SocialPsych Exam 2

Group

2 or more people who interact directly or indirectly. ex: cultures, organizations, communities

Ostracism

being excluded from a group; people respond negatively when their need to belong isn’t fulfilled

Collective self-esteem

self-worth based on your relationships with others and the groups you belong to

Why do people join groups? (3 reasons)

1. Social support, help, and information

2. To compare themselves to others and evaluate their beliefs

3. To build social identity and self-worth

Social Facilitation

your performance improves when others are around but only for simple or well-practiced tasks

Social Loafing

people put in less effort in a group than when they’re alone

Shared Mental Model

when all group members share the same understanding of tasks, roles, and goals

Group Cohesion

how unified and bonded a group is

Group Polarization

After group discussion, members shift to a more extreme version of their original plan in the direction of the majority

Common Knowledge Effect

groups over discuss info everyone already knows and under-discuss unique info only some members have; leads to worse decisions

Groupthink

when a cohesive group prioritizes agreement over good decisions; factors: cohesion, isolation, biased leadership, decisional stress

Family of Orientation

the family you’re born into

Family of procreation

the family you create when you leave your family of orientation

Secure Attachment

comfortable with caregiver, healthy adult relationship (60%)

Anxious-Avoidant Attachment

indifferent to caregiver, avoids intimacy as an adult (20%

Anxious-Resistant Attachment

clingy/angry when caregiver leaves, worries others don’t love them as an adult

Strange Situation Experiment

measures a child’s attachment style by observing how they react when their caregiver leaves and returns; Mary Ainsworth

What does Attachment Theory say about adult relationships?

The bonds you form with caregivers early in life create a "working model" that shapes how you view and behave in relationships throughout your life

Family Systems Theory

you can’t understand a person without a understanding their role in the family; when one person changes, everyone else adjusts too

Parenting Styles

Authoritative (warm + demanding) → happiest, most successful.

Authoritarian (cold + demanding) → obedient but unhappy.

Permissive (warm + not demanding) → lower self-regulation.

Uninvolved (neither) → lowest self-esteem and competence.

Culture

a shared pattern of meaning, thinking, and behavior passed down across generations; LEARNED

Why is culture considered an evolutionary adaptation?

group living and shared cultural knowledge helped humans survive

4 Features of Culture

Versatility (adapts to situations)

Sharing (exists between people)

Cumulative (builds across generations)

Patterns (predictable guidelines for behavior)

Cultural Awareness

understanding that cultural differences exist

Cultural Intelligence

actually being able to use that understanding in real situations

Individualism

self is separate, personal goals first (USA)

Collectivism

self is defined by group membership, group goals first (Japan)

Vertical Culture

hierarchy exists, some people have higher status; relates to both individualist and collectivist cultures

Horizontal Culture

most people are considered equal; applies to both types of cultures

Self-construal

how you define yourself in relation to others

Cultural Psychology

qualitative, ethnographic, understands culture from within

Cross Cultural Research

quantitative, uses standarized scales to compare cultures

Ethnocentric Bias

judging other cultures by the standards of your own—often without realizing it

Culture of Honor

a culture where reputation is fiercely defended

Insult Study

Southerners responded to insults with more anger, higher testosterone/cortisol, and firmer handshakes vs Northerners who showed amusement

Social Comparison Theory

people understand themselves with others

What are the two directions of social comparison and their effects?

Downward (comparing to someone worse off) → boosts self-esteem but can lead to cruelty.

Upward (comparing to someone better off) → can motivate or demotivate, triggers counterfactuals.

Counterfactuals

"What might have been" thoughts triggered by upward comparison — makes you feel dissatisfied with yourself

Self-Evaluation Maintenance Model

We respond to comparisons in whatever way best protects our self-esteem.

Downward: we value that trait more.

Upward: we downplay the trait or distance ourselves from the successful person.

What situational factors affect social comparison?

1. Fewer competitors = more pressure to compare.

2. Local comparators feel more relevant.

3. Being near the top/bottom of a ranking intensifies comparison.

4. Group identity can shift comparison to the group level.

Dunning-Kruger Effect

People with low ability overestimate how competent they are — they don't know enough to know what they don't know

Frog Pond Effect

Your self-assessment depends on the group you're in. A big fish in a small pond feels more capable than the same person in a more competitive group.

What is a mastery goal and how does it relate to social comparison?

A goal focused on self-improvement. People with mastery goals see upward comparison as inspiration, not a threat.

Emotion

a brief, intense, conscious reaction to a specific event; expressed verbally and nonverbally (facial expressions, body language)

Mood

feelings that are longer-lasting, less intense, and not tied to a specific event; you might not even know why you're in one

Why are emotions important in human life?

They help us make quick decisions, prepare the body for action, guide social interactions, and motivate behavior — all without requiring a lot of conscious thought

What does the James-Lange Theory say?

Your body reacts first, then you feel the emotion. Example: You see a snake → heart pounds → you feel fear.

What does the Cannon-Bard Theory say?

The physical response and the emotion happen at the same time — simultaneously but independently of each other

What does Schachter's Two-Factor Theory say?

Emotion = physical arousal + a cognitive label you attach to it. Context is everything. Same racing heart = excitement at a party, fear in a dark alley.

3 functions of emotions

intrapersonal, interpersonal, social/cultural

Intrapersonal

motivates actions within yourself

Interpersonal

communicates your states to others

Social/Cultural

maintains social norms and group functioning

What do Universalists say about emotions?

emotions are instinct, automatic, and shared across all cultures; rooted in our common human ancestry

What do Social Constructivists say about emotions?

emotions are shaped by culture; what we feel and how we express it reflects the norms of the society we grew up in

What did Paul Ekman find about facial expressions?

Using his Facial Coding System, he found people across cultures identified facial expressions the same way — suggesting some emotional expressions are universal, though with some variation

What is "ideal affect" and how does it differ by culture?

The emotional state you want to feel

North Americans prefer high-arousal positive emotions (excited, enthusiastic); East Asians prefer low-arousal positive emotions (calm, peaceful)

What are the similarities in emotion across cultures?

Basic physiological emotional responses are shared across cultures — culture doesn't fully dictate how our bodies react emotionally

Why do cultural differences and similarities in emotion matter?

They reveal how flexible emotional processes are and help prevent miscommunication across cultures

What are the two things that makes social comparisons more likely?

similarity and relevance

outcomes of upward social comparisons

hope and inspiration