Psych exam 4

Mimicry

Taking on emotions from others, could be conscious or unconscious, synchronising social bonding.

Social norms

Unwritten guidelines on how we behave in a social context. Breaking habits can be tough to replace

Group Dynamics social loafing

putting in less effort when working with others, you don’t care about the outcome, culture can make you feel others aren’t working hard so you don’t have to.

Group dynamic social facilitation

When ones performance is enhanced by others. Arousal will make some perform better or maybe they will choke

Groupthink

When decisions are made in a group they come to problematic conclusions because of all the different viewpoints

Group polarization

Danger of intertwining our identities into politics. The more people get wrapped in political beliefs the less is agreeable

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Conformity

Change in behaviour to fit in with the group.

Normative influence

Agreeing because you don’t want to be embarrassed or interfere with the group

Informationnal influence

Agree because you believe the group must be right

factors that can lead to complexity

Size of social group

Familiarity of the group

Complexity of the task

Presence of non conformants (when one person goes against the grain you likely will as well)

Anonymity

Ostracism

Being ignored or left out from a social context. Can lead to a strengthened belief in a group. Examples being just throwing a ball and losing meaning, or school shooters are often left out and this is what may make them do this

Bystander Effect

If you were to fall in a large crowd you no one might help you because they all think the next person will deal with it and eventually no one does it. (Diffusion of responsibility)

Overcoming bystander effect

Those who are qualified are more likely to help. Or those who value the people over themself

Pluralistic Ignorance

When uncertain we look to see how others react and act accordingly

Smoke filled room study

People studied how people react when smoke fills a room and others don’t do anything. Showing Pluralistic ignorance

Social roles

How someone should behave, roles range from mother, doctor etc.

Stanford prison study

assigned people roles of prison guard or prisoner. Saw how behaviours changed based on their roles. Prisoners had mental breakdowns from what the guards had done. Guards lost sense of self with the power.

Deindividualitation

Losing your sense of self through a role. Loss of accountability and disinhibited or anti-normative behaviours

Stanford Prison studies issues

Unethical, not scientific, told they couldn’t leave, Guards acted in a way that were consistant in what the researchers wanted.

Not similar in BBC pseudo- replication as the guards and prisoners worked together

Riot behaviour

You fall into a mob and feel its not me doing it it is the mob

Obedience to authority

Parent, police or politicians voice and opinion hold value

Milgram obedience study

Teacher read out words and the learner repeats, when answer was wrong they got shocked, it got worse every wrong answer. This was to see how far the teacher would go even though the learner was staged and they would scream in pain. 75% of ppl carried to intense shock while 65% would go to the lethal shock

Person perception dual process model

Implicit process are unconscious processes, based off of a schema

Explicit process takes more thinking, and is a conscious

Self serving biases

Biases that maintain us having a positive view on ourselves and how others view us.

We assume how we think is how everyone feels

False consensus effect (self-serving biases)

Assuming our view represents society at large

Naive realism (Self serving biases)

Assuming our perceptions of reality are accurate and therefor those who differ must be wrong. Even though both could be right

Better than average effect

We believe we are better than most people on average. Mostly everyone thinks they are above average but then who is bellow average?.

Dunning Kruger Effect

Ppl who know the least are at the greatest risk of overestimating their abilities

Explaining the behaviour of others from Internal attribution

Explaining peoples behaviour due to an intrinsic quality of a person, a person is believed to be lazy and thats why the assignment isn’t on time

Explaining the behaviour of others from External behaviour

Explains a person from a result of where they are from or a social context. For example believing a person turned something in late because there is something going on at home.

Explaining our own behaviour Locus of control

Degree of where you believe you have control over your life

Internal- Blaming yourself good or bad

External- blaming others

Fundamental Attribution of error

We are more forgiving to our own behaviours vs. others. In the moment we may be mad someone cut us off but will reason with it later

Ingroups

group we belong with

Outgroup

we consider different from us

In-group bias

we are more likely to attribute positive qualities to the social group we belong to

Stereotype

set of common belief of a group of people

Prejudice

Adopting the view to view people based on stereotypes

Discrimination

Prejudice turns into actions in your behaviour

Positive stereotypes

Sure there are positive stereotypes but they will have negative consequences

Mary Whiton Calkins

Was denied PhD at Harvard despite having the best exam due to discrimination. First women president of American Psychological Association

Implicit bias

We live in such a politically correct country but still there is racism and hate crimes happening. But no one admits to showing bias.

Implicit association test

Measures how fast people respond to stereotype questions. not perfect, results aren’t repeatable

Reducing implicit bias

Reprogramming through practice

VR has been used to practice with shoot, don’t shoot.

Contact with diverse people.

Elaboration likelihood model

2 routes to persuation central route(Explicit process, lots of effort, motivated analytical)

Peripheral route (Not motivated, low effortt, temporary change in attitude, Implicit process)

Central route to persuation

Uses facts and graphs in hopes people will see the weight of the evidence and be convinced

Peripheral route to persuasion

making arguments that apply to our emotions. “Deny global warming and we cannot do anything about it.

Enhancing central route

We our often more motivated of things that happen in here in now, this is how climate change is motivated.

Values must appeal to target audience

Identifiable victim effect

People are more moved by a personal story of one person suffering rather than a whole group.

Attitude inoculation

Like a vaccination, strategy of if you are in a debate and a weak argument comes up, prepare a counter. Can be used for good and bad.

Damaging the central route

When message is to complex people tend to shut off and not listen.

Negative emotions- when people find you annoying to listen to they will tune out.

Enhancing the peripheral route

Authority and likeability can lead to people trusting them.

Social validation can increase this and this is why politicians try to pack stadiums.

Reciprocity (door in the face

first offer made outrages to then makes a lower offer more acceptable

Foot in the door technique

Start with an offer the person will accept then work your way up from there

Cognitive dissonance

We hold inconsistent beliefs creating an inner tension

Experiment was held where people did mind numbingly boring experiment, participants were given $20 or a dollar.

Justification of effort

We are constantly often unconsciously trying to find internal justification for our actions and beliefs. (Hazing

Chapter 14

Health stress and coping

Health psychology

Study of the impact of human behaviour both positive and negative and how we die

Smoking and personality

High neuroticism associated with increased risk

High in conscientiousness associates with lower risk

Media exposure and smoking

Exposure to seeing smoking in movies makes people want to try smoking more

Reducing smokinng

showing warnings, non smoking laws, and to try exposing children to pier pressure so they are able to counter it

Obesity

Unsolved problem, continues to get worse, eating as a motivated behaviour and eating for emotional purposes increase this, the food around us as well.

We may not be getting the activity we get and watch to much tv and this is a contributer

What % of Canadians are considered obese

24

What should we be eating when dieting

Studies can contradict themselves so be careful what you read, put more weight on randomized controlled trials

Body mass index (BMI)

How we measure obesity

Estimates a healthy body relative to height and weight

Appropriate at a population level rather than individuals because it does not account for body composition because muscle weighs a lot

Social infuence on obesity

Influence often comes from parents, if parents are unhealthy you will likely carry on those habits.

Media can advertise towards children for food so that the kids tell there parents how much they want the snack. This increases snacking in children.

Obesity and social contagion

When one person gains a bit of weight the people closest to them tend to gain weight as well.

The friends around us are what we may view as normal

Socioeconomic influence on obesity

Cost of healthy alternatives often more expensive and unhealthy foods are cheaper and more convenient.

Obstacles to weight loss Genetic influence

50-90% of variation attributable to genetics

Set points for a body are big as well, normal can always shift

Challenges to weight loss

Obese individuals find food more rewarding, dieting reinforces cravings, Stress eating can also be a challenge

Promoting healthy eating and mindful eating

Much of our eating is mindless and when you don’t pay attention to food you often consume a lot more. Pay attention to your food and try to enjoy it

Promoting healthy behaviours using positive behaviour

Promote weight loss maintenance. Use social contagion.

Sugar tax

If we tax sugar the same way we do cigarettes there will be much less consumption of sugar.

Stress

psychological reaction of not feeling like we have the resources needed psychologically

Stress: Primary appraisal

Deciding whether an event is a threat or not, if we decide no then there is no worries but if we say yes then we worry

Stress: Secondary appraisal

Involves determining if you can cope with the threat if you can we are not worried if we cant we do worry

Optimal stress

Each athlete has an individual zone of optimal functioning.

How athletes may need stress to perform well.

Physiology of stress

Fight or flight response and hypothalamus pituitary Adrenal (HPA)

Stress fires from the brain to the adrenal gland then releasing epinephrine and norepinephrine. This generates the emergency response

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HPA acts on a different part of the kidney called the adrenal cortex then activats cortisol which suppresses the immune system.

General Adaptation syndrome

Stress changes through 3 stages stage is new and it is tough to cope this is the alarm reaction, stage 2 we are more used to it and we can cope easier, this is the resistance stage. Stage 3 is exhaustion phase and you have a tough time coping due to fatigue

Stress and cognition Trier social stress test (TSST)

Putting people under stress by making people feel judged and evaluated by other people. People are brought into a lab and told to answer questions while concerned scientists look at them. Males tend to have a higher stress response than females.

Stress on the brain

Stress can hurt the brain and when people are under chronic stress the amygdala has increased productivity and our prefrontal cortex and frontal lobe have a hard time increasing activity. people with PTSD have this and, this is why they may freak out. Dendrites also thin out.

Is trauma heritable

Stress experiences on one generation can have an increase on stress on future generations. Enviroment can cause the activation of our genes.

Epigenetic transmission

Decendants of those from the holocost or 9/11 or people with PTSD the child will have a greater risk of stress and mental health problems.

Importance of social relationships

We have a need to belong and hormones of Oxytocin and vasopressin are associated with social behaviours. Can counter cortisol by reducing inflammation

Those with high vasopressin and high oxytocin were in healthier relationships and healed quicker.

Buffers against stress

Psychoneuroimmunology

When your really stressed out you are more likely to get sick.

Stress and cancer

When cancer patients get the diagnoses those who are more pessimistic will die quicker because how bad stress can weigh on your body

Coronary heart disease and stress

Increase of stress may make tissues swell and thinning of arteries

Optimism and pessimism and the nun study

Pessimistic people are found to have increased mortality

In the study some used good words describing their life others used bad this was then used to determine how long they live. Pessimists died first

Coping strategies

Strategy to try and deal with stress

Active coping

We directly deal with our problems

Passive coping strategies

Running away from your problems

Role of positive emotions

if we can engage positive thoughts it can alleviate stress

Neuroticism and coping

Respond with anger, hostility, and guilt

Extraversion and coping

Can seek help from other people

Conscientiousness and coping

Distancing and suppressing emotions to reduce effect of stress

Openness to experience and coping

You are aware you are under stress and able to respond to the emotions

Promoting resilience

Expressive writing therapy can be helpful. journal how we feel. When we experience loss we can grow from it. (Post traumatic growth)

Reducing stress and meditation

Mindfulness and open monitoring, letting your brain wander and see where it goes.

Reducing stress and exersise

Effective tool to reduce stress by making blood flow to the brain and we release a chemical called BDNF a protein in the nervous system promoting survival, growth and formation of new synapse, slows down alzheimers as well.

Diet and the microbiome

90% of serotonin is produced by bacteria in the intestines, so a rich and healthy set of bacteria is ideal.

Perceived control

Resilience is based off of control