social psych exam 2

self-concept

the collection of self-representations one has of oneself

personal identity

aspects of one’s self-concept unique to the individual person

relational identity

aspects of one’s self-concept rooted in one’s roles vis-a-vie other people (eg sibling)

social identity

aspects of one’s self-concept connected to group memberships or social categories

* race/ethnicity, culture, religion, sexual orientation
* our sense of who we are is tied to membership in certain groups

working self-concept

the aspects of the self-concept brought to mind by the situation or by personal needs

myths of intergroup dynamics and diversity

* “we don’t need to think about what makes us different to promote diversity”
* “everyone experiences school/work settings in the same way”
* “if problems arise, we personally cannot do much about them, bc they are too systematic or alternatively, are mostly excused by a few biased people (who could be changed through specialized training)”
* there’s just a few bad apples

white identity management (study) two psychological threats

1. possibility that accomplishments in life are not fully earned (meritocratic threat)
2. association with a group that benefits from an unfair social advantages

common identity-management strategies

deny - the existence of privilege

distance - their own self concept from ‘white’ identity

dismantle - strive to tear down systems of privilege

shifting context and self categorization (study) take home

context shifts how we define ourselves (self-categorization) and (as a result) ‘who’ constitutes the ‘we’ in different situations

* your identity is not static, but dynamic and responsive to context

identity protection

view identity in a positive light

* same self-motive…extended to groups we belong to

distinctiveness

distinguish their identity as unique and distinct from other identities or groups

* response to homogenizing identity - eg nationality, sports teams
* even in homogenous places, groups will emerge and seek distinctiveness

continuity

need to feel a sense of connection between one’s past, present, and future identities

* desire for a coherent narrative story line about one’s identity

meaning

need to find significance or purpose (often via or involving identity)

how does identity operate?

identity construction and enactment of motives

identity construction

\-there is no one definition of one specific identity

entrepeneurs of identity

seek to define the meaning of identity, who belongs (and doesn’t) and what the group wants (and does not want) to achieve

* identity definition often shapes how motives

identity based-motivation (study)

1. people engage in behaviors based on perceptions of what ‘we’ do
2. shifts in understanding of identity-definition can be associated with both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ behaviors


1. most groups have exemplars of both good and bad behaviors (if you think in diverse ways)

within places…

behavior is rooted in the geography of groups and intergroup relations -- there will be groups you belong to and don’t

in-group

a social group which an individual perceives themselves as belonging (“us”)

out-group

a social group to which an individual does not perceive themselves as belonging to (“them”)

independent or individualistic cultures

more likely to place importance on distinguishing self vs others (compared to in vs out group) and strive for independenceinte

interdependent/collectivist cultures

more likely to place importance on distinguishing in-group vs out-groups (compared to self vs others) and strive for interconnectedness to meet needs of the in-group

group identification and behavior

low and high identified group members will differentially respond to group-based events, such that those with high identification will be more responsive to group-based eventsgrou

group identification

not all group members respond in the same way!

in-group favoritism

the psychological tendency to have positive predispositions, favor, and preference one’s in-group over out-groups

* “the way i see the world is more valuable and is the best”

in group vs out group

individuals report greater trust for in-groups vs out-groups and greater anxiety, fear, and anger toward out-group

motivated empathy (study)

empathy is a motivated phenomenon in which observers are drive to either experience or avoid empathy

factors increasing motivation to experience empathy

1. affiliation (with targets)
2. social desirability (approval of others)

factors that decrease motivation to experience empathy

1. cost (time/financial/social)
2. interference with competition (sports, war, business)

group membership pro israeli & pro palestine (study) evaluate news coverage findings

1. people tend to view news as biased in favor of the other side
2. people attend to and remember different information as function of group membership
3. people believe coverage will ‘sway’ undecideds to the other side

naive realism

the belief that our perspective of the way things are is the way the world truly is (objective reality)

conflict-supporting mindset

1. negative beliefs about characteristics of the out-group


1. eg “they are all the same”
2. negative emotions toward out-group


1. eg “i hate them”
3. excluding out-group from moral concern


1. differential reponse for in=group and out-group

realistic conflict-theory

competition between groups over scarce resources increases stereotyping, conflict, and aggression between groups

common in-group identity model

to the extent that members of different groups conceieve of themselves as wholly or partially a part of an inclusive group, relations will be approved

superordinate goals - goals of situation

goals that transcend interests of groups

oppositional goals - goals of situation

goals that pit interests of groups against one another

zero sum framing (competition framing)

if one party gains, the other party loses

positive sum framing (competition framing)

if one party gains, all parties are better off

IDEOLGICAL CONFLICT HYPOTHESIS (study)

both liberals and conservatives show an intolerance of those whose values and beliefs are inconsistent with their own

* ideas, values, policies that conflict w worldview are worldview conflicting
* demonstrate explicit prejudice toward the other side
* findings are more pronounced for those w higher identification

notes on political polarization

local news is disappearing

public support for election and democratic principles is decreasing

individuals on both sides place partisanship over democratic principles

ingroup favoritism

the tendency to respond more positively to people from our ingroups than we do to people from outgroups

group-serving bias (ultimate attribution error)

people make trait attributions in ways that benefit their ingroups, just as they make trait attributions that benefit themselves

feelings of social identity

the positive self esteem that we get from our group memberships

black sheep effect

the strong devaluation of ingroup members who threaten the positive image and identity of the ingroup

social dilemmas

occur when the members of a group, culture, or society are in potential conflict over the creation and use of shared public goods

public goods

benefits that are shared by a community at large and that everyone in the group has access to, regardless of whether or not they have personally contributed to the creation of the goods

harvesting dilemma

when a social dilemma leads people to overuse an existing public good

* commons dilemma w central located pasture and becomes overgrazed, pasture dies, commons was destroyed

contributions dilemma

when the short term costs of a behavior lead individuals to avoid performing it, and this may prevent the long-term benefits that would have ocurred if the behaviors had been performed

* encourage people to free ride, relying on other group members to contribute for them

prisoner’s dilemma game

labratory simulation that model a social dilemma in which the goals of the individual compete with the goals of another individual (or sometimes with a group of other individuals)

* each prisoner has make either cooperative choice (which is not to confess) or the competitive choice (which is to confess)
* incentive is payoff matrix

dual concern model of cooperation and competition

suggests individuals will relate to social dilemmas, or other forms of conflict, in different ways, depending on their underlying personal orientations or as influenced by the characteristics of the situation that orient them toward a given concern

= contending, inactive and yielding in orientation

contending orientation

individuals focused primarily on their own outcomes but who do not care about the goals of others

yielding orientation

focused primarily on the others’ outcomes and more likely to make cooperative choices

inactive orientation

individuals who are not concerned about the interests of either the self or others

psychology of bias (study)

* social categorization (automatic; associated with essentialsim)
* ppl embedded within these categories (group competition and conflict emerges within everyday life)
* segregation (lack of contact narrows experiences and reinforces stereotypes)
* hierarchy, power, media
* bias favors groups as a function of race/ethn, gender and class
* bias is enacted in policies to favor those alr in power
* narrow rep of minority groups

hate crimes

a unique form of aggression that includes the intent to harm, but also serves symbolic and instrumental functions for perpetrators

* symbolic - a message is sent to community, neighborhood, or group
* instrumental - affect the action of perpetrator and victim group

what are explanations and expressions of bias

among extremists (hate crimes)

factors associated with hate crimes

* actual or imagined economic competition with minority groups
* frustration with minority groups
* membership in organized hate groups
* right-wing authoritarian personality
* submission to authority figures, high aggression, conformity
* gender (male) + age (18-24)

white supremacy characteristics

* implicit or explicit feeling of white superiority
* entitlement
* nostalgia for past
* whites had unchallenged access/implementation of power and dominance
* perceived threat to White Identity
* white victimhood

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process of implicit bias

1. categorization of an individual target is automatic


1. people are quick to categorize -- often w/in millisec
2. once categorized, implicit associations are activated


1. societal associations or stereotypes (all people; remember IAT)
2. individual-differences - ppl can also have stronger or weaker implicit assoc
3. activation is dependent on situational/contextual cues


1. particular situations are more or less likely to elicit implicit stereotypes

factors that explain bias

* identity consolidation - defining ‘us’ by not being ‘them’
* dealing with personal grievance(s)
* provides existential certainty (eg worldview threat)
* enhances personal or group self-image

what are explanations and expression of bias for low-prejudiced people

a ‘managing bias’ framework

devine’s two step model of stereotype processing: high prejudice person

stereotype activated → person’s belief matches stereotype = bias occurs

devine’s two step model of stereotype processing: low prejudice-person

stereotype activated → person’s belief does not match stereotype = if resources are available, bias does not occur

internal motivation to respond without prejudice

people primarily motivated to respond without prejudice for personal reasons

external motivation to respond without prejudice

people primarily motivated by how they may appear in the eyes of others within a given situation

aversive racism (for low prejudiced white ppl)

aversive racists have a conflict between FEELINGS AND BELIEFS ASSOCIATED WITH EGALITARIAN VALUES and NEGATIVE FEELINGS ABOUT BLACK PPL, which are often unacknowledged

theory of aversive racism (for low prejudiced white ppl)

* when norms are clear, aversive racists act on the egalitarian beliefs (unbiased)
* when norms for appropriate behavior are UNCLEAR, they act based on discomfort (biased)

white participants asked to evaluate black and white applicants (study) IV

qualifications of the applicants

* qualified BW applicants
* nonqualified BW applicants
* ambig qualifications BW apps

white participants asked to evaluate black and white applicants (study) results

* when qualifications were strong or weak, there was no discrimination against Black applicants
* when quals were ambiguous (norms unclear), Black applicants were hired sig less than other applicants

bias expressions of “positive” form -- hostile sexism

explicit antagonistic attitude toward women

bias expressions taking “positive” form -- benevolent sexism

more ‘positive’ paternalistic attitude, but often portrays women as incompetent, weak, on a pedestal for men

VP app resume assessment on FvM and Attractive vs Less (Study) results on suitability for position and hire decisions

males - no differences between Attractive/Less

females - Less hired sig less than all other applicants

objectification

when a person is primarily regarded as a means through which a given goal can be attained by the perceiver

* appearance shapes experience of women when
* women are sexually objectified and reduced to their phys appearance, sexuality, or individual body parts

self-objectification

objectification of women’s bodies causes women to adopt in outsider’s view of themselves, as objects or sights to be appreciated by others

consequences of self-objectification

* increased anxiety, particularly with regard to appearance
* increase body shame
* disrupted cognitive functioning due to diminished mental resources
* restrained eating

expectations and leaderships (study) results apps described themselves as competitive and having strong evidence of their leadership ability

* both men and women were rated as highly competent
* men WERE LIKED more than women
* men were hired more than women

the “backlash” effect

when a woman uses typically ‘masculine’ techniques to advance (eg self-promotion) they are judged more negatively than women who do not use these techniques

men and help seeking (study)

* less likely to recognize and communicate symptoms of depression
* masculine norms de-incentivize help-seeking

pre-occupation with gender roles and traditional family structures (study)

* gender invasion stereotypes
* gay men as feminine and lesbians as masculine
* stereotypes around ability to form “healthy and stable” relationships

hyper focus on sexuality

stereotypes about sexual predator behavior

trans skepticism

* questioning around existence of trans identity
* rooted in perception of ‘deception’ intentions and ‘identity confusion’

gender essentialism

negative attitudes toward those that are gender non-conforming

the racial position model (study(

within US context, racial/ethnic stereotypes are explained by where a group falls along two dimensions (research conducted with diverse samples)

perceived inferiority-superiority

perceived socioeconomic status within hierarchyc

cultural foreignness-Americanness

a group’s perceived distance away from ‘American’ prototype (‘what it means to be American’ - ideals like respect for social political service; shared cultural heritage like Christianity and English speaking)

Racial Position Model: Black Americans

prejudice desribed as rooted in inferiority -- but not in foreignness

Racial Position Model: Asian Americans

prejudice described as having expectation of superiority but still foreign

* model minority” but “not American”

Racial Position Model: Latino/a-Americans

perceived as low status and foreign to “traditional American” way of life

Racial Position Model: Arab Americans

perceived as both low status and “foreign to American way of life”

subordinate male target hypothesis

discrimination experienced by men of subordinate groups -- esp from men of the dominant group -- is greater than that experienced by women of the same subordinate groups in certain contexts

* ex housing discrimination, genocide, criminal justice system

out-group homogeneity

the perception that members of the out-group are more similar to each other than they really are (religion/political orientation, “Latin-x”)

sub-typing

tendency to view stereotype-inconsistent individuals as “exceptions to the rule”

lack of contact, out group homogenity, and subtyping effectively…

NARROW OUR UNDERSTANDING of the large diversity within most groups

descriptive assumptions - what a person can do

create assumptions about the ATTRIBUTES of people and groups

* mere presence of a target group
* do ppl think avg man or woman is better at math?

prescriptive assumptions - where a person is supposed to be

create assumptions about where people and groups should be or what they should be doing

* man belongs in a math classroom more than a woman

the “Glass clif”

women and racial/ethnic minorities are more likely to be hired/placed into risky situations/organizations in crisis, compared to men/Whites

hypothesis-testing search

expectancies (stereotypes) function as hypotheses and people have expectation-confirmation approach to information

* works via selective weighting of info
* selective recall of evidence

shifting standards model (study)

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* stereotypes implicitly or explicitly operate as standards by which people are judged
* standards are SUBJECTIVE and rooted in expectations
* the meaning of attributes differ as a fucntion of membership in stereotypes vs non groups
* what it means to be ‘warm’ is diff for men vs women

self fulfilling prophecy

an originally false social belief of another person (eg expectation or stereotype) that leads the other person to fulfill the originally false belief

3 steps of self fulfilling prophecy

1. perceiver has expectation (eg stereotype/schema)
2. perceiver behaves towards target in a way that is consistent w/ expectation
3. target behaves towards perceiver in a way that is consistent w/ perceiver’s behavior (expectation is confirmed!)