Social Psych Exam 1

Social psychology

The psychology of the indiviual as a social being

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Social being

The presence of others affects the individual, and vice versa

Max Ringelmann

Observed that individual effort at tug of war decreases as the group size increases

Norman Triplett

Observed that bicyclists racing against other bicyclists finish faster than racing against the clock

Edward Ross and William McDougall

Published textbooks entitled Social Psychology (1908)

Richard LaPiere

Observed inconsistency between attitudes and behavior(1934)

Kurt Lewin

Introduces the Field Theory of behavior (1951), personal traits and situation

The individual shapes (and is shaped by) the social environment

We are both self-aware and aware of our surroundings

We are capable of modifying our behavior

in response to internal states and the environment

Thinking can be deliberate or automatic

We rely on both logic and intuition to make decisions

Thought is shaped by motivation

The degree to which we rely more on logic or intuition is in part due to our level of motivation

Culture shapes social behavior

The culture in which we were raised (and in which we live) influences our perception of the world and our behavior

Evolution shapes patterns of behavior

Functionalism, Some behaviors are common across cultures, Not strictly or exclusively evolutionary

Brain activity affects (and is affected by) social behavior

Thoughts, feelings, & behaviors are all products of neurological processes

Neuroplasticity

Reciprocity between brain and behavior

The nature of the self

The self is a symbol-using, self-reflective, social being

Social being

Our selves develop because we are one of many, serves function of definition and comparison

Christopher Knight

Lived alone in the Maine woods for 27 years, lost his identity

Self-reflective

We are aware of ourselves as social beings, we are capable of evaluating our own behavior

Symbol

an arbitrary sign that represents an object or idea, We are capable of using symbols both to communicate and to understand our world and our place in it

George Herbert Mead

Defined “I” as the part of the self that is an active perceiver and initiator of action, “me” as the self as seen from the imagined perspective of others

William James

Defined “I” as the part of the self that is an active perceiver and initiator of action, “me” as anything that symbolizes and affirms who we are

“I”

The executive self - takes in information and acts on it

“me”

The descriptive self - made up of a number of qualities that describe us as individuals to ourselves and others

Self-concept

The collection of information that defines the self as an object of attention

Self-complexity

A measure of self-concept organization

Greater self-complexity is generally better for mental health

Positive effects are contingent on self-authenticity

Self schema

The organization of self-concept in memory, like a folder of info, serve as a basic unit of organization for self-knowledge ad influence our interpretations and judgments of ourselves and how we view the social world

Schema

A cognitive structure that represents knowledge about a stimulus, built up from experience

Self-awareness

A psychological state in where you consider yourself as an object of attention

Private self-awareness

Being aware of hidden, private self-aspects, Feel emotion more strongly (you and your thoughts), greater adherence to personal standards

Public self-awareness

Being aware of public self-aspects, evaluation apprehension, greater adherence to social standards

Diener and Wllbom

Mirrors and honesty

Self-consciouesness

Chronically self-aware, habitual self-awareness

Private self-conciousness

Especially aware of private self, introversion,

Public self-consciousness

Especially aware of public self, extraversion

Effects of private self-consciousness

Self-concepts more accurate, complex, and consistent with others’ perceptions, physically healthier, better relationships

Effects of public self-consciousness

Conform to group norms, not self beliefs, tend to be what other people or the situation demands

Self-monitoring

The tendency to use cues from other people and the situation to control how we present ourselves

People high in self-monitoring

Emphasize impression management in relationships, hyper-aware of appropriate behavior for the situation, less intimate level relationships

People who are low in self-monitoring

More consistent in their behavior across situations, less attention to situational cues (not reading the room)

Kruger and dunning, 1999

Assessed participants own rating of their own performance compared to actual performance, people thought they aced it but did bad

Self-awareness fails

You don’t know what you don’t know

Social perception

The process by which we come to know about other people’s temporary states (What they’re like right now) and enduring disposition (what a person is like in general), person perception

Impression formation

1st step in person perception, based on the quick assessment of salient(relevant to situation) and observable(observe directly) qualities and behaviors in others

Salient

relevant to the situation

Observable

things you can observe directly

Nonverbal cues

Sending and receiving information without using words (body movement, personal space, facial expression, tone of voice)

Nonconscious mimicry

to adopt other peoples’ physical mannerisms unconsciously/unintentionally, we like people who mimic us

Attribution

The use of information to explain reasons for behavior, beyond what’s happening right now, not directly observable

What is attribution useful for?

Future interactions, past behavior may predict future behavior

Internal attribution (personal or dispositional)

cause of behavior found in the person (personality, traits, mood), people do what they do because of who they are

External attribution (situational)

Cause of behavior found in the situation (luck, circumstances,), people do what they do because of what’s going on around them

Stability

Some causes are lasting (stable), some are fluctuating (unstable)

Controllability

Some causes are within our control, some are outside our control

Internal + stable + controllable

Effort, “I worked really hard for that A”

External + stable + uncontrollable

Luck, “I can’t believe I guessed so many right answers"

Internal + unstable + uncontrollable

Mood, “I was feeling good and it made me more confident”

External + stable + controllable

Bias, “I only did well because my professor likes me”

The fundamental attribution error

We tend to overrate personal causes for other peoples’ behavior

The Actor/Observer Effect

We tend to overrate situational causes for our own behavior

Attribution: Predictability

Easier to predict future behavior from personal attributions than situational attributions

Attribution: Perceptual salience

We prefer information that is easy to observe (voice, posture, behavior) over situational factors

Sex

Physical/biological distinction, differentiated by primary sex characteristics, consistent across cultures

Gender

Behavioral distinction, behaviors and traits associated with a given sex, culture-specific

Gender Identity

The individual’s experience of themselves as masculine/feminine

Gender in self-concept

Gender is more of continuum than a binary

Gender role

Specific behaviors and traits associated with masculinity/femininity within a culture, how society at large understands/describes gender

Gender traits: Agency

Traits suggesting action and influence, associated with masculinity (independent, assertive, aggressive)

Gender traits: Communion

Traits suggesting nurturing and warmth, typically associated with femininity (kind, gentle, compassionate)

Need someone tough and strong

Agency/men = good

Need someone caring and kind

Communion/women = good

Association of traits with gender affects perception of gender fit to situation

men are expected to be agentic (masculine), women are epected to be communal (feminine)

Gender differences evolutionary theory

Differences arise from evolutionary pressures

Evolutionary pressure: Need for child care and provision

Women more likely to care for children, men more likely to hunt/defend

Evolutionary pressure: selection of advantageous traits

Best caretakers are kind/nurturing. Best providers are dominant/aggressive

Best/most successful carry their traits into the next generation

The most nurturing women have more living children. The most dominant men get to reproduce

Gender differences - social role theory

Differences arise from society’s division of labor

Different roles require different traits

Caretaker should be kind, providers should be aggressive

Men and women tend to take on different roles

Women more likely to care for children, so men are more likely to be providers

Sex becomes linked to role-related traits

“Caretakers are women, providers are men”

Men and women expected to live up to roles

“Women should be kind, men should be aggressive”

Evolutionary theory

Gender differences are a product of evolution

Gender differences are hardwired into neural structure

Brains evolved along with bodies

Men and women are fundamentally different - physically and psychologically

Women have evolved to be inherently caring, men have evolved to be inherently dominant

Evolutionary theory is

An Essentialist explanation, differences rooted in biology, unchangeable, unalterable

Social role theory

Gender differences a product of culture

Social role theory: Differences are a product of social/cultural expectations

Behavior is a product of expectations

Social role theory: Men and women differ in ways that the culture expects them to differ

Rewarded for gender-typical behavior, punished for gender-atypical behavior

Social constructionist explanation

Differences rooted in culture and expectations, changeable

Evans and Diekman, 2009

Looked at gender differences in goals and career interest, gender role beliefs lead to gender-stereotypic careers

Gender role beliefs influence career interest

The more traditional your beliefs, the more you show interest in traditional careers

The influence is a product of goals

Traditional beliefs are related to more traditional goals and traditional goals lead to more traditional career interest

The influence relies on gender role beliefs, not sex

Relationship does not hold when replaced with sex, it's not what you are it’s what you believe

Covariation principle

The idea that behavior should attributed to potential causes that occur along with the observed behavior

Consensus

A type of covariation information, whether most people would behave the same way or differently in a given situation

Distinctiveness

A type of covariation information, whether a behavior is unique to a particular situation or occurs in many or all situations

Situational attribution

When consensus and distinctiveness are both high

Dispositional attribution

When consensus and distinctiveness are both low