PSC 150

The Need to Belong

Describes the human need for frequent, nonaversive interactions within ongoing relational bonds.

Alameda County Study

A 9-year study investigating social network structure and its effect on health, showing social isolation predicts higher mortality.

Social Networks

Stronger social networks are associated with better health outcomes.

The Pittsburgh Cold Study

Study showing that participants with fewer social relationships were significantly more likely to develop a cold when exposed to the virus.

Relationship Quality

The quality of relationships, not just their existence, is crucial for health outcomes.

Ex: low marriage quality predicts poorer health and elevated mortality rates.

The Cyberball Study

An experiment that examined the effects of social exclusion on emotional responses and the impact on health outcomes through including or rejecting someone while in a game of ball.

What were the results of the cyberball study?

Brain activation parallels the pattern that occurs following physical pain.

The need to feel like you’re a part of something is a part of the core of human beings.

The goal of science is to discover truth. What are the 4 methods?

Intuition - it just feels true

Metaphysics - religion, mythology, etc.

Logic - basic assumption, if-then reasoning ,etc.

Science - based on observation and evidence ← Psychologists

Hindsight Bias

The tendency to believe one knew an outcome all along after the event has happened.

Reliability

The consistency of a measure, producing the same results under the same conditions.

Validity

The degree to which a measurement accurately reflects the concept it's intended to measure.

Correlation Coefficient

A statistical measure that indicates the extent to which two variables fluctuate together, ranging from -1 to +1.

Experimental Design

A method of research that allows for causal conclusions by manipulating independent variables.

Observational Studies

Research method involving coded observations of behaviors, often used to gather real-world evidence.

Self-Reports

Data collection method where individuals self-report their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Always entails some subjectivity.

Archival Materials

Pre-existing records such as photographs or diaries used for research purposes.

Social Rejection

The experience of feeling excluded from a group, which can lead to emotional pain similar to physical pain.

Intuition vs. Science

The contrast between deriving conclusions based on feelings versus empirical evidence and observation.

Theory

A hypothetical explanation of a natural phenomenon

Hypothesis

 A testable, falsifiable prediction made by a theory

Operational definitions

 Description of an abstract property in concrete, measurable terms

Random assignment

Each participant (P) has an equal chance of being assigned to any condition of the IV.

Participants in the two groups should be the same on average except for the manipulated variable

Correlation Studies

The association between two variables.

Useful when one cannot manipulate the IV.

Developmental Designs

techniques used particularly in lifespan development research.

NOT experimental, so you cannot draw causal conclusions

Retrospective design

Ask people about their past experiences

whats the problem with retrospective design?

Memories can be biased by recent events.

Longitudinal design

 Follow people over time (best design when possible)

Whats the problem with longitudinal design?

Participant attrition

Global vs. specific

 “How active is your sex life?” vs. “How many times did you have sexual intercourse in the past week?”

Subjective vs. objective

 “How satisfying is your relationship?” vs. “Did your partner give you a present for your birthday?”

Sexual selection

• Competition for mates between individuals of the same sex

• Results in differential mating and reproductive success

Intrasexual selection

→ When members of a given sex compete with one another to drive away or kill their rivals

→ Opposite sex is passive (video)

Intersexual Choice

→ Competition with other members of one's sex to be chosen by the other sex

→ Opposite sex is active (video)

Handicaps

Honest advertisements that indicate robust good health (and high fertility and are costly to maintain).

Adaptations

Features of organisms that arose in the past through natural selection because they directly or indirectly contributed to reproductive success.

What do adaptations solve?

Reproductive problems that affect survival and mating.

Different parental investment

The sex with the higher initial investment in the offspring (typically the female) is choosier about mates.

→ That sex has more to lose from a poor mating choice

→ Withholding sex in exchange for investment

 Life History Theory

• The organism itself is subjected to natural selection pressure 

• Also, the developmental pattern is subject to selection pressures

Tradeoffs

• Take time to grow big and strong?

• Grow and achieve reproductive capacity quickly?

• Species vary in how they weigh these tradeoffs

→ these tactics evolve in bundles

Acquiring Culture

• In our extended period of development, we must learn our culture

→ every generations changed/improves on what the past generations knew before

• How do you build a kayak?

→ Trial and error?

→ Learn from others?

• Social rules are also learned

Short-term sexual strategies

• Parental investment difference → Men should be more eager than women to have short-term sexual relationships.

The three-question study

→ Male and female confederates approached strangers on campus

→ “Hi, i’ve noticed you around campus, and I find you attractive.”

Functionality

Mental adaptations served a function in ancestral environments.

→ For this adaptation to be retained, the functional properties must have increased reproductive success.

Attachment theory

an evolutionary theory
of human social behavior “from the cradle to the grave”.

What does the attachment system do?

Keep vulnerable infants in close physical proximity to their stronger and wiser caregivers, particularly during infancy and young childhood.

what is the individual-difference component in attachment theory?

how and why people who have different attachment styles think, feel, and behave in different social situations.

what is the normative component in attachment theory?

Explains typical features of attachment that apply to everyone, such as how and why attachment bonds form and remain fairly stable over time

what are the three normative developmental factors?

1) the way infants reactions and behaviors are synchronized with their mothers since birth

2) the tendency for young children to have close proximity & physical contact with their caregivers

3) how attachment behaviors emerge and develop in a series of stages

Internal working models

Beliefs, expectancies, and attitudes about relationships based on earlier experiences with attachment figures.

Model of self—>“Am I worthy of love and
attention?”)

Model of others —>“Are my attachment figures
going to be there for me when I really need them?”

Attachment style

a person’s characteristic pattern of expectations, needs, emotions, and behavior in social interactions and close relationships.

Whats the primary function of attachment?: Proximity maintenance

staying near to, and resisting separations
from, the attachment figure

Whats the primary function of attachment?: Safe haven

turning to the attachment figure for comfort and support when distressed

Whats the primary function of attachment?: Secure base

using the attachment figure as a foundation from which to engage in non-attachment behaviors such as exploration and play.

What happens to children once they experience prolonged separation from caregivers?

They enter the three stages of response to separations: protest, despair, and detachment.

Felt security

As children move through the toddler years and into middle childhood, the desire for physical proximity is slowly replaced by the desire to maintain psychological proximity.

Early adult attachment research investigated five main questions:

1) How each attachment style is correlated with the quality and functioning in a romantic relationship

2) How individuals regulate their emotions and cope with stressful events

3) How people process social information about their partners and relationships

4) How people act in attachment-relevant situations (giving/receiving support and resolving conflicts with partners)

5) how well a person performs in terms of mental health outcomes

Secure attachment

low anxiety/ low avoidance

Preoccupied/Anxiety attachment

(high anxiety/low avoidance)

fearful attachment

(high anxiety/high avoidance)

dismissive attachment

(low anxiety/high avoidance)

What first attachment function is transferred from parents to peers?

Proximity maintenance

Which last attachment function is transferred from parents to peers?

secure base

environmental risk model

the degree of harshness/difficulty of the local environment combined with its level of unpredictability determines which reproductive strategy (fast or slow) individuals will adopt in adulthood.

disorganized attachment

exhibit an incoherent assortment of inconsistent behaviors (anger, aggression, withdrawal, crying, laughing), often in rapid succession.