social relations

social relations

-prejudice
-agression
-attraction
-altruism

prejudice

unfair and negative attitude toward a group and its members, which involves:
-stereotyped beliefs
-negative feelings
-predisposition to discriminatory action

discrimination

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members

how prejudiced are people?

prejudice involves explicit and implicit negative attitudes

explicit ethnic prejudice

often prejudice decreases, but subtle prejudice lingers
-subtle prejudices can take form of micro aggressions

Keith Pay study

-race prime perceptions
-people viewed a white or black face, immediately followed by a gun or hand tool, which was then followed by a visual mask
misperceive a tool as a gun when it was preceded by a black, rather than white face

implicit racial and ethnic prejudice

prejudice can be automatic and unconscious

gender prejudice and discrimination persist

-fathers are perceived as being more intelligent than mothers
-women have been more likely to live in poverty

anti-gay prejudice still persists

gay and lesbians cannot comfortably be themselves

social roots of prejudice

social inequalities have developed attitudes that justify the status quo.
-just-world phenomenon
-ingroup bias

just world phenomenon

tendency to believe that the world is just and people therefore get what they and deserve what they get
--> victims feed prejudice via the blame-the-victim dynamic

in-group bias

tendency to favor one’s own group
-->people associated themselves with others via. social identities
--> evolution prepared people to identify with a group

emotional roots of prejudice

-scapegoat theory
-research evidence
--> prejudice levels tend to be high among economically frustrated people
--> temporary frustration increases prejudice
-negative emotions feed feelings of prejudice

scapegoat theory

states that prejudice offers an outlet for ager by providing someone to blame

cognitive roots of prejudice: FORMING CATEGORIES

-humans categorize people by race
--> mixed-race people are assigned to their minority identity
--> similarietoesa are overestimated during categorization
-other-race effect

other-race effect

tendency to recall faces of one’s own race more accurately than faces of there races
-called the cross-race effect or own-race bias

biological factors that predispose aggression

-genes influence aggression
-->proved by evidence gathered from animal and twin studies
--> Y chromosome - genetic marker of violence
-biochemical influences affect aggression
-->high testosterone levels in humans are linked with irritability, assertiveness, impulsiveness, and low tolerance for frustration
--> alcohol is associated with aggressive responses to frustration

do guns in the home save or take more lives?

-in the last 40 years in the United States, well over 1 million people - more than all deaths in all wars in American History - have been killed by firearms in non war settings

neural influences that predispose aggression

-neural systems facilitate or inhibit aggression when provoked
-aggression is more likely to occur if the frontal lobes are:
--> damaged
--> have weaker neural connections to other brain areas (e.g. limbic system)
--> immature

aggression: psychological and social-cultural influences

-frustration-aggression principle
-other aversive stimuli that can trigger aggression
--> hot temperatures
--> physical pain or personal insults
--> foul odors, such as cigarette smoke
--> crowding

frustration-aggression principle

frustration creates anger, which can generate aggression

temperature and retaliation

as temperature goes up, number of teammates hit by a ball increases

aggression: reinforcement and modeling

-modeling and rewarding sensitivity and cooperation from an early age fosters more positive behavior
--> parents are required to reinforce desirable behaviors and frame statements positively while dealing with their children.
- different cultures model, reinforce, and evoke different tendencies toward violence.

aggression: media models for violence

-repeatedly viewing on-screen violence tends to:
--> decrease sensitivity to cruelty
--> prime people to respond aggressively when provoked
-->teach individuals social scripts
-research confirms that people sometimes imitate what they have viewed.
-viewing explicit sexual violence is linked to men’s aggression against women

aggression: violent games

-research suggests that video games can:
--> prime aggressive thoughts
--> decrease empathy
--> increase aggression
-some researchers dispute this finding and note other factors that better predict aggression.
--> depression
--> family violence
--> peer influence

ingredients of liking someone

proximity, similarity, physical attractiveness

psychology of attraction: proximity

-geographic nearness
-provides opportunity for aggression, but more often breeds liking due to the mere exposure effect
-familiarity feeds fondness within certain limits

mere exposure effect

phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them
-people tend to develop a preference for something that is more familiar to them than others

mere exposure effect to ourselves

-we like the mirror version of ourselves, while our friends like the reverse

psychology of attraction: modern matchmaking

-30 million people search for love on one of the 1500 online dating cites
-->online matchmaking expands the pool of potential mates
-on average, internet-formed marriages are happier and less prone to separation or divorce...WHAT
--> online dating is responsible for 1/5 of U.S. marriages

modern matchmaking: speed dating

-pushes the search for romance into high gear
-offers a unique opportunity to study influences on first impressions of potential romantic partners
-->people who fear rejection often provoke (stimulate) rejection
--> people make more superficial choices when their are more options
--> men wish for future contact with more of their speed dates, while women tend to be choosier

psychology of attraction: physical attractiveness

-affects first impressions for both sexes
-predicts an individual’s:
--> frequency of dating
--> feelings of popularity
-attractive people are perceived to be healthier happier, more sensitive, more successful, and more socially skilled
-influenced by cultural ideals and personal feelings

psychology of attraction: similarity

-includes shared attitudes, beliefs, and interests
--> also includes age, religion, race, education, intelligence, smoking behavior, and economic status
-reward of attraction theory

reward of attraction theory

--> individuals like those whose behavior is rewarding
--> attractive individuals are aesthetically pleasing, and associating with them can be rewarding
--> people are attracted to individuals that exhibit behaviors that are rewarding to them

what is attractive?

-varies depending on culture and time
-some adult physical features, such as a healthy appearance and symmetrical face, seem attractive everywhere

romantic love: passionate love

-aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of romantic love
--> can be understood by using the two-factor theory of emotion
-adrenaline makes the heart grow fonder
--> sexual desire + growing attachment = the passion of romantic love

two-factor theory of emotion

people label their emotion according to their environment and psychological cues
-->when your heart is racing and your palms are sweating, you need to know why you feel that way

romantic love: companionate love

-deep affection attachment people feel for those with whom their lives are intertwined
-passionate romantic love seldom endures
--> the flood of passion-feeding hormones gives way eventually
-->oxycontin remains and supports feelings of trust, calmness, an bonding
-failure to appreciate the limited life of passionate love can doom a relationship.

ingredients for a loving relationship

equity and self-disclosure

equity

-condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it
-key to a satisfying and enduring relationship

self-disclosure

-act of revealing intimate aspects of one’s life to others
-helps depends intimacy

altruism

-unselfish concern for the welfare of others
--> heroes are moral, courageous, and protective of people in need
-necessary conditions for bystander intervention
--> notice the incident
--> interpret the event as an emergency
--> assume responsibility for helping

decision-making process for bystander intervention

responses to a stimulated emergency

when people thought they alone heard the calls for help from. person they believed to be having a epileptic seizure, they usually helped

bystander effect

-tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid id other bystanders are present

people help others when them person:

-person appears to need and deserve help
-person is in some way similar to one of the bystanders or is a woman
-people have just observed someone else being helpful

people help others when they are:

-not in a hurry
-in a small town or rural area
-feeling guilty
-focused on others and not preoccupied
-in a good mood

norms for helping

socialization norm, reciprocity norm, social-responsibility norm, positive social norms...
-positive social norms encourage generosity and enable group living

socialization norm:

social expectation that prescribes how individuals should behave

reciprocity norm

the expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them

social responsibility norm

the expectation that people will help those dependent on them