PSYC Ch. 8

Attribution theory

focuses on how people make judgements about their own and other people’s behavior. Does a person attribute a behavior to one’s personality or circumstance?

Xenophobia

Refers to the fear and suspicion towards cultures perceived to be foreign

Scapegoating

Refers to erroneously assigning blame to an identifiable source. Example: A woman’s job is outsourced due to globalization, and she blames all the people of the country to where her job was outsourced

Race and ethnicity

These are concepts that change overtime, Overlap with each other (Not mutually exclusive), And are not based primarily on physical characteristics. They assume to be institutionalized in major social structures

Approach-approach conflict

A conflict in which both options are predominantly appealing (both are good)

Avoidance-avoidance conflict

A conflict in which both options are predominantly unappealing (Both are bad)

Approach-avoidance conflict

A conflict In which a decision has both pros and cons. Ex: “ Buying this house is a good investment, But it will cost a lot of money”

Double approach-Avoidance conflict

Consists of two options where each option has both appealing and negative features. Such as a jury ruling someone is innocent (Could let someone innocent be free or someone guilty away with no punishment) Or guilty (Could result in someone, innocent being wrongfully convicted or someone guilty getting what they deserve)

Social desirability bias

A type of study bias in which people respond in a way that makes them appear better socially. Such as criminals understating how many crimes they have committed

Reconstructive bias

A bias in a study that is introduced when a person is not able to remember events that they are being asked about

Attrition bias

A bias in a study that occurs when participants drop out of a long term study

Dispositional (internal) attribution

when someone concludes that a person behaves a certain way due to his disposition

Situational (external) attribution

Behavior attributed to a person’s situation instead of their personality

covariation model (behavior)

proposed by Harold Kelly, relies on three factors to explain how people assess the behavior of others: consensus, distinctiveness, consistency

Consensus

if others engage in the same behavior, it is considered situational. “everyone was doing it, so there must be something in the air”

Distinctiveness (behavior)

if the individual exhibits a behavior that is unusual for him, the behavior is considered situational. “he never behaves this way. it's just not his personality so it must have been the environment”

Consistency

if the individual engages in a behavior consistently, it is considered dispositional. “He always does that. is just how he is. it is his personality”

attribution biases

people are prone to error when judging both their own behavior and the behavior of others

fundamental attribution error

the tendency to think that other people's decisions reflect their personality or character instead of attributing their actions to external factors

Actor-Observer Bias

people tend to think that their own behavior is mainly due to circumstance instead of anything essential to their character

group attribution error

Either people assume that the attributes of an individual in a group apply to everyone in the group, or people conclude that a group's decision reflects the attitudes of all members of the group

self-serving bias

The belief that when we succeed, it's because of our personal qualities, while our failures are thought to be mainly the result of our circumstances

hostile attribution bias

where people assume that other people's behaviors are hostile, even if their behaviors are completely harmless

False Consensus bias

refers to people's tendency to believe that their beliefs are both common and appropriate in a given circumstance

Prejudice

an attitude held about a person or group of people that is not based on actual experience

Bias

an inclination for or against something that can be influenced by prejudicial attitudes

Power

the ability to change how other people act

Prestige

respect given to people that have certain skills or knowledge

Class

a level of social status associated with definite characteristics and values

Discrimination

behavioral components of prejudice that are actions related to the prejudice

Stereotypes

broadly held beliefs that people who belong to a given group have particular characteristics

stereotype threat

when stereotypes negatively affect people's performance on a task

stereotype boost

when stereotypes positively influence performance

Stigma

strong disapproval of a person based on traits that distinguish them from other people

self stigma

when a person internalizes stigma about himself

Ethnocentrism

when one analyzes a different culture through the lens of one owns culture. “that's not what we do in my culture, so it's wrong from my frame of reference”

cultural relativism

when one views and other culture from the perspective of people within that culture. “that's not what we do in my culture, but every culture is different and it's not my place to judge”

Microsociology

focuses on small-scale face-to-face interactions between people

macrosociology

looks at Large Scale social interactions

Functionalism

Also called structural functionalism, it is a macrosociology theory that views societies of massive structure with parts that work together to keep it functioning stably. It views organizations as mostly static, only making small changes when absolutely necessary. Proposed by Emile Durkheim and talcott parsons

conflict theory

a macrosociology theory that argues that Society changes over time due to conflict between groups

social constructionism

a macro sociology theory that argues that some (or all) facts get their meaning not from physical reality but how people think about them. (Ex: money only has value because everyone has agreed that it has value) Includes a weak and strong social constructionism

weak social constructionism

concedes that there are brute facts, which are pieces of knowledge is that do not rely on other facts. Some concepts are still build on othr facts or concepts

strong social constructionism

all knowledge is socially constructed. in other words there are no facts, only ideas that are given meaning by people's thoughts and words

symbolic interactionism

a microsociology theory that focuses on one-on-one interaction between people and the individual interactions between people based on these symbols. Also includes the fact that an individual individuals experiences can influence their Perceptions of a symbol/Image

exchange rational choice

a microsociology theory that is a combination of rational Choice Theory and social exchange theory

rational Choice Theory

posits that people run a logical cost-benefit analysis for every action they take

social exchange theory

hold similar assumptions about how people behave to rational Choice Theory, but instead focuses on how people interact with each other in Social settings. in other words the desire to benefit and not be punished is constant between people, but what qualifies as rewards and punishments is different for every person

feminist Theory

a macrosociology theory that focuses on studying how gender interact with Society with the ultimate goal of achieving political and social equality between men and women

Education

the process of making learning easier, generally through teaching

hidden curriculum

refers to all things we learn in school that are not explicitly taught as part of our education. for example, how to sit still and shut up

Effect of teachers expectations

it has been found that teachers who expect more from students will generally have students perform better

educational segregation

refers to separation of certain educational factors

educational stratification

refers to the categorization of students into groups

Families

groups of people related by blood or by social relationships like marriage and adoption. T hese relationships are all forms of kinship

Abuse

Includes physical violence, neglect, and mistreating a person verbally, sexually, or in any way

child abuse

any type of abuse towards children

child neglect

involves caretakers not meeting a child's basic needs

elder abuse

any type of abuse towards people usually older than 60 or 65

spousal abuse

where one spouse abuses another

Religion

a set of beliefs or practices that involve belief in the Supernatural

Religiosity

how religious someone is, whether it be how strong they identify with religious teachings or how often they engage in religious activities

Church

religious organization that people enter by being born into it

Sects

tend to be smaller than churches that are more dependent on people converting to them

Cults

the most radical religious organizations and espouse views and Lifestyles that lie significantly outside mainstream practices

Modernization

when a society undergoes a transition to become more like countries in Western Europe and North America. this processes tied with secularization

Secularization

where people identify less with religious values and institutions and war with their non-religious counterparts

Fundamentalism

or religious group seeks out to return to a past standard of belief and conduct

Democracies

where many government employees are elected by their citizens

Autocracies

where governmental power and authority are in the hands of one person

Oligarchies

where a small group of people holds political power

Capitalism

an economic system based on private ownership of the means of production

Socialism

an economic system that practices social ownership of the means of production. individuals can still own personal property and assets

Communism

extreme form of Socialism that aims to establish the collective ownership of all property

division of labor

refers to splitting work into different smaller jobs to allow people to specialize in a given task. responsible for increasing efficiency

Medicalization

happens when parts of life shift from being considered General problems to medical problems. Ex: alcoholism, Which used to be considered a moral character issue is now instead considered a treatable medical condition today

sick role (talcott parsons)

the societal role that people take on when they're sick. such as not being expected to work while sick. Rights: exemption from normal responsibilities and lack of accountability for illness, Obligations: must attempt to get well, must seek and comply with treatment

delivery of healthcare

refers to systems through which a society provides health related services including private and public health

illness experience

A symbolic interaction is perspective that examines how individuals understand and cope with serious or chronic illnesses that impact daily life and self identity

social epidemiology

a branch of epidemiology that focuses on how social factors affect a person's health

Culture

refers to a set of elements that set a society or community apart from other groups

Material culture

refers to objects created to serve human interests, like smartphones or nuclear weapons

Symbolic culture

made up of beliefs, symbols, language, and more that are found in human societies

high culture

refer to aspects of culture associated with social and political Elites

low culture (pop culture)

refers to cultural products that have wide Mass Appeal

mass media

media that reaches a large audience

cultural diffusion

happens when elements of culture from one Society are transferred from one group to another, characterized by exchange between out-groups (ex: the popularity of sushi in America)

Cultural transmission

The transfer of knowledge onto the next generation. Characterized by information exchange within in-groups

cultural lag

Happens when symbolic culture fails to keep up with changes in material culture. Such as how more Americans own smartphones now, but legislation regulation lags behind

culture shock

happens when a person is exposed to a culture different from his own. often involves a feeling of disorientation and withdrawal from social situations

Assimilation

happens when people from a minority ethnic group become more like the majority group or dominant culture

Multiculturalism

the goal of forming communities of mixed ethnic or cultural heritage that live and interact with each other without sacrificing their own identities

Subculture

a group of people within a culture that self apart from the mainstream culture, but still share some of the cultural elements of its parent culture

Counterculture

when subcultures come into serious conflict with the dominant culture

cultural evolution

the idea that evolutionary theory can be applied to culture, states that the cultures that are most fit for the environment tend to survive. Also includes how human beliefs and practices tend to change overtime

cultural universals

aspects of human cultures that are found in nearly every known culture

Aging

process of getting older

Senescence

the deterioration of the Machinery that makes up our bodies as we age

life course theory

an approach to studying people's entire lives and environmental forces that surround them by collecting data about them from birth onward. Posits that early life events influence an individuals later life outcomes

Generation

collection of all people born in a given time