Final Social Psychology Exam

What are the five integrative negation steps?

Define the conflict, Reasons & rationales for positions, Perspective taking, Invent options for mutual gain, Reaching an agreement

What is the difference between positions and interests in conflict?

A position is a stated desired outcome (“what” you want)
An interest in conflict is the motivation or value driving that position (“why” it matters)

What are the three conflict styles that Gottman has found in his research on married couples? Which one is best or can they all be fine?

Validating, Volatile, Conflict-avoiding

They can all be fine, as long as they aren’t mismatched

What are some examples of non-complementary behavior (flipping the script) that Jesus provides in Matthew 5:38-41? How does understanding the culture of that time provide added insight to what he says in these passages? *potential essay item

Don’t resist an evil-doer or take revenge

Turning the other cheek: seen as an insult to be slapped, showing other cheek shows full humanity and forces the striker to face them (a moral mirror)

Giving someone your cloak as well: Shows the system that oppressed the poor, sometimes causing damage to both parties by being naked

Going a second mile: This could get the military officer in trouble

What is the idea of naïve realism as explained by Julia Minson, and how does is show up in everyday conflict (Podcast: How to keep conflict from spiraling)

People naively believe that their perspective of reality is correct/realistic

This leads to people believing that everyone else’s view of reality is wrong, which leads to conflict

What is conversational receptiveness, and what are its four components (the “HEAR” acronym) as described in the episode? (Podcast: How to keep conflict from spiraling)

Conversational receptiveness is the use of words and phrases to demonstrate that you are engaged with their point of view in a visible and recognizable way

Hedging (perhaps, sometimes, maybe)

Emphasizing agreement

Acknowledgement (restate you counterpart’s position)

Reframing to the positive (say the same thing, but with positive words)

What are the three main areas that researchers have found for forgiveness positively impacting people?

Causes lower depression and anger/hostility

A connection between forgiving others and better physical health

Compassionate reappraisal (thinking about an offender more empathetically) leads to better sleep

What are the five components of an apology? Which component is the most controversial or tricky to navigate and why?

Apology “marker” (I’m sorry)

Account (This is why it occurred)

Accepting responsibility (It was my fault'; I’m responsible)

Promise of forbearance (this will not happen again)

Restitution/Repair

The account part is the most controversial, as it seems to give excuses as to why the action occurred

Be able to analyze an apology using the five components. *potential essay item

Apology “marker” (I’m sorry)

Account (This is why it occurred)

Accepting responsibility (It was my fault'; I’m responsible)

Promise of forbearance (this will not happen again)

Restitution/Repair

What is the relationship between apologies and social identity?

An apology is an attempt to create a “split” of the self

It’s a means of restoring the wrong-doer’s social identity (and of the victim)

However, many still think that giving an apology will hurt social identity

What are some differences between apologies in Japan versus the U.S.?

Japan: private, conformity to formula, relationship message

US: Public, owns actions, spontaneity/originality, individualistic message

What is the hedonic treadmill, and how does it act as an “enemy” of gratitude? (Podcast: The enemies of gratitude)

We adapt to all of the things in our lives

The things that we were once grateful for in our lives just become our normal

Explain the concept of “headwinds vs. tailwinds” in Gilovich’s work. How does this metaphor relate to gratitude? (Podcast: The enemies of gratitude)

When you’re runing at the wind (headwind), you’re always aware of it

But when the tailwind is behind you, you are only grateful for a bit, losing sight of it and the boost it’s giving you

We focus on the hard things so heavily and forget about all the good things pushing us along in our lives

How can testosterone impact s ex differences in how children play? How can culture shape and mold our biological tendencies? (Video: How testosterone & culture shape behavior)

They make boys more aggressive and more likely to participate in rough and tumble play, girls are more likely to play social/household-related games

It tells us how we should fit into the world and the way a culture is set up with gun laws, healthcare, and socioeconomic inequalities can have a big impact on biological tendencies

What are some examples of how boys and men are falling behind in education, workforce, and mental & physical health? (Podcast: Why We Must Save Our Boys)

For every 100 women to get a college degree, 74 men earn one

There are 9 million unemployed men

Men are three times more likely to commit suicide

60% of the homeless population are men

93% of the prison popolation is male

Why is this happening? (Podcast: Why We Must Save Our Boys)

There is so much focus on making women equal to men, so men aren’t receiving the same amount of attention and opportunities anymore. Rather than equal benefits for men and women, women have now been over-benefitted compared to the men. It has also been noticed that boys develop a lot slower than girls. It takes them a little longer to fully develop and mature

What is self-complexity? What are the sex differences in this area? (Podcast: Why We Must Save our Boys)

Self complexitity is a plurality of your identity; you have multiple characteristics

Women have wider self-complexity than men

What are problems with using the term “toxic masculinity”? (Podcast: Why We Must Save our Boys)

It puts boys off and pathegizes things that are natural. Makes boys feel like they shouldn’t be feeling the ways they do. It is also often used to broadly.

What were Reeves’ three policy solutions? (Podcast: Why We Must Save our Boys)

More males receiving a paid paternal leave (same as women)

More males being in the education system

More males in the HEAL jobs (Healthcare, Education, Administration, and Literacy)

What are some sex differences between male and female brains? How about health impacts?

The male brain is 10% larger than the female brain, with stronger front-to-back connections and is optimized for motor skills

They are more likely to develop alcohol dependence, 3x more likely to be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder, 4x more likely to have autism, and 2x as likely to develop Parkinson’s disease

The female brain has stronger side-to-side connections, is optimized for intuitive thinking and has more grey matter

They are 2x as likely to have depression, develop Alzheimer’s disease, 4x more likely to develop multiple sclerosis, and more likely to have a stroke

What are some sex differences related to suicidal behavior?

Females are more likely to make suicide attempts, but males are more likely to die by suicide

Males write about lacking purpose + taking up space, while females write about issues related to relationships

What were some other sex differences discusses in lecture?

Women enter puberty earlier, live longer, and have more fat and less muscle, are more likely to have depression anxiety or eating disorders

Men are more likely to have autism, ADHD, and antisocial personality disorder

Men behave in more aggressive ways and more ways to harm others, with physical aggression. Women are more likely to use verbal or relational aggression

What is the attractiveness halo effect?

Attractive people are morel likely to be seen positively on many different traits

What are some advantages of high attractiveness?

First impressions, mating prospects, parent & peer favoritism, education & employment, electoral success, and judicial outcomes

Describe the main economic benefits of being beautiful.

You earn more money, have more job opportunities, have more success in school, fare better in court + in other opportunities, like job promotions

What is the mere exposure effect?

The more time you spend around others, the more you end up liking them

What is more likely, “Birds of a feather flock together” or “Opposites attract”? What is the primary exception?

Birds of a feather flock together

Forced associations?

What is the “Averageness Hypothesis”?

People like the combination/average of faces more than individual faces

In non-human animals, what characteristics are preferred for mates?

Exaggerated masculine characteristics

What were the main results of Perrett et al.’s (1998) study of feminine and masculine faces for males and females?

When women are ovulating, they are more likely to prefer a masculinized face

How did DeBruine test the beauty of symmetry? (The Beauty of Symmetry video)

She made two copies of the same face, one was symmetrical, one was asymmetrical and asked college students which picture appealed to them more

How do testosterone and dopamine influence se xual behavior and attraction? (Testosterone vs Dopamine video)

Testosterone dramatically increases sex drive (gets them into bed) and dopamine rewards them (keeps them in bed)

What was the example from the bungee jumping study? (Testosterone vs Dopamine video)

The women thought that the men were more attractive after they had bungee jumped (after dopamine)

Acording to Baird, what appears to be the underlying factor for why a particular male body odor is more attractive to a woman? (Smell of Attraction video)

They are able to know if their immune system is biologically optimal (through pheromones and proteins)

Are females or males better at detecting odors? (Smell of Attraction video)

Females are better at this

On average, what types of female voices do men find more attractive? What is the explanation for this result? Voices video)

Men choose women with higher-pitched voices

They think they are healthier, more fit, younger, and have higher estrogen levels

On average, what types of male voices do women find more attractive? What is the explanation for this result? Voices video)

Women choose men with deeper voices

They think they are stronger and have more testosterone

What is the relationship between ovulation and the attractiveness of a female’s voice? (Voices video)

A woman’s voice gets higher and her appearance becomes more appealing during ovulation

What is the matching phenomenon?

You match with someone close to your level of attractiveness

What are the four horsemen of a marriage headed for divorce?

Criticism (generalization + all or nothing), Defensiveness, Contempt, Stonewalling (withdrawal/no emotion in relationship)

What are some of the surprising results from Gottman’s research on marriage?

Explosive relationships can be long-lasting, emotionally inexpressive relationships can be very stable, couple who start out complaining about each other tend to have better marriages than couples that don’t, a 5:1 positive to negative interaction ratio is best, expressions of anger (without contempt) are not predictive of a bad marriage, fighting can be the healthiest thing for a marriage

What is the single largest factor for convicting innocent people?

Eyewitness error

What are the three kinds of evidence that have been used to examine eyewitness testimony? (Eyewitnesses video) *potential essay item

Lab studies, field studies, and DNA exoneration

What are the markers of eyewitness misidentification? (Eyewitnesses video) *potential essay item

Witnesses being slow to administer identification, comparing one suspect to another, lower level of confidence at time of identification (the validation of their original guess raises confidence level)

What are some things that impact the reliability of eyewitness identification? (Eyewitnesses video) *potential essay item

Delays between event and lineup, cross-racial identification (outgroup homogeneity bias), weapons effect (better memories of weapons), relative-judgement process, pressure to make an identification, reinforcing responses

What can be done to make the eyewitness identification process more accuate? How do these things relate to the scientific process? (Eyewitnesses video) *potential essay item

Blank lineup (using a control group), sequential lineup, blind administrator of lineup (double-blind procedures), high functional size (sample size, viable lineup members), culprit-description strategy, let witness describe everything first, then ask probing questions, treat memory like a crime scene

What are the “minimization” and “maximization” techniques Dr. Julia Shaw describes, and why might they be controversial in police interviews? (Secrets of Police Interviews Video)

Minimization is a good cop approach whereas maximization is more aggressive and can increase the consequences of the situation

This could pressure a confession out of someone

According to the video, how could an innocent person behave during interrogation to avoid giving a false confession? (Secrets of Police Interviews Video)

Don’t rely on the fact that people can tell you are innocent

Get a lawyer

The less you say, the better

How might the science of memory and false memory (which Dr. Shaw researches) impact the reliability of confessions obtained under pressure? (Secrets of Police Interviews Video)

They show a confession may not always be accurate

Memory is malleable, especially under pressure, so it could be an inaccurate confession

In what ways does Dr. Shaw suggest police interrogations could be improved to reduce the risk of wrongful convictions? (Secrets of Police Interviews Video)

Keep interrogations neutral, don’t minimize or maximize your approach, don’t assume someone is guilty just off of body language

What is a transient or compliant false confession? (False Confessions video) *potential essay item

Being coerced into a confession under the belief that it’s in your best interest to falsely confess

What is the impact of law enforcement’s ability to lie about evidence? (False Confessions video) *potential essay item

It shakes the suspect’s view of reality

Are false confessions discernible? (False Confessions video) *potential essay item

No

What can be done to help minimize false confessions? (False Confessions video) *potential essay item

Video record all interrogations/interviews performed

What are some strategies for detecting lies?

Increasing cognitive load (Those who are lying already have to hold a lot of information in their head)

Making it more difficult to tell the story is the key to getting liars to give themselves away (Make interviewee tell the story in reverse order or ask for specific details of the setting or to draw the setting)

What are some problems with using polygraph test?

They are more likely to declare the innocent guilty

Can’t tell the difference between anxiety, irritation, and guilt

Many known spies have passed polygraph tests

Pyschopaths are the most prepared to pass

What are some better strategies for lie detection?

Guilty knowledge test/concealed information test (using evidence that only someone from the crime scene would react to)

Using EEGs and fMRIs (recognizing code words or showing when one is recalling artificial memories)