Social Psychology Final Exam Study Guide - Key Terms & Definitions

Aggression

Intentional behavior aimed at doing harm or causing physical or psychological pain to another person

Hostile aggression

One's goal is to harm another

Instrumental aggression

One inflicts harm as a means to some other end

Evolutionary psychologists say aggression is genetically programmed into men because...

Enables them to defend their group and perpetuate their genes; Sexual jealousy to protect their paternity

Dual-hormone hypothesis

Testosterone only relates to dominance behaviors when the stress hormone (cortisol) is low

Challenge hypothesis

Testosterone only leads to aggression when there is the potential to mate

In terms of aggression, nearly all animals have evolved to...

Suppress aggression when necessary, even though it has survival value

Situational and cultural factors...

Influence whether or not aggression is exposed and how much, even though all humans are all born with the capacity for aggression

Cooperative, collectivist cultures have...

Low levels of aggression

In cultures of honor...

Men are raised to respond aggressively to threats/disrespect

Gender differences in aggression

Men are more likely to commit physical aggression, while women are more likely to commit relational aggression. Gender differences in physical aggression are reduced when women are provoked the same way as men or when cultural norms foster female aggression. Husbands are more likely to kill their wives, but there are no significant gender differences in rates of less extreme partner abuse.

Relational aggression

Acts that harm another person through manipulation of the relationship

Social cognitive learning theory

People often learn social behavior (eg aggression and altruism) through observational learning, especially from people/institutions they respect. But their actual behavior depends on their beliefs, perceptions, and interpretations of what they observe

Why does alcohol increase aggressive behavior?

It serves as a disinhibitor and disrupts normal processing, keeping people from noticing subtle elements of a social situation

"Think-drink" effect

When people expect alcohol to have certain effects, it often does

How do pain and heat impact people?

Makes them more likely to act aggressively

Frustration-aggression theory

Frustration can increase the probability of an aggressive response

What happens if one is thwarted on the way to a goal?

Frustration is more likely to produce aggression

Relative deprivation

The feeling that you have less than what you deserve or less than what people similar to you have. More likely to cause frustration and aggressive behavior than absolute deprivation.

Mere presence of a gun (aggressive stimulus) in an otherwise neutral situation...

Increases degree of aggressive behavior

Utilitarian moral reasoning

Justifies harm if it maximized the outcome for most people

Dehumanizing victims

Creates more psychological distance between the perpetrator and the victims

Compassion collapse

Describes the decreasing amount of compassion people feel toward victims of mass casualties compared to a single individual who has suffered a tragedy

Exposure to media violence increases...

Acceptance of violence

Who are the effects of exposure to media violence strongest on?

People who already have hostile attitudes / aggressive predispositions

Playing violent video games or watching violent TV

Increase hostile feelings and aggressive behavior; Has a numbing effect; Increases amount of violence exhibited; Exaggerates people's perceptions of danger in the outside world

Numbing effect

Increases people's indifference to the needs of others, especially if the others are not "one of us"

Kids who are already predisposed to aggression...

Are more likely to seek out aggressive shows and games to watch and play

Media violence has the greatest effect on kids already predisposed to violence because of...

A genetic predisposition; living in a violent family; personality trait

Other factors that have more powerful influence on aggression

Growing up with violent or otherwise abusive parents, living in a violent community, and being rejected socially

Aggressive punishment

Models that it is ok -> engenders greater aggressiveness; May enhance the attractiveness of the transgression to the child; Get the attention that the child is hoping for; Backfire by making the child anxious and angry

Why does punishment often fail to reduce aggression?

Because it does not communicate what the target should do, only what he or she should not do

For punishment to actually deter misbehavior...

It must be prompt and certain. (Severe punishment for crimes is unlikely to deter violent crime because people think they can escape punishment)

Theory of catharsis

Predicts that venting one's anger or watching others behave aggressively would serve to "get it out of your system"

Research on theory of catharsis

Acting aggressively or observing aggressive events, even to vent, increases likelihood of aggressive behavior

What does ventilating anger toward someone who has angered you do?

Increases blood pressure, feelings of anger, and acts of aggression

Each act of "righteous aggression" a person commits...

Increases the likelihood that it will be repeated

How to effectively deal with anger?

Become aware of the anger and then deal with it in unaggressive ways

What is the most significant risk for teen suicide risk, despair, and violence?

Social rejection

Aggression

Any behavior intended to inflict physical harm or psychological distress on someone or something

Instrumental aggression

Aggression as a means to an end

Hostile aggression

Aggression driven by anger and performed as an end in itself

Symbolic aggression

Indirect aggression harming another through gossip, character assault, damage to property, or interference with goal achievement

Relational aggression

Harm through manipulating relationships

Passive aggression

Intentionally not doing something in which you might otherwise engage in order to hurt someone or something

Microaggressions

Subtle daily slights, snubs, or insults--intentional or unintentional-- which communicate negative or hostile messages towards members of marginalized groups

Hobbes vs Rousseau

Hobbes thinks people are terrible but society is good and improves the people. Rousseau thinks people are naturally great, but society is what can corrupt them.

Cohen, Nisbett, Bowdie, & Schwartz (1996)

Why are people in Southern states more aggressive? Lots of American south was settled by Europeans from herder cultures, which are more protective/aggressive. Herders worry that people will steal from them, so they scare/threaten violence so no one will. Linked to social norms and gender roles.

The frustration-aggression hypothesis

Frustration always produces aggression... and aggression is always the result of frustration

Berkowitz's Revision

Frustration produces a readiness to aggress... which will lead to aggression if the situation supports it. Experiencing a negative emotion in the presence of a negative condition or cognition makes aggression more likely.

Berkowitz & LePage (1967)

Cover was that they were examining effects of stress on problem solving. 2 Ps (one is a confederate) were each told a topic to write an essay about. Then they will have to switch papers and read each other's. Then they give electric shocks to the other based on how good the essay is (1-good, 10-bad). IV1 - # of shocks received, meant to create anger (1 shock = not angry, 7 shocks = angry). IV2 - Items present on table when P is choosing # of shocks (nothing/racquet/guns/assoc guns). DV - # of shocks given. Results - If people weren't angry, they gave 2-3 shocks. When angry, they delivered more shocks, and gave most shocks if the guns were present.

Weapons effect

More aggression in the presence of weapons, especially if the weapons are directly associated with a person in the condition. Must be already experiencing a negative cognition or condition.

Albert Bandura

Says that aggression can result from children imitating adult behavior

Bandura, Ross, & Ross (1961)

IV - Model aggression (yes/no). Adults either model aggression or peace with Bobo doll (clown with weighted bottom) on video. Then they show kids this video. DV - # of aggressive acts engaged in 5s intervals. Kids liked gun toy more if they watched the aggressive version of the study.

A lot of times, aggression is inhibited out of fear of punishment...

So seeing someone be aggressive without punishments makes us think we can do it too

STUDY The General Aggression Model (Anderson & Bushman, 2002)

LOOK AT NOTES

Prejudice

A hostile or a negative attitude toward a distinguishable group of people based solely on their group membership - contains cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components

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 members. Can be both positive or negative - both harmful.

Benevolent sexism

When women are idealized as being better than men for stereotypically female qualities

Hostile sexism

(Typical sexism) The belief that women are inferior to men and the endorsement of negative stereotypes of women

Is prejudice emotional or logical?

Emotional, making it hard to argue because logical arguments can't counter emotion. This is why prejudices can linger unconsciously long after a person wishes to be rid of them.

Competence and warmth are the two traits conveyed in stereotypes

Pity (between warmth and incompetence); admiration (between warmth and competence); envy (between competence and cold); contempt (between incompetence and cold)

Discrimination

An unjustified negative or harmful action directed toward members of a group solely because of their membership in that group

Two types of discrimination

Institutional discrimination and microaggressions

When people are not in full control of their conscious intentions...

They often behave with greater aggression/hostility toward a stereotyped target than toward members of their own group

Why have many people learned to hide their prejudices?

In situations that may label them as discriminatory (the -ists)

IAT

Implicit Association Test. A measure of the speed of people's associations between a target group and negative attitudes. A popular method of identifying implicit prejudices, but controversy exists about what it actually means.

The prevalence of stereotypes and prejudices can create what?

A self-fulfilling prophecy both for members of the majority and for victims of prejudice

Social identity threat

The anxiety that some groups feel when a stereotype about their group is activated or they could be devalued on the basis of their social identity

3 aspects of social life that increases likelihood of prejudice

Conformity to social rules, the importance of social identities and "us-them" thinking, and realistic conflict over resources or power

Institutionalized discrimination

Reflects society's norms.

Normative conformity leads...

Many people to go along with stereotyped beliefs and their society's dominant prejudices and not challenge them. As norms change, so does prejudice.

What enables prejudice?

The human tendency to organize people into in-groups and out-groups

Ethnocentrism

The universal human inclination to see our own groups as superior to all others

The need for a social identity

The part of the self-concept based on our membership in groups that are important to us

In-group bias

The tendency to treat members of our own group more positively than members of the out-group

Out-group homogeneity

The mistaken perception that "they" are all alike

What happens when people blame the victim for their own prejudices?

It promotes in-group's feelings of superiority, it's identity, and the legitimacy of its power

Realistic conflict theory

Prejudice is the inevitable byproduct of real conflict between groups for limited resources -- whether involving economics, power, or status

Competition for resources leads to...

Denigration of and discrimination against the competing out-group

Scapegoating

A process whereby frustrated and angry people tend to displace their aggression from its real source to a convenient target (often an out-group)

Contact hypothesis

The most important way to reduce prejudice between racial and ethnic groups is through contact, bringing in-group and out-group members together

Problems with contact hypothesis

Mere contact is not enough and can even exacerbate existing negative attitudes

When is contact optimal?

When it involves intergroup cooperation, a common goal, and equal status, and when the contact is approved by authorities. Especially effective when groups are interdependent and need each other to achieve a superordinate goal

Jigsaw classroom

A form of cooperative learning in which children from different ethnic groups must cooperate in order to learn a lesson. Improves minority students' self esteem and performance, increases empathy, and promotes intergroup friendships

Prejudice

A hostile/negative attitude towards people in a group based solely on group membership

Schema

A mental structure that organizes one's knowledge about the world

Darley & Gross (1983) - "The Hannah Study"

Believe people can recognize when they've been stereotyping and stop themselves but it still impacts. Will test a form for evaluating student fit for "special programs." They show Ps a video from a "random kid" who either is above average, average, or needs remedial help. Ps are shown video of "Hannah," a 9 y.o. white girl and are given a fact sheet. Then they fill out the form for her. IV1 - Positive fact sheet or negative fact sheet. Hannah is depicted as having a low socioeconomic status and is from an urban area (negative expectancy) OR high socioeconomic status and is from a suburban area. Some participants see a video of Hannah being test -- her performance is ambiguous. DVs: Area scores, overall performance, work habits, motivation, emotional maturity, sociability, cognitive skills. Results: People who didn't see the test had similar results regardless of the expectancy. People who did see the test were very different. People in the positive expectancy rated her much higher than those in the negative expectancy, who rated her much lower in grade level.

Expectancy confirmation

Expectations from stereotypes are not necessarily valid in and of themselves; people will tend to seek out confirmatory evidence

Hostile sexism

Antipathy towards women; "classic sexism"

Benevolent sexism

Behaviors that are on their face positive but are rooted in women being "less than"

Discrimination

Unjustified negative/harmful action toward someone based solely on group membership

Word, Zanna, & Cooper (1974)

(STUDY 1) White student P plays role of employer to black and white "applicants" (really confederates). When black applicants, nonverbal cues were much less than with white applicants (less leaning in, less eye contact, etc). When black applicants, interview was shorter and interviewer (P) messed up their words more. (STUDY 2) White Research Assistant trained to respond to white P "applicants" the same way Ps had responded to black ones, with seating distance, eye contact, smoothness of speech, and length of interview, even though everyone was white in this case. DV - Ps' performance assessed by judge evaluations by vidoe. When asked to evaluate the performance, seeing the non-immediate conditions hurt the performance. The immediate conditions were rated with higher performances.

The Bogus Pipeline

People are asked about their racial opinions while they believe they are hooked up to a lie detector. When people are not hooked up to the "machine," they say less prejudiced things. When they think they can be caught lying, they are more prejudice in order to be honest.

The Implicit Association Test

Based on priming. Related concepts prime each other - speeds response. Opposed concepts inhibit each other - slows response. Shows Ps a face and a word. Told to hit one key if the word is positive and a different one if the word is negative. Their reaction time slows down if they see someone they view negatively with a positive word or visa versa. Supposed to demonstrate prejudiced stereotyping.

The Symbolic Racism Scale 2000 (Henry & Sears, 2002)

(1) Jim Crow Racism - need social distance, black = biologically inferior, support for discrimination and segregation. (2) Symbolic Racism - work ethic and responsibility for outcomes, excessive demands, undeserved advantage, denial of continuing racial discrimination.

Self-fulfilling prophecy

(In a cycle) Behaviors FROM others, Beliefs about others, Actions towards others

Social identity threat

The anxiety created when people are judged solely as a group member, not an individual. Identity needs to be salient. Task needs to be relevant to the social identity.

Conformity pressure

Hiding prejudice or acting more prejudiced to fit in

In-group bias

A tendency to favor members of one's own groups