Social Influence and Stress Psychology

Chapter 12: Factors Influencing Conformity

• Conformity: Changing one’s own behavior to more closely match the actions of others.

  • Solomon Asch Experiment (1951):

  • Method: Participants asked to determine which line on a card matched the length of another line.

  • Findings: Participants conformed to incorrect answers given by others about 1/3 of the time.

• Gender Influences on Conformity:

  • Overall differences in gender conformity are negligible.

  • In public responses, women are more likely to conform than men.

  • Reason: Due to socialization processes that instill agreeableness and supportiveness in women.

• Normative Social Influence:

  • The need to act in ways that let us be liked and accepted by others.

  • People's behaviors and attitudes serve as a “measuring stick” for what is considered "normal."

  • Individuals judge how well they measure against this perceived norm.

• Informational Social Influence:

  • Seeking cues from others about how to behave in ambiguous or unclear situations.

The Impact of Group Dynamics on Behavior

• Groupthink:

  • Phenomenon where group cohesion is prioritized over realistic factual consideration.

  • Example: On the Titanic, the belief in the ship's unsinkability prevented the implementation of lifeboat protocols.

  • Group members come to believe that the group can do no wrong and that their actions are morally justified.

  • Members opposing the group’s consensus often feel their opinions are worthless.

• Group Polarization:

  • Tendency of group discussions to lead to more extreme positions or riskier actions compared to decisions made by individuals alone.

• Social Facilitation and Social Loafing:

  • Social Facilitation: The positive influence of the presence of others on the performance of an easy task through increased arousal.

  • Social Impairment: The negative influence of others' presence on performance of difficult tasks due to heightened arousal.

  • Social Loafing:

  • The tendency to exert less effort on a simple task when working in a group.

  • Individuals often hide laziness in group contexts since contributions are not evaluated individually.

  • People tend to exert more effort when working alone since they cannot shift blame onto others.

• Deindividuation:

  • A phenomenon where individuals lose their sense of personal identity and personal responsibility in group settings.

  • Can lead to a lack of self-control which would not manifest if alone (example: cyberbullying).

Compliance and Obedience

• Compliance:

  • People alter their behavior due to requests or demands from others without actual authority.

• Obedience:

  • Changes in behavior are in response to direct orders from an authority figure.

• Types of Compliance Techniques:

  • Foot-in-the-Door Technique: Requesting a small commitment followed by increasingly larger requests.

  • Door-in-the-Face Technique: Starts with a large request that is usually rejected, followed by a smaller, more likely to be accepted request.

  • Example: Asking someone to care for pets and when refused, asking if they can at least collect mail.

  • Lowball Technique: Once a commitment is made, the terms are changed to increase the cost of compliance.

  • Example: A streaming service initially advertised at a low cost but increasing fees thereafter.

• Factors that Increase Obedience:

  • Based on Milgram’s Research:

  • Used a “teacher” and “learner” paradigm where the teacher administered shocks to an incorrect answer.

  • High percentage (61-66%) of participants complied to the highest shock levels, believing they were aiding scientific research.

  • Reinforcement of the foot-in-the-door technique helped promote compliance.

Attitude Characteristics and Formation

• Attitude:

  • A tendency to respond positively or negatively toward a certain idea, person, object, or situation.

  • Influences perceptions prior to exposure.

  • Valence: Refers to neutrality (positive or negative grading).

  • Extremity: Indicates the strength or distance from neutral in the attitude spectrum.

• The ABC Model of Attitudes:

  • Affective Component: The emotional response toward the object or situation.

  • Example: Feeling that country music is fun and uplifting.

  • Behavior Component: The action taken regarding the object or situation.

  • Example: Enjoying country music leading to listening to it actively, purchasing albums, or attending concerts.

  • Cognitive Component: Thoughts and beliefs about the object or situation.

  • Example: A belief that country music is superior to other music styles.

• Stronger Attitudes and Behavior Prediction:

  • Strongly held attitudes, such as quitting smoking due to health concerns, are more predictive of behavior.

• Attitude Formation Influences:

  • Direct Contact: Experiencing the person or situation leads to attitudes (e.g., childhood aversion to brussels sprouts).

  • Direct Instruction: Guidance from authority shaping views (e.g., warnings about smoking).

  • Interaction With Others: Attitudes of peers influencing personal attitudes (e.g., friendships and smoking perception).

  • Vicarious Conditioning (Observational Learning): Attitudes shaped through the observations others’ reactions and actions.

  • Larger World Influences: Media, literature, and advertising shaping social perceptions.

Attitude Change and Persuasion

• Persuasion: The method through which one individual attempts to alter another's beliefs or opinions through argument or explanation.

  • Source: The communicator or person delivering the message influences acceptance based on perceived credibility, expertise, and attractiveness.

  • Message: The nature of the argument, clarity, balance, generation of fear (when established as manageable), and suggested avoidance strategies impact persuasion effectiveness.

  • Target Audience: Characteristics and traits of individuals receiving the message shape persuasive effectiveness.

  • Medium: The delivery format significantly affects how the message is received (e.g., video influences audience engagement).

• Elaboration Likelihood Model:

  • Differentiates how messages are processed:

  • Central-route processing involves focusing on message content, while peripheral-route processing pays attention to superficial aspects like the source attractiveness.

  • Example: Juror decisions can be swayed by appearance rather than evidence presented.

Attitude-Behavior Discrepancies and Reactions

• Cognitive Dissonance: The discomfort resulting from conflicting thoughts and actions contrary to self-image (i.e., moral inconsistencies).

  • Strategies to Alleviate Dissonance:

  • Change the conflicting behavior to align with attitude.

  • Adjust cognitions to justify the behavior (e.g., rationalizing lies to minimize dissonance).

  • Create new thoughts to mitigate inconsistency.

  • Example: Participants paid less ($1) rationalizing an uninteresting task was actually engaging in their minds even though they dished out misinformation because less money did not justify the lie.

• Self-Perception Theory: Individuals infer their attitudes from observing their behavior instead of experiencing dissonance (e.g., self-inference post task engagement).

Impression Formation

• Impression Formation: The initial knowledge formed about another individual.

  • Primacy Effect: Early formed impressions tend to last even against contradictory information.

• Social Categorization: The unconscious assignment of individuals to groups (categories) based on shared characteristics.

  • Often leads to stereotypes related to those groups.

• Implicit Personality Theories: Childhood-established assumptions about relationships between personality traits and behaviors.

  • Example: Beliefs linking happiness with friendliness or quietness with shyness.

  • Implicit Association Test (IAT): Measures the strength of associations between different concepts by analyzing reaction times in categorization tasks.

Attribution Theory

• Attribution: The act of explaining behavior.

  • Attribution Theory: Analyzes the reasoning behind behavior categorizations.

  • Situational Attribution: External factors affecting behavior (e.g., lateness due to traffic).

  • Dispositional Attribution: Internal characteristics or dispositions leading to behavior (e.g., a careless personality causing tardiness).

• Emotional Component: Happy individuals attribute good behaviors to internal factors, while negative behaviors are given external reasons.

• Fundamental Attribution Error: Observers usually overestimate personal disposition and underestimate situational factors when explaining someone else’s behavior.

  • Actor-Observer Bias: The tendency to attribute one's own behavior to external factors and others' to internal dispositions.

• Motive Attribution Asymmetry: The disparity in how groups perceive their own motives as noble (e.g., care) while attributing negative ones to opposing groups (e.g., hate).

Prejudice and Discrimination

• Prejudice: Unsupported and typically negative attitudes about individuals based on group membership.

• Discrimination: Negative treatment of individuals resulting from prejudicial beliefs when equal treatment is warranted.

  • Emotional Effects: Discrimination correlates with depression, anxiety, and loneliness.

• In-Group vs. Out-Group:

  • In-Groups: Perceived as “us.”

  • Out-Groups: Perceived as “them.”

  • Ultimate Attribution Error: Assigning negative behavior of out-groups to dispositional causes while attributing positive actions of in-groups to internal motives.

• Microaggressions: Small, subtle slights and invalidating comments directed at marginalized groups.

• Scapegoating: Targeting an out-group as a means to address frustrations felt by in-group members.

Theories of Prejudice Development and Mitigation

• Social Cognitive Theory: Understanding prejudice through cognitive processes as they relate to social interactions.

• Realistic Conflict Theory: Analyses the emergence of prejudice correlating with resource competition (e.g., land or jobs) among groups.

• Social Identity Theory: Identity formed through social interactions, categorized into:

  • Social Categorization: Assigning oneself to social categories.

  • Social Identity: Self-viewing as a member of a specific group.

  • Social Comparison: Favorable comparisons enhancing self-esteem.

• Stereotype Vulnerability: Anxiety stemming from awareness of stereotypes affecting behavior.

  • Self-fulfilling Prophecy: Expectations influencing behaviors that lead to outcomes confirming those expectations.

  • Stereotype Threat: Pressure on members of stereotyped groups to avoid confirming negative stereotypes.

• Methods for Overcoming Prejudice:

  • Intergroup Contact: Engaging diverse groups promotes understanding and reduces prejudices.

  • Equal Status Contact: Situations where neither group can dominate, facilitating cooperative interactions and decreasing prejudicial attitudes.

  • The Jigsaw Classroom: Collaborative learning environment requiring interdependence to solve problems.

• Educational Interventions: Programs addressing systemic racism and structural inequities through educational endeavors.

Interpersonal Attraction Factors

• Interpersonal Attraction: The desire for a relationship with others.

• Physical Attractiveness: Main factor influencing relational choices.

• Proximity: Physical closeness generally increases relationship viability.

  • Mere Exposure Effect: Greater familiarity with stimuli leads to increased affection.

• Similarity: Sharing beliefs and interests (not contrasting characteristics) fosters attraction.

• Reciprocity of Liking: Individuals are more inclined to like others who express mutual affection.

  • Low self-worth impacts this dynamic by fostering mistrust and withdrawal.

• Online Interpersonal Relations:

  • Teen Engagement with social media Statistics:

  • 95% use YouTube, 67% TikTok, 62% Instagram, 59% Snapchat, 32% Facebook.

Sternberg's Theory of Love

• Three Components of Love:

  • Intimacy: Emotional closeness in the relationship.

  • Passion: Emotional and sexual arousal toward the partner.

  • Commitment: Decisions made regarding the relationship's continuity.

• Types of Love as per Sternberg:

  • Romantic Love: Combination of intimacy and passion for deep relationships.

  • Compassionate Love: Blends intimacy and commitment with reduced passion (often seen in long-term commitments).

  • Consummate Love: The ideal and ultimate union of intimacy, passion, and commitment.

Aggression: Biological and Learning Perspectives

• Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis: Aggression emerges when individuals encounter obstacles to achieve desired goals.

  • Common stressors include pain, loud noises, excessive heat, and unpleasant odors.

• Theoretical Perspectives:

  • Freud: Aggression is instinctual behavior.

  • Konrad Lorenz: Aggression is evolved behavior for survival.

• Biological Evidence:

  • Hereditary connections to aggression are seen in twin studies (where one twin's aggression highly predicts the other's).

• Brain Structures: Key regions involved in aggression include the amygdala and areas in the limbic system.

  • Neurotransmitters: Chemicals like dopamine, glutamate, GABA, and serotonin play roles in aggressive behavior, with testosterone correlating with increased aggression.

• Social Learning Theory: Aggressive behavior is observed and learned from role models, demonstrated in Bandura's Bobo Doll experiment.

The Influence of Social Roles on Aggression

• Social Roles: Behaviors expected from individuals in societal positions can shape aggressiveness (e.g., soldiers).

  • Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE): Demonstrated how assigned roles led to aggressive behavior among participants.

  • Critiqued for potential coercion and participant selection bias.

• Social identity theory: The influence of shared group identity on behavior postulates that identification with a group can incite aggressive behaviors.

Media Influence on Aggression

• Media Exposure: Children exposed to violence in media showcase higher aggression levels compared to non-exposed children.

• Video Games: Engagement in violent gaming correlates with aggressive behavior tendencies.

Factors Influencing Prosocial Behavior

• Prosocial Behavior: Actions intended to benefit others.

  • Altruism: Helping others without expecting anything in return, often in risk to oneself.

  • Observational studies indicate brain structures, like the TPJ, engage actively during altruistic deeds.

• Bystander Effect: The probability of assistance decreases as the number of observers increases, a phenomenon often linked to diffusion of responsibility.

• Five Decisional Points for Helping:

  • Noticing: Recognizing a potential emergency situation.

  • Defining: Interpreting signs signaling urgency.

  • Taking Responsibility: Assuming individual responsibility to intervene.

  • Planning Action: Strategizing viable ways to help.

  • Taking Action: Executing the planned help.

Decision Points for Helping Behavior

Chapter 11: Understanding Stress

• Stress: The combination of physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses to perceived threats or challenges.

  • Can lead to physical manifestations such as fatigue, sleep issues, vulnerability to illness, and more.

• Stressors: Events triggering stress responses can range from significant life changes to trivial daily irritations.

  • Distress: Unpleasant stressors.

  • Eustress: Optimal stress needed for healthy function and motivation (e.g., studying for an exam).

• Types of Stressors:

  • Catastrophes: Major unpredictable events creating widespread anxiety (e.g., 9/11).

  • Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS): Measures stress based on major life events where higher scores correlate with greater health risks.

  • College Undergraduate Stress Scale (CUSS): Identifies specific stressors in collegiate settings, noting the highest from trauma incidents.

  • Hassles: Daily mundane irritants can accumulate and yield significant stress effects.

Psychological Factors Related to Stress

• Pressure: External demands or expectations that create urgency and stress.

  • Uncontrollability: Heightened stress when individuals perceive a lack of control.

  • Frustration: Arises when individuals cannot achieve goals, manifesting in aggressive or escapist behaviors.

• Conflict Types:

  • Approach-Approach Conflict: Choice between two attractive goals (e.g., winning vs. getting a degree).

  • Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict: Choice between two undesirable goals (e.g., surgery vs. continual pain).

  • Approach-Avoidance Conflict: Single goal that has both appealing and unappealing aspects (e.g., job with good salary but high stress).

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) - Hans Selye

• Stages of GAS:

  • Alarm: Sympathetic nervous system triggers with the release of stress hormones, leading to energy bursts and symptoms (fever, headaches).

  • Resistance: Body maintains defenses while stressors persist; functionality improves as stress dissipates.

  • Exhaustion: Resources deplete, leading to fatigue and vulnerability to stress-induced ailments.

Immune System Response to Stress

• Stress Impact on the Immune System: Stress triggers immune responses similar to infections. With chronic stress, this system can weaken, making individuals more susceptible to diseases.

  • Psychoneuroimmunology: The interplay of psychological factors on the immune system's functionality.

• Allostasis and Allostatic Load:

  • Homeostasis management in response to changing environments

  • Chronic demands lead to overload which impairs health.

Health Psychology
- Health Psychology: Investigates how thoughts, behaviors, and relationships affect health.

• Vacuous/study behaviors may lessen vaccine effectiveness, for example.

  • Nocebo Effect: The expectation of harm based on treatment-related beliefs.

  • Cognitive Appraisal and Stress:

• Cognitive-Mediational Theory of Emotions: How stressors are interpreted determines their impact.

• Primary Appraisal: Evaluating the stressor's severity (threat, challenge, or harmless).

• Secondary Appraisal: Assessing available coping resources.

• Cognitive Reappraisal: Reinterpreting a stressor to evoke a more positive perspective.

Personality Influence on Reactions to Stress

• Personality Types: Indicate how individuals respond to stress; includes Type A (drive, hostility), Type B (relaxed), Type C (emotional suppression), Type D (anxiety, isolation).

• Optimism vs Pessimism: Influences health and longevity; higher hand of life satisfaction related to optimistic perspectives.

• Social Factors: Elements like overcrowding, poverty, job security, and climate change exhibit significant stress influences, culminating in health disparities.

• Coping Strategies: Include both Problem-Focused (addressing stressor) and Emotion-Focused (managing emotional responses) strategies to manage stress effects.

• Social Support: A robust social support network fosters healthier outcomes, adept coping, and resilience to stress.

• Religious Coping: Strong ties to spiritual beliefs often provide comfort and enhance resilience in stressful situations.