ch 13 - social psychology

social psychology

study of causes and consequences of sociality

• how humans solve survival/reproduction problems

• social processes (understanding/predicting/influencing behaviours)

aggression (def & types)

purpose = to harm another ; used to achieve goals by animals

• proactive aggression: planned, purposeful

• reactive aggression: spontaneous response to negative affective state

frustration-aggression hypothesis

all animals aggress when goals are frustrated (all aggression is caused by frustration)

best predictor of kind of aggression employed

gender

hormone associated with aggression

testosterone (higher in males, esp younger males, than females)

how does women’s aggression differ from men’s?

• different motivation

• different execution: women’s can be more proactive, verbal, social/relational aggression

explain the “I Spy Threat” study

subjects given testosterone needed to see a more threatening expression before they could recognize it as such - can be harmful as it lets situations escalate to higher aggression before resolving

[…] provokes an aggressive response - males with unusually […] are most prone

[challenging beliefs about personal status/dominance] [males with unusually high self-esteem]

does aggression vary across geographic location? [yes / no]

• provide an example

yes - southern vs northern men (southern display higher aggression if they feel their status is challenged)

cooperation

behaviour by 2 or more individuals leading to mutual benefit

_____ is more key than cooperation

trustworthiness

explain the prisoner’s dilemma game using the following scenario:

• police ask you to sign a document indicating that your partner is guilty

the prisoner’s dilemma game illustrates the […]

[risk of cooperation]

group (def)

collection of people with something in common distinguishing them from others

prejudice

positive/negative evaluation of another person based on group membership

prejudice vs discrimination

prejudice = evaluation

discrimination = action

in-group favouritism / bias (def)

tendency to treat someone better if they are a member of one’s own group

4 factors that hinder group decision making

1. not capitalizing on expertise of members

2. common knowledge effect

3. group polarization

4. groupthink

common knowledge effect

tendency for group discussion to focus on info that members share

group polarization

tendency for groups to make more extreme decisions than individual members would’ve made by themselves

groupthink

tendency for groups to reach consensus to facilitate interpersonal harmony

deindividuation

group immersion causes others to become less aware of their individual values

• ex/ sports rioting

diffusion of responsibility

• social loafing

• bystander effect

individuals feeling diminished responsibility for their actions when surrounded by others who act the same way

• social loafing: expending less effort when in a group that alone

• bystander effect: people being less likely to help a stranger in an emergency situation when other bystanders are present

altruism

intentional behaviour benefitting another at a potential cost to oneself

• unselfish concern for others, driven by genuity and empathy

kin selection

individuals cooperating with their relatives

• not true altruism b/c it’s related to helping your own bloodline

reciprocal altruism

helping someone with the expectation that those benefits will be returned in the future

[women / men] are more selective of sexual partners

• why?

[women]

• promiscuity reputation in culture

• emotional investment?

attraction (def)

feeling of preference to another caused by situational, physical, and psychological factors

situational factors of attraction

1. those in close proximity - mere exposure effect

2. misinterpreting physiological arousal with attraction

mere exposure effect

tendency for liking increases with frequency of exposure

physical factors of attraction

1. body shape

2. symmetry

3. age

specifics determined by culture

psychological factors of attraction

preference for mates who are psychologically similar to us (internal and external qualities)

homophily

tendency to like people who are similar to ourselves

differences between human and nonhuman animal relationships

nonhuman

• majority relationships only last 10 sec after mating

• some last through breeding season

• few endure for years

human

• newborns need relationships to survive

2 basic kinds of love

1. passionate love

2. companionate love

passionate love

experience involving euphoria, intimacy, intense sexual attraction

companionate love

involves affection, trust, concern for partner’s well-being

label which trajectory is passionate vs compassionate

interdependence theory (& 2 things it depends on)

people remain in relationships if they perceive a good cost-benefit ratio based on:

• comparison level for alternatives

• investment

social cognition

processes by which people come to understand others

category-based vs target-based inferences

• category-based: based on info about categories a person belongs

• target-based: based on information about an individual’s behaviour (do/say)

stereotyping (def)

drawing inferences about individuals based on their category membership

behavioural confirmation / self-fulfilling prophecy

tendency for people to behave as they are expected to behave

perceptual confirmation

observers perceiving what they expect to perceive

subtyping

tendency for people faced with disconfirming evidence to modify their stereotypes rather than abandon them

most vs least effective specialized training against bias

most: exposure of stereotype-defying individuals

least: encouraging people to feel compassion for / take the alternate perspective of

attribution

inference about the cause of a person’s behaviour

dispositional vs situational attributions

dispositional: attribute internal disposition as cause

situational: attribute external situation as cause

covariation model

claims we rely on consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus when making inferences about attributions

fundamental attribution error

making a dispositional attribution when we should instead make a situational attribution

• situational attributions are more difficult to make

fundamental attribution error strength

stronger in some circumstances or cultures

actor-observer effect

making situational attributions for our behaviours while making dispositional attributions for identical behaviours of others

3 basic motivations of social influence (list + defs)

1. hedonic motive: motive to experience pleasure, avoid pain

2. approval motive: motive to be accepted, avoid rejection

3. accuracy motive: motive to believe what is right, avoid believing what is wrong

hedonic motive & ways it can backfire

motivated to experience pleasure, avoid pain

backfire:

• overjustification effect: reward decreases intrinsic motivation to perform a behaviour

• reactance: unpleasant feeling of being coerced

approval motive:

• norms

• norm of reciprocity

• normative influence

• door-in-the-face technique

• conformity

• obedience

motive to be accepted, avoid rejection

• norms: doing what is customary standard for behaviour

• norm of reciprocity: unwritten rule that people should return the favour

• normative influence: when another’s behaviour provides information about what is appropriate

• door-in-the-face technique: strategy of deny initial request to influence behaviour

• conformity: doing what we see others do

• obedience: tendency to do what powerful people dictate (due to normative pressure)

explain asch’s conformity study

(approval motive)

participants asked to identify what line looks the shortest; actors gave incorrect answer and the real participants also conformed to the incorrect answer due to normative influence

explain milgram’s obedience studies

participants listened to the authority of the experimenter to shock other participants even though it caused pain

• once participants began refusing commands and not displaying obedience, the norm was broken

• was a study on the readiness to obey authority

60% of participants obeyed highest shock order

the accuracy motive (def)

• attitude

• belief

• informational influence

• persuasion

  • 2 “routes”/types

• foot-in-the-door technique

• cognitive dissonance

• consistency

motive to believe what is true, avoid what is false

• attitude: lasting positive/negative evaluation of object or event

• belief: lasting knowledge about an object or event

• informational influence: when another person’s behaviour provides info about what is good/true

• persuasion: communication from other person influences attitudes/beliefs

  • central-route persuasion

  • peripheral route persuasion

• consistency: indicates accuracy, creating opportunity for social influence

  • foot in the door technique: technique of presenting a small request followed by a large request

  • cognitive dissonance: unpleasant state arising when person recognizes inconsistency of actions, attitudes, beliefs

elaboration likelihood model of persuasion

2 basic kinds of persuasion/2 routes to being persuaded

• central-route: appeals to logic and reason

• peripheral-route: appeals to habit and emotion

2 “routes” of persuasion & when each works best

1. central-route persuasion: process of attitudes/beliefs changed by appeals to reason

   1. works best when evidence/arguments presented are strong

2. peripheral-route persuasion: process of attitudes/beliefs changed by appealing to habit or emotion

   1. works best when people are not motivated to weigh evidence/analyze argument

cognitive dissonance (def)

(accuracy motive)

unpleasant feeling arising in a person when they hold two contradicting beliefs OR their actions conflict with personal values

how can cognitive dissonance be alleviated?

• scenario: