Chapter 12 - Social psychology Flashcards
Social brain hypothesis
Humans belong to the order primates, which includes great apes and monkeys
According to the social brain hypothesis, brain hypothesis, primates have large brains in particular, large prefrontal cortices because they live in complex social groups that change over time
People are especially likely to organise themselves into groups when two conditions are met. What are they?
Reciprocity
Transitivity
Reciprocity
Meaning that people treat others as others treat them
Transitivity
Pople generally share their friends’ opinions of other people
Outgroup homogeneity effect
The tendency to view outgroup members as less varied than in-group members
Social identity theory
The idea that in-groups consists of individuals who perceive themselves to be members of the same social category and experience pride through their groups membership
In-group favouritism
The tendency for people to evaluate favourably and privilege members of the in-group more than members of the outgroup
Minimal group paradigm example
Turner (1979) randomly assigned volunteers to two groups using meaningless criteria such as flipping a coin
Why do people favour members of their own groups?
One possibility is that people who work together to keep resources within a group and deny resources to outgroup members have a selective advantage over these two are willing to share with outgroup
Another possibility is that group membership is as important to us that we are willing to hurt people in outgroups as a way of signalling how much we value the people in our in-group
Brain activity associated with thinking about other people
The middle region of the prefrontal cortex, called the medial prefrontal cortex, is important for thinking about other people
Thinking about them generally or specifically, whether they are in in-groups or outgroups
When is the medial prefrontal cortex less active?
When people consider members of out-groups, at least members of extreme out-groups such as people who are homeless or drug addicts
Explanation for differences in the medial prefrontal cortex brain activity
One explanation for these differences in brain activity is that people see in-group members as more human than outgroup members
Risky shift effect
Group often make riskier decisions than individuals do
Group polarisation
The process by which initial attitudes of groups become more extreme over time
Groupthink
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
How to prevent groupthink
Leaders must refrain from expressing their opinions too strongly at the beginning of discussions
The group should be encouraged to consider alternative ideas, either by having someone play devil’s advocate or by purposefully examining outside opinions
What does Zajonc’s model predict?
That social facilitation can either improve or impact performance. The change depends on whether the response that is required in a situation is the individual’s dominant response.
If the required response is easy or well learned, so that the dominant reponse is good performance, the presence of others will enhance performance. If the required response is novel or less well learned, so that the dominant response is poor performance, the presence of others will further impair performance
Social facilitation
The idea that the presence of others generally enhances performance
Social loafing
The tendency for people to work less hard in a group than when working alone
Deindividuation
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
Individuated
We walk around with a sense of ourselves as individuals who are responsible for our own actions
Conformity
The altering of one’s behaviours and opinions to match those of other people or to match other poles expectations
Normative influence
The tendency for people to conform in order to fit in with the group
Informational influence
The tendency for people to conform when they assume that the behaviour of others presents the correct way to respond
Social norms
Expected standards of conduct that influence behaviour
What are the factors that reduce conformity according to Asch and other researchers?
When there are only one or two confederates, a naive participant usually does not conform
Asch found that lack of consensus is another factor that diminishes conformity
The social and cultural context also plays a role in conformity
What situations did Milgram find that produced less obedience?
If a teacher could see or had to touch the learner, obedience decreased
The the experimenter gave the orders on the telephone and thus was not physically present and visible, obedience dropped dramatically
What situations produced maximum obedience?
The the shock level increase slowly and sequentially
When the victim starts protesting later in the study
When the orders help justify continuing with the study
When the study is conducted at a high status school
When experimenters might be viewed as being more authoritative
Aggression
Any behaviour that involves the intuition to harm another
When is aggression likely?
By observational learning and exposure to media violence
When people feel socially rejected
Heat
Biological factor to aggression
One biological factor is the hormone testosterone, which has a modest correlation with aggression
Why might testosterone potentially increase aggression?
Because it reduces the activity of brain circuits that control impulses
What have studies found on the role of testosterone on aggression?
Testosterone might not play a direct role in aggression but rather might be related to social dominance, the result of having greater power and status
What has evidence shown about serotonin and aggression?
That serotonin is especially important in the regulation of aggressive behaviour
What does serotonin do to increase aggression?
Alterations in serotonin activity increase the amygdala response to threat and interfere with the prefrontal cortex’s control over aggressive impulses
What has genetic research found affects aggression?
MAOA gene
What does the MAOA gene do?
Control the amount of MAO, an enzyme that regulates the activity of neurotransmitters including serotonin and norepinephrine
It is important to know that MAOA does not cause violence. What does it do instead?
The long running effect of having one form of the gene versus another increases a person’s susceptibility to environmental risk factors associated with impulsive or antisocial behaviours
How can societal and cultural changes affect aggression?
By a collective shift in expectations and beliefs about aggression and its consequences
Why might some cultures be violent
They have a culture of honour
Phase 1 of sherif’s study of competition and cooperation
During Phase 1 of Sherif’s study, boys from the two summer camps were pitted against each other and become hostile
Phase 2 of Sherif’s study
During phase 2, the two groups had to work together to achieve common goals.
The shared goals led to cooperation and a reduction of hostility between the groups
What contact between groups can reduce hostility?
Superodinate goals
Goals that require people to cooperate and reduce hostility between groups
Prosocial behaviours
Actions that benefit others, such as doing favours or helping
Why are humans prosocial?
One suggestion is that prosocial behaviours are motivated by empathy, in which people share other people’s emotions
Another suggestion is that most prodigal behaviours have selfish motives such as wanting to manage one’s public image or relieve one’s negative mood
Altruism
Providing help when it is needed, without any apparent reward for doing so
Inclusive fitness
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
When your family members thrive, at least some of our genes survive
Reciprocal helping
One animal helps another because the other may return the favour in the future
