SOC Final fr

Sociology 260 Final

Moral judgment

Judgments about what we consider to be universally right or wrong about human action and character and what is worthy of punishment or reward.

what is the benefit of helping non-kin?

Being able to exchange resources and promote each others survival

Are rural or urban environments more helpful

rural environments

Moral psychology

A young branch of social psychology that focuses on how people actually make moral judgments, which is often guided by feeling.

Social Intuitionist Model of Moral Judgment

The idea that people first have fast, emotional reactions to morally relevant events that in turn influence their process of reasoning toward a judgment of right or wrong.

Trolley dilemma

Participants imagine a runaway trolley headed for five people who will be killed and the only way to save them is to hit a switch that will turn the trolley onto another set of tracks and kill one person.

Moral foundations theory

A theory proposing that there are five evolved, universal moral domains in which specific emotions guide moral judgments.

Care/harm

moral foundations theory, concern for the wellbeing of others

Fairness/reciprocity

moral foundations theory, justice, equality or reciprocity

Ingroup loyalty

moral foundations theory, loyalty to those in your close group

Authority/respect

moral foundations theory, upholding social order and respecting hierarchy

Purity/sanctity

moral foundations theory, free from wrongdoing

Altruism

Prosocial behavior that benefits others without regard to consequences for oneself.

Social reward

A benefit, such as praise, positive attention, something tangible, or gratitude, that may be gained from helping others, thus serving as a motive for altruistic behavior.

Personal distress

A motive for helping others in distress that may arise from a need to reduce one's own distress.

Empathic concern

Identifying with someone in need, including feeling and understanding what that person is experiencing, accompanied by the intention to help the person.

Volunteerism

Assistance a person regularly provides to another person or group with no expectation of compensation.

Bystander intervention

Giving assistance to someone in need on the part of those who have witnessed an emergency; bystander intervention usually decreases as the number of observers increases because each person feels someone else will probably help.

Kitty Genovese

A case in 1964 where Kitty Genovese was murdered in front of her apartment building, and despite several neighbors witnessing the crime, no one intervened to help her.

Diffusion of responsibility

A reduction of the sense of urgency to help someone involved in an emergency or dangerous situation, based on the assumption that others who are present will help.

Victim Characteristics

Some people are more likely to receive help than others; bystanders help victims who scream and make their needs known 75-100 percent of the time, but they help silent victims only 20-40 percent of the time.

Construal Processes and Altruism

The decision to offer help means that the potential helper first has to believe assistance is actually needed, based on clues from the victim's behavior.

Pluralistic ignorance

Occurs when people are unsure about what is happening and assume that nothing is wrong because no one else is responding or appears concerned.

Informational social influence

In ambiguous situations, we look to others to decide how we should act.

Combating Pluralistic Ignorance

Bystanders are less likely to fall prey to pluralistic ignorance when they can clearly see one another's initial expressions of concern.

Improving Chances of Getting Help

Make your need clear—'I've twisted my ankle and I can't walk; I need help.' Select a specific person—'You there, can you help me?'

Altruism in Urban and Rural Settings

People are more likely to receive help in a rural area than an urban area.

Social Class and Donations

Those who have less give more, at least in terms of the proportion of their income they donate to charity.

Nicki Minaj's Philanthropy

Nicki Minaj has an extensive engagement with her philanthropy and has helped pay students' debts and given money to a village in India.

Religion, Ethics, and Altruism

emphasize compassion and treating others even strangers and adversaries with kindness.

Being Primed with Religious Concepts

Being primed with religious concepts leads to greater generosity.

Swayambhunath Temple

The eyes painted at the top of the dome give visitors the feeling they're being watched.

Evolution and Altruism

Evolutionarily, we should behave altruistically toward those who promote the survival and reproduction of ourselves and our genetic relatives.

Kin Selection

An evolutionary strategy that favors the reproductive success of one's genetic relatives, even at a cost to one's own survival and reproduction.

Reciprocity

Helping others with the expectation that they will probably return the favor in the future.

Cooperation

Essential to human functioning; individuals must balance the desire to work together with the desire not to be taken advantage of.

The Prisoner's Dilemma

A situation involving payoffs to two people, who must decide whether to cooperate or defect; trust and cooperation lead to higher joint payoffs than do mistrust and defection.

The Payoff Matrix for the Prisoner's Dilemma

A representation of the outcomes based on the choices made by the participants in the Prisoner's Dilemma.

Situational Determinants of Cooperation

People's construals about others with whom they're interacting are an important determinant of whether people will cooperate.

Reputation

The collective beliefs, evaluations, and impressions people hold about an individual within a social network.

Gossiping

A communicative act in which one person comments on the reputation of another who is not present.

Construal Processes and Cooperation

Evidence from prisoner's dilemma games shows that competitive individuals are more likely to assume others are competitive.

Is Cooperation Contagious?

The theme of how one person's generosity leads to other acts of generosity, as illustrated in the movie Pay It Forward.

Culture and Cooperation (1)

Cultural beliefs can influence rates of cooperation, shaping levels of cooperation or defection.

The Ultimatum Game

A situation where one participant is given a sum of money to allocate between himself and another person, commonly used to test cooperative and altruistic behavior.

Culture and Cooperation (3)

People from cultures requiring high interdependence for survival allocate resources more fairly in an ultimatum game.

tit-for-Tat Strategy

A strategy in the prisoner's dilemma game where the player's first move is cooperative, and thereafter mimics the other person's behavior.

tit-for-Tat Strategy's Five Factors

1. Cooperative and encourages mutually supportive action; 2. Not envious; 3. Not exploitable; 4. Forgiving; 5. Easy to read.

What is a group in social psychology?

A collection of individuals who have relations to one another that make them interdependent to some significant degree.

precarious manhood

based on a masculine identity, must be continually earned

what do evolutionary psychologists believe about aggression?

it gave us advantages for survival

how does the presence of weapons effect aggression

causes “weapons effect”, more likely to use violence when weapon is in the room

What are the benefits of green spaces?

They reduce aggression and promote feelings of calmness

What is social facilitation?

The effect, positive or negative, of the presence of others on performance.

Who conducted the first social psychology experiment on social facilitation?

Triplett in 1898.

What did Triplett observe about cyclists?

Cyclists recorded faster times when competing against others than when racing alone.

What conclusion did Triplett reach from his experiments with children reeling in fishing lines?

The presence of others facilitates performance.

What is Zajonc's theory of mere presence?

The presence of others increases arousal, which increases an individual's dominant responses.

What is a dominant response?

The response a person is most likely to make in any context, often correct for easy tasks and incorrect for difficult tasks.

How does the presence of others affect performance on easy versus difficult tasks?

It can facilitate performance on easy tasks but may impair performance on difficult tasks.

What did Zajonc et al. find in their study with cockroaches?

Cockroaches ran faster through a simple maze but slower through a complex maze in the presence of other roaches.

What is evaluation apprehension?

People's concern about how they might appear to others or be evaluated by them.

What effect does an evaluative audience have on dominant responses?

Participants made more dominant responses in front of an evaluative audience than when alone or in front of a non-evaluative audience.

What is social loafing?

The tendency to exert less effort when working on a group task in which individual contributions cannot be monitored.

What assumption is often made about group decision making?

That decisions made by groups are typically better than those made by individuals.

What is groupthink?

Faulty thinking by members of highly cohesive groups where social pressures to reach consensus subvert critical scrutiny.

What are some historic examples of groupthink?

The Bay of Pigs invasion, the Vietnam War troop increase, and the Pearl Harbor attack.

What is self-censorship in the context of groupthink?

Withholding information or opinions in group discussions.

What is a danger of group decision-making?

Group decisions may become more extreme due to discussions encouraging favorable views of extreme viewpoints.

How can group leaders prevent groupthink?

By refraining from making their opinions known at first.

What is one method to prevent groupthink?

Group leaders should refrain from making their opinions known at first.

How can group leaders encourage individual expression during discussions?

By discussing important decisions with each member individually.

What is group polarization?

The tendency for group decisions to be more extreme than those made by individuals.

What does the 'Persuasive Arguments' account suggest?

Exposure to additional arguments in favor of one's preexisting opinion strengthens that opinion.

What is the 'Social Comparison' interpretation in group dynamics?

Individuals compare themselves to others and may take more extreme positions to differentiate themselves.

What is power in the context of social dynamics?

The ability to control one's own outcomes and those of others; it is relational.

What is social hierarchy?

An arrangement of individuals within a group in terms of their relative power.

What factors contribute to someone becoming a leader in a social hierarchy?

Leadership is based on expertise, social skills, and the ability to provide rewards to the group.

What is status in relation to power?

The outcome of an evaluation of attributes that produces differences in respect and prominence.

What does the approach/inhibition theory suggest about high-power individuals?

They are inclined to pursue their goals and make quick judgments.

How does power influence behavior according to the approach/inhibition theory?

Power makes people behave in less constrained and sometimes more inappropriate ways.

What is deindividuation?

A reduced sense of individual identity accompanied by diminished self-regulation in a group.

What psychological state does deindividuation promote?

Impulsive and often destructive behaviors observed in mobs.

What historic examples illustrate deindividuation?

Lynch mobs, riots, and military atrocities.

What was the purpose of the Halloween study conducted in Seattle in 1976?

To observe the effects of anonymity on children's behavior regarding candy taking.

What is individuation?

An enhanced sense of individual identity that leads people to act carefully and in accordance with their values.

What does self-awareness theory maintain?

Focusing attention inward leads to self-evaluation and concern for how behavior conforms to internal standards.

What is the spotlight effect?

The belief that others are paying more attention to us than they actually are.

Social dominance theory

A theory about the hierarchical nature of societies, how they remain stable, and how more powerful or privileged groups in a society maintain their advantage.

Individuals and discrimination

Actions taken by individuals in dominant groups to preserve their advantage and to keep those in subordinate groups 'in their place.'

Institutional discrimination

Laws and norms that preserve the hierarchy in society.

Behavioral asymmetries

The showing of deference to members of dominant groups but not to subordinate groups, along with self-fulfilling prophecies that undermine the achievements of subordinate group members.

Social dominance orientation

A personality trait that corresponds to a person's support for socioeconomic hierarchy and the belief that different groups should occupy higher and lower positions in society.

Beliefs in meritocracy

The belief that success is based on individual merit, which makes it easier to accept societal inequalities.

Just world hypothesis

The belief that people get what they deserve in life and deserve what they get.

Dehumanization

The attribution of nonhuman characteristics and denial of human qualities to groups, generally to groups other than one's own.

Anthropomorphism

The attribution of human traits, feelings, and intentions to nonhuman entities.

Stereotype content model

A model that describes the nature of common group stereotypes, positing that they vary along the two prominent dimensions of warmth and competence.

Stereotypes of the Rich and Poor

Wealthy people are generally viewed as more competent but less warm than those who are poor and working class.

Prejudice and discrimination

Can take the form of acts of commission, where individuals engage in actions that disadvantage or harm members of certain groups.