Behavioral Sciences 10: Social Thinking

Question 1

interpersonal attraction

Answer 1

the attraction between people that leads to the development of romantic or platonic relationships

influenced by…

• similarity
• self-disclosure
• reciprocity
• proximity
• outward appearance

Question 2

self-disclosure

Answer 2

sharing one’s fears, thoughts, and goals with another person and being met with nonjudgmental empathy

Question 3

reciprocal liking

Answer 3

people like others better when they believe the other person likes them

Question 4

proximity

Answer 4

being physically close to someone

Question 5

mere exposure effect / familiarity effect

Answer 5

people prefer stimuli that they have been exposed to more frequently

Question 6

aggression

Answer 6

behavior that intends to cause harm or increase social dominance

can be physical, verbal, or nonverbal

can be caused by amygdala, testosterone, pain, hunger, exposure to violent behavior

Question 7

amygdala

Answer 7

the part of the brain responsible for associating stimuli as their corresponding rewards or punishments

responsible for determining whether or not something is a threat

if activated, causes an increase in aggression

controlled by higher-order brain structures

Question 8

cognitive neoassociation model

Answer 8

model which states what we are more likely to respond to others aggressively whenever we are feeling negative emotions like tiredness, sickness, frustration, pain

Question 9

attachment

Answer 9

an emotional bond to another person, usually between a caregiver and a child

Question 10

what are the four types of attachment?

Answer 10

secure attachment

avoidant attachment

ambivalent attachment

disorganized attachment

Question 11

secure attachment

Answer 11

attachment in which a child has a consistent caregiver and is able to go out and explore knowing he has a secure base to return to

child shows strong preference for the caregiver

Question 12

avoidant attachment

Answer 12

attachment in which the caregiver has little or no response to a distressed child

child has no preference between a stranger and the caregiver

Question 13

ambivalent attachment

Answer 13

attachment in which a caregiver has an inconsistent response to a child’s distress

child is unable to form a secure base since he can’t rely on the caregiver’s response

child is distressed when the caregiver leaves but ambivalent or gives a mixed response when the caregiver returns

Question 14

disorganized attachment

Answer 14

attachment that shows no clear pattern of behavior in response to the caregiver’s absence or presence

can include avoidance or resistance, seeming confused, or repetitive behaviors

associated with erratic behavior and social withdrawal by the caregiver

Question 15

social support

Answer 15

the perception or reality that one is cared for by a social network

Question 16

what are the different categories of social support?

Answer 16

emotional support

esteem support

material support

informational support

network support

Question 17

emotional support

Answer 17

support that entails listening, affirming, and empathizing with someone’s feelings

Question 18

esteem support

Answer 18

social support that directly affirms the qualities and skills of a person

Question 19

material support / tangible support

Answer 19

support that entails any type of financial or material contribution to another person

Question 20

informational support

Answer 20

support that entails providing information that will help someone

Question 21

network support

Answer 21

support that gives a person a sense of belonging

Question 22

foraging

Answer 22

seeking out and eating food

Question 23

biological basis of foraging

Answer 23

hunger driven by hypothalamus (lateral and ventromedial hypothalamus)

Question 24

mating system

Answer 24

the organization of a group’s sexual behavior

Question 25

monogamy

Answer 25

a mating system in which an exclusive mating relationship

Question 26

polygamy

Answer 26

mating system that involves one member of a sex having multiple exclusive relationships with members of the opposite sex

Question 27

polygyny

Answer 27

mating system with a male having exclusive relationships with multiple females

Question 28

polyandry

Answer 28

mating system that a female having exclusive relationships with multiple males

Question 29

promiscuity

Answer 29

mating system in which a member of one sex mates with any number of the opposite sex without **exclusivity**

Question 30

mate choice / intersexual selection

Answer 30

the selection of a mate based on attraction

Question 31

mate bias

Answer 31

how choosy members of the species are while choosing a mate aimed at increasing the fitness of the species

Question 32

what are the direct and indirect benefits of mate bias?

Answer 32

**direct benefits:** material advantages, protection, emotional support **indirect benefits:** promoting better survival in offspring

Question 33

mechanisms of mate choice

Answer 33

phenotypic benefits sensory bias Fisherian/runaway selection indicator traits genetic compatibility

Question 34

phenotypic benefits

Answer 34

observable traits that make a potential mate more attractive to the opposite sex usually indicate increased production and survival of offspring ex. males that appear more nurturing

Question 35

sensory bias

Answer 35

the development of a trait to match a preexisting preference that exists in the population ## Footnote ex. crabs naturally attracted to structures on the horizon because they suggest food - males take advantage of that and build pillars around their territory to attract

Question 36

Fisherian/runaway selection

Answer 36

a positive feedback mechanism in which a particular trait that has no effect or a negative effect on survival becomes more exaggerated over time trait deemed sexually attractive and is more likely to be passed on ex. bright plummage of a peacock

Question 37

indicator traits

Answer 37

traits that signify overall good health and well-being of an organism, increasing its attractiveness to mates (may or may not be genetic) ## Footnote ex. female cats more attracted to males with clean and shiny coats because they probably don't have infections and are well-nourished

Question 38

genetic compatibility

Answer 38

the creation of mate pairs that, when combined, have complementary genetics results in the decreased frequency of recessive genetic disorders

Question 39

altruism

Answer 39

a form of helping behavior in which the person's intent is to benefit someone else at some cost to herself can be motivated by selflessness, egoism, public recognition, or some ulterior motives

Question 40

empathy

Answer 40

the ability to vicariously experience the emotions of another

Question 41

empathy-altruism hypothesis

Answer 41

theory in which one individual helps another person when he feels empathy for the other person, regardless of the cost

Question 42

game theory

Answer 42

theory that attempts to explain decision-making between individuals as if they are participating in a game

Question 43

altruism game strategy

Answer 43

game strategy donor provides a benefit to the recipient at a cost to himself

Question 44

cooperation game strategy

Answer 44

game strategy both the donor and recipient benefit by cooperating

Question 45

spite game strategy

Answer 45

game strategy both the donor and recipient are negatively impacted

Question 46

selfishness game strategy

Answer 46

game strategy the donor benefits while the recipient is negatively impacted

Question 47

inclusive fitness

Answer 47

a measure of an organism's success in the population based on # of offspring, success in supporting offspring, ability of offspring to then support others

Question 48

social perception

Answer 48

how er form impressions about the characteristics of individuals and groups of people provides tools to make judgments and impressions of other people

Question 49

what are the three components of social perception

Answer 49

the perceiver the target the situation

Question 50

perceiver

Answer 50

component of social perception the person who makes the social perception influenced by experience, motives, and emotional state

Question 51

target

Answer 51

component of social perception the person about which the perception is made

Question 52

situation

Answer 52

component of social perception the social context in which the perception was made

Question 53

primacy effect

Answer 53

first impressions are often more important than subsequent impressions

Question 54

recency effect

Answer 54

the most recent information that we have about an individual is the most important in forming our impressions

Question 55

reliance on central traits

Answer 55

individuals tend to organize the perception of others based on traits and personal characteristics of the target that are most relevant to the perceiver

Question 56

implicit personality theory

Answer 56

theory that states that there are sets of assumptions people make about how different types of people, their traits, and their behavior are related placing others into categories

Question 57

stereotyping

Answer 57

making assumptions about people based on the category in which they are placed attitudes and impressions are based on limited and superficial information about a person or a group of individuals **cognitive**

Question 58

halo effect

Answer 58

a cognitive bias in which judgments about a specific aspect of an individual can be affected by one's overall impression of the individual tendency to allow a general impression about a person to influence other, more specific evaluations about a person

Question 59

just-world hypothesis

Answer 59

a cognitive bias that believes that in a "just" world, good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to bad people increases the likelihood of "blaming the victim"

Question 60

self-serving bias / self-serving attributional bias

Answer 60

individuals will view their **own success based on internal factors** while viewing **failures based on external factors** used to protect our self-esteem

Question 61

self-enhancement

Answer 61

the need to maintain self-worth can be done through internal attribution of successes and external attribution of failures

Question 62

attribution theory

Answer 62

theory which focuses on the **tendency for individuals to infer the causes of other people's behavior**

Question 63

what are the two causes of attribution theory?

Answer 63

dispotional (internal) attributions situational (external attributions

Question 64

dispositional (internal) attributions

Answer 64

attributions that relate to the person whose behavior is being considered ex. beliefs, attitudes, personality characteristics

Question 65

situational (external) attributions

Answer 65

attributions that relate to **features of the surroundings of the individual** whose behavior is being considered ex. threats, money, social norms, peer pressure

Question 66

consistency cues

Answer 66

cues which refer to the **consistent behavior** of a person over time the more regular the behavior the more we associate that behavior with **motives**

Question 67

consensus cues

Answer 67

cues which relate to the extent to which a **person's behavior differs from others** if person deviates from socially expected behavior, we are likely to form a **dispositional attribution** to their behavior

Question 68

distinctiveness cues

Answer 68

cues which refer to the extent to which a person engages in **similar behavior across a series of scenarios** if person's behavior varies in different scenarios, we are more likely to form a **situational attribution** to them

Question 69

correspondent inference theory

Answer 69

when an individual unexpectedly performs a behavior that helps or hurts us, we tend to explain the behavior by dispositional attribution ## Footnote **we correlate these unexpected actions with the person's personality**

Question 70

fundamental attribution error

Answer 70

theory which posits that we are generally biased toward making dispositional attributions rather than situational attributions, especially in negative contexts

Question 71

attribute substitution

Answer 71

occurs when individuals must make judgments that are complex, but instead they substitute a **simpler solution or apply a heuristic**

Question 72

actor-observer bias

Answer 72

due to our own unique knowledge about our own actions, we are more likely to make situational attributions for the self as compared to others most commonly seen with negative behaviors

Question 73

stereotype content model

Answer 73

model which attempts to classify stereotypes with respect to a hypothetical in-group using two dimensions: ## Footnote **warmth** **competence**

Question 74

warm groups of the stereotype content model

Answer 74

groups that are not in direct competition with the in-group for resources

Question 75

competent groups of the stereotype content model

Answer 75

groups that have high status within society

Question 76

stereotypes in the stereotype content model

Answer 76

paternalistic contemptuous envious admiration

Question 77

paternalistic stereotype

Answer 77

stereotype in the stereotype content model the group is looked down upon as inferior, dismissed, or ignored ex. housewives, elderly people, disabled people high warmth, low competence

Question 78

admiration stereotype

Answer 78

stereotype in the stereotype content model group is viewed with pride and other positive feelings ex. in-group, close allies high warmth, high competence

Question 79

contemptuous stereotype

Answer 79

stereotype in the stereotype content model group is viewed with resentment, annoyance, or anger ex. welfare recipients, poor people low warmth, low competence

Question 80

envious stereotype

Answer 80

stereotype in the stereotype content model group is viewed with jealousy, bitterness, or distrust ex. asians, jews, rich people, feminists low warmth, high competence

Question 81

self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 81

stereotypes --\> expectations expectations create conditions... --\> confirmation of those expectations

Question 82

stereotype threat

Answer 82

the concept of people being concerned or anxious about confirming a negative stereotype about one's social group can cause reduced performance, encourage self-handicapping strategies, lower one's personal investment in an activity

Question 83

prejudice

Answer 83

an irrational positive or negative attitude toward a person, group, or thing, prior to an actual experience with that entity = formation of attitudes regarding our own groups and a sense of identity form in response to dissimilarities **affective (an attitude)**

Question 84

propaganda

Answer 84

information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular cause or point of view common way for large organizations and political groups to **attempt to create prejudices in others**

Question 85

power

Answer 85

the ability of people or groups to achieve their goals despite any obstacles, and their ability to control resources

Question 86

prestige

Answer 86

the level of respect shown to a person by others

Question 87

class

Answer 87

an individual's socioeconomic status

Question 88

ethnocentrism

Answer 88

the practice of making judgments about other cultures based on the values and beliefs of one's own cultures especially when it comes to language, customs, and religion

Question 89

in-group

Answer 89

a social group with which a person experiences a sense of belonging or identifies as a member

Question 90

out-group

Answer 90

a social group with which an individual does not identify negative feelings towards this group are based on favoritism for the individual's own group and the absence of favoritism for the other group

Question 91

cultural relativism

Answer 91

the perception of another culture as different from one's own with the recognition that the cultural values, mores, and rules of a culture fit into that culture itself

Question 92

discrimination

Answer 92

prejudicial attitudes cause individuals of a particular group to be treated differently from others ## Footnote **behavioral**

Question 93

individual discrimination

Answer 93

one person discriminating against a particular person or group

Question 94

institutional discrimination

Answer 94

the discrimination against a particular person or group by an entire institution

Question 95

spreading activation theory

Answer 95

phenomenon that occurs when a **series of specific ideas/events are activated** create an activation pattern of **other, related ideas/events that will be activated**