Social Psychology Module 5 Study Guide

Key vocabulary terms and concepts from the Social Psychology module on health, education, and law.

Stressful event, amygdala, hypothalamus, chemical message, pituitary gland, hormones, adrenal glands, cortisol

• Cortisol is the primary stress hormone

  • Increases heart rate and blood pressure

  • temporarily suppress immune functions to redirect energy to muscles

  • heightens alertness and focus

Trace the HPA axis sequence and describe the immediate effects of cortisol on the body.

HPA axis does not distinguish between a lion and a looming deadline —> Chronic stress leads to consistent suppression of the immune system.

Rumination: tendency to repeatedly replay stressful events in one’s own mind

• prolongs HPA axis activation

• chronic cortisol elevation suppresses immune system

Self-distancing is a tool to interrupt rumination

• instead of reliving an event from the inside

• adopt a detached observer’s view

• reduces HPA axis reactivity and negative affect

• eg. imaging watching yourself or narrating events in third person

Explain why chronic stress is more damaging than short-term stress, and define rumination and self distancing.

lower SES neighborhoods often lack green spaces/ safe play environments and associated with higher chronic stress and poorer physical health with earlier mortality, higher SES neighborhoods provide more opportunities for stress-reducing activities and social connection —> shaping chronic stress exposure. Education is one of the strongest predictors of life expectancy in the US

Perceived social rank —> ladder Measure: a simple visual tool asking people to place themselves on a ladder representing socioeconomic rank relative to others in society. People who perceive themselves as lower on social ladder show higher stress reactivity and worse health outcomes.

Perception meant more than numbers. Psychosocial stress model: subjective social comparisons drive biological stress responses. Upward social comparison (others have more than me) activates the stress response.

Distinguish objective SES from perceived social rank and predict how each shapes health outcomes.

People who feel empowered with agency over their lives experience lower chronic stress —> this is not primarily about money or healthcare access. It is about the belief that one’s actions matter and self-esteem. Social structures that diminish agency (poverty, discrimination, powerlessness) create chronic stress pathways to illness

Explain why perceived empowerment improves health through agency, not material resources.

Women with breast cancer were randomly assigned to a social support group or a comparison (no group) condition ← The support group didn’t provide medical treatment; it provided connection, shared experience, and emotional support. Average survival rate of 37 months with those with support group as opposed to those without with 19 months.

Describe the Spiegel et al. (1989) finding and explain why social connection quality predicts survival.

When stressed, humans (especially women) have an evolved tendency to seek social connection rather than only fight or flee. ← connecting with and caring for others increase oxytocin; sometimes called the ‘bonding hormone.’ We want to combat cortisol with oxytocin (designed to create connection), suppresses the cortisol. (directly counteracts the HPA axis stress response)

Explain Taylor's tend-and-befriend model and the oxytocin–cortisol relationship.

Nursing home residents were randomly assigned to one of two conditions

• high control group - given choices about room arrangement, a plant to care for, movie scheduling

• comparison group - everything was handled for them (standard nursing home care)

93% of the high control group had improved health

• Intervention was minimal

• The sense that “my actions matter” is profoundly health-protective

Describe the Langer & Rodin (1976) nursing home study and explain why perceived control protects health.

Optimism

• in health psychology refers to a generalized expectancy that good things will happen — that outcomes will be positive

Mechanism

• Behavioral pathway: optimists engage more in healthy behaviors (exercise, preventative care, treatment adherence) because they believe their actions will pay off

• Biological pathway: Optimist show less HPA axis reactivity in response to stress- lower cortisol surges

• Social pathway: Optimists are better at building and maintaining social support networks

Identify the three mechanisms linking optimism to better health and the one that does NOT apply.

HPA Axis

The biological stress pathway that includes a four-step sequence.

• Amygdala detects threat

• Hypothalamus (fight or flight) sends chemical message

• Pituitary gland receives messages and sends hormones

• Adrenal gland receives hormones and sends out cortisol (response to stress)

Cortisol

A hormone that has immediate effects on the body but can be damaging when chronically elevated.

• Increases heart rate and blood pressure

• temporarily suppress immune functions to redirect energy to muscles

• heightens alertness and focus

Fight or flight response —- highly effective for immediate threats

Rumination

Replaying a stressor mentally, turning short-term stress into chronic stress.

Self-Distancing

Adopting a detached observer perspective, differing from distraction.

SES (Socioeconomic Status) vs. Perceived Rank

Both predict health outcomes through different mechanisms, with perceived rank affecting psychosocial stress.

Tend-and-Befriend

Taylor's stress response involving oxytocin and its effect on cortisol.

Perceived Control

Illusory beliefs in control which can protect health.

Optimism

Three mechanisms linking optimism to better health: behavioral, biological (HPA), and social.

Breast cancer survivors in a social support group survived nearly twice as long

as controls. What does this show about connection and health?

Spiegel et al. (1989)

Breast cancer patients sought control and made social comparisons to feel better off. Most believed they could control their disease. Accuracy of belief mattered less than agency. Perceived construal drove health benefits. Were these beliefs accurate? Does accuracy matter?

Taylor (1983)

Nursing home residents given small choices (a plant, movie scheduling) showed dramatically better outcomes. Know the percentages (93% vs. 21%). Why did such a small intervention have such a large effect?

Langer & Rodin (1976)

Pygmalion Study

• Design: Teacher were told a subset of their students were ‘intellectual bloomers’ ← chosen at random, IQ tested at start and end of year

• Findings:

  • students whom teachers believed were about to bloom showed substantial IQ gains compared to controls → the effect were stronger for younger children (1st and 2nd grade)

  • teachers did not tutor children differently in obvious ways

  • mechanism was subtle: warmer interactions, more challenging material, more feedback, more opportunities to speak

Meta-Analysis

• teacher expectations do influence student performance

• effect is modest for most students

• effect is larger for younger children (more malleable, more dependent on teacher feedback)

• effect is largest when the expectation information is novel

Describe the Pygmalion study and explain why younger students are more susceptible to expectation

effects.

Entity Theory (Fixed Mindset)

• intelligence is fixed and innate

• effort signals low ability

• avoids challenging tasks risk of failure = threat to identity)

• Gives up when things get hard

Incremental Theory (Growth Mindset)

• Intelligence can grow through effort

• Effort is the path to mastery

• Seeks out challenging tasks (failure = learning opportunity)

• Persists when things get hard

Tutoring Practices

• Praise effort and strategy, not intelligence

• Encourage a sense of control

• Offer challenging questions

• Don’t’ over-correct minor errors immediately; allow students to self-correct and build agency

Distinguish entity from incremental theories of intelligence and identify the tutoring practices each

supports.

Explain why IQ tests favor American cultural knowledge and why incremental cultural values explain the

Asian academic achievement pattern.

• Define stereotype threat and describe the mechanism by which worry about confirming a stereotype

impairs performance.

• Describe Cohen et al.'s self-affirmation intervention: who benefited, how long effects lasted, and why it

works.

• Explain why first-generation students may feel stressed by independent-model college messages.

• Describe Walton & Cohen's (2007) belonging intervention and why universalizing social worry is the key

ingredient.

• Define entertainment-education, give an example, and explain that effects extend beyond already-

sympathetic audiences.

• Summarize Lehman & Nisbett's findings and apply the correlation-vs-causation distinction to a real

scenario.

Pygmalion Effect

Teacher expectations shape student outcomes, particularly affecting younger students.

Entity Theory

The belief that intelligence is fixed, leading to certain behaviors under difficulty.

Incremental Theory

The belief that intelligence can grow with effort, producing different behaviors.

Stereotype Threat

The fear of confirming a stereotype, impairing performance.

Self-Affirmation

Writing about personal values which can boost performance and well-being.

Culture Mismatch

Independent-model college messages that create stress for first-generation, working-class students.

Belonging Uncertainty

Doubt about fitting in which affects social interactions.

Entertainment-Education

Educational messages conveyed through popular media that can affect attitudes and behaviors.

Correlational Reasoning

Social science training builds this skill. Psychology majors improve most

More than 50% cases of wrongful convictions. Memory is reconstructive (it is not a reproduction.) Legal system treats memory like a video recording. (Remembers the retelling, alteration continues). Confidence and accuracy are not reliably correlated. Cross-race identification are substantially less reliable than own-race identifications. Describing a perpetrator in words actually makes lineup identification harder. Weapon presence narrows attention away form the face, not toward it.

State the percentage of wrongful convictions involving eyewitness error and explain why confidence does not predict accuracy.

Throwing in misinformation can reconstruct our memories. We fill in gaps if we are not sure of automatically. Each retrial is an act of reconstruction not playback. Rebuilt every time we recall.

Describe the misinformation effect and the false memory studies, explaining how both show memory is reconstructive. ”recalling” false events with vivid details was a genuinely belief.

Preschoolers repeatedly asked about a mousetrap injury that never occurred. The majority eventually recounted detailed stories, describing the pain, the doctor, and what happened. Not coached to lie; suggestion and repetition created the memory. Profound implications for child testimony in abuse cases.

Explain the Ceci & Bruck (1995) findings on children's suggestibility and their implications for child testimony.

1/5 of DNA exonerations involved a prior false confession. These were not weak or unstable people. They were ordinary people placed in extraordinary circumstances. Isolation and sleep deprivation erode judgment; false evidence ploys convince suspects the fight is already lost; minimization makes confession feel like the only way out; mind reaches for relief, not truth.

Explain why innocent people sometimes confess, and state approximately what fraction of DNA exonerees had falsely confessed.

• Describe death-qualified juries — what they ARE more likely to do and the one thing they are NOT.

• Explain why a minority dissenter benefits from a larger jury and what unanimity vs. majority rules mean

for deliberation quality.

• Distinguish just deserts from deterrence, identifying which is backward- vs. forward-looking.

• Describe the three-stage model of punitive damages and the attributions that drive maximum outrage.

• Define procedural justice, name Tyler's three factors, and correctly exclude the one that is NOT a factor.

• Explain how racial disparities in policing and sentencing reflect cultural stereotypes and undermine

procedural justice

Misinformation Effect

Post-event information that distorts the original memory.

Verbal Overshadowing

Own-Race Bias

False Confessions

Innocent people confessing, often due to particular psychological pressures.

Death-Qualified Jury

Jurors who are more punitive and skeptical of defendants' rights.

Just Deserts vs. Deterrence

Just deserts looks backward to punish acts, while deterrence looks forward to prevent future crime.

Punitive Intent Model

Procedural Justice

Fairness in the processes leading to legal outcomes rather than the outcomes themselves.

Tyler’s Three Factors

Racial Bias in the System

Driven by cultural stereotypes that influence perceptions in legal contexts.