Social Psychology (12)

Question 1

Outgroup homogeneity effect

Answer 1

The tendency to view outgroup members as less varied than ingroup members.

Question 2

Social identity theory

Answer 2

The idea that ingroups consist of individuals who perceive themselves as members of the same social category and experience pride through their group membership.

Contribute to each group member’s overall sense of self-esteem. Inherent to the theory is that people value the groups with which they identify and in doing so also experience pride through their membership.

Question 3

Ingroup favouritism

Answer 3

The tendency for people to evaluate favourable and privilege members of the ingroup more than members of the outgroup. A consequence of people conceiving themselves in terms of how other group members typically behave towards both ingroup and outgroup members. People are more willing to do favours for ingroup members or to forgive their mistakes or errors.

Question 4

Social facilitation

Answer 4

The idea that the presence of others generally enhances performance.

Question 5

Deindividuation

Answer 5

A state of reduced individuality, reduced self-awareness, and reduced attention to personal standards; this phenomenon may occur when people are part of a group. When self-awareness disappears, so does restraint. People act in ways they would avoid if they were self-aware. This is especially likely when people are aroused and anonymous and when responsibility is diffused.

Question 6

Group polarisation

Answer 6

The process by which initial attitudes of groups become more extreme over time.

Question 7

Groupthink

Answer 7

The tendency of a group to make a bad decision as a result of preserving the group and maintaining its cohesiveness; especially likely when the group is under intense pressure, is facing external threats, and is biased in a particular direction.

The group does not carefully process all the information to it, dissent is discouraged, and group members assure each other that they are doing the right thing.

To prevent it, leaders must refrain from expressing their opinions too strongly at the beginning of discussions. Group should be encouraged to consider alternative ideas.

Question 8

Social loafing

Answer 8

The tendency for people to work less hard in a group than when working alone. Occurs when people’s efforts are pooled so that individuals do not feel personally responsible for the group’s output. When people know that their individual efforts can be monitored, they do not engage in social loafing.

Question 9

Conformity

Answer 9

The altering of one’s behaviour and opinions to match those of other people or to match other people’s expectations.

Question 10

Normative influence

Answer 10

The tendency for people to confirm in order to fit in with the group and avoid looking foolish.
Relies on social norms.
Works because people feel embarrassed when they violate social norms and they worry about what others think of them.

Question 11

Informational influence

Answer 11

The tendency for people to confirm when they assume that the behaviour of others represents the correct way to respond.

Question 12

Social norms

Answer 12

Expected standards of conduct. Influence behaviour in multiple ways. Indicate which behaviour is appropriate in a given situation and also how people will respond to those who violate norms.

Question 13

Compliance

Answer 13

The tendency to agree to do things requested by others.
Forgas – a person in a good mood is especially likely to comply.
Cialdini – people often comply with requests because they fail to pay attention. Wanting to avoid conflict, they follow a standard mental shortcut, respond without fully considering their options.

Some techniques include foot in the door, and door in the face.

Question 14

Obedience

Answer 14

When a person follows the orders of a person of authority.

Key study is Milgram’s experiment.

• -found obedience decreased when the teacher could see or had to touch the learner, and when the experimenter gave the orders over the phone and thus was more removed from the situation.
• • found obedience increased when the sock level increases slowly and sequentially, when the experimenter is viewed as being more authoritative (better university) and when another teacher in the same room also obeyed.

Question 15

Aggression

Answer 15

Any behaviour that involves the intention to harm another. Common in young children but relatively rare in adults due to social norms discouraging it. Adult’s aggressive acts more often involve words, or other symbols, meant to threaten, intimidated, or emotionally harm others.

Aggression is likely when people feel socially rejected – as a defence mechanism. Another factor is heat.

Situations that lead to aggression involve negative emotions – insulted, afraid, frustrated, overly hot, in pain.

Genetic research has identified the role of the MAOA gene. Controls the amount of MAO, an enzyme that regulates the activity of a number of neurotransmitters, including serotonin and norepinephrine.

Question 16

Prosocial behaviours

Answer 16

Actions that tend to benefit others, such as doing favours, offering assistance, paying compliments, subjugating egocentric desires or needs, resisting the temptation to insult or hit another person, or simply being pleasant and cooperative. Promotes positive interpersonal relationships. May be a central human survival strategy.

Question 17

Altruism

Answer 17

Providing help when it is needed, without any apparent reward for doing so.

Question 18

Inclusive fitness

Answer 18

An explanation for altruism that focuses on the adaptive benefit of transmitting genes, such as through kin selection, rather than focusing on individual survival.

Kin selection – people are altruistic towards those with whom they share genes.

Reciprocal helping – helping nonrelatives, one animal helps another because the other may return the favour in the future. For it to be adaptive, the benefits must outweigh the costs.

People are more likely to help members of their ingroup rather than the outgroup.

Question 19

Bystander intervention effect

Answer 19

The failure to offer help by those who observe someone in need when other people are present. A person is less likely to offer help if other bystanders are around.
Four major reasons:
1. diffusion of responsibility – bystanders expect other bystanders to help.
2. people fear making social blunders in ambiguous situations.
3. people are less likely to help when they are anonymous and can remain so.
4. people weigh two factors: how much harm do they risk to themselves by helping? What benefits might they have to forgo if they help?

Question 20

Attitudes

Answer 20

People’s evaluations of objects, of events, or ideas. Feelings, opinions, or beliefs. Shaped by social context, and they play an important role in how we evaluate and interact with other people. Some are held consciously while others remain below conscious awareness.

Question 21

Mere exposure effect

Answer 21

The idea that greater exposure to a stimulus leads to greater liking for it. Greater exposure, and therefore greater familiarity, causes people to have a more positive attitude about the stimulus.

Question 22

Explicit attitudes

Answer 22

Attitudes that a person is aware of and can report to other people.

Question 23

Implicit attitudes

Answer 23

Attitudes that influence a person’s feeling and behaviour at an unconscious level. People access implicit attitudes from memory quickly, with little conscious effort or control. In this way, they function like implicit memories.

Question 24

Cognitive dissonance

Answer 24

An uncomfortable mental state resulting from a contradiction between two attitudes or between an attitude and a behaviour. Anxiety and tension cause displeasure. Displeasure motivates people to reduce dissonance. Generally, people reduce dissonance by changing their attitudes or behaviours. They sometimes also rationalise or trivialise the discrepancies.

Question 25

Persuasion

Answer 25

The active and conscious effort to change an attitude through the transmission of a message.

According to Hovland, is most likely to occur when people pay attention to a message, understand it, and find it convincing. The message must be memorable so that its impact lasts over time.

Various factors affect it: the source, the content, and the receiver. Sources who are both attractive and credible are the most persuasive. Credibility and persuasiveness may also be heightened when the receiver perceives the source as similar to himself.

Question 26

Elaboration likelihood model

Answer 26

The idea that persuasive messages lead to attitude changes in either of two ways:

1. central route – people pay attention to the arguments, consider all the information, and use rational cognitive processes. Leads to strong attitude that last over time and that people actively defend.
2. peripheral route – people minimally process the message; leads to more impulsive action, weaker and more likely to change over time.

Question 27

Nonverbal behaviour

Answer 27

The facial expressions, gestures, mannerisms, and movement by which one communicates with others.

Ambady and Rosenthal found that people can make accurate judgements based on only a few seconds of observation. – thin slices of behaviour.

Question 28

Attributions

Answer 28

Explanations for events or actions, including other people’s behaviour. People are motivated to draw inferences in part by a basic need for both order and predictability.

Question 29

Personal attributions

Answer 29

Internal or dispositional attributions. These explanations refer to things within people, such as abilities, moods, or efforts.

Question 30

Situational attribution

Answer 30

External attributions. These explanations refer to outside events, such as luck, accidents or the actions of other people.

Weinger noted that the attributions can vary in other dimensions: they can be stable over time (permanent) or unstable (temporary), as well as controllable or uncontrollable.

Question 31

Fundamental attribution error

Answer 31

In explaining other people’s behaviour, the tendency to overemphasise personality traits and underestimate situational factors.

Question 32

Actor/observer discrepancy

Answer 32

Two tendencies: when interpreting their own behaviour, people tend to focus on situations; when interpreting other people’s behaviour, they tend to focus on dispositions.

According to a meta-analysis, it is not large and happens mainly for negative events or when people explain the behaviour of people they know well.

Question 33

Prejudice

Answer 33

Negative feelings, opinions and beliefs associated with a stereotype.

Question 34

Discrimination

Answer 34

The inappropriate and unjustified treatment of people as a result of prejudice.

Question 35

Modern racism

Answer 35

Subtle forms of prejudice that coexist with the rejection of racist beliefs. Modern racists tend to believe that discrimination is no longer a serious problem and that minority groups are demanding too much social change, as in too many changes to traditional values. Leaks out more through indifference to the concerns of minority group members than through overt negativity.

Question 36

“what is beautiful is good” stereotype

Answer 36

The belief that attractive people are superior in most ways.

Results in: attractive people are less likely to be perceived as criminals, are given lighter sentences when convicted of crimes, are typically rated as happier, more intelligent, more sociable, more capable, more gifted, more successful, and less socially deviant; are paid more for doing the same work; and have greater career opportunities.

Attractive people tend to be more popular, more socially skilled, and healthier, but they are not necessarily smarter or happier.

Question 37

Passionate love

Answer 37

A state of intense longing and desire. Associated with activity in dopamine reward systems. Evolves into companionate love in most enduring relationships.

Question 38

Companionate love

Answer 38

A strong commitment based on friendship, trust, respect, and intimacy. Develops slowly over time.

Question 39

Foot in the door effect

Answer 39

If people agree to a small request, they become more likely to comply with a large and undesirable request.