17: Prosocial and Antisocial Behavior

Need to affiliate

The desire to associate with other people

Interpersonal attraction

Social attraction to another person

Reciprocity

A mutual exchange of feelings, thoughts, or things between people

Self-disclosure

The process of revealing private thoughts, feelings, and ones personal history to others

Social exchange

Any exchange between two people of attention, information, affection, favors, or the like

Social exchange theory

A theory stating that rewards must exceed costs for relationships to endure

Comparison level

A personal standard used to evaluate rewards and costs in social exchange

Intimacy

Feelings of connectedness and affection for another person

Passion

Deep emotional and/or sexual feelings for another person

Commitment

The determination to stay in a long-term relationship with another person

Romantic love

Love that is associated with high levels of interpersonal attraction, heightened arousal, mutual absorption, and sexual desire

Companionate love

A form of love characterized by intimacy and commitment, but not passion

Fatuous love

Love characterized by passion and commitment, but not intimacy

Consummate love

A form of love characterized by intimacy, passion, and commitment

Evolutionary psychology

The study of the evolutionary origins of human behavior patterns

Prosocial behavior

Any behavior that has a positive impact on other people

Altruism

A specific type of prosocial behavior motivated primarily by improving the circumstances of others

Empathy

State in which people, when faced with someone who is suffering, experience a feeling state that parallels that of the person in distress

Bystander effect (bystander apathy)

The unwillingness of bystanders to offer help during emergencies or to become involved in others problems

Diffusion of responsibility

Spreading the responsibility to act among several people; reduces the likelihood that help will be given to a person in need

Antisocial behavior

Any behavior that has a negative impact on other people

Aggression

Any action carried out with the intention of harming another person

Bullying

The deliberate and repeated use of aggression (whether verbal or physical, direct or indirect) as a tactic for dealing with everyday situations

Instinct

Innate impulse that directs or motivates behavior

Frustration-aggression hypothesis

States that frustration tends to lead to aggression

Social learning theory

A theory that combines learning principles with cognitive processes, socialization, and modeling, to explain behavior

Prejudice

Positive or negative attitude toward an entire group of people

Social stereotypes

Oversimplified images of the traits of individuals who belong to a particular social group

Discrimination (in social behavior)

Unfair actions based on stereotyping and prejudice

Microaggressions

Subtle acts of discrimination that may not be intended to hurt the victim but rather reflect a lack of awareness or sensitivity

Racism

Stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination directed against someone based solely on their race

Sexism

Stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination directed against someone based solely on their gender

Ageism

Stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination directed against someone based solely on their age

Heterosexism

Stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination directed against someone based solely on the belief that heterosexuality is better or more natural than homosexuality

Ethnocentrism

Placing ones own group or race at the center-that is, tending to reject all other groups but ones own

Explicit prejudice

Prejudice that is conscious and clearly and publicly expressed

Implicit prejudice

Unconscious prejudiced thoughts and feelings about members or other groups

Scapegoating

Blaming a person or a group for the actions of others or for conditions not of their making

Displaced aggression

Redirecting aggression to a target other than the actual source of ones frustration

Status inequalities

Differences in the power, prestige, or privileges of two or more people or groups

Authoritarian personality

A personality patter characterized by rigidity, inhibition, prejudice, and an excessive concern with power, authority, and obedience

Dogmatism

An unwanted positiveness or certainty in matters of belief or opinion

Dehumanization

Beliefs that outgroups are less human and deserve the discrimination that they are subject to

Self-stereotyping

The tendency to apply social stereotypes to ones self

Stereotype threat

The anxiety caused by the fear of being judged in terms of a stereotype

Equal-status contact

Social interaction that occurs on an equal footing, without obvious differences in power or status

Superordinate goal

A goal that exceeds or overrides all others, a goal that renders other goals relatively less important

Individuating information

Information that helps define a person as an individual, rather than as a member of a group or social category

Just-world beliefs

Beliefs that people generally get what they deserve

Self-fulfilling prophecy

An expectation that prompts people to act in ways that make the exception come true

Social competition

Rivalry among groups, each of which regards itself as superior to others

Relationships deepen through self-disclosure, which follows a reciprocity norm

Low levels of self-disclosure are met with low levels in return; moderate self-disclosure elicits more personal replies

It differs from sympathy/compassion on the effect of a component

An empathetic response involves feeling and emotion that is the same as the victim; A sympathetic/compassionate response instead involves an effective response that would be more similar to concern or caring for the victim

Three decision points must be passed before a person gives hope

noticing, defining an emergency, and taking responsibility/ selecting a course of action

Aggression can be reduced through equal

status contact, the pursuit of superordinate goals, and through direct instruction (in diversity training sessions, for example)