Social Psychology (ch 12)

Question 1

What is the social brain hypothesis?

Answer 1

The size of a primate species’ standard social group is related to the volume of that species’ neocortex – primates have larger brains and larger prefrontal cortexes

Question 2

Ingroups vs Outgroups

Answer 2

People favor their own ingroups

Question 3

People organize themselves into groups when two conditions are met:

Answer 3

1. reciprocity: people treat others as others treat them
2. transitivity: people generally share their friends’ opinions of other people

Question 4

Outgroup homogeneity effect:

Answer 4

People tend to view outgroup members as less varied than ingroup members and show a positivity bias for ingroup members

Question 5

Social Identity Theory

Answer 5

people not only identify with certain groups but also value those groups and in doing so experience pride through their group membership

Question 6

Ingroup favoritism

Answer 6

people give preferential treatment to ingroup members

Question 7

which part of the brain is associated with thinking about other people and categorizing them into groups?

Answer 7

The medial prefrontal cortex

Question 8

What is the risky-shift effect in group decision making?

Answer 8

groups often make riskier decisions than individuals do, but can also become more cautious depending on group polarization or groupthink

Question 9

Group polarization

Answer 9

the initial attitudes of a group become more extreme over time

Question 10

Group think

Answer 10

occurs when a group is under intense pressure and is biased in particular direction to begin with, does not process of information

Question 11

Social facilitation

Answer 11

presence of others generally enhances performance

Question 12

What is Zajonc’s proposed model of social facilitation?

Answer 12

presence of other > arousal > enhancement of the dominant response> can either enhance or impair performance

Question 13

Social loafing

Answer 13

when people do not work as hard when in a group as when working alone, people’s efforts are pooled so that individuals do not feel personally responsible for the group’s output

Question 14

deindividuation

Answer 14

when people lose individuality as they become part of a group, responsibility is diffused, tend to act according to the expectations of situation or people around

Question 15

conformity

Answer 15

alteration of one’s beliefs and behaviors in order to meet other people’s expectations or match those of other people

Question 16

normative influence

Answer 16

when people go along with the crowd to fit in and to avoid looking foolish

Question 17

informational influence

Answer 17

when there is uncertainty or ambiguity about what is correct, appropriate, or expected so people look to other people for cues about how to respond

Question 18

factors affecting conformity

Answer 18

group size, lack of consensus, social and cultural context, activity in the medial prefrontal cortex

Question 19

Situational factors that affect aggression

Answer 19

observational learning, exposure to media violence, when people feel socially rejected, heat

Question 20

Biological factors that influence aggression

Answer 20

testosterone (reduces the activity of brain circuits that control impulses), serotonin (important in the regulation of aggressive behavior, interferes with the prefrontal cortex’s control)

Question 21

What did Sherif’s study find?

Answer 21

cooperation created friends, shared superordinate goals reduced hostility between groups

Question 22

What did Batson vs Cialdini argue about prosocial behavior?

Answer 22

Batson said that prosocial behavior was motivated by empathy, Cialdini argued that it has selfish motives (to manage one’s public image)

Question 23

Inclusive fitness

Answer 23

adaptive benefits of transmitting genes rather than focusing on individual survival

Question 24

Idea of reciprocity

Answer 24

one animal helps another because the other may return the favor in the future

Question 25

True or False: People are less likely to help when the cost of doing so is high

Answer 25

True

Question 26

Bystander Intervention effect

Answer 26

the failure to offer help by those who observe someone in need

Question 27

Four main reasons that bystanders do not consistently intervene in emergencies

Answer 27

diffusion of responsibility, fear of making social blunders, anonymous, risk and benefit analysis

Question 28

attitudes

Answer 28

feelings, opinions, and beliefs

Question 29

true or false, people develop positive attitudes about new things more quickly than they develop negative attitudes about them

Answer 29

False

Question 30

Mere exposure effect

Answer 30

the greater exposure leads to greater liking

Question 31

attitude-behavior consistency

Answer 31

the stronger and more personally relevant the attitude, the more likely it is to predict behavior and remain stable in the face of challenges

Question 32

attitude accessibility

Answer 32

how quickly your attitude comes to mind

Question 33

explicit attitudes

Answer 33

those you know about and can report to other people

Question 34

implicit attitudes

Answer 34

influence their feelings and behaviors at an unconscious level

Question 35

What is persuasion and when is it most likely to occur

Answer 35

active and conscious effort to change an attitude or behavior, most likely to occur when people pay attention to a message, understand it, and find it convincing

Question 36

factors that affect persuasiveness

Answer 36

source, content, receiver (attractive and credible are the most persuasive)

Question 37

elaboration likelihood model

Answer 37

the idea that attitudes change in two ways: through the central route or the peripheral route

Question 38

factors that increase compliance

Answer 38

good mood, motivation, foot in the door, door in the face, low balling

Question 39

foot in the door

Answer 39

if people agree to a small request, they are more likely to comply with a large and undesirable request

Question 40

door in the face

Answer 40

if you refuse a large request, you are more likely to comply with a smaller request

Question 41

low balling

Answer 41

when you agree to buy a product for a certain price, you are likely to comply with a request to pay more for the product

Question 42

what does the face communicate

Answer 42

information such as emotional state, interest, competence, and trustworthiness

Question 43

thin slices of behavior

Answer 43

powerful cues for impression formation

Question 44

dispositional attributions

Answer 44

places cause of a behavior on internal factors

Question 45

situational attributions

Answer 45

external attributions

Question 46

fundamental attribution error

Answer 46

mistaken association between a behavior and a fundamental feature about a person

Question 47

actor/observer discrepancy

Answer 47

combined forces of two biases, people's tendency to focus on situations when interpreting their own behavior, focus on dispositions when interpreting other people's behavior

Question 48

stereotypes

Answer 48

mental shortcuts (heuristics) that allow for easy, fast processing of social information

Question 49

Why do people use stereotypes?

Answer 49

to efficiently form impressions of others within the built-in constraints on mental processing

Question 50

prejudice

Answer 50

negative feelings, opinions, and beliefs associated with a stereotype

Question 51

discrimination

Answer 51

differential treatment of people based merely on their group membership

Question 52

effects of stereotyping and discrimination

Answer 52

Violence Stress-induced illness Premature death

Question 53

Stereotype threat

Answer 53

the concern or fear people experience if they believe that their performance on a task could confirm negative stereotypes about their group Interferes with performance

Question 54

Interventions to reduce stereotype threat

Answer 54

Informing them about negative consequences of stereotype threat Bolstering social connections Reframing: taking a negative stereotype and transforming it from a weakness into a strength Self labeling: embracing the very slurs used against you Perspective taking: actively contemplating the psychological experiences of other people Can reduce racial bias and stereotyping Perspective giving: when people share their experiences of being targets of discrimination

Question 55

Birds of a feather

Answer 55

people similar in attitudes, values, interests, backgrounds, and personalities tend to like each other

Question 56

Which Situational and Personal Factors Influence Interpersonal Attraction

Answer 56

Proximity and Familiarity Personal Characteristics Physical attractiveness

Question 57

Passionate love:

Answer 57

state of intense longing and sexual desire Associated with activity in midbrain dopamine systems, the same systems involved in reinforcement learning, reward, and motivation

Question 58

Companionate love:

Answer 58

a strong commitment to care for and support a partner Develops over time; based on friendship, trust, respect, and intimacy Passion fades over time The long-term pattern of sexual activity within relationships shows an initial rise and then a decline

Question 59

Gottman’s 4 interpersonal styles of communication that are detrimental (four horsemen of apocalypse)

Answer 59

Criticism Contempt Defensiveness Stonewalling

Question 60

Attributional Style and Accommodation

Answer 60

Happy couples make partner-enhancing attributions Unhappy couples make distress-maintaining attribution