Social Psychology Test 2

Zajonc (1965)

-Arousal increases the likelihood of dominant responses. -On easy & well-learned tasks, the dominant response is usually correct. -On difficult & novel tasks, the dominant response is usually incorrect. -Research suggests: crowds help you if you know what you're doing, but they don't help you if you don't know what you're doing.

What makes a speaker more persuasive?

-Credibility -Attractiveness

Symptoms of group think:

-Illusion of vulnerability o Overconfidence in our decision making ability o Unquestioned belief in our group morality -Conformity pressure / pressure for closure -Illusion of unanimity Ex: The exploding whale video- Was blowing up the whale the best idea? Probably not.

How to eliminate loafing?

-Make individuals responsible for certain tasks -Make tasks motivating -Make individuals feel their contribution is important

Triplett (1988)

-String on a fishing reel -First social psychology experiment -Concluded that the mere presence of others can enhance performance

Why do people loaf?

-They are less motivated -They feel less responsible for success/failure in a group. -People think they're not needed

Why does group polarization occur?

-We learn new supportive arguments -We get validation -Expressing a view publicly works to strengthen it

Reducing prejudice

1. Contact hypothesis- contact between members of different groups leads to more positive intergroup attitudes (when....) 2. Equal status 3. Cooperation

What factors contribute to the production of arousal?

1. Distraction: conflict between paying attention to others and paying attention to the task. -Overloads our cognitive resources and leads to arousal. ex: lights in a room/ a loud noise 2. Mere presence of others: must be alert & attentive. 3. Evaluation apprehension: concern for how others are evaluating us. -If we can't be evaluated, we may not get social facilitation/inhibition effects. Ex: In a study, it was observed that a male joggers speed increases when a good-looking woman was watching. There was no change in speed when the women were not watching.

Stereotype threat

A disruptive concern, when facing a negative stereotype, that one will verify the negative stereotype. Ex: white men cant jump

Modern racism

A more subtle form of racism; more likely to be hidden/less blatant ♣ Greatest prejudice in the most intimate social realm Ex: would you attend a doctor who is a homosexual? characteristics: ♣ Belief it is wrong to be prejudice and hold negative stereotypes about a racial group ♣ Belief racism doesn't exist ♣ Certain groups have been pushing too hard for equal rights ♣ Government has given certain groups too much preferential treatment

Conflict

A perceived incompatibility of actions or goals Ex: liberals & conservatives, religious & non-religious people hold very similar views. ♣ Conflict is often exaggerated

Stereotypes

Belief about the attributes of a group of people. ♣ The cognitive of liking/disliking (prejudice) a group. ♣ Ex: "mothers" are: caring/loving. (shows that stereotypes aren't always bad) ♣ Non-stereotypical group member: subtyping: we create a category for exceptions Ex: black people who act white = oreo's White people who act black= wiggers

Just world phenomenon

Comforting belief that the world is just and that people get what they deserve. Ex: rape cases was the victim drinking? Did she evoke the man?

Sleeper effect

Delayed impact of a message but forgot the reason for discounting the source

Group think

Deteriorating group judgment produced by striving for consensus

Sherif's study

Eagles and Rattlers study. The two groups were two different teams. At first when placed in a cafeteria, they fought. After, they were all put in a situation where they needed to work together. They got along. -Where there is a shared common goal

Group polarization

Group decisions with like-minded individuals makes each members' preexisting views more extreme and the group judgment more extreme

Theories of aggression

Instinct theories 1. Lorenz- aggression is an instinct that serves a survival function 2. Freud- hydraulic model aggressive energy builds with time. ♣ Catharsis- acting on aggressive energy to rid yourself of it ♣ Sublimation- taking aggressive energy and channeling it into socially acceptable outlets Biological causes • Brain- amygdala & hypothalamus activation leads to more aggression • Genetics- genes can be predispose us to be aggressive • Biochemical- testosterone/alcohol Frustration-aggression model (Frustration Aggression Theory) Frustration blocking of a goal-directed behavior Ex: getting cut off in traffic ♣ Frustration always leads to aggression instinct/aggression ♣ Aggression is always the result of frustration Berkowitz's revision "Cognitive Neoassociation Theory" (not instinct based) 1. People have unpleasant experiences 2. We make sense of those experiences 3. we feel emotion and act

Ringlemann- Tug of war study:

People only put 1/3 of their effort when they're pulling with others

Subordinate goals

Shared goals that necessities cooperation

Social loafing

The tendency for people to exert less effort when they pool their efforts toward a common goal (in a group) than when they are individually accountable (by themselves).

Prejudice

Unjustifiable negative attitude toward a distinguishable group of people, based soley on their membership in that group. ♣ The affective/feeling component of prejudice

Discrimination

Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members. ♣ The behavioral component of prejudice

Self-fulfilling prophecy

When a person unknowingly causes a prediction to come true due to the fact that he or she expects it to come true (volleyball coach does't play freshmen because she thinks they'll be bad; they are bad because they're rusty)

Deindividuation

When in groups, people often feel less identifiable/ less self aware ♣ Thinking you're invisible while in a group ♣ This abandonment of restraint in groups seems related to feeling less identifiable, less accountable/self aware

Scapegoat theory

When the cause of frustration is vague, hostility and aggression are redirected at an easy target

Recency effect

information presented at the end is most persuasive

Primary effect

information presented in the beginning is most persuasive

Social facilitation

or the audience effect, is the tendency for people to perform differently when in the presence of others than when alone. Compared to their performance when alone, when in the presence of others, they tend to perform better on simple or well-rehearsed tasks and worse on complex or new ones.

Janis & Mann's Guidelines for effective group decision-making

• Consider a wide range of objectives & courses of action • Intensely evaluate alternatives • Correctly consider new information/expert advice • Consider all possible consequences of chosen and not chosen options • Provide detailed description of the chosen course of action

How to prevent group think:

♣ Be impartial; don't endorse a position ♣ Encourage critical evaluation- assign a "devils advocate" to the group ♣ Subdivide the group ♣ Encourage and welcome criticism from outsiders ♣ Don't put yourself in a position to feel rushed

Television and aggression

♣ Correlational studies people who watched aggressive TV turned to be more aggressive in their daily life ♣ Media violence: o Leads to imitation o Increases your arousal o Desensitizes people through repeated exposure o Gives an inaccurate view of the world ♣ Violence is rewarded in movies

Clark & Clark: self hatred studies with dolls

♣ Girls preferred the white dolls ♣ Led to Brown .vs. Board of Education decision in 1954, that declared segregated school unconstitutional

Types of aggression

♣ Hostile: driven by anger and performed as an end to itself. o Goal is to injur/inflict pain o Ex: wife shooting husband bc she found him in bed with another woman ♣ Instrumental: aggression that is a means to achieve another goal Ex: tortuting people as a means to extract important information Ex: spanking kids to teach them a lesson. o Goal isn't to cause pain ♣ Symbolic: harms victims through gossip, character assassination, damage to property, or interfearence with advancement towards a goal ♣ Sanctioned: aggressive acts that society finds acceptable/even mandatory Ex: death penalty, wars

Social identity theory

♣ Our self concept and self esteem is influenced by group membership ♣ We want to maintain positive self views

Types of dilemmas

♣ Social dilemmas: conflict in which the most beneficial action for an individual will, if chosen by most people, will have harmful effects on everyone Ex: you cant steal things, because if everyone stole things then ♣ Public goods dilemma: a social dilemma in which everyone must contribute to a common pool to maintain the public good Ex: paying taxes in order to upkeep roads, highways, bridges, etc. ♣ Commons dilemma: social dilemma in which everyone takes from a common pool of goods that will replentish itself if used in moderation but which will disappear if overused. Ex: hunting regulations in order to keep enough deer alive to reproduce but enough to be hunted.

Jigsaw Classroom

♣ Students were assigned to groups of 6, mixed race(s) ♣ Each student is given 1/6 of the information to solve a problem. They must work together. ♣ Results: after one year, students displayed less prejudice, increase self-esteem, greater empathy & better performance

Social learning theory (Bandura)

♣ We learn aggressive behavior by observing and imitating others ♣ BoBo Doll Study (1963)- kids learn how to aggress and not feel weird about being aggressive