SP Chapter 2

Human survival is thought to be largely dependent upon what?

ore of how well we are able to work together with one another, more so than how able we are to handle the natural world around us

Another name for the deliberate system is ____.

the reflective system, because it allows us to consciously think about and decide on what we should be doing

True or false: there is a relationship between the size of one's social network and the structure of their brain.

True! It's been found that humans who do have larger social networks also tend to have certain key parts of the brain that are larger as well, particularly the orbital prefrontal cortex.

True or false: tradeoffs help to preserve diversity in the group.

True! That is because tradeoffs show that there are multiple options to choose from with multiple end results, and no single one is going to be the best option.

Describe what qualifies as culture.

-a culture is a more complex and advanced way of behaving socially -it involves the common characteristics that large groups of people share, including symbols, meanings, values, and particularly information

Who is Robin Dunbar? Explain the significance of his contributions to social psychology.

-an evolutionary anthropologist who wanted to determine what types of behavioral differences would exist for animals who had larger brains as compared to smaller brains -in his work, he found that animals who had bigger brains often times also had more complex social lives and social groups -so, animals who have bigger brains tend to form larger and more complicated relationships with others, whereas animals with smaller brains tend to live more solitarily -**this is significant because this provides support for the idea that humans' biology has been designed in a way that was purposefully meant to make them more social creatures, considering how humans have larger brains than most other animals, and we also have much more complex social networks -**and it helps to provide support for the belief that humans and human brains evolved for the purpose of being able to live as social creatures, rather than for other primary purposes like problem-solving or calculating

Discuss the impact that evolution has upon human thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

-at their core, humans are still a type of animal, which means that there are certain goals and desires that we must fulfill -this particularly includes having to sustain our individual lives and legacies, and the race as a whole, through survival and reproduction -and so, humans' biology has led them to have mechanisms that enable them to be more successful with survival and reproduction

Why is natural selection an important concept to consider, in the context of social psychology? Explain.

-because it is a process that helps to produce changes among living creatures -certain creatures within the population experience mutations in their genes that provides them with traits that are different from others within the same population -the individuals that have traits most conducive to their environment survive, whereas those whose traits are not favored do not -this relates to social psych because many of the traits humans have that make us such social creatures are thought to have enabled us to be better able to survive and reproduce throughout the generations -and since they were beneficial then, they have continued to endure so that we still possess the same social qualities now to serve in similar ways

How does being social relate to human evolution? Explain.

-because social psychs believe that humans are such social creatures as a result of evolutionary history -it's theorized that cooperating with others in the group and being social has had many benefits to survival and reproduction, and thus has endured as a major human trait -being social has led to better survival because it allows groups to work together to obtain more food, to alert and protect each other, provide care to those in the group who need it, and it also enhances the chances of finding a mate and reproducing

Why do so few other nonhuman animals have their own cultures?

-because to establish and maintain a culture, that requires more advanced psychological processes because it is more complex and complicated to be social animals as compared to solitary animals -therefore, since it is more complicated and advanced to be social, the brain's psychological processes need to be as advanced to be able to make that happen, and most nonhuman animals do not have that psychological capacity

Why might people dislike tradeoffs?

-because we tend to be oriented to want to believe that there is a single right answer, but that is not the case with tradeoffs because there is no one best answer -but when people have to make tradeoff decisions, they feel like they are missing out on the things they didn't choose

Culture is a ______ ______, which means ______.

-biological strategy -which means that it serves to improve our survival and reproduction, thereby allowing humans to be successful by biology's/natural selection's standards

What is the difference between detection and resolution? Why does this difference matter?

-detection means how much the sense organs can see, hear, smell, etc. while resolution means how clearly they are able to see, hear, smell, etc. -most nonhuman animals have greater detection but lower resolution, but for humans, we have greater resolution and less detection -the reason that these distinctions matter is because it is believed that detection enables nonhuman animals to perceive other species for purposes of their survival to avoid predators, but it is believed that humans' higher resolution allows us to perceive each other for our survival because we so heavily rely on others to survive

Should culture be considered dynamic or static? Why?

-dynamic! -because cultures are constantly in motion because there is always a lot of different people doing a lot of different things to make a lot of different things happen -so, cultures are considered more to be comprised of a bunch of different moving parts that all fit together to produce and maintain the culture

Can culture ever shape nature? Explain why or why not, using specific examples.

-for the most part, it has been found that nature tends to have the influence to shape culture, whereas few cases have been found where culture actually shapes nature -however, there are some psychs who believe that co-evolution may occur, whereby culture and nature both change together and also shape one another

Within the realm of evolutionary theory, what has much of the focus been on in more contemporary times? Explain how this relates to evolution.

-gender differences -there has been research about the evolutionary basis for many of the more universal differences in behavior patterns that are seen between men and women, such as why men tend to desire more sex partners than women usually do -and the reasoning is thought to be because having multiple sex partners enhances the man's reproductive success because they can produce a lot of offspring by having many different partners -but women are thought to more often prefer fewer partners because it was more conducive to the survival of her own genes if her offspring were monogamously taken care of by her and the father

Who is Daniel Kahneman? Why is he important?

-he proposed a new way of explaining the way in which the deliberate and automatic systems operate -he proposed the idea of thinking about them as reasoning vs. intuition -he said that the deliberate system operates through reasoning and logical problem-solving, whereas the automatic system operates through intuition and gut feelings

How can an organism achieve reproductive success?

-if they are able to produce many offspring, and if their offspring are able to produce many offspring of their own

How does social conscience in a small group differ from when it is used in a large group?

-in a small group, typically social conscience and deciding on how to act for the interests of the group is done through morality in order to help restrain selfish acts -in a large group, typically restraining selfishness requires the establishment of laws -morality works better in small groups because it works better when the people in the group know each other better -but the larger the group, the less well the members know each other, so that is when laws start to be needed

What is the purpose of culture?

-it helps people be able to live together in an organized way -it also helps people within the group be able to get what it is that they need

Describe the study that helped to demonstrate the difference in responses between humans and other animals when it comes to "now versus tomorrow" tradeoffs.

-it involved looking at chimps -the chimps were given as much food as they wanted, but only one time each day, at the same time every day -everyday, they would eat as much food as they wanted at the time of the feeding and then throw away the leftover food they didn't finish instead of saving it for later, when they would be hungry again but not be fed until the following day -so while the chimps, who also like to eat several meals throughout the day, would just eat what they wanted at the time and didn't plan to save any for later, humans are able to think more about the future and adjust their behaviors accordingly, so that they would save some food for later

Discuss the relationship that exists between humans' social behaviors and their brain structures.

-it is believed that being social animals is much more difficult and complex than being solitary animals, and so this more complex way of life requires a more complex brain -and based on the evidence that has been conducted regarding humans' brain structures, it appears that there is a link between one's level of socialization and their brains, particularly seen in the way of how social network sizes are related to brain sizes and brain structures

What is the importance of survival?

-it is one of the criteria for natural selection, because traits that let the individuals live longer (survive) will endure and carry on, but those that do not provide a survival advantage will fall out as the individuals possessing them do not survive -and it serves as an important means to allow for reproduction to occur

What important thing must be kept in mind when considering the phrase putting people first?

-it is true that humans really do tend to look toward other people first before making decisions and judgments, etc. -but it has also been found that we are especially likely to do this if the people around us are more similar or closer to us, than if they are dissimilar or strangers to us

What is the main premise behind the social brain theory?

-it says that human evolution has produced large, complex, intelligent brains so that we can form more complex social relationships with others, rather than for trying to better understand and figure out our physical worlds around us

Where do most psychologists fall in the debate over the role of consciousness?

-many feel that consciousness really doesn't do all that much for us, because so much of what we think, feel, and do is based off of the automatic system -but they think that the role of consciousness is likely to help with more complex types of thinking that we engage in

What is the debate that surrounds considering whether people from different cultures are very similar or extremely different?

-on the one hand, there are some social psychs that feel the cultural differences are too vast, and therefore no general conclusions can be drawn about human behaviors -there are also those that feel that, while there are differences among people in other cultures, they are behaviors that all cultures have, but just to differing degrees

Describe the study conducted by Solomon Asch. Discuss what happened during it, and also what its purpose was.

-participants had to look at a line and then were given three options and they had to choose which of the three options best matched the line shown to them -the participants were put into groups to do the study, and all but one of the people in the group were really confederates -the confederates purposely gave the wrong answer, and the actual subject had to decide if they would give the right answer or the answer that the rest of the group gave -it was found that, in many of the cases, subjects chose to go along with the group, even though they knew it was the wrong answer -**this demonstrates the idea of putting people first because it shows how humans tend to look towards other people first before they make decisions, rather than looking to past experience or their physical worlds

What are the two criteria that are involved in natural selection? Describe how they relate to natural selection.

-reproduction and survival -these are related to natural selection because, if individuals in a population have a trait that aids in better survival and/or reproduction, then these individuals will survive, which means those traits will, too -and as they continue to provide benefits to the individuals, they will become more common as they continue to reproduce other creatures that have the same traits

In what ways is culture able to be considered a social system?

-that is one of the defining characteristics/features of cultures -it is set up like a large network that helps to connect many different people together -and it is not a static network, and instead is dynamic and made up of many moving parts that all fit and work together

What does it mean when it is said that culture is based on meaningful information?

-that is one of the defining characteristics/features of cultures -that means that cultures are centered around information (language), and this information is put forth in different forms such as laws, rules, books and media, etc. -and the information that people are getting is meaningful because it often leads them to modify and alter their behaviors based on what they are reading, being told, hearing, etc. -also, we determine certain things to be meaningful as a result of our interactions with others and what they tell us/what information they provide us with

Explain what is meant by saying that culture is comprised of shared ideas.

-that is one of the defining characteristics/features of cultures -when people belong to the same culture, then they tend to have common underlying beliefs with the others who are also in the culture -and there is a lot of evidence to support the proposal that our brains are designed to function through shared ideas we have with others

What is meant when it is said that culture can serve as a praxis? Explain.

-that is one of the defining characteristics/features of cultures, and it means that culture can provide members with a shared way of doing things -the members may share certain ideas about what actions and behaviors they feel are valuable, and then they all act in accordance to those ways of doing things that are considered valuable and important to do

What is conscious override? What is its purpose?

-that is when we purposely use our deliberate system to pull in the impulses of the automatic system -it is necessary to have because it allows people to be able to live in cultures -that's because cultures have certain norms and rules that are expected to be followed, so we constantly have to use conscious override over our automatic impulses to make sure that we are abiding by the rules, so that we have to think before we act

What is meant by the phrase "putting people first"?

-that means that our biology has designed us in a way that makes it so that we rely on others to get what we need and to be able to survive, rather than setting us up so that we are able to get what we need directly from nature and the physical world -so, instead of looking first to the physical world for help and survival, we look to each other first -nonhuman animals typically learn from their own experiences from being in the world, but humans tend to learn from each other

What is meant when it is said that humans have a duplex mind?

-that means that our mind is composed of two primary systems -we have an automatic system and we also have a deliberate system -the automatic system is not conscious and it primarily allows us to do more simple, day-to-day tasks of interpreting, organizing, and categorizing information that we see and hear -the deliberate system is our conscious part of mind, allowing us to make conscious decisions and determine what we should do

What does the phrase "inner processes serve interpersonal functions" mean? Explain.

-that means that the psychological traits and processes that we have are designed to help us be able to connect and build relationships with other people -this is seen in our emotions, and how we tend to form bonds with people when we find out that they experience a similar emotional response to something -we are more motivated to do well and work harder when we have a social bond/relationship with someone involved in the task -when we automatically think of a group, then we also experience automatic feelings that we'd have as if we were about to interact with them (either good or bad) -and it is also seen in how people who really like music also tend to like working with others as well

With regards to the nature versus nurture consideration, what are the current views that many psychologists hold? How does this view compare or contrast to the view held by the authors of the book? Explain.

-the current view is that, while both have an influence, nature's impact seems to be a greater influence because you ultimately have to have nature first before you can begin to develop culture -culture builds off of nature, so if you do not have nature, then you do not really have any starting point for thinking, feeling, and acting -**the authors of the book believe more in a symbiotic relationship between nature and culture, believing instead that both shape each other -**that is because they feel that our biology has primed us specifically to develop culture and socialization

What features are common among most living things? Discuss.

-the drive to prolong life, which primarily occurs through reproduction to continue on one's genetic legacy or through maintaining survival -experiencing changes, which often occurs randomly through the development of mutations and natural selection

What factors influence the way that the human psyche operates? Explain.

-the effects of both nature and culture -people are born having a particular set of genes, hormones, a brain structure, and other physiological/biological factors -and people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are also influenced by social factors resulting from interactions with those in our immediate social circles, society, and individual life experiences

Is there evidence to support the notion that human brains are designed to operate in a way that is centered around shared ideas? Explain why or why not.

-there does seem to be a lot of evidence to support this! 1. little kids quickly learn shared attention, where they understand the importance of looking at things that others are looking at, too 2. simultaneous sharing, where we seem to have stronger emotions towards something we're looking at when we know that someone else from the same group as us is doing something similar too, at the same time we are 3. we learn information more quickly when we know someone else from our group is seeing the same information, as compared to learning it alone

Describe the way in which nature and culture are seen as interacting forces, with regards to considerations of precarious manhood.

-there is some evidence to suggest that being a male/manhood have natural biologically-based features to them -but there are also features of manhood that are culturally-based as well, and this is seen in the way that different cultures have different ways of determining what they consider to be manhood -so, the interaction is seen in how manhood is simultaneously partially natural and also partially a cultural construct

What are "now versus tomorrow" tradeoffs? Why are they significant?

-these are tradeoffs where you have to choose between something that can benefit you immediately, or decide on the thing that will benefit you later on (instant vs. delayed gratification) -this is one thing that sets humans apart from other animals, because natural selection favors acting in the immediate moment, and so most animals act to get what they want in that moment -but humans, while our instincts lead us to focus on what we want in the immediate moment, are able to actually think about the future and can instead opt for the tradeoff that is going to benefit us down the road if it is a better option

What is a tradeoff? Why might they be important to human social life?

-they are choices that we have to make where we have to choose one benefit while either accepting a cost or foregoing another benefit as a result -they are important to human social life because many of the decisions that we have to make involve tradeoffs, because there is not just one correct answer that will benefit everyone

What role do social psychologists believe natural selection has had in the formation of human culture?

-they believe that natural selection has selected for traits in the human brain that enable us to be able to form and use culture -that is because they believe that it is through our cultures that we are able to survive and reproduce, and since those are the requirements that natural selection "looks for" in traits, then we have evolved to be able to do culture and be cultural animals

Describe what the relative age effect is.

-this is an effect where, in situations like sports or in school settings, the individuals with the greatest achievements have birthdays in January, whereas relatively few are born in November and December -this can be explained by considering this: for the ones in the group who are born earlier on in the year, then they are typically going to be bigger and more developed than the ones who are born later in the year, who often have to face those who are bigger, older, and stronger than them -and because the ones born earlier are going to be at a physical or cognitive advantage, then they are naturally more likely to out-perform the ones who are born later on in the year; then their performance is seen by coaches or teachers and they are given extra attention, which only further advances their advantages and skills over the others -so they are more likely to continue on and be more successful in the particular field of interest, whereas the ones who have the birthdays later in November/December are more likely to drop out instead of continuing to pursue it

Assess the accuracy of this statement: both the deliberate and the automatic systems are functioning while awake and during sleep.

-this is not true! -the deliberate mind turns off when we go to sleep -but the automatic system is still operating, because it helps to move our body around while we sleep, it helps us make simple judgments while we sleep, and it also helps to process information even when asleep

Assess the accuracy of this statement: what is especially remarkable about human behavior is that humans act as social animals.

-this is not true! -while it is very important that humans are social animals, which means that they seek out relationships and connections with others and want to live with others around, humans are definitely not the only animals that possess this trait -instead, what is more unique and remarkable about humans is that they are also cultural animals, too, because while there are some other animals that may show some degree of culture, humans actually depend on establishing culture to survive

Can nature ever shape culture? Explain why or why not, using specific examples.

-this is seen in whether the culture's environment has many pathogens within it, or relatively few pathogens in it -in the places where there are a lot of pathogens, the culture more heavily emphasizes conformity and obeying the rules, and having people be much more similar to one another; they also tend to be less open, have fewer overall sex partners, and refrain from meeting as many people -in the places where there are relatively few pathogens, nonconformity is more accepted and practiced, and there is greater diversity and more openness to others and trying new experiences -the nature is the pathogen count, which then shapes culture, seen in the way that different pathogen counts lead to different values and behaviors

What all is involved in the human psyche?

-this is the human mind -it includes our emotions, desires, perceptions, and basically all of our psychological processes

Describe what is meant when it is said that "nature says go, culture says stop."

-this means that we naturally have certain automatic impulses and reactions that lead us to want to act in a particular way -but then we have culture that helps to teach us to restrain them and to exhibit self-control

Provide a real-life example of when social conscience takes the lead over selfishness.

-this would be like when people interact with those who have a stigma of some sort -we tend to have a natural impulse to avoid people because we want to be self-preserving and avoid getting contaminated -however, we can use the deliberate system and initiate social conscience to recognize that it is not fair to avoid these people, and so we consciously decide not to avoid them

What would happen if humans faced a collective problem they had to overcome, but did not have culture to help them? Explain.

-this would make it so that humans would have to re-solve the problem with each generation -this is because culture enables us to be able to actually pass on and perpetuate the knowledge we have acquired for how to solve a problem with others in the group because cultures are concerned with the preservation of knowledge -so, without culture, humans would not have the capacity to be able to preserve the knowledge that they learn in one generation to be able to pass it on to the next generation

Which is more advantageous, the intuitive thinking of the automatic system or the logical thinking of the deliberate system?

-ultimately, they are both very important -a lot of the time, the intuitive thinking of the automatic system is very helpful because a lot of the time our gut instincts are pretty accurate -but we also need to have reasoning and logic in order to be able to develop culture and maintain it

How do selfishness and culture relate to one another? Explain.

-we have natural impulses to act in more selfish, self-preserving ways -but since we also live through our cultures, this means that a lot of the time, we give up acting in terms of self-preservation and instead practice social conscience so that we are putting the group's best interests over our own individual wants and needs

Is there a difference between being a social animal versus being a cultural animal? Why or why not?

-yes there is! 1. if you are a social animal, that means the way you operate and act is through mass action where the entire group acts in the same way for a goal, but when cultural animals work together for a goal, they have a certain division of labor where everyone each performs a specific function 2. social animals tend to choose their behaviors based on watching behaviors they see someone else doing and then copying them, while cultural animals purposefully share their knowledge with others in the group so that they can learn 3. when social animals communicate, it is primarily through grunting/barking sounds and it is mostly about things that exist at the present moment, but cultural animals have a developed language and can communicate about a much wider array of topics 4. social animals do help each other, but most of the help they provide is to their own relatives, whereas with cultural animals, they have a greater sense of overall community which means that they are more likely to help those in their family and also those who they don't know 5. social animals tend to primarily use aggression as a means to resolve conflicts that arise, but cultural animals have multiple methods to be able to resolve conflicts

What are the primary differences between the deliberate and automatic systems, that reflect the advantages of the deliberate system?

1. deliberate is better at dealing with new experiences because it allows us to figure things out through reasoning, whereas the automatic is based more on impulse and intuition 2. the deliberate is able to combine different pieces of info in complex and rule-based ways 3. the deliberate is able to make calculations and use complex logical reasoning 4. the deliberate is more flexible in how it operates while the automatic is much more inflexible 5. the deliberate allows us to feel full and more complex emotions, while the automatic allows us to feel more basic emotions

What are the primary differences between the deliberate and automatic systems, that reflect the advantages of the automatic system?

1. deliberate is slow and requires a lot of effort, but the automatic is quick and requires little effort 2. the deliberate can only do one thing at a time, but the automatic can do multiple things at once 3. deliberate makes you have to think consciously about something, but automatic operates outside of consciousness and so we do not consciously control what comes to mind from it, it starts and stops on its own 4. the deliberate relies on the automatic system to be able to occur, but the automatic system can function even without the conscious thinking of the deliberate system

What are the primary characteristics of culture?

1. it is comprised of shared ideas among people in the group 2. it is set up as a large social system 3. it can serve as a praxis 4. it is based on meaningful information

What important features help to set humans apart from other animals, with regards specifically to humans' social lives?

1. we have a duplex mind 2. we are driven by social acceptance 3. we are biologically driven to relate and get along with others 4. we consciously control our impulses 5. we consciously implement social conscience 6. we practice tradeoffs 7. we put people first

True or false: psychological theory has only ever believed that differences between men and women are innate.

False! During the 1970s and 1980s, there was an increased belief that differences between men and women were due to parenting and childrearing. However, now, there is the recognition that differences are partly innate and partly parenting/socialization.

True or false: most of our thinking and acting is driven by the deliberate system.

False! Most of our psychological processes are driven by the automatic system. The automatic system is primarily responsible for most of our thinking, learning, responses, certain emotions, and drives a lot of our decisions.

True or false: evolution is a voluntary, conscious process.

False! The evolutionary changes that occur to organisms is essentially completely random, outside the realm of thought or action to make it happen. Instead, it is the result of physical and biological changes that results in the organisms, which then produce behavior changes.

True or false: all of our psychological processes serve interpersonal functions for us.

False! There are those like hunger and thirst, etc. that do not help with producing interpersonal relationships. However, more of our advanced and complex psychological processes do seem to have the purpose of helping us to establish interpersonal relationships.

True or false: the automatic and deliberate systems always function in complementary ways to one another.

False! There are times when they work against each other, specifically in the instances of conscious override. This is going to be when we feel an impulse from the automatic system, but then we use the deliberate system to restrain ourselves from performing that impulse.

True or false: the automatic and deliberate systems always function as opposites of one another.

False! While a lot of the time they do tend to be oppositional, they do sometimes work together, rather than being completely mutually exclusive. This is because the automatic system is the foundation for the deliberate system, because the automatic system is taking in and quickly processing information from our surroundings so that we are able to then consciously perceive and think about them. And, the automatic system helps to alert the deliberate system when something is not quite right and needs to be more carefully thought about.

True or false: culture originated with the human race.

False! While it is true that human culture is unique in certain regards, there are many animals that have certain forms of culture in their own respects. Therefore, it is believed that culture originated and was practiced by animals before humans began establishing cultures.

Another name for the automatic system is ____.

The impulsive system because it primarily works through experiencing an impulse and then acting on it.

What sets humans apart from other animals?

the fact that we establish, and survive through, our cultures