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Psychology 105: Readings (Midterm #2)
Chapter 12: Stress and Coping
stress - the tension, discomfort, or physical symptoms that arise when a stressor strains our ability to cope effectively
stressor - a stimulus in our environment that provokes stress
focus on identifying different types of stressful events
job loss, combat
pinpointed categories of events that most of us find dangerous and unpredictable
first year university students show a greater response to negative life events such as the breakup of a relationship than older men and women
women who are highly anxious or experience life events during pregnancy are more likely to deliver their babies early compared to women who experience more typical worries
traumatic event - extreme stressors that causes long-term psychological or health consequences
some call the psychological and physical response to stressor “strain”
groups at high risk for stressful events → young/unmarried people, immigrants, minorities, and people of low socioeconomic status
→ Ronal Kessler and colleagues studied approx 6000 men and women and found that (60%-90%) had experienced at least one potentially traumatic event (sexual/physical assault or car accident)
victims of natural disasters sometimes suffer from collective trauma that damages the bonds among them
Hurricane Katrina separated family members for long periods of time and spawned chaos in the streets of New Orleans
Stress as a Transaction:
stress is a subjective experience
people’s varied reactions to the same event suggest that we can view stress as a transaction between people and their environments
examine how people interpret and cope with stressful events
→ Richard Lazarus - contended that a critical factor influencing whether we experience an event as stressful in our appraisal
primary appraisal - initial decision regarding whether an event is harmful
secondary appraisal - perceptions regarding our ability to cope with an event that follows primary appraisal
when we believe we can’t cope, we’re more likely to experience a full-blown stress reaction than when we believe we can
problem-focused thinking - coping strategy by which we problem solve and tackle life’s challenges head on
Ex. when we earn a disappointing grade, we may analyze why we fell short and devise a workable plan to improve our performance on the next exam
emotion-focused coping - coping strategy that features a positive outlook on feelings or situations accompanied by behaviours that reduce painful emotions
Ex. after the breakup of a relationship, we may remind ourselves that we were unhappy months before it occured and re-enter the dating arena
Stress as a Response:
asses people’s psychological and physical reactions to stressful circumstances
typically, scientists expose subjects to stress-producing stimuli in the lab (otherwise they study people who’ve encountered real-life stressors
they measure a host of outcome variables
stress-related feelings → depression, hopelessness, and hostility
psychological responses such as increases in heart rate and the release of stress hormones
corticosteroid - stress hormone that activates the body and prepares us to respond to stressful circumstances
Major Life Events:
social readjustment rating scale (SRRS) - questionnaire based on 43 life events ranked in terms of their stressfulness as rated by participants
→ David Holmes
scored by adding numbers to the right of each item experienced over the preceding year
involve life transition → suggests that the scale may be measuring how we adapt to changing circumstances (which tax ability to cope effectively)
studies using the SRRS indicate that the number of stressful events people report over the pervious year or so is associated with a variety of physical disorders and psychological disorders (depression)
does not consider other crucial factors
people’s interpretation of events
coping behaviors and resources
difficulty recalling events accurately
“chronic” ongoing stressors
subtle forms of discrimination/differential treatment
the fact that some stressful life events (divorce or troubles at work) can be consequences rather than causes of people’s psychological problems
Hassles:
minor annoyances or nuisance that strains our ability to cope
Hassles Scale - measure how stressful events (ranging from small annoyances to major daily pressures) affect our adjustment
the frequency and perceived severity of hassles are better predictors of physical health, depression, and anxiety than major life events
it’s possible that major stressful events are the real culprits
the set us off when we already feel hassled or create hassles with which we need to cope
Mechanics of Stress:
→ Hans Selye - studied effects of prolonged stress on the body
recognize a connection between the stress response of animals, including stomach ulcers and increases in the size of the adrenal gland, which produces stress hormones, and that of physically ill patients, who showed a consistent pattern of stress-related responses
argued we’re equipped with a sensitive physiology that responds to stressful circumstances by kicking us into high gear
general adaptation syndrome (GAS) - stress response pattern proposed by Hans Selye that consists of three stages → alarm, resistance, and exhaustion
alarm reaction - involves excitation of the autonomic nervous system, the discharge of the stress hormone adrenalin, and physical symptoms of anxiety
Joseph LeDoux identified the seat of anxiety within the limbic system → dubbed the emotional brain
includes the amygdala, hypothalamus, and hippocampus
→ Ex. turbulence on a plane — images of plane crashes seen on tv pop up uncontrollably into a person’s mind → the swift emotional reaction to the turbulence is tripped largely by the amygdala (where vital emotional memories are stored and create gut feelings of a possible crash
fight or flight response - physical or psychological reaction that mobilizes people and animals to either defend themselves or escape a threatening situation
→ Walter Cannon (1915)
is a set of physiological reactions that mobilize us to either confront or leave a threatening situation
hypothalamus and pituitary gland orchestrate the adrenal gland’s release of another stress hormone (cortisol) which floods people with energy, while the hippocampus retrieves terrifying images from news stories of planes going down in flames.
resistance - adapting to the stressor and finds ways to cope with it
the instant the hippocampus detected danger form the first apparent jolt of rough air, it opened a gateway to portions of the cerebral cortex
Joseph LeDoux called the “thinking brain”
exhaustion - if our personal resources are limited and we lack good coping measures, our resistance may ultimately breakdown, causing our levels of activation to bottom out
results can range from damage to an organ system to depression and anxiety to a breakdown in the immune system
correctly recognizes that stress could sometimes be advantageous
eustress - based on the greek word “good” to distinguish from distress (bad stress)
events that are challenging, yet not overwhelming, such as competing in an athletic event or giving a speech, can create “positive stress” and provide opportunities for personal growth
short-term stress that lasts minutes to hours can also trigger a healthy immune system response to help us fend off physical ailments
Fight or Flight vs Tend or Befriend:
tend and befriend - reaction that mobilizes people to nurture (tend) or seek social support (befriend) under stress
common pattern of reacting to stress among females, although some males display too
females generally rely on their social contracts and nurturing abilities (tending) to those around them and to themselves → more than males do
when stressed out, female typically befriend/turn to others for support
compared to males, females generally have more to lose (especially when they’re pregnant, nursing, or caring for children) if they’re injured or killed when fighting or fleeing
oxytocin (love and bonding hormone) further counters stress and promotes the tend and befriend response
researches found that females with high levels of oxytocin during pregnancy and in the first month after birth of child are more likely to touch their children affectionately, sing special songs to them, and bathe them in special ways.
lab studies also suggest that oxytocin promotes trust consistent with a tend and befriend response
Ex. participants interacted with a conversational partner who dismissed, ignored, and interrupted them. Even when they experienced distress following the social rejection, they reported greater trust in their partner when they received oxytocin before their interaction compared with a placebo
Long-Lasting Stress Reactions:
post traumatic stress disorder - a condition that sometimes follows extremely stressful life events
symptoms include vivid memories, feelings, and images of traumatic experiences (commonly known as flashbacks), efforts to avoid reminders of the trauma, feeling detached or estranged from others, increased arousal (evidenced by difficulty sleeping and startling easily)
Psychomythology - are almost all people traumatized by highly aversive events:
people who cope well in the aftermath of a serious stressor tend to display relatively high levels of functioning before the event
resilience is the most common response to traumatic events
the rule rather than the exception even among children, who are commonly regarded as fragile and vulnerable to stress
Social Support:
social support - relationships with people and groups that can provide us with emotional comfort and personal and financial resources
encompasses interpersonal relations with people, groups, and the larger community
positive influence of social support isn’t limited to health outcomes
supportive and caring relationships can help us cope with short-term crises and life transitions
Ex. a happy marriage is protective against depression, even when people encounter major stressors, but the breakup of close relationships through separation, divorce, discrimination, or bereavement ranks among the most stressful event we can experience
social support (and its health benefits) is also enhanced through spirituality
Gaining Control:
we can relieve stress by acquiring control of situations
Five Types of Control:
Behavioural - the ability to step up and do something to reduce the impact of a stressful situation or prevent its recurrence
problem-focused coping → generally more effective in relieving stress than avoidance-oriented coping (avoiding action to solve our problems or giving up hope)
research shows that more highschool and college students use problem-focused coping techniques, the less likely they are to develop drinking problems
Cognitive - the ability to cognitively restructure or think differently about negative emotions that arise in response to stress-provoking events
includes emotion-focused coping → strategy that comes in handy when adjusting to uncertain situations or aversive events we can’t control or change
Decision - the ability to choose among alternative courses of action
we can consult with trusted friends about which classes to take and which professor to avoid, and make decisions about which autobody shop will be best qualified to fix that dent in our car
Informational - the ability to acquire information about a stressful event
knowing the types of questions are on standardized tests can help us prepare for them
proactive coping - anticipation of problems and stressful situations that promotes effective coping
people who engage in this tend to perceive stressful circumstances as opportunities for growth
Emotional - the ability to suppress and express emotions
Ex. writing in a diary can facilitate emotional control and has a host of long-lasting benefits
Is Catharsis a Good Thing?:
when it involves problem solving and constructive efforts to make troubling situations “right”, it can be beneficial
when catharsis reinforces a sense of helplessness, as when we voice our rage about something we can’t or won’t change, it can actually be harmful
the is worrisome because a slew of popular psychotherapies rely on catharsis, encouraging clients to “get it out of your system”, “get things off your chest”, or “let is all hang out” → yell, punch pillows, throw balls against walls when they become upset
research shows that these activities rarely reduce our long-term stress, although they may make us feel slightly better for a few moments
in other cases, they actually seem to heighten our anger or anxiety in the long term, perhaps because emotional upset often generates a vicious cycle → we can become distressed about the fact that we’re distressed
Does Crisis Debriefing Help?:
crisis debriefing/critical incident stress debriefing - designed to ward of PTSD among people exposed to trauma
crisis debriefing is a single-session procedure within one or two days of a traumatic event
it proceeds according to standardized steps, including strongly encouraging group members to discuss and process their negative emotions, listing the post traumatic symptoms that group members are likely to experience, and discouraging group members from discontinuing participation once the session has started
recent studies indicate that crisis debriefing isn’t effective for trauma reactions
nor is there much evidence that merely talking about our problems when we’re upset is helpful
→ a review of 61 studies revealed no overall benefits for emotional disclosure on a variety of measures of physical and psychological health
Hardiness - Challenge, Commitment, and Control:
hardiness - set of attitudes marked by a sense of control over events, commitment to life and work, and courage and motivation to confront stressful circumstances
Salvatore Maddi initiated a study of the qualities of stress-resistant people → they found that resilient people possess a set of attitudes (hardiness)
Hardy people view change as a challenge rather than a threat, are committed to their life and work, and believe that they can control events
Optimism:
optimistic people have a rosy outlook and don’t dwell on the dark side of life
there are some distinct advantages to being optimistic
more productive, focused, persistent, and better at handling frustration than pessimists
also associated with a lower mortality rate and lower risk of depression following a heart attack, lower distress in infertile females trying to have a child, better surgical outcomes, and fewer physical complaints
Spirituality:
spirituality - search for the sacred, which may or may not extend to belief in God
religious beliefs play vital roles in many of our lives
recent polls show that 87 percent of Americans and somewhat lower percent of Canadians believe in God
→ explanation of these findings is that religious involvement activates a healing energy that scientists can’t measure
the correlation between religiosity and physical health isn’t easy to interpret
some authors have measured religiosity by counting how often people attend church or other religious services and found that such attendance is associated with better physical health
Reasons why spirituality and religious involvements may be a boon to many people:
many religions foster self-control and prohibit risky health behaviours
alcohol, drugs, and unsafe sexual practices
religious engagement (attendance at services) often boost social support and increases satisfaction
a sense of meaning and purpose, control over life, positive emotions, and positive appraisals of stressful situations associated with prayer and religious activities may enhance coping
Flexible coping:
the ability to adjust coping strategies as the situation demands is critical to contending with many stressful situations
George Bonanno
studied who’d just started college in NYC when terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center and predicted that students who had difficulties with managing their emotions would find the transition to college life particularly difficult.
participants completed a checklist of psychological symptoms at the start of the study and two years later → those who were better at flexibly controlling their emotions by suppressing or expressing then on demand on a laboratory task reported less distress at the two-year follow-up
expending a great deal of effort to suppress and avoid emotions can distract us from problem solving and lead to an unintended consequence
the emotions may return in full or with greater force
the attempt to suppress negative emotions and thoughts associated with aversive events tends to backfire and increase the very negative experiences we’re struggling so hard to avoid
accepting circumstances and feeling we can’t change and finding positive ways of thinking about our problems can be a potent means of contending with stressful situations
Rumination:
some ways of reacting to stressful situations are clearly counterproductive
ruminating - focusing on how bad we feel and endlessly analyzing the causes and consequences of our problems
study found that both heart rate and blood pressure were higher among participants still ruminating 10 minutes after the termination of a stressor
rumination was measured based on levels of reflection, regret, and brooding, but also through relationship preoccupation
results showed that each of regret, brooding, and relationship preoccupation were related to negative adjustments, but reflection was related to positive adjustment
Nolen-Hoeksema
contended that women have much higher rates and more frequent bouts of depression than men because they tend to ruminate more than men
researchers have reported consistent sex differences in rumination, although on average, these differences are small
contrarily, when men are stressed out, they are more likely to focus on pleasurable or distracting activities such as work, watching football games, or drinking copious amounts of alcohol
they also adopt a more direct approach to solving their problems than women do
The Immune System:
immune system - our body’s defence system against invading bacteria, viruses, and other potentially illness-producing organisms and substances
first shield → antigens
skin
blocks the entry of many disease-producing organisms (pathogens)
when we cough or sneeze, our lungs expel harmful bacteria and viruses
saliva, urine, tears, perspiration, and stomach acid also rid our body of pathogens
some viruses/bacteria penetrate these defences
phagocytes and lymphocytes
two types of specialized white blood cells manufactured in the marrow of our bones
at the scene of the infection
→ phagocytes engulf the invader
→ macrophages wander through the body as scavengers, destroying the remaining antigens and dead tissue
→ T cells and B cells (lymphocytes) move through the body as they are called and attach to proteins on the surface of virus and cancer infected cells, popping then like balloons
→ B cells produce proteins called antibodies, which stick to the surface of invaders, slow their progress, and attract other proteins that destroy foreign organisms
acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) - a life-threatening, incurable, yet treatable condition in which the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) attacks and damages the immune system
when the immune system is overactive, it can launch an attack on various organs of the body, causing autoimmune diseases like arthritis (the immune system causes swelling and pain at the joints), and multiple sclerosis (the immune system attacks the protective myelin sheath surrounding neurons)
Psychoneuroimmunology:
psychoneuroimmunology - study of the relationship between the immune system and central nervous system
we must be careful not to fall prey to exaggerated claims
physical diseases aren’t the result of negative thinking, nor can positive thinking reverse serious illnesses like cancer — despite assertions by immensely popular alternative medical practitioners like Andrew Weil
Stress and Colds:
most people believe they are more likely to get a cold when they’re really stressed out (they’re right)
researchers discovered that significant stressors, such as unemployment and interpersonal difficulties lasting at least a month, were the best predictors of who developed a cold
perhaps because long-term stressors are especially likely to promote an inflammatory response know to increase the risk of colds and other diseases
Stress and Immune Function:
all the following stressors can lead to disruptions in the immune system:
taking an important test
death of a spouse
unemployment
marital conflict
living near a damaged nuclear reactor
natural disasters
positive emotions and social support can fortify our immune systems
Stress-Related Illnesses:
certain illnesses or disorders were once called psychometric because psychologists believed that deep-seated conflicts and emotional reactions were the culprits
Franz Alexander argued that stomach ulcers are linked to infantile cravings to be fed and feeling of dependency
peptic ulcer - inflamed area in the gastrointestinal tract that can cause pain, nausea, and loss of appetite
result of certain illnesses and disorders according to Franz Alexander
most people believe that ulcers are produced by stress
caused by helicobacter pylori
an unusual bacterium that thrives in stomach acid
psychophysiological - illnesses such as asthma and ulcers in which emotions and stress contribute to, maintain, or aggravate the physical condition
biopsychosocial perspective - the view that an illness or medical condition is the product of the interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors
most psychologists have adopted this view
numerous physical illnesses depend on the complex interplay of genes, lifestyle, immunity, social support, everyday stressors, and self-perceptions
Mysteries of Psychological Science:
coronary heart disease - damage to the heart from the complete or partial blockage of the arteries that provide oxygen to the heart
accounts for 1 in every 2.5 death/1 millions deaths a year
develops when deposits of cholesterol collect in the walls of arteries, narrowing and blocking the coronary arteries, creating a condition called atherosclerosis
associated with an inflammatory response in the artery walls, and if the condition worsens, it can lead to chest pain and deterioration and death of heart tissue → heart attack
role of stress
prominent in CHD risk factors
stressful life events predict recurrences of heart attacks, high blood pressure, and enlargement of the heart
role of personality
longstanding behaviour patterns contribute to risk for CHD
type A personality - personality type that describes people who are competitive, drive, hostile, and ambitious
→ these people are at higher risk for heart attacks
anger and hostility
hostility is the most predicative of heart disease
hostility is associated with well-documented risk factors for CHD
→ alcohol consumption
→ smoking
→ weight gain
Towards a Healthy Lifestyle:
healthy behaviours to follow
quit smoking
smoking ranks as the leading cause of preventable disease and death in Canada and the USA
under half of adult smokers are make a serious attempt to quit smoking over the course of a year
stop-smoking approaches typically educate people about the health consequences of smoking and teach smokers to manage stress
→ help to pinpoint and avoid high-risk situations associated with past smoking (parties and bars)
limit excessive drinking
repeated bouts of heavy drinking, especially heavy episodic drinking, are associated with increases in many different types of cancer, serious and sometimes fatal liver problems, pregnancy complications, and brain shrinkage/other neurological problems
→ drinking five or more drinks on one occasion for males and four or more drink for females
control weight
people who are obese are at heightened risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, arthritis, some types of cancer, respiratory problems, and diabetes
exercise is one of the best means of shedding belly fat and losing weight over the long haul
overweight individuals suffer from a variety of social and emotional problems
→ obese children are subject to teasing
→ adults often experience discrimination in the social arena and workplace
exercise
jogging, swimming, bicycling, and other aerobic exercises promote the use of oxygen in the body
can lower blood pressure and risk for CHD
improve lung function
relieve symptoms of arthritis
decrease diabetes risk
cut risk of breast and colon cancer
can improve cardiovascular recovery from stress and relieve depression and anxiety
personal inertia - to try something new
many self-destructive habits relieve stress and don’t create an imminent health threat, so it’s easy to “let things be”
misestimating risk - underestimate certain risks to our health and overestimate others
Complementary and Alternative Medicine:
alternative medicine - health care practices and products used in place of conventional medicine
medicine for which there’s solid evidence of safety and effectiveness
complementary medicine - health care practices and products used together with conventional medicine
→ together, both forms of medicine are known as CAM (complementary and alternative medicine)
Biologically Based Theories:
vitamins, herbs, and food supplements
herbal and natural preparations that some once viewed as promising have generally been found to be no more effective than a placebo
negative findings have challenged still-popular beliefs
St. John’s wart can alleviate the symptoms of moderate to severe depression
shark cartilage can cure some cancers
glucosamine and chondroitin (found naturally in the body but extracted from animal tissue) relieve mild arthritis pain
acai berries can improve sexual performance, increase energy, and aid digestion and weight loss
extract from leaves of the ginkgo biloba tree slows cognitive decline in aging adults, prevents Alzheimer’s disease, and reduces heart attacks and strokes
dietary supplements with calcium don’t prevent much bone loss in females
vitamin C doesn’t markedly decrease the severity or duration of colds
Manipulative and Body-Based Methods:
chiropractic manipulation
chiropractors - health professionals who manipulate the spine to treat a wide range of pain-related conditions and injuries and often provide nutritional and lifestyle counselling
can’t perform surgeries or prescribe medication
based on the idea that irregularities in the alignment o the spine (subluxations) prevent the nervous and immune systems from functioning properly
Mind-Body Medicine:
biofeedback - feedback by a device that provides almost an immediate output of a biological function, such as heart rate or skin temperature
some patients can learn to use this feedback to modify physiological responses associated with stress or illness
meditation - a variety of practices that train attention and awareness
concentrative meditation - the goal is to focus attention on a single thing, such as a flame of a candle, and mantra, or one’s breath
awareness meditation - attention flows freely and examines whatever comes to mind
positive effects of meditation:
heightened creativity
empathy
alertness
self-esteem
Energy Medicine:
acupuncture
ancient Chinese practice of inserting thin needling into more than 2000 points in the body to alter energy forces believed to run through the body
can help to relieve nausea following surgical operations and treat pain-related conditions
still no reason to believe that any of its positive effects are due to energy changes
Placebos and CAMS:
research on acupuncture and other CAM treatments concluded that they’ve mostly failed to demonstrate that they’re more effective than placebos or “sham” treatments
patients with back pain and migraine headaches benefit from sham acupuncture treatments in which researchers place needles at locations that don’t match the acupuncture points or in which needles don’t actually puncture the skin
can be more effective than oral drug placebo for the treatment of migraine headaches
placebo effects are often impressive in their own right and exert a measurable impact on brain chemistry and activity
both placebos and acupuncture stimulate the release of endorphins
placebo power
Parkinson’s disease - a serious and irreversible illness
produces slow movements, rigid muscles, and tremors associated with decreased levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine
generally afflicts people over 60 but can occasionally strike people in their 20s and 30s
Whole Medical Systems - Homeopathy:
homeopathic medicine - remedies that feature a small dose of an illness-inducing substance to activate the body’s own natural defences
based on the premise that consuming an extremely diluted dose of a substance known to produce an illness in a healthy person will alleviate that illness
when we rely too heavily on the representative heuristic, we can make errors in judgement
in this case, we might assume that the treatment for a disorder must resemble its cause → if a disorder it caused by too much chemical A, we should treat it by presenting the patient with as little chemical A as possible
homeopaths often dilute remedies to the point that not even a single molecule of the original substance remains
believe that the “memory” of the substances is enough to stimulate the body’s defenses is an extraordinary claim that makes utterly no sense from a scientific perspective
no homeopathic remedies haven’t been shown to be effective for any medical condition
5 probable reasons for the apparent effectiveness of homeopathy and other unsupported CAMs:
they produce a placebo effect by instilling hope
people assume that natural products like herbs and megavitamins improve their health because they perceive no adverse effects to counter their beliefs
the symptoms of many physical disorders come and go
so consumers may attribute symptom relief to the treatment rather than to changes in the natural course of the illness
when CAM treatments accompany conventional treatments, people may attribute their improvement to the CAM treatment rather than to changes in the natural course of the illness
the problem may be misdiagnosed in the first place, so the condition isn’t as severe as initially believed
Chapter 13: Social Psychology
social psychology - the study of how people influence others’ behaviours, beliefs, and attitudes
helps us understand not only why we sometimes act helpfully and even heroically in the presence of others, but also why we occasionally show our worst sides
Humans as a Social Species:
humans are highly social species
COVID pandemic showed many how unsettling it was to have to self-isolate
Gravitating Towards Each Other:
Robin Dunbar → 150
150 is the number of the approximate size of most human social groups
research suggests that 150 is also close to the average number of people that each of us knows reasonably well
Why We Reform:
the need to belong theory - humans have a biologically based need for interpersonal connections
Roy Baumeister and Mark Leary
we seek out social bonds when we can and suffer negative psychological and physical consequences when we can’t
systematic research shows that the threat of social isolation can lead us to behave in self-destructive ways and even impair out mental functioning
How We Became This Way:
→ conformity, obedience, and many other forms of social influence became maladaptive only when they’re blind or unquestioning
from this standpoint, irrational group behaviour are byproducts of adaptive processes that have gone terribly wrong
Social Comparison:
one reason others affect is that they often serve as a mirror of sorts, providing us with helpful information about ourselves
social comparison theory - we evaluate our abilities and beliefs by comparing them with those of others → doing this helps us to understand ourselves and our social worlds better
Leon Festinger
comes in two different “flavours”
upward social comparison - we compare ourselves with people who seem superior to us in some way
we may feel better because we conclude that “if they can achieve that, I bet I can too”
downward social comparison - we compare ourselves with others who seem inferior to us in some way
we often end up feeling superior to our peers who are less competent than us in an important domain of life
→ both can boost our self-concepts
Social Contagion:
we often look to others when a situation is ambiguous to figure out what to believe
how to act
looking at the facial expressions of others, in a situation of plane turbulence, for cues how to react
we can influence the way people feel, act, and think by our own actions
staring at someone
Mysteries of Psychological Science:
why are yawns contagious
contagious yawning doesn’t typically emerge until about the age of 4
this developmental trend may reflect the emergence of empathy and theory of mind in children
recent research has examined the existence of contagious yawning in animals
chimpanzees exhibit contagious yawning more to members of their own groups than other chimpanzees → suggesting a tue to empathy
none of us know why yawning is contagious
some argue that contagious yawning promotes social bonding of individuals within groups
may have evolved to foster alertness within a group
mass hysteria - outbreak of irrational behaviour that is spread by social contagion
such as the flu epidemic
many of us are prone to mass hysteria under the right circumstances
because we are most likely to engage in social comparison when a situation is ambiguous
some cases lead to collective delusions → many people simultaneously come to be convinced of bizzare things that are false
urban legends - false stories that have been repeated so many times that people believe them to be true
rumours tend to grow lessa accurate with repeated retellings, often becoming over simplified to make a good story
Gordon Allport and Leo Postman
convincing because they’re surprising yet plausible
make good stories because they tug on emotions, especially negative ones
research shows that the most popular urban legends contain a heavy dose of material relevant to the emotion of disgust
probably because they arouse our perverse sense of curiosity
The Fundamental Attribution Error:
attributions - process of assigning causes to behaviours
make them every day
internal (inside the person)
when we conclude Joe Smith robbed the bank because he’s impulsive
external (outside the person)
when we conclude the Bill Jones robbed the bank because his family was broke
fundamental attribution error - tendency to overestimate the impact of dispositional influences on other people’s behaviour
Lee Ross
dispositional influences - enduring characteristics, such as personality traits, attitudes, and intelligence
because of this error, we attribute too much of people’s behaviour to who they are
we tend to underestimate the impact of situational influences on others’ behaviour, so we also attribute too little their behavior to what’s going on around them
no one knows why we commit fundamental attribution error, but one likely culprit is the fact that we’re rarely aware of all of the situational factors impinging on other’s behaviour at a given or a moment
we are less likely to commit the fundamental attribution error if we’ve been in the same situation ourselves or been encouraged to feel empathetic toward those we’re observing
we tend to commit fundamental attribution error only when explaining others’ behaviour → when explaining our own behaviour, we typically invoke situational influences
The Fundamental Attribution Error - Cultural Influences:
fundamental attribution error is associated with cultural factors
Japanese and Chinese people seem to be less prone to this error
may be because they’re more likely than those in Western cultures to view behaviours within a context → as a result, they may be more prone to seeing others’ behaviour as a complex stew of both dispositional and situational influences
Ex. Chinese participants are considerably more likely to invoke dispositional explanations for the behaviour of a mass murder (“they must be evil people”) and more likely to invoke situational explanations (“they must have been under terrible stress in their life”)
Deindividuation:
deindividuation - tendency to people to engage in uncharacteristic behavior when they are striped of their usual identities
several factors contribute
most prominent are a feeling of anonymity and lack of individual responsibility
when we are deindividuated, we become more vulnerable to social influences, including the impact of social roles
the advent of email, text messaging, and other largely impersonal forms of communication may contribute to deindividuation → leading to a heightened risk of “flaming” (sending insulting messages to others)
Stanford Prison Study:
→ what would happen if ordinary people played the roles of prisoner and guard?
Philip Zimbardo
the set up
advertised for volunteers for a two-week “psychological study of prison life”
randomly assigned 24 male undergraduates to either be a prisoner or a guard
the study
basement of Stanford psychology department turned into simulated prison, complete with jail cells
real police officers even went to the houses and of the would-be prisoners and arrested and transported to the simulated prison
prisoners and guards were forced to dress in clothes befitting their assigned roles, Zimbardo, who acted as the prison superintendent, instructed guards to refer to prisoners only by numbers, not by names
results
first day passed without incident
later, the guards began to treat prisoners cruelly and subject them to harsh punishments
guards forced prisoners to perform humiliating lineups, do push-ups, sing, strip naked, and clean filthy toilets with their bare hands
by day two, the prisoners mounted a rebellion, which the guards quickly quashed
the guards then became increasingly sadistic, using fire extinguishers on the prisoners and forcing them to simulate sodomy
soon, many prisoners began to display signs of emotional disturbance, including depression, hopelessness, and anger
two prisoners were released because they appeared to be on the verge of a psychological breakdown
one prisoner went on hunger strike in protest
on day six, Zimbardo ended the study eight days early
although the prisoners were relieved at the news, some guards were disappointed
→ this study has been the target of considerable criticism in recent years
this study wasn’t carefully controlled
it was more of a demonstration than an experiment
his prisoners and guards may have experienced demand characteristics to behave in accord with their assigned roles
they may have assumed that the investigators wanted them to play the parts of prisoners and guards and obliged
→ these demand characteristics may be been inadvertently amplified by the researchers
Crowds:
deindividuation helps explain why crowd behaviour is so predictable
the actions of people in crowds depend largely on whether others are acting prosocially or antisocially
a myth that’s endured for centuries is that crowds are always more aggressive than individuals
Gustav Le Bon argued that crowds are a recipe for irrational and even destructive behaviour → people in crowds are more anonymous and therefore more likely to act on their impulse than individuals
Groupthink:
groupthink - emphasis on group unanimity at the expense of critical thinking
closely related to conformity
groups sometimes become so intent on ensuring that everyone agrees with everyone else that they lose their capacity to evaluate issues objectively
treatments
groupthink is often treatable
Janis noted that the best way to avoid groupthink is to encourage active dissent within an organization
→ recommended that all groups appoint a devil’s advocate (a person whose role is to voice doubts about the wisdom of group’s decisions
→ suggested having independent experts on hand to evaluate whether the group’s decisions make sense
Cults + Brain Washing:
cults - group of individuals who exhibit intense and unquestioning devotion to a single cause
because they are secretive and difficult to study, we know relatively little about them
but evidence suggests that cults promote groupthink in four major ways
having a persuasive leader who fosters loyalty
disconnecting group members from the outside world
discouraging questions on the group’s assumptions
establishing training practices that gradually indoctrinate members
common misconceptions
cult members are usually emotionally disturbed → studies show that most cult members are psychologically normal
→ stems from the fundamental attribution error — we overestimate the role of personality traits and underestimate the role of social influences
all cult members are brainwashed → there’s considerable scientific controversy about the exisistance of brainwashing.
→ there are reasons to doubt whether brainwashing is a unique means of changing people’s behaviour — instead the persuasive techniques of brainwashing probably aren’t all that different from those used by effective political leaders and salespeople
resisting cult influence
inoculation effect - approach to convincing people to change their minds about something by first introducing reasons why the perspective might be correct and then debunking those reasons
William McGuire - demonstrated that the best way to immunize people against undesirable beliefs is to first gently introduce them to reasons why this belief seems to be correct → gives them the chance to generate their own counterarguments against these reasons
Obedience:
obedience - adherence to instructions from those of higher authority
the groups influence springs not from our peers, but from our leaders (teacher, parent, boss)
necessary, even essential ingredient in our daily lives
can produce troubling consequences when people stop asking questions about why they’re behaving as others want them to
The Milgram Study:
found that obedient and disobedient participants were similar on most personality variables
found no evidence that obedient participants were more sadistic than disobedient participants → suggesting that participants didn’t follow orders because they enjoyed doing so
researchers identified a few predictors of obedience in the study
the level of moral development using his interview-based scheme was negatively correlated with compliance
people with high levels of a personality trait called authoritarianism are more likely to comply with the experimenters’ demand
people with high levels of authoritarianism see the world as a big hierarchy of power → authority figures are to be respected and not questioned
found no consistent sex differences in obedience
critics note that some concentration camp guards actively enjoyed torturing innocent people
further argued that destructive obedience on a grand scale probably requires not only authority figure bearing an official stamp of approval, but also a core group of genuinely wicked people
prosocial behaviour - behaviour intended to help others
bonobo
antisocial behaviour - aggressive acts
chimpanzees
→ primate researcher Frans de Waal argued that our two closest animal relatives (bonobo & chimpanzee) display the seeds of both prosocial and antisocial behaviour
Causes of Bystander Nonintervention:
→ John Darley and Bibb Latane
the bystander effect was less a consequence of apathy than of “psychological paralysis”
bystanders in emergencies typically want to intervene, but often find themselves frozen, seemingly helpless to help
suspected that popular psychology was wrong — there’s actually danger rather than safety in numbers
Two Major Factors That Explain The Bystander Effect
pluralistic ignorance - error of assuming that no one in a group perceives things as we do
to intervene in an emergency, we first need to recognize that the situation is really an emergency
relevant when we’re trying to figure out whether an ambiguous situation is really an emergency
diffusion of responsibility - reduction in feelings of personal responsibility in the presence of others
the presence of others makes each person feel less responsible for the outcome
Social Loafing:
social loafing - phenomenon whereby individuals become less productive in groups
people slack off in groups
consequence = the whole is less than the sum of its parts
some believe it is a variant of bystander nonintervention
social loafing appears to be due in part to diffusion of responsibility
people working together in groups typically feel less responsible for the outcome of a project than they do when working alone
result = they don’t invest much time
Is Brainstorming in Group a Good Way to Generate Ideas?:
less effective than individual brainstorming
group members may be anxious about being evaluated by others
leading them to hold back potentially good ideas
social loafing
when brainstorming in groups, people frequently engage in “free riding”
they sit back and let others do the hard work
Altruism:
altruism - helping others for unselfish reasons
scientists have argued that we help others for egoistic reasons (self-centered)
relieving our own distress
experiencing the joy of others we’ve helped
Helping - Situational Influences:
people are more likely to help others when they can’t easily escape the situation
running away, driving away
characteristics of the victim also matter
person with a cane vs an obvious drunk
can be infectious when it collides with conformity and everyone else pitches in
Miracle Food Drive where over 10 000 volunteers collected street-by-street donations from residents
enlightenment effect - learning about psychological research can change real-world behaviour for the better
someone who was presented with psychology information/stats and then two weeks later is more likely to help someone slumped over on a bench because they now had new knowledge about bystander intervention
individual and gender differences
individual differences in personality also influence the likelihood of helping
participants who are less concerned about social approval and are less traditional are more likely to go against the grain and intervene in emergencies even when others are present
extroverted people are also more prone to help others than introverted people
people with life saving skills are more likely to offer assistance to others in emergencies than other people, even with they’re off duty
Aggression - Why We Hurt Others:
aggression - behaviour intended to harm others, either verbally or physically
→ situational influences
interpersonal provocation - strike out aggressively against those who have provoked us
frustration - thwarted from reaching a goal
media influence - watching media violence increases the odds of violence through observational learning
aggressive cues - external cues associated with violence (guns and knives) can serve as discriminative stimuli for aggression, making us more likely to act violent in response to provocation
arousal - when our autonomic nervous systems are hyped up, we may mistakenly attribute this arousal to anger
alcohol and other drugs - certain substances can inhibit our brain’s prefrontal cortex, lowering our inhibitions toward behaving violently
temperature - rates of violent crime in different regions of the USA mirror the average temperatures in these regions
because warm temperatures increase irritability, they may make people more likely to lose their tempers when provoked or frustrated
Aggression - Individual, Gender, and Cultural Differences:
personality traits - people differ in their tendencies to behave aggressively
certain traits can combine to create a dangerous cocktail of aggression-proneness
sex differences - there are higher levels of physical aggressiveness among males than females
girls tend to be higher than boys in relational aggression → form of indirect aggression, prevalent in girls, involving spreading rumours, gossiping, the nonverbal putdowns for the purpose of social manipulation
cultural differences - physical aggression and violent crime are less prevalent among Asian cultures than in North American or European cultures
people from southern regions of the USA are more likely than those from other regions of that country to adhere to a culture of honor → social norm of defending one’s reputation in the face of perceived insults
When Attitudes Don’t Predict Behaviour:
although attitudes forecast behaviour at between than chance levels, they’re far from powerful predictors
this reflects the fact that our behaviours are the outcome of many factors, only one of which is our attitudes
When Attitudes Do Predict Our Behaviour:
attitudes that are highly accessible (come to mind easily) tend to be strongly predictive of our behaviour
→ the fact that attitudes are correlated with behaviours doesn’t mean they cause them
other explanation are possible
our behaviours may sometimes cause our attitudes → starting out with a negative attitude toward people experiencing homelessness
Origins of Attitude:
recognition heuristic - makes us more likely to believe something we’ve heard many times
generally serves us well because we hear many times from many different people are often true
can help us make snap judgements that are surprisingly accurate → when asking who will win a tennis match, many people will pick the player they’ve heard of (more often than not, it is effective)
can lead us to fall for stories that are too good to be true (urban legends)
hearing one person express an opinion 10 times can lead us to conclude falsely that this view is widely held
Attitudes and Personality:
attitudes are associated in important ways with our personality traits
our personalities even relate to/influence our attitudes towards religion
the specific religion we adopt is largely a function of our religious exposure while growing up and is mostly independent of our personalities
our religiosity (the depth of our religious convictions) is linked to certain personality traits
Cognitive Dissonance Theory:
Leon Festinger
cognitive dissonance - unpleasant mental experience of tension resulting from two conflicting thoughts or beliefs
if we hold an attitude or belief (cognition A) that’s inconsistent with another attitude or belief (cognition B), we can reduce the anxiety resulting from this inconsistency in three major ways
change cognition A
change cognition B
introduce a new cognition (C) that resolves the inconsistency between A and B
Alternatives to Cognition Dissonance Theory:
some scholars contend that it’s not dissonance itself that’s responsible for shifting our attitudes, but rather threats to our self-concepts
Festinger and Carlsmith Study:
The Setup
mind-numbing boring tasks
ask the participant to tell the next one that the study was interesting enjoyable
The Study:
randomly assigned some participants to receive $1 to perform this favour and other to receive $20
afterward, they asked participants how much they enjoyed performing the tasks
cognitive dissonance theory makes the prediction that participants paid $1 should say they enjoyed the task more
participants given $20 had a good external justification
participants given $1 had almost no external justification
→ as a result, the only easy way to resolve their cognitive dissonance was to persuade themselves that they must have enjoyed the task after all
The Results:
participants given less money reported enjoying the task more
presumably because they needed to justify their lies to themselves
their behaviours had changed their attitudes
→ there are at least two other explanations for cognitive dissonance
self-perception theory - theory that we acquire our attitudes by observing our behaviours
according to this model , Festinger and Carlsmith’s participants in the $1 condition looked at their behaviour and said to themselves “I told other participants that I liked the taks, and I got paid only one lousy buck to do so. So I guess I must have really liked the task”
impression management theory - theory that we don’t really change our attitudes, but report that we have so that our behaviours appear consistent with our attitudes
according to this model, participants in the $1 condition didn’t want to look like hypocrites
so they told the experimenter they enjoyed the task even though they didn’t
Routes to Persuasion:
dual process models of persuasion - there are two alternative pathways to persuading others
central route - leads us to evaluate the merits of persuasive arguments carefully and thought out
focused on informational content of arguments
do they hold up under close scrutiny?
especially likely to take this route when we’re motivated to evaluate information carefully and are able to do so
peripheral route - leads us to respond to persuasive arguments on the basis of snap judgements
focus on surface aspects of the argument
how appealing or interesting are they?
especially likely to take this route when we’re not motivated to weigh information carefully and don’t have the ability to do so
the danger of persuasive messages that travel through the peripheral route is that we can be easily fooled by superficial factors
how physically attractive/famous/likeable the communicator is or how many times we’ve heard the message
Persuasion Techniques:
foot in the door - persuasive technique involving making a small request before making a bigger one
asking first to volunteer one hour a week
once they agree to that request, there is a foot in the door because from the perspective of cognitive dissonance theory, they’ll feel a need to justify their initial commitment
they’ll probably end up with a positive attitude toward the organization, boosting the odds that they’'ll volunteer even more of their time
door in the face - persuasive technique involving making an unreasonably large request before making the small request we’re hoping to have granted
asking for a $100 donation to charity, before asking for a smaller one, like $10
may work because the initial large request often induces guilt in recipients
but if initial request is so outrageous that it appears insincere or unreasonable, this method can backfire
research suggests that the foot in the door and door in the face techniques work equally as well
lowball - persuasive technique in which the seller of a product starts by quoting a low sales price, and the mentions all of the “add-on” costs once the customer has agreed to purchase the product
by the time the deal is done, the buyer may end up paying twice as much they’d initially agreed to
but your are free - persuasive technique in which we convince someone to perform a favour for us by telling them that they are free not to do it
research suggests that this technique doubles the odds of compliance to a request
probably because people given a free choice can convince themselves that they made the choice on their own and weren’t pressured by the person making the request
Characteristics of the Messenger:
research demonstrates that we’re more likely to swallow a persuasive message if famous or attractive people deliver it
messages are especially persuasive if the messenger seems similar to us
implicit egotism effect - the finding that we’re more positively disposed toward people, places, or things that resemble us
appears to influences not only our attitudes, but our life choices
we’re more likely than chance would predict to select people whose names contain the first letters of our first or last names (in the matters of friendships and relationships)
Prejudice and Discrimination:
prejudice - drawing negative conclusions about a person, group of people, or situation prior to evaluating the evidence
Stereotypes:
stereotype - a belief, positive or negative, about the characteristics of members of a group that is applied generally to most members of the group
by lumping enormous number of people who share a single characteristic (skin, nationality, or religion) into a single category, stereotypes help us make sense of our often-confusing social worlds
can be seed from which prejudice grows
can mislead us when we paint them with too broad a brush → when we assume that all members of a group share a given characteristic
can mislead us when we cling to them too rigidly and are unwilling to modify them in light of disconfirming evidence
can lead to spread erroneous negative information about members of other groups
can affect our split-second interpretation of ambiguous stimuli
illusory correlation - indicate the perception of an erroneous association between a minority group and a given characteristic
can result in the ultimate attribution error - assumption that behaviours among individual members of a group are due to their internal dispositions
ex. women, Christians, black people
when we commit this error, we tend to attribute any positive behaviour of disliked groups to luck or to rare exceptions to prove that rule
leads us to underestimate the impact of situational factors on people’s behaviour
research suggests that overcoming stereotypes takes hard mental work
the key difference between prejudiced and nonprejudiced people isn’t that the former have stereotypes of minority groups and the latter don’t, because both groups harbour such stereotypes
instead it’s that prejudiced people don’t try hard to resist their stereotypes, but nonprejudiced people do
The Nature of Prejudice:
adaptive conservatism - evolutionary principle that creates a predisposition toward distrusting anything or anyone unfamiliar or different
members of one race are more likely to show pronounced skin conductance responses to fear relevant stimuli (snake and spider) than to fear irrelevant stimuli (bird and butterfly) that have been paired repeatedly with faces of a different race
even if there’s a evolutionary predisposition toward fearing or mistrusting outsiders, that doesn’t mean that prejudice is inevitable
Two Major Basis Associated With Tendency to Forge Alliances With Like People:
in-group bias - tendency to favour individuals within our group over those from outside our group
ex. sporting event
fans cheering on their team and booing the opposing team → the home team is their “tribe”
may be reinforced by our tendency to “turn off'“ our compassion toward out-group members
out-group homogeneity - tendency to view all individuals outside our group as highly similar
makes it easy for us to dismiss members of other groups in one fell swoop → because we can simply tell ourselves that they all share at least one undesirable trait (greediness/laziness)
Discrimination:
discrimination - negative behaviour toward members of out-groups
whereas prejudice refers to negative attitudes toward others, discrimination refers to negative behaviours toward others → we can be prejudiced against people without discriminating against them
Consequences of Discrimination:
far fewer women than men are members of major American orchestras
when the judges are blind to the sex of the musician, women were 50% more likely to pass the audition
Scapegoat Hypothesis:
scapegoat hypothesis - claim that prejudice arises from a need to blame other groups for our misfortunes
can also stem from competition over scarce resources
Ex. the number of Black Americans in the U.S South tose when the price of cotton went up → White Americans blamed the Black Americans for the bad prices
Just-World Hypothesis:
just-world hypothesis - claim that our attributions and behaviours are shaped by a deep-seated assumption that the world is fair and all things happen for a reason
ironically, the need for a sense of fair play, especially if powerful, may foster prejudice
it can lead us to place blame on groups that are already in one-down positions
Ex. many people with a strong belief in a just world are likely to believe that victims of serious illnesses are responsible for their plights → blaming the victim phenomenon
Conformity:
some prejudiced attitudes and behaviours probably stem from conformity to social norms
study revealed that White people with a high need for conformity were especially likely to be prejudiced against Black people
such conformity may stem from a need for social approval
Individual Differences in Prejudice:
some people exhibit high levels of prejudice against a wide variety of out-groups
people with authoritarian personality traits are prone to high levels of prejudice against many groups
Prejudice - Behind the Scenes:
explicit prejudice - unfounded negative belief of which we’re aware regarding the characteristics of an out-group
implicit prejudice - unfounded negative belief of which we’re unaware regarding the characteristics of an out-group
asking White people to cooperate with Black people on a task → although White participants claimed to like their Black partners, sensitive measures of their facial activity implied otherwise
their forehead muscles involved in frowning became active
implicit association test (IAT) - researchers ask participant to press a key on the computer keyboard with their left hand if they see either a photograph of a Black person or a positive word
researchers then ask for the reverse pairing
→ the results of numerous studies demonstrate that most White participants respond more quickly to pairings in which Black faces are paired with negative words and White faces are paired with positive words
often doesn’t correlate significantly with explicit measures of prejudice, such as questionnaire measures of racist attitudes
it’s unclear whether the IAT measures positive or a zero correlation as evidence for the IAT’s validity
may not measure implicit prejudice for the substantial majority of people
Combating Prejudice:
jigsaw classroom - educational approach designed to minimize prejudice by requiring all children to make independent contributions to a shared project
numerous studies reveal that jigsaw classrooms result in significant decreases in racial prejudice
Robbers Cave study - researchers observed how quickly hostility developed between two groups of boys at a summer camp when placed in direct competition with each other for limited resources, demonstrating the concept of "realistic conflict theory" and highlighting how introducing superordinate goals (shared goals) could later reduce intergroup tension and promote cooperation between the groups
→ both studies underscore a lesson confirmed by many other social psychology studies
→ increased contact between racial groups is rarely sufficient to reduce prejudice
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