psych final 1002

how do social roles influence behaviour

we change our behaviours to meet the expectations of various social roles

what is the stanford prison study

an example of how social roles influence behaviour - some students pretended to be prisoners and some other were guards - guards were instructed to be tough which biased their behaviour

what are social norms

patterns of behaviours accepted as normal - individuals are expected to conform to norms. can be explicit or implicit.

what is pluralistic ignorance

a beleif that an individual’s attitude and behaviour are different from others, even though it may be identical. leading to a misperception of social norms, and norm is secretly being rejected

why is it hard to get students to ask questions

Students may fear judgment or embarrassment, believing they are the only ones who don't understand when everyone could be confused. example of pluralistic ignorance

what is conformity

adjustment of behaviours, attitudes and beliefs to a group standard or norm. (Sherif dot study)

what is asch paradigm

used to create social pressure, observes conformity in judging line sizes

what are the results of the Asch paradisgm

control condition: no pressure to conform less than 1% gave wrong answer
experimental condition: gave clear wrong answer - 32%

what are factors that influence conformity

• unanimity: increases conformity.

• presence of a dissenter, at least 1, reduces conformity

• group size: conformity increases with group size

• gender: no differences in conformity

• age: conformity decreases with age

what is informative social influence

tendency to conform because we believe others possess more accurate information, especially in ambiguous or uncertain situations. - leads to private conformity (go with the norm because we feel its right)

what are the consequences of conformity

• informative social influence (social proof)

• normative social inflience

what is normative social influence

Conforming to a group to gain acceptance or avoid rejection (peer pressure). occurs when meeting new people and can lead to public conformity (go with the norm even if you disagree with it)

how do we resist conformity

• culture

• the presence of a dissenter/social support (finding and ally)

• minority influence (small number of people can change a group attidute)

• motivation (deep beleif that large scale socialtale changes is necessary)

what is a dissenter

someone who disagrees with commonly held opinions or beliefs

how do others intentionally influence behaviour

through compliance - getting someone to do what you want via direct request

who studied obediance

Stanley Milgram - wanted to know if nazi soldiers were just following orders or if we should call them accomplices.

what is obedience

following orders (compliance) from an authority figure

what is the Milgram paradigm

An authoritative figure (experimenter) would supervise the study while the teacher (participant) would administer shocks whenever mistakes were made to the learner (actor) who pretended to receive shocks and made mistakes on purpose. the teacher (participant) didn’t know this - studied obedience

what are the results of the Milgram paradigm

65% obeyed to highest shock value - no gender differences

what factors influence obedience

• remoteness to victim: obedience increased with greater distance between teacher and learner - due to decreased feeling of personal responsibility

• remoteness to authority figure: obedience decreased with greater distance between teacher and experimenter - feeling of no longer doing someone’s dirty work

• Legitimacy of authority figure: when experimenter was perceived as more legitimate (wearing lab coat) obedience increased

what dictate how we behave across situations

social role and norms

what are the different parts of social psychology

• person perception

• attribution processes

• interpersonal attraction

• attidutes

what is person perception

forming impressions of others through:

• physical appearance

• cognitive schemas: Mental frameworks that shape how we interpret social information.

• stereotypes:

• discrimination

• evolutionary perspective

• subjectivity in person perception: Our biases and expectations affect how we see others

how is behaviour explained

Through attributions, which can often be influenced by biases:

• Fundamental Attribution Error: overestimate internal factors (like personality or intent) and underestimate external factors when explaining others’ behaviour.

• Defensive Attribution: blame others for their misfortunes to maintain a sense of control and protect ourselves from the fear that the same thing could happen to us.

• Self-Serving Bias:
  When explaining our own behaviour:
  – We credit internal factors (like effort or intelligence) for our success.
  – We blame external factors (like luck or unfair circumstances) for our failures.

what are attributions

• internal: within the person (personality, abilities, effort, emotions).“She got an A on the test because she’s really smart and studies hard.”

• external: outside the person (environment, luck, other people) “She got an A because the test was easy.”

what are key factors in attraction

• physical attractiveness

• matching hypothesis

• similarity

• reciprocity

• romantic ideals

what are 3 theories on love

• Hatfield - passionate vs companionate love

• Sternberg - intimacy and commitment

• Hazan and Shaver: love as attachment

what are factors that affect close relationships

• culture: marrying for love vs marriying for other reasons

• internet

• evolutionary perspective

• mating priorities

according to Hazan and Shaver how is attachement developed

• if the parent’s caregiving style is warm and responsive, the infant will have a secure attachment and will be secure in relationships

• if the parent’s caregiving style is cold and rejective, the infant will have an avoidant attachment and will be avoidant in relationships

• if the parent’s caregiving style is ambivalent and inconsistent, the infant will have an anxious attachment and will be anxious in relationships

what are the 3 components of attidutes

1. cognitive (thinking),

2. affective (emotional)

3. behavioural

what are the types of attitudes

• explicit : attitudes we hold consciously and can easily describe

• implicit: attitudes are covert and expressed in a subtle automatic response

what is the persausion process

1. who (the source): credibility, likability, attractiveness

2. what (the message): 1 sided vs 2 sided argument, repetition, fear appeal vs logic

3. by what (the channel): in person, on tv…

4. to whom (the receiver)

theories of attitude formation and change

• learning theory: attitudes are learned from the environment (media, parents, school)

• dissonance theory: balance between how we think/feel and behaviour - if they don’t match, we experience dissonance (something needs to change)

• self-perception theory: Bem’s model - people develop their attitudes by observing their own behavior and inferring what they must believe based on their actions.

• elaboration likelihood model:Explains how people are persuaded through two distinct routes: central and Peripheral

what are the two routes of the elaboration likelihood model?

• Central Route: Deep, logical processing based on argument quality

• Peripheral Route: Superficial processing based on external cues like aesthetics or credibility

what is the Festinger study

• studied dissonance

• Participants were randomly assigned to a control group (paid $20) or an experimental group (paid $1). Both groups completed a mundane, boring task. Afterwards, they were sent to a waiting room where they were asked to lie to other participants, telling them the task was fun.

• Later, participants rated the task. The control group (who received $20) did not lie and rated the task as boring. The experimental group (who received only $1) had lied earlier and later rated the task as more enjoyable.

what is Bem’s model

• studied self-perception theory

• traditional view: attitude (I don’t like liberals) determines behaviour(therefore, I only vote for conservatives)

• Bem’s behaviour: behaviour (now that I think about it, I only vote for conservatives) determines attitude (therefore, i must don’t like liberals)

define prejudice, steryotype and discrimination

• prejudice: a negative attitude towards a group of people

• stereotypes: a general belief about a group of people

• Discrimination: negative behaviours directed at a specific group of people

how do stereotypes differ from prejudice

stereotypes can have positive or negative connotations. if negative it runs the risk of become a prejudice and leading to discrimination

is prejudice on the decline today

attitudes have clearly changed with time but many forms of prejudice still exist but in more subtle forms

what is a more subtle form that prejudice exist

Aversive racism: people openly endorse egalitarian views but still discriminate in subtle ways (avoiding interactions with those of other racial groups)

what are the 2 types of racism

• old fashioned racism: overt prejudice and discrimination, involving oppressive acts and feelings

• modern racism: covert, subtle feelings, includes the belief that racism no longer exists.

what are the 2 types of sexism

• old fashioned sexism: overt sexism based on the belief that women are less competent; promoting traditional gender roles and different treatment of men and women

• modern sexism: more covert and subtle, typified by resisted policies that support women - denial that sexism still exists

what is the implicit association test (IAT)

• A psychological test that measures unconscious biases by analyzing reaction times when pairing concepts.

  • Faster reactions suggest stronger implicit associations.

  • Slower reactions occur when pairings don't align with stereotypes.

what are some criticisms of the IAT

• The meaning of scores is somewhat arbitrary (how do you establish the cut-off where someone is/isn’t racist)

• reliability: results can be quite variable from one testing to the next

• validity: weak relationship to real-world behaviours

what are sources of stereotyping and prejudice

• Social learning: We learn attitudes from people around us — mostly parents and peers.

• Cognitive sources:
  – We put people into categories (race, gender, age…).
  – We think “they’re all the same” (outgroup homogeneity).

• Ingroup favouritism: We like “us” more than “them,” which can lead to unfair treatment.

• Motivational factors: When groups compete for resources, we favour our group and may discriminate against others.

what is relative deprivation

feelings of resentment stemming from the belief that one is deprived of a deserved outcome in comparison to others

define threats to personal deservingness

Feeling unhappy because we believe those in an out-group will fare better than us. Example: affirmative action

what are the consequences of stereotyping

• Shapes how we see others

• Impacts our actions and those of the stereotyped group

• Confirmation bias: we remember info that supports stereotypes

• Self-fulfilling prophecy: a belief that makes itself true, leading to positive or negative actions

define stereotype threats:

the risk of confirming a negative stereotype about oneself - similar to the self-fufilling prophecy. “when we are aware of stereotypes we might live down to them”

how can we combat stereotyping and prejudice

• contact hypothesis: increased communication between groups reduces discrimination. equal contact is essential

• group interdependence: 4 conditions to decrease prejudice - equal status, common goals, intergroup cooperation, and authority support

what 4 conditions did Gordon Allport propose to decrease prejudice

1. equal status

2. support between both groups

3. intergroup cooperation

4. common goals for both groups

what is the jigsaw classroom

• studied group interdependence

  1. Individuals are divided into small groups of 5-6

  2. each member is given individual tasks

  3. individuals with the same task work together to become experts

  4. small groups come back together to share areas of expertise and then do the same with the larger group

• leads to decrease in negativity and foster cooperation

what type of function are stereotypes

a function of automatic processing - sometimes we’re not conciously aware of negative attitudes and stereotypes

what defines a group

• 2+ people who are seen as a unit and interact with one another (can be ppl who dont know each other, share a common feature…)

• most groups have common goals

what is cohesion

The extent to which members of a group are connected. Shared intimacy, history or background increases cohesion.

how does a group influence individual behaviour

• social facilitation: enhanced performance when around others (familiar or simple tasks)

• social inhibition: hindered performance by the presence of others (unfamiliar or difficult tasks)

what is social loafing

being in a group can cause a decrease in effort - each individuals exert less effort than if working individually

how to reduce social loafing

the beleif that individual effort will be noted increases each group member’s commitment

what is deindividuation

to let go of self-awareness and restraints and go along with the group - cause by a sense of anonymity with group - leads to dangerous behaviour

what 3 factors contribute to deindividuation

1. arousal

2. anonymity

3. reduced feelings of responsibility

How does a group make a decision

• will take greater risk as a group than individually

• related to social loafing as responsibility is spread out

• risk-taking is related to social status in a group

what is group polarization

an attitude/beleif can become magnified within a group after being discussed among group members - adopt more extreme positions

what is social comparison

Adjusting our own attitudes to get a favourable standing within a group
There are two types:

• Upward comparison: comparing ourselves to those we perceive as better — can be motivating or discouraging.

• Downward comparison: comparing to those worse off — often used to boost self-esteem.

what is groupthink

the practice of thinking or making decisions as a group in a way that discourages creativity or individual responsibility.

what are some solutions to groupthink

• remain open to criticism

• work with diverse people

• include members outside of the group

• train members in group decision making

how has the trend stress-related chronic deseases deaths evolved throughout time

The death rates of stress-related chronic diseases (heart diseases, cancer, stroke) have remained quite high and increasing throughout the 1900s to 2000s, while the death rates of contagious diseases decreased.

what is the bioosychosocial model

Model in psychology that states that there isn’t a single cause to a phenomena but a combination of biological (physical, genetic…) , psychological (internal state) and social (environmental) causes

what is health psychology

new branch of psychology that is interested in the link between psychological state and physical health

what is a stressor

anything that threatens or is beleived to be threatening our wellbeing

what are appraisals

stress lies in the eye of the beholder - stress is subjective

what are the 2 types of cognitive appraisals

• primary: perceiving an event to be stressful

• secondary: coping mechanisms in place to deal with stressor

what are the 2 types of stress

1. acute: single instance trauma

2. chronic: constant daily stressor

what are the 4 major sources of stress

1. frustration (blocked goal)

2. conflict ( 2+ incompatible motivations)

3. change (having to adapt)

4. pressure (expectations to behave a certain way)

what are the types of conflict

• approach - approach: 2 choices are positive

• avoidance-avoidance: 2 unwelcomed. negative choices

• approach-avoidance: only one goal under consideration, but it has positive and negative aspects

is stress always negative

no stressors can also be positive

how do we process stress

1. an objective stressful event (major exam) leads to:

2. subjective cognitive appraisal (perception of stressor) which to 3 responses:

   1. emotional response: annoyance, anxiety, grief

   2. physiological response: autonic arousal, hormonal flunctuations,…

   3. behaviour response: coping efforts, solving problems…

what is the inverted u hypothesis

• suggests that there's an optimal level of arousal or stress for different types of tasks:

• Simple tasks: High arousal (stress) can lead to better performance.

• Moderate tasks: Moderate arousal (stress) can lead to better performance.

• Complex tasks: Low arousal (stress) tends to lead to better performance.

what is the physiological response to stress

• fight or flight response: in the face of stress, our body prepares to flee or fight

• selye’s general adaptation syndrome: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion

what part of the brain does stress arouse

hypothalamus which activate pituitary gland to secrete stress hormone - cortisol

what is selye’s general adaptation syndrome

• the body goes through stages when posed with stress:

• alarm: when all physiological reactions go through a sharp change

• resistance: if stress doesn’t go away, organism stays at a significant change from baseline

• exhaustion: if stress stays for an extended period of time, the body depletes - no resources to fight stress

what are behavioural responses to stress

• learned helplessness: giving up

• blaming others or releasing the stress (catharsis)

• indulge oneself (using drugs, alcohol) as a defence mechanism

how does stress impact psychological function

• impaired task performance

• leads to burnout (physical and psychologically)

• PTSD

• psychological disorders

• change psychological state in a positive way (motivation, bring people together)

what are the effects of stress on health

• psychosomatic diseases: health issues isn’t caused by biological state and instead by psychological state

• heart diseases: type A behaviour and depression

• reduce immune activity

What are the elements of type A behaviour that lead to heart diseases

• competitiveness

• impatience and time urgency

• anger and hostility

how can we reduce stress

• social support:

• optimism: more adaptive coping, pessimistic explanatory style

• conscientiousness: fostering better health

• autonomic reactivity: cardiovascular reactivity to stress

what are health impairing behaviours caused by stress

• smoking

• poor nutrition

• lack of exercise

• alcohol and drug use

• risky sexual behaviour

what is Albert Ellis’s A-B-C model of emotional reaction

• Activating event: situation or event that triggers a reaction. 

• Beleif system: thoughts, interpretations, and attitudes we have about the activating event. can be rational or irrational

• consequence: emotional turmoil (irrational) or emotional calm (rational)

what is the number 1 cause of disability in canada

mental illness

how many people in Canada are diagnosed with a mental illness

1 in 5

define epidemiology, prevalence, diagnosis and prognosis

• epidemiology: distribution of all mental illnesses in a population, in percent

• prevalence: percentage of the population with a very specific disorder

• diagnosis: system of classification and symptoms by which we use to diagnose

• prognosis: the predicted or expected course and outcome of a disease

what was a common treatment for mental illness in the middle ages

exorcism; believed abnormal behaviour was a result of evil forces and possession

what was the main psychotic symptom of the early 1800s

general paralysis of the insane

what was the main theory of mental illness in the late 1800s

it was caused by syphilis

what was a big advancement of mental illness in the 1700s

government began to house troubled individuals in asylums

what is the medical model

views mental illness as the result of biological or physiological problems and requires medical treatment - became dominant in the 20th century

when was the first psychiatric drugs developped

20th century - 1900s

what are some psychological perspectives of mental illnesses

• psychoanalytic: disharmony among id, ego and superego

• behavioural: maladaptive learned responses

• cognitive: maladaptive thought process

• humanistic: incongruent self-concept

• biological: genetic

what are some myths of mental illness

• dangerous

• abnormal behaviours

• incurable

what are the 3 Ds of abnormality

• deviance: thoughts, behaviours and emotions that violate social norms

• distressing: causes distress to the individual or others around him

• Dysfunctional: maladaptive thoughts, behaviours and emotions that impair an individual’s ability to perform daily tasks

what is the tool used to diagnose mental illness

DSM-5 - provides a list of symptoms and a decision rule on how many symptoms must be present for a diagnosis. establishes prevalance