social psych units 9-12

propinquity effect

the finding that the more we see and interact with people, the more likely they are to become our friends

mere exposure effect

the finding that the more exposure we have to a stimulus, the more apt we are to like it

similarity

attraction to people who are like us

complementarity

attraction to people who are opposite of us

reciprocal liking

when you like someone and that person also likes you

misattribution of arousal

the process whereby people make mistaken inferences about what is causing them to feel the way they do

companionate love

the feelings of intimacy and affection we feel toward someone with whom our lives are deeply intertwined

passionate love

the feelings of intense longing, accompanied by physiological arousal, we feel for another person; when our love is reciprocated we feel great fulfillment and ecstasy; but when it is not, we feel sadness and despair

attachment theory

the theory that our behavior in adults relationships is based on our experiences as infants with our parents or caregivers

secure attachment style

an attachment still characterized by trust, a lack of concern with being abandoned, and the view that one is worthy and loved

avoidant attachment style

an attachment style characterized by a suppression of attachment needs because attempts to be intimate have been rebuffed; people with this style find it difficult to develop interest

anxious/ambivalent attachment style

an attachment style characterized by a concern that others will not reciprocate one’s desire for intimacy, resulting in higher-than-average levels of anxiety

social exchange theory

the theory that how people feel about a relationship depends on their perceptions of the rewards and costs of the relationship, the kind of relationship they deserve, and the probability that they could have a better relationship with someone else

reward/cost ratio

the notion that there is a balance between the rewards that came from a relationship and the personal cost of maintaining the relationship; if the ratio is not favorable, the result is dissatisfaction with the relationship

comparison level

people’s expectations about the levels of rewards and costs they deserve in a relationship

comparison level for alternatives

people’s expectations about the level rewards and costs they would receive in an alternative relationship

investment model

the theory that people’s commitment to a relationship in terms of rewards, costs, and comparison level; their comparison level for alternatives; and how much they invested in the relationship that would be lost by leaving it

equity theory

the theory that people are happiest with relationships in which the rewards and costs that a person experiences and the contributions he or she makes to the relationship are roughly equal to the rewards, costs, and contributions of the other person

exchange relationships

relationships governed by the need for equity (i.e., for a comparable ratio of rewards and costs)

communal relationships

relationships in which people’s primary concern is being responsive to the other person’s needs

positive illusions

idealization of our romantic and partners in order to maintain the relationship

prosocial behavior

any act performed with the goal of benefitting another person

altruism

the desire to help others, even if it involves a cost to the helper

kin selection

the idea that behavior that helps a genetic relative is favored by natural selection

norm of reciprocity

the expectation that helping others will increase the likelihood that they will help us in the future

empathy

the ability to experience events and emotions (e.g., joy, sadness) the way another person experiences them

Empathy-altriusm hypothesis

the idea that when we feel empathy for a person, we will attempt to help others across a wide variety of situations

altruistic personality

a personality trait characterized by qualities such as sympathy, empathy, and felt responsibility to help others across a wide variety of situations

in-group

the group with which an individual identifies and of which he or she feels a member

out-group

a group with which an individual does not identify

urban overload hypothesis

the theory that because people living in cities are constantly being bombarded with simulation, they keep tot themselves to avoid being overloaded by it

bystander effect

the finding that the greater the number of bystanders who witness an emergency, the less likely it is that any of them will happen

pluralistic ignorance

the phenomenon whereby bystanders assume that nothing is wrong in an emergency because no one else looks concerned

diffusion of responsibility

each bystander’s sense of responsibility to help decreases as the number of witnesses to an emergency or crisis increases

aggression

intentional behavior aimed at causing either physical or psychological pain

hostile aggression

an act of aggression stemmed from feelings of anger and aimed at inflicting pain or injury

instrumental agression

aggression as a means to some goal others than causing pain

testosterone

a male sex hormone associated with aggression

social learning theory

the theory that we learn social behavior (e.g. aggression) by observing others and imitating them

serotonin

a brain chemical responsible for controlling good, attention, sleep, and pain

frustration-aggression theory

the theory that frustration — the perception that you are being oriented from obtaining a goal — will increase the probability of an aggressive response

relative deprivation

the perception that you have less than you deserve, less than what you have been led to expect, or less than what people similar to you have

weapons effect

the increase in aggression that can occur because of the mere presence of a gun or other weapon

catharsis

the notion that "blowing off steam”— by performing an aggressive act, watching others engage in aggressive behavior, or engaging in fantasy aggression— relieves built- up aggressive energies and hence reduces the likelihood of further aggressive behavior

ways of diffusing aggressive energy

actively enabling, communication and problem solving, defusing anger through apology, the modeling of nonaggressive behavior, and building empathy

prejudice

a hostile or negative attitude toward people in a distinguishable group, based solely on their membership in that group

stereotype

a generalization about a group of people in which identical characteristics are assigned to virtually all members of the group, regardless of actual variation among them members

discrimination

unjustified negative or harmful action toward a member of a group simply because of his or her membership in that group

modern racism

acting unprejudiced outwardly but inwardly maintaining prejudiced attitudes

social categorization

putting some people into one group based on certain characteristics and others into another group based on their different characteristics

in-group bias

the tendency to favor members of our own group and give them preference over people who belong to other groups

meta-stereotype

a person’s belief regarding the stereotype that out-group members hold about their own group

ultimate attribution errors

our tendency to take dispositional attributions about an entire group

realistic conflict theory

the theory that listed resources lead to conflict among groups and result in increased prejudice and discrimination

mutual interdependence

a situation in which two or more groups need each other and must depend on each other to accomplish a goal that is important to both groups

injuntidication

a motivated tendency to see the status quo (the ways things are) as the most desirable state of affairs (the way things should be)

social identity threat

the apprehension experienced by members of a minority group that they might behave in a manner that confirms an existing cultural stereotype

extended contact hypothesis

the mere knowledge that a member of one’s own group has a close relationship with a member of another group can reduce one’s prejudice toward that group

jigsaw classroom

a classroom setting designed to reduce prejudice between children by placing them in small, desegregated groups and making each child dependent on the other children in the group to learn the course material and do well in the class

According to research supporting the overjustification effect (e.g., Grusec et al., 1979), if you want to encourage children to behave in prosocial ways toward each other, you should

commend them and tell them how wonderful you think they are after they have been nice to each other

According to Daniel Batson (1991), when people experience empathy with another in need, _______ motivates helping.

helping others independent of self-interest

According to evolutionary theory, natural selection should favour altruistic acts directed toward

genetic relatives

Norenzayan and colleagues' study on the effect of priming participants about religion found that

priming religious concepts leads people to behave more prosocially

A number of studies have revealed that doing well on a test, receiving a gift, and listening to pleasant music can increase helping. These consistent findings across investigations suggest that when _______ they are _______ likely to help.

someone is in a good mood; more

Mary Harris and her colleagues (Harris, Benson, & Hall, 1975) found that churchgoers were _________ likely to donate to charity before they attended confession than after, presumably because the act of confession ________.

more; reduced their guilt

Gillian is sitting in a crowded coffee shop when she hears the squeal of brakes and the crash of metal-on-metal. She looks around and notices that all the other customers remain engrossed in their conversations. Because these cool and calm responses _______, Gillian will be _______.

increase pluralistic ignorance; less likely to assume it's an emergency situation

In John Darley's and Bibb Latan's (1968) classic "seizure" experiment, participants were more likely to help the (alleged) seizure victim (and to help more quickly) when they believed that

they were the only one listening

Lindsay wants to test if prosocial behaviour differs in urban and rural settings. After reading Chapter 10, she decides to replicate the lost letter procedure (Milgram, 1969). Which of the following outcomes can Lindsay expect?

People in small towns are more likely to mail the letters than the people in the city

There is a _________ correlation between the length of time a person has lived in the same place and the likelihood that he or she will ________ in the community

positive; help

A number of situational factors work to accentuate frustration, further increasing the odds of aggression. For example, frustration is accentuated when we

are close to our intended goal

As Dale is walking by Andy, he trips over Andy's foot, falls to the ground, and hits his face on the side of a table as he is falling. Dale will be most likely to reciprocate by acting violently toward Andy if

Andy intentionally tripped him

Desdemona is having a bad day. As she runs to answer the phone, she bangs her knee on the coffee table. Cursing and limping, Desdemona grabs the phone and tosses it across the room. She never did figure out who called. This is an example of

aggression caused by pain

Gordon Russell (1983), a sports psychologist, observed the behaviour of fans during an especially violent hockey game. Contrary to predictions based on the notion of catharsis, Russell found that the belligerence and hostility of the spectators

increased throughout the game

As a result of their comprehensive meta-analysis of the studies on the effects of playing violent video games, Anderson and colleagues (2010) state that evidence strongly suggests that exposure to violent video games is causally related to ________ levels of ________.

decreased; empathy

According to Fehr and colleagues (1999), participants expected that when they were angry with someone, if they ______________, then the other person would ___________________.

expressed their anger in positive, constructive ways; react more positively

When Roger Barker and his colleagues (1941) prevented children from playing with attractive toys, once the children gained access to the toys, they behaved destructively, smashing the toys and throwing them against the wall. These results demonstrate the power of _______ to increase aggression

frustration

_______ theory posits that we learn to aggress by observing and imitating others.

social learning

Which of the following best characterizes scientific findings on the relation between viewing sexually explicit materials and violence against women? Viewing materials that _______ the likelihood of aggression against women.

combine sex and violence; increases

Which of the following findings concerning aggression in men and women is TRUE?

Men's physical aggression tends to involve more severe forms of violence than women's physical aggression.

Why does the jigsaw classroom yield such positive results with regard to self-esteem, achievement, and positive informal contact between children of various racial and ethnic groups?

It is in each child's self-interest to cooperate with others.

Your beliefs about the stereotypes that members of other groups hold about you and your own group are called

meta-stereotypes

Prejudice against ethnic minorities is well-known. Which of the following is true about the scope of the experience of prejudice?

Any group can experience prejudice

Tougas and her colleagues at the University of Ottawa developed the "Neosexism Scale" in order to

measure negative attitudes towards women that people might not want to express overtly.

When we have unwittingly caused our stereotypic expectations to be confirmed by an out-group member's behavior, we have actually created a(n)

self-fulfilling prophecy

Research by Corenblum and Stephan (2001) concerning the role of emotions as a predictor of the prejudice that minority groups feel toward majority groups revealed that

the more negative emotion people expect to feel while interacting with members of another group, the greater their prejudice towards that group.

Patricia Devine's (1989) research indicates that both low-prejudiced and high-prejudiced people's stereotypes are _______, but low-prejudiced people want to _______ their stereotypes

accessible; refute or ignore

Maria is a member of a chess team. Her ratings of the other members of her team are likely to be __________ her ratings of members of another chess team. This would reflect the concept of __________.

more positive than; in-group bias

Stereotyping is a way of _______ the complex information around us, and thus is sometimes _______.

simplifying; adaptive

Muzafer Sherif and his colleagues (1961) created conflict between two groups of boys in a summer camp. Once in-group cohesiveness was established, they set up a series of competitive situations such as tug-of-war and other competitive games. Conflict between the two groups escalated. This field study provided support for the _______ theory of prejudice.

realistic conflict

"I find that others are reluctant to get as close to me as I would like them to. I often have dreams that my husband doesn't love me like he used to and that he leaves me unexpectedly. I guess I have this need to lose myself in the person I love, and this sometimes scares them away." A person who is _______ attached most likely wrote those words

anxiously

Brian does not know anything about Sally except that she is very attractive. Based on research by Alice Eagly and her colleagues (1991) and by Alan Feingold (1992), Brian is most likely to make the attribution that Sally is

sociable and extroverted

According to an evolutionary approach to love, why do women prefer men with resources, whereas men prefer women who are attractive?

Resources signal potential support from men, while attractiveness signals reproductive fitness in women.

According to Elaine Hatfield and Richard Rapson (1993), why is an exchange approach more common in casual relationships than in long-term relationships?

In long-term relationships, it's hard to assign values to resources.

Cross-cultural research has revealed that _______ is valued more in individualistic cultures.

passionate love

Murray and Holmes (1999) research on relationship commitment found that people _____________ to maintain their relationships

find ways to justify their partner's faults

How would investment model researchers like Caryl Rusbult explain why women who face intimate partner violence often return to their abusive partners?

These women have already invested a lot into these relationships

Barbara, Brittany, Laurie, and Melissa have each adopted a different strategy in their attempts to attract Arthur. All else being equal, who is most likely to be unsuccessful?

Melissa, who demonstrates her independence by disagreeing with Arthur

Ben and Jeremy live in the same neighborhood, they work together at a tech company, and they often attend the same parties. Over time, Ben and Jeremy become attracted to each other. What force is most likely at work here?

propinquity

According to social exchange theory, ________ refers to people's expectations about the rewards and punishments they deserve in a particular relationship

comparison level