Chapter 8: Social Processes, Attitudes, and Behavior Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Chapter 8: Social Processes, Attitudes, and Behavior Deck (39)
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1
Q

Social Facilitation

A

Describes the tendency of people to perform at a different level based on the fact that others are around.

2
Q

Yerkes–Dodson law of social facilitation

A

Being in the presence of others will significantly raise arousal, which enhances the ability to perform tasks one is already good at (or simple tasks), and hinders the performance of less familiar tasks (or complex tasks).

3
Q

Deindividuation

A

A loss of self-awareness in large groups, which can lead to drastic changes in behavior.

4
Q

Bystander Effect

A

Describes the observation that when in a group, individuals are less likely to respond to a person in need.

The more people standing by, the less likely anyone is to help.

5
Q

Peer Pressure

A

Refers to the social influence placed on individuals by others they consider equals.

6
Q

Group Polarization

A

The tendency toward making decisions in a group that are more extreme then the thoughts of the individual group members.

7
Q

Groupthink

A

The tendency for groups to make decisions based on ideas and solutions that arise within the group without considering outside ideas.

Ethics may be disturbed as pressure is created to conform and remain loyal to the group.

8
Q

Identity Shift Effect

A

When an individual’s state of harmony is disrupted by a threat of social rejection, the individual will often conform to the norms of the group. Upon doing so, however, the individual will begin to experience internal conflict because the behavior is outside the normal character of the individual.

To eliminate the sense of internal conflict, the individual experiences an identify shift wherein the individual adopts the standards of the group as her own.

9
Q

Cognitive Dissonance

A

The simultaneous presence of two opposing thoughts or opinions. This generally leads to an internal state of discomfort, which may manifest as anxiety, fear, anger, or confusion. Individuals will try to reduce this discomfort by changing, adding to, or minimizing one of these dissonant thoughts.

10
Q

Social Loafing

A

Social loafing refers to the tendency of individuals to put in less effort when in a group setting than individually.

11
Q

Risky Shift vs. Choice Shift

A

Risky Shift = Groups tend to make riskier decisions than individuals.

Choice Shift = Shift towards caution.

12
Q

Groupthink

A

Refers to a social phenomenon in which desire for harmony or conformity results in a group of people coming to an incorrect or poor decision.

In an attempt to eliminate or minimize conflict among the group members, consensus decisions are reached without alternate ideas being assessed.

In these cases, the desire to agree with the group causes a loss of independent critical thinking. The group also begins to isolate and ignore external viewpoints, seeing their own ideas as correct without question.

13
Q

Culture

A

Describes the beliefs, ideas, behaviors, actions, and characteristics of a group or society of people.

14
Q

Assimilation

A

Assimilation is the process by which a group or individual’s culture begins to melt into another culture.

15
Q

How can assimilation be slowed?

A

By the creation of ethnic enclaves, which are locations (usually neighborhoods) with a high concentration of one specific ethnicity.

16
Q

Multiculturalism vs. Assimilation

A

While multiculturalism is often described as a creating a cultural mosaic, or mixture of cultures and ethnic groups that coexist in society, assimilationism is described as creating a melting pot, or melting together of different elements of culture into one homogenous culture.

17
Q

Socialization

A

The process of developing and spreading norms, customs, and beliefs.

18
Q

Primary Socialization

A

Occurs during childhood when we initially learn acceptable actions and attitudes in our society, primarily through observation of our parents and other adults in close proximity.

19
Q

Secondary Socialization

A

The process of learning appropriate behavior within smaller sections of the larger society. This type of socialization occurs outside of the home and is based on learning the rules of specific social environments.

20
Q

Anticipatory Socialization

A

The process by which a person prepares for future changes in occupations, living situations, or relationships.

21
Q

Resocialization

A

Process by which one discards old behaviors in favor of new ones to make a life change, and can have positive or negative connotations.

22
Q

Norms

A

Norms are societal rules that define the boundaries of acceptable behavior. Mores are widely observed social norms.

While norms are not laws, they do govern the behavior of society and provide a sense of social control.

23
Q

Folkways

A

Norms that refer to behavior that is considered polite in particular contexts, such as shaking hands after a sports match.

24
Q

Stigma

A

The extreme disapproval or dislike of a person or group based on perceived differences from the rest of society.

25
Q

Deviance

A

Refers to any violation of norms, rules, or expectations within a society.

26
Q

Labeling Theory

A

This theory posits that the labels given to people affect not only how others respond to that person, but also the person’s self-image. This can lead to channeling of behavior into deviance or conformity.

For example, if members of society label a woman as promiscuous, this could either lead to further promiscuity or to a change in behavior toward something more in line with what is accepted in that society.

27
Q

Conformity

A

Changing beliefs or behaviors in order to fit into a group or society.

28
Q

Internalization vs. Identification

A

Internalization involves changing one’s behavior to fit with a group while also privately agreeing with the ideas of the group.

Identification refers to the acceptance of others’ ideas without questioning them (not internalized).

29
Q

Stanford Prison Experiment

A

Classic experiment looking at internalization.

As the guards became more aggressive, the prisoners became more submissive, although they also attempted to mount a revolt. The study had to be ended after six days because the guards had begun to physically abuse the prisoners so severely that ethical concerns were raised.

30
Q

Compliance vs. Obedience

A

Compliance occurs when individuals change their behavior based on the request of others.

Obedience is a change in behavior based on a command from someone seen as an authority figure.

31
Q

Foot-in-the-door Technique

A

A small request is made, and after gaining compliance, a larger request is made.

32
Q

Door-in-the-face Technique

A

This is the opposite of the foot-in-the-door technique, wherein a large request is made at first and, if refused, a second, smaller request is made.

Often, this smaller request is the actual goal of the requester.

33
Q

Lowball Technique

A

In this technique, the requestor will get an initial commitment from an individual, and then raise the cost of the commitment. It is important to note that cost need not only include money, but can also include effort and time.

34
Q

That’s-not-all Technique

A

An individual is made an offer, but before making a decision, is told the deal is even better than she expected.

35
Q

Social Cognition

A

Focuses on the ways in which people think about others and how these ideas impact behavior.

36
Q

What are the components of Attitude?

A

ABC

Affective (Emotion)

Behavioral

Cognitive (Background knowledge)

37
Q

Ego-expressive vs. Ego-defensive

A

Ego-expressive allows us to communicate and solidify our self-identity.

Ego-defensive protects our self-esteem or justify actions that we know are wrong.

38
Q

Central vs. Peripheral route processing

A

Central route processing (high elaboration)—scrutinizing and analyzing the content of persuasive information

Peripheral route processing (low elaboration)—focusing on superficial details of persuasive information, such as appearances, catchphrases and slogans, and credibility.

39
Q

Social cognitive theory

A

Postulates that people learn how to behave and shape attitudes by observing the behaviors of others.