Exam 3 - Social Psychology
Catharsis
"blowing off steam" studies found that using exercise to relieve aggressive inclinations, actually provides the opposite effect. According to excitation transfer theory, participants who engaged in exercise and were insulted, actually delivered more of the noxious noise than other participants. The excitation provided by exercise intensified their anger at the insulter, thus intensifying their aggressive behavior.
Steps to helping-or not!-in an emergency
1) notice something is wrong 2) decide it is an emergency 3) decide one is personally responsible
Why is balance important?
1. balanced relationships are predictable and controllable 2. balance allows us to validate out opinions
To restore balance
1. change attitude toward person 2. change attitude toward object or issue 3. reduce importance of the topic of disagreement
Diffusion of responsibility
A situation in which the presence of others prevents any one person from taking responsibility; assuming another person will intervene
Evolutionary theory
According to Robert Trivers, reproductive success means different things to men and women because the sexes differ in their parental investment parental investment: the time and effort that parents must invest in each child they produce. -women have much higher parental investment than men.
BoBo Doll Study
Albert & collegues 1961 concept: social learning theory in aggression goal: understand how/if children learn aggression through observation 36 boys & 36 girls from Stanford nursery ages 3-6. aggression was based on 5-point scale. IV: 1) aggressive model performs aggression towards Bobo doll, shouting "pow", "boom". 2) attacking Bobo doll in distinctive manner (i.e. w/ hammer 3) non-aggressive manner, ignoring Bobo doll 4) control model, no exposure video. DV: rate aggression displayed by child. Results: children exposed to aggressive model made more imitative aggressive responses than those who were not exposed to aggression. Also, girls showed more physical aggression responses if model was male, but more verbal aggression if model was female Conclusion: supports Bandura's social learning theory - children learn social behavior through observation.
anxious-ambivalent attachment style
An attachment style characterized by a negative view of the self but a positive view of others, high anxiety, low avoidance, and intense but unstable relationships. overly clingy while mom is present but do explore environment. Distressed when mother is not present. Resistant/angry (ambivalent) when mother returns with difficulty calming down. Parents may be inconsistent fluctuating between unresponsive and overly intrusive.
Empathy Study
Batson 1981 Female students observe Elaine (confederate) who acted as if she were greatly suffering in electric shock experiment 2 IVS: -empathetic concern: high or low -ease of escape: take her place or - difficult = forced to watch, easy = not forced to watch and fill out questionnaire. DV: percentage of those which take Elaine's place Results: in high empathy conditions, most participants agreed to help Elaine, it did not matter much if it was an easy or difficult way out. In low empathy condition, most participants withdrew in the easy escape, and some offered help w/ difficult escape. Conclusion: by feeling empathy for another person it is possible for true altruistic behavior to take place
Presence of Weapon Study
Berkowitz & LePage, 1967 hypthesis: presence of weapon increases likelihood of aggression Participants were first electrically shocked by confederate and given change to retaliate. IV1: participant is angered (recieves 7 shocks) or not (1 shock) IV2: room contains guns, badminton racquet, or no object (control) DV: number of shocks given by participant Results: more shocks given when guns of confederate were present and when participant only received one shock . conclusion: humans can identify potentially dangerous stimuli very quickly.
Neo-Associationistic account
Berkowitz 1989 concept: when hostile feelings lead to aggression - reformation of "frustration-aggression theory" a model of aggression that emphasizes three casual factors: stressors, hostile feelings, and cues associated with aggression. -examples of factors: frustration; pain; heat; other unpleasant experiences.... these lead to a negative feeling, which then CAN lead to emotional aggression.
What are the 5 models to understanding aggression?
Biological/instinct theories Social learning theory Frustration-aggression theory Situational Cultural
Culture of Honor study
Cohen, Nisbett & colleagues 1996 -concept: culture of honor & aggression -participants are all white males from University of Michigan raised in either north or south of US. - SITUATION OF STUDY: confederate bumps participant carrying survey down hallway, and calls participant in "a**hole" -Results: Students from north did not have much a of reaction, but students from south showed increases in aggressive feelings, thoughts and physiology. Southern men more likely to think manhood was threatened and more upset and primed for an aggressive response, indicated by high levels of cortisol, testosterone, and aggressive cognitions. -Why are southerns more aggressive? Due to coming from a herding background which was a vulnerable lifestyle compared to farming which is most Northern background.
Relationships
Connections you have with other people and groups in your life.
No Time to Help Study
Darley & Batson 1978 concept: time pressure effect on willingness to help participants had to go to another building to give short talk 2 IV: -important/not important of participation in study was vital -hurry/not hurry: late or had plenty of time to get there. on the way to other building participants would pass a mean slumped over in a doorway, groaning & apparently in need of help DV: which types of participants are more likely to help? Results: less likely to help if in a hurry by slight amount if unimportant compared to no hurry. Significant lack of help in hurry and important, than no hurry and important.
Shaky bridge study
Dutton & Aron 1974 concept: misattribution of arousal male subjects approached by an attractive woman researcher IV: crossing shaky bridge or stable bridge DV: percent who call her for "follow-up" on study Results: higher percent of males called woman who were on the shaky bridge, than the stable bridge. Conclusion: the misattribution of racing HR and rapid breathing due to scary shaky bridge to attractiveness to woman
Matching hypothesis
Elaine Hatfield 1966 hypothesis: people tend to become involved romantically with others who are equivalent in physical attractiveness - predictive of successful relationships and marriage
Two types of relationships
Exchange relationship or Communal relationship 0 defined by how person treats the giving & taking of benefits, proposed by Margett Cock and Johnson MIlls in 1979 paper.
MIT friendship formation study
Festinger, Schachter & Back 1950 concept: proximity goal: investigate info of friendships @ westgate housing at MIT for student couples increased friendships by proximity, those who lived 1 door away versus 2, 3, or 4 were closer with people who lived closer due to likelihood of bumping into one another.
eros
Freud's term for what he proposed is the human inborn instinct to seek pleasure and create
thanatos
Freud's terms for what he proposed is the human inborn instinct to aggress and to destroy.
Biological instinct theories of agression
Freudian concepts of eros & thanatos, that the tendency to aggress is innate.
Balance theory
Heider 1958; Newbomb 1961 a theory which proposes that the motivation to maintain consistency among one's thoughts colors how people form new attitudes and can also drive them to change existing attitudes - imbalance is unpleasant imbalance exists when: - 2 people who like/love each other feel differently toward an object - 2 people who dislike each other feel the same toward an object
Sternberg's triangular model of love
Love can be broken down into three main facets, which when combined with one another yield seven different types of love.
Situational (Heat) and aggression
People are more prone to aggression when temperature is hot Anderson 1987, 1989 study -looks at the effect of geographic area on violent crime -violent crimes measured as: abuse, horn honking, & delivery of electric shock -found: violent crimes are more frequent in hottest region of countries -examined 260 US cities -measured # of days that exceeded 90 degrees - the # of hot days can predict violent crimes, BUT NOT non-violent crimes
Altruism
The desire to help another purely for the other person's benefit, regardless of whether we derive any benefit. -motives: desire to increase another's welfare and simply done because it is the right thing to do.
Social exchange theory
Thibaut & Kelley, 1959;1978 A theory which maintains that people provide help to someone else when the benefits of helping and the cost of not helping outweigh the potential costs of helping and the benefits of not helping. -human interactions are transactions that aim to maximize one's rewards & minimize one's cost. -
Reciprocal altruism
Trivers 1972 we help others because they have helped us in the past or may help us in the future. either direct or indirect reciprocity theory of how compassion evolved necessary conditions: -individuals must interact more than once -individual ability to recognize others reliability -must be able to remember past behaviors of those which one interacts *these restraints makes less common than kin-directed altruism *not genuinely altruism
Social learning theory
Uses Bandura's idea that learning is through our interactions with others and imitating observations.
Beautiful = good stereotype
We generally want to bond with attractive people, and very quickly make a judgment of desirability, then project positive characteristics that fit this judgement. Cultures promote this stereotype: princess is beautiful and the hero is handsome, whereas the evil witch and villain are ugly.
Mere Exposure Study
Zajonc 1968 participants reported greater liking for stimuli seen more often if presented subliminally *repeated exposure effect DOES NOT HAPPEN when people's initial reaction to a stimulus is very negative*
Bystander effect
a phenomenon in which a person who witnesses another in need is less likely to help when there are other bystanders present to witness the event.
Mere exposure effect
a phenomenon that the more often a person is exposed to some stimulus, the more they like it, particularly if they are unaware that sheer number of exposures is causing it.
Attachment theory
a psychological model that attempts to describe the dynamics of long-term and short-term interpersonal relationships between humans which depends on the person's ability to develop basic trust in their caregivers and self.
Pluralistic ignorance
a situation in which individuals rely on others to identify a norm but falsely interpret others' beliefs and feelings, resulting in inaction.
Interdependence
a situation in which what each person does significantly influences what the partner does over long periods of time
Physical attractiveness stereotype or halo effect
a tendency to assume that people with one positive attribute also have other positive traits.
Prosocial behaviors
an action by an individual that is intended to benefit another individual or set of individuals
Hostile aggression
aka affective aggression; a person *intends* to harm the other person simply for the sake of doing so. *harm-seeking aggression that is elicited in response to some negative emotion.
secure attachment style
an attachment style characterized by a positive view of the self and others, low anxiety and low avoidance, and satisfying, stable relationships. child is attentive to mother and happily explores environment. exhibits distress when stranger present, and uses mother to relieve distress. Becomes distressed when mother is not present, but when mother returns, child greets her, becomes relaxed and resumes exploring -60% of children display this form of attachment
fearfully avoidant
an avoidant attachment style characterized by a negative view of both self and others, high avoidance and high anxiety, and distant relationships, in which the person doesn't feel worthy, doesn't trust others, and fear rejection
dismissive avoidant
an avoidant attachment style characterized by a negative view of others but a positive view of the self, high avoidance but low anxiety, and distant relationships.
define Aggression
any physical or verbal behavior that is intended to harm another person or persons (or any living thing)
Mating strategies
approaches to mating that help people reproduce successfully. People prefer different mating strategies depending on whether they are thinking about short-term pairing or long-term commitment
Theories about relationships and love
balance theory misattribution theory attachment theory
Avoidant attachment style
child is not very affectionate with mom present. Explores environment, unenthusiastic. When mother leaves shows little distress, when mother returns child turns other way and avoids. Parents tend to reject or deflect the child's bids for comfort and closeness.
Cost/benefit analysis
cost: punishment, energy invested, cost of other action benefit: reward, pleasures, satisfaction, gratification, gain.
Exchange relationship
found among strangers and acquaintances helpers are motivated by egoistic motives, and thus strive for maximal reward. balance of give & take "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine"
Communal relationship
found in close friends, romantic partners, family members helpers are motivated by altruistic motives, and thus strive to alleviate the suffering of victim less balance for give and take
indirect reciprocity
from others - in form of the same affairs (ex. blood donation)
Working models of relationships
global feelings about the nature and worth of close relationships and other people's trustworthiness; originate early in life.
Instrumental aggression
harm-seeking done to another person that *serves some other goal.*
direct reciprocity
help from the same person
Egoism
helping someone because you're trying to attain something -motives: expectation of receiving something in return.
Bystander Effect Study
helps understand "why do people not help?" Latane & Darley 1968 - followed Kitty Genovese murder (the 38 neighbors did nothing) -participants told they would discuss "problems faced by students in a high urban environment -all communication took place over intercom -after each participant introduced themselves, confederate began to noticeably choke & appear to be having epileptic seizure. DV: who would help? how long would it take? Results: only 3% of participants tried to seek for help. More likely to help when alone than with one other and even more less likely with two others. Took longer time to help with two others than alone or with one other. conclusion: increase group size = decrease likelihood to help; people are less likely to help in an emergency when other people are present.
two forms of aggression
hostile aggression (affective aggression) instrumental aggression
Positive illusions
idealized perceptions of romantic partners that highlight their positive qualities and downplay their faults.
Misattribution of arousal
inadvertent ascription of arousal resulting from one source to a different source. physiological arousal can be perceived to stem from a source that did not stem the arousal feeling aroused due to another source but misattributes the feeling to the person.
Frustration-aggression theory
incomplete theory - originally the idea that aggression is always preceded by frustration and that frustration inevitably leads to aggression. Revised to suggest that frustrations produces and emotional readiness to aggress.
Facial symmetry
is found to be more attractive than asymmetrical faces
Waist-to-hip ratio
it is the measurement of the circumference of your waist at its narrowest point and divide that by the circumference of your hips at your broadest point, the number you get is your waist-ti-hip ratio. when people are asked to judge which variation of women is most attractive, the average preference is usually a woman with a 0.7 ratio of waist to hip (a very curvy "hourglass" figure where the waist is 30% narrower than the hips. serves as a cue for fertility
Mutuality
partners' acknowledgement that their lives are intertwined and thinking of themselves as a couple ("Us") instead of as two separate individuals ("me" & "you"
Commitment
partners' investment of time, effort, and resources in their relationship, with the exception that it will continue indefinitely.
Narcissism and deficits in self-esteem
people who are narcissistic have unstable self-esteems, which makes them particularly reactive to threats of their self-views, which implicates self-esteem deficits in aggression. the feeling of vulnerability of narcissists underlies their hostility and aggressiveness in response to perceived slights.
why does the bystander effect occur?
pluralistic ignorance; diffusion of responsibility; fear of embarrassment
Factors that affect love & attraction:
proximity physical attractiveness similarity reciprocal liking
Culture of honor
regions which people (especially men) are highly motivated to protect their status or reputations
Attachment styles
secure; anxious-ambivalent; avoidant
Two theories that explain when do we help people
social exchange theory empathy-altruism model
_________ white men are more likely than ___________ white men to believe that lethal violence is justified as a means of defending life, family, property, or reputation after they perceive it as impugned
southern; northern
The need to belong
the desire to form social relationships is a fundamental part of human nature. We need to be apart of stable, healthy bonds with family members, romantic partners, and friends in order to function normally.
Loneliness
the feeling that one is deprived of human social connections
Equity theory
the idea that people are motivated to maintain sense of fairness or equity, whereby both partners feel that the proportion of outcomes (rewards) to inputs (costs) that each receives is roughly equal.
Self-expansion model of relationships
the idea that romantic relationships serve the desire to expand the self and grow
Empathy altruism hypothesis
the idea that the reason people help others depends on how much they empathize with them. When empathy is low, people help others when benefits outweigh costs; when empathy is high, people help others even at costs to themselves.
Proximity
the physical nearness of others. It is a major factor in determining who we form relationships with.
weapons effect
the tendency for the presence of firearms to increase the likelihood of aggression, especially when people are frustrated.
The averageness effect
the tendency to perceive a composite image of multiple faces that have been photographically averaged as more attractive than any individual face included in that composite
Reciprocal liking
we like people who like us - the average man is more interested in a woman who is interested in him than he is in a woman with beautiful legs. We like and evaluate positively people who like us - but only if liking is genuine We generally like people who compliment us more than those who do not People certainty dislike those who dislike and negatively evaluate them
Fear of embarrassment
we may be LESS willing to help because we don't want to look foolish or incompetent