or verbally harming another person directly. Boys and men tend to be higher in overt aggression than girls and women.
aggression
refers to social behavior whose objective is to harm someone physically or verbally
person perception
refers to the processes by which we use social stimuli to form impressions of others
Self-serving bias
refers to the tendency to take credit for one's own successes and to deny responsibility for one's own failures
Group Think
right decision is less important than "keeping peace in a group"
social identity theory
states that social identity is a crucial part of self-image and a valuable source of positive feelings about oneself.
social psychologist
study an immediate social situation: how one person can affect behavior
self-serving bias
take credit for one's success and deny responsibility if something goes wrong. Ex. Taking credit for a job well done or acing a test
bystander effect
tendency for other people to help less during an emergency when other people are present vs when observer is alone • When alone, will help 75% of time • With others, 50% of time
according to observational learning theory, if the consequences are positive..
the behavior is likely to be imitated when observers find themselves in a similar situation
normative social behavior
the influence other people have on us because we want them to like us
informational social influence
the influence other people have on us because we want to be correct
Mere exposure effect:
the more we encounter someone, image, or word; we are more likely to start liking person or thing. • Attracted to those we see most often (same proximity) • Humans usually associate with those similar to us • Do opposites really attract? • What do we look for in a friendship or relationship?
social psychology
the study of how people think about, influence, and relate to other people -fundamental part of human existence -we are innately social is related to sociology: study of human societies, organizations, and institutions ( at the group level)
attribution theory
the view that people are motivated to discover the underlying causes of behavior; theirs as well as others Ex. Is the person mean because he/she is hostile or did something else affect a mood
the bystander effect
this effect makes it less likely an individual will help someone in need when other people are around
zimbardo explains that when an authority figures removes personal responsibility
true evil can emerge
passionate love
type of love is a state of intense absorption in someone that includes intense physiological arousal
fundamental attribution error
when making attributions about someone, the immediate environment is more stable and less attention grabbing than the observed person's behavior. Observer's overestimate of important internal traits • Underestimation of the importance of external situations when they seek explanations of someone else's behavior Ex. Someone in need asking for money & someone assumes they do not want to work)
social identity
when someone is asked to identify themselves, and they answer with the religious or ethnic group affiliations
a circumstance where research would not expect attitudes to guide behavior
when the person's attitudes changed recently
deindividuation
which occurs when being part of a group reduces personal identity and erodes the sense of personal responsibility
Sociocultural influences on aggression
• Culture of honor (masculine pride to protect) Male reputation is threatened • Gender 1. Overt aggression= boys, men higher (Physical fighting 2. Relational aggression=girls, woman (gossip) • Media: Does what we watch influence aggression? • Correlational studies show an association (video games & neg outcome) • Extensive use of violent video games show: • More aggression • Reduced sensitivity • Violent thoughts
Prosocial Behavior Biological Factors
• High levels serotonin associate with prosocial behavior • Dopamine receptors • Oxytocin (bonding) • Areas of midbrain are active when we feel compassion • Neural factors associated with parent/ child relationship are involved in kindness/compassion
Psychological influences on aggression
• Personality: Low levels of agreeableness • Light levels of neuroticism • High on hostility and irritability (provoked or not) • Poor coping skills • Others? • Frustrating circumstances (think about kids) • Cognitive determinants (presence of weapons) • Observational learning (reinforcement, watching others, media violence)
