MCAT Behavioral Sciences - Social Thinking

683

interpersonal attraction

phenomenon of individuals liking each other

factors that affect attraction

• similarity

• self-disclosure

• reciprocity

• proximity

• appearance

Appearance affects attraction

the more symmetric someone’s face is, the more physically attractive people tend to perceive that person to be

golden ratio

Humans are attracted to individuals with certain body proportions approximating 1.618:1

Similarity affects attraction

tendency to be attracted to people who are similar to us in attitudes, intelligence, education, height, age, religion, appearance, and socioeconomic status

opposites attract / complementary relationships

only for some traits (carer/caree, Dom/sub); fundamental similarities in some attitudes that make the complementary aspects of the relationship work

self-disclosure

sharing one’s fears, thoughts, and goals with another person and being met with nonjudgmental empathy; deepens attraction and friendship when reciprocally vulnerable

Reciprocal liking

phenomenon whereby people like others better when they believe the other person likes them

proximity

being physically close to someone; convienence, similarities, mere exposure

mere exposure / familiarity effect

people prefer stimuli that they have been exposed to more frequently

Aggression

behavior that intends to cause harm or increase social dominance; physical, verbal, nonverbal

Threat displays

most displays of aggression are settled by threat and withdrawal without actual bodily harm

ex. puff out chest, pull back fist, insults, gestures

aggression purpose

• protection against perceived and real threats

• fight off predators

• gain access to resources such as food, additional territory, or mates

amygdala

part of the brain responsible for associating stimuli and their corresponding rewards or punishments; activation increases aggression

prefrontal cortex

can stop activated amygdala from reacting aggressively

testosterone

linked to more aggressive behavior in humans irrespective of sex or gender

cognitive neoassociation model

more likely to respond to others aggressively whenever we are feeling negative emotions, such as being tired, sick, frustrated, or in pain

social cognitive learning of violence

viewing violent behavior indeed correlates to an increase in aggressive behavior

Attachment

emotional bond between a caregiver and a child that begins to develop during infancy

secure base

caregiver who is consistent, available, comforting, and responsive during the first six months to two years of life

Secure attachment

a child has a consistent caregiver and is able to go out and explore, knowing that there is a secure base to return to

• upset at the departure of the caregiver

• comforted by the return of the caregiver

• can be comforted by a stranger, but prefers the caregiver

insecure attachment

avoidant, ambivalent, or disorganized attachment; often have deficits in social skills

Avoidant attachment

caregiver has little or no response to a distressed child

• show little or no distress when the caregiver leaves

• little or no relief when the caregiver returns

• show no preference between a stranger and the caregiver

anxious–ambivalent attachment

caregiver has an inconsistent response to a child’s distress, sometimes responding appropriately, sometimes neglectfully

• very distressed on separation from the caregiver

• mixed response when the caregiver returns, often displaying ambivalence

• reacts poorly to strangers

disorganized attachment

often associated with erratic behavior and social withdrawal by the caregiver; may also be a red flag for abuse.

show no clear pattern of behavior in response to the caregiver’s absence or presence, but instead can show a mix of different behaviors including avoidance, resistance, confusion, dazed, freezing, self-soothing repetitive behaviors

social support

perception or reality that one is cared for by a social network; emotional, esteem, material, informational, and network

reduce psychological distress; less prevalence of major mental disorders, drug use, suicidal ideation; lower mortality risk, better immunological health

Emotional support

listening, affirming, and empathizing with someone’s feelings

Esteem support

touches more directly on affirming the qualities and skills of a person

Material / tangible support

any type of financial or material contribution to another person

Informational support

providing information that will help someone

Network support

gives a person a sense of belonging in a group

foraging

seeking out and eating food; driven by biological, psychological, and social influences; primarily a learned behavior

hypothalamus

controls sensations of hunger

lateral - promotes hunger

ventromedial - promotes sateity

mating system

describes the organization of a group’s sexual behavior

Monogamy

exclusive 1-on-1 mating relationship

Polygamy

exclusive relationships with multiple partners

polygyny

exclusive relationships with multiple females

polyandry

exclusive relationships with multiple males

Promiscuity

non-exclusive mating

Mate choice / intersexual selection

selection of a mate based on attraction

Mate bias

how choosy members of the species are while choosing a mate

direct benefits

providing material advantages, protection, or emotional support

indirect benefits

promoting better survival in offspring

Phenotypic benefits

observable traits that make a potential mate more attractive to the opposite sex; indicate increased production and survival of offspring

Sensory bias

development of a trait to match a preexisting preference that exists in the population because of intersexual selection

Fisherian / runaway selection

positive feedback mechanism in which a particular trait that has no effect or a negative effect on survival becomes more and more exaggerated over time because of intersexual selection

Indicator traits

traits that signify overall good health and well-being of an organism, increasing its attractiveness to mates; may or may not be genetic

Genetic compatibility

creation of mate pairs that, when combined, have complementary genetics

Altruism

a form of helping behavior in which the individual’s intent is to benefit another at some cost to the self

Helping behavior

can be motivated by selflessness, but can also be motivated by egoism or ulterior motives, such as public recognition

Empathy

the ability to vicariously experience the emotions of another; thought by some social psychologists to be a strong influence on helping behavior

empathy–altruism hypothesis

one individual helps another person when feeling empathy for the other person, regardless of the cost

Game theory

attempts to explain decision-making behavior; originally used in economics and mathematics to predict interaction based on set rules, strategy, winning and losing, rewards and punishments, and profits and cost

evolutionary stable strategy (ESS)

when adopted; natural selection will prevent alternative strategies from arising

Cooperation

both the donor and recipient benefit

Spite

both the donor and recipient are negatively impacted

Selfishness

the donor benefits while the recipient is negatively impacted

inclusive fitness

measure of an organism’s success in the population; based on the number of offspring, success in supporting offspring, and the ability of the offspring to then support others

Social perception / cognition

provides the tools to make judgments and impressions regarding other people

attributions

explanations for the causes of a person’s actions

perceiver

influenced by experience, motives, and emotional state

target

the person about which the perception is made

situation

given social context can determine what information is available to the perceiver

primacy effect

first impressions are often more important than subsequent impressions

recency effect

the most recent information we have about an individual that is the most important in forming our impressions

reliance on central traits

tend to organize the perception of others based on traits and personal characteristics of the target that are most relevant to the perceiver

implicit personality theory

categories we place others in during impression formation

stereotyping

Making assumptions about people based on the category in which they are placed

halo effect

cognitive bias in which judgments about a specific aspect of an individual can be affected by one’s overall impression of the individual (including attractiveness)

just-world hypothesis

In a so-called just world, good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people; noble actions are rewarded and evil actions are punished

self-serving (attributional) bias

individuals credit their own successes to internal factors and blame their failures on external factors

Self-enhancement

the need to maintain self-worth

Self-verification

people will seek the companionship of others who see them as they see themselves

in-group bias

inclination to view members in one’s group more favorably

out-group bias

the inclination to view individuals outside one’s group harshly

Attribution theory

describes how individuals infer the causes of other people’s behavior

Dispositional (internal) attributions

relate to the person whose behavior is being considered, including beliefs, attitudes, and personality characteristics

Situational (external) attributions

those that relate to features of the surroundings, such as threats, money, social norms, and peer pressure

Consistency cues

the behavior of a person over time; if regular, likely to form a dispositional attribution

Consensus cues

to the extent to which a person’s behavior differs from others; if distinct, likely to form a dispositional attribution

Distinctiveness cues

the extent to which a person engages in similar behavior across a series of scenarios; if different, likely to form a situational attribution

correspondent inference theory

focuses on the intentionality of others’ behavior; unexpected help/hurt is explained by dispositional attribution

fundamental attribution error

generally biased toward making dispositional attributions rather than situational attributions when judging the actions of others

Actor-observer asymmetry (bias)

hypocrisy owing to the self-serving bias (by the actor) and the fundamental attribution error (by the observer); make situational attributions about ourselves but dispositional attributions about others; most commonly seen with negative behaviors

Attribute substitution

when individuals must make judgments that are complex, but instead they substitute a simpler solution or apply a heuristic

Individualist cultures

put high value on the individual, personal goals, and independence; more likely to attribute behavior to dispositional factors

Collectivist cultures

view individuals as members of a group and place high value on conformity and interdependence; more likely to attribute behavior to situational factors

Stereotypes

expectations, impressions, and opinions about the characteristics of members of a group; cognitive

occur when attitudes and impressions are based on limited and superficial information

Prejudice

irrational positive or negative attitude toward a person, group, or thing, prior to an actual experience; affective

Discrimination

when prejudicial attitudes cause individuals of a particular group to be treated differently from others; behavioural

stereotype content model

classify stereotypes with respect to a hypothetical in- group using two dimensions: warmth (not competitive) and competence (high status)

Paternalistic stereotypes

high warmth/low competence

the group is looked down upon as inferior, dismissed, or ignored

Contemptuous stereotypes

low warmth/low competence

the group is viewed with resentment, annoyance, or anger

Envious sterotypes

low warmth/high competence

the group is viewed with jealousy, bitterness, or distrust

Admiration stereotypes

high warmth/high competence

the group is viewed with pride and other positive feelings

self-fulfilling prophecy.

expectations can create conditions that then cause the expectations to become reality

stereotype threat.

concerned or anxious about inadvertently confirming a negative stereotype about their social group, leading to self-fulfilling prophecy

Propaganda

common way by which large organizations and political groups attempt to create prejudices in others; often invoke messages of fear, and depictions of the target group are often exaggerated to an absurd degree

Power

the ability of people or groups to achieve their goals despite any obstacles, and their ability to control resources

Prestige

the level of respect shown to a person by others