Chapter Outline: How Group Membership Affects People PDF - Psychology

Chapter Outline: Chapter 12 How Does Group Membership Affect People? A. social psychology: the study of how people influence other people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions B. social brain hypothesis I. People Favor Their Own Groups A. Formation...

Chapter Outline: Chapter 12 How Does Group Membership Affect People? A. social psychology: the study of how people influence other people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions B. social brain hypothesis I. People Favor Their Own Groups A. Formation of ingroups and outgroups 1. Two conditions appear to be critical for group formation: reciprocity and transitivity. a. Reciprocity means that if person A helps (or harms) person B, then person B will help (or harm) person A. b. Transitivity means that people generally share their friends’ opinions of other people. B. outgroup homogeneity effect: the tendency to view outgroup members as less varied than ingroup members C. Social identity theory 1. the idea that ingroups consist of individuals who perceive themselves to be members of the same social category and experience pride through their group membership 2. ingroup favoritism: the tendency for people to evaluate favorably and privilege members of the ingroup more than members of the outgroup D. Brain activity associated with group membership 1. Other brain regions are differentially active when we consider ingroup versus outgroup members. 2. The medial prefrontal cortex is less active when people are perceived to be members of outgroups. II. Groups Influence Individual Behavior  A. Group decision making 1. risky-shift effect: groups often make risker decisions than individuals do 2. group polarization: the process by which initial attitudes of groups become more extreme over time 3. groupthink: the tendency of groups to make bad decisions when the group is under pressure, facing external threats, and is biased B. Social facilitation 1. the presence of others enhances performance 2. Zajonc’s model C. Social loafing 1. The tendency for people to work less hard in a group than when working alone. D. Deindividuation 1. 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 2. individuated: we walk around with a sense of ourselves as individuals who are responsible for our own actions III. People Conform with Others A. conformity: altering one’s behaviors and opinions to match those of other people or to match other people’s expectations B. Influence  1. normative influence: going along with crowd to avoid looking foolish and to fit in with the group 2. informational influence: assuming that the behavior of others represents the correct way to respond C. social norms: expected standards of conduct influence behavior D. Asch and Sherif studies 1. Groups enforce conformity, and those who fail to go along can be rejected. E. Factors affecting conformity 1. Research has consistently demonstrated that people tend to conform to social norms. 2. Social and cultural context also play a role in conformity. IV. Can Social Norms Marketing Reduce Binge Drinking? V. People Obey Authority Figures A. Milgram’s famous study demonstrated the tendency to follow the directions of authority. 1. Nearly two-thirds of participants completely obeyed all the experimenter’s directives. When Do People Harm or Help Others? VI. Many Factors Can Influence Aggression A. aggression: any behavior that involves the intention to harm another B. Biological factors 1. Genetic research has identified the role of the MAOA gene in aggression. a. MAOA is not a “violence gene.” b. associated with amygdala and neurotransmitters (serotonin)  2. The hormone testosterone also appears to have a modest correlation with aggression. C. Social and cultural factors 1. Violence varies dramatically across cultures and even within cultures at different times. 2. culture of honor VII. Cooperation Can Reduce Outgroup Bias A. Sherif’s study of competition and cooperation B. Shared superordinate goals, goals that require people to cooperate, reduce hostility between groups. VIII. Many Factors Can Influence Helping Behavior A. prosocial behaviors: actions that tend to benefit others, such as doing favors or helping B. altruism: providing help when it is needed, without any apparent reward for doing so C. Evolutionary explanations 1. 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. 2. kin selection: people are altruistic toward those with whom they share genes 3. reciprocal helping: one animal helps another because the other may return the favor in the future. D. Bystander intervention 1. bystander intervention effect: the failure to offer help by those who observe someone in need when other people are present a. diffusion of responsibility  b. social blunders c. wish to remain anonymous d. How much harm do they risk to themselves by helping? 2. Kitty Genovese 3. Latané and Darley studies How Do Attitudes Guide Behavior? A. Attitudes are evaluations of: 1. objects 2. events 3. ideas IX. People Form Attitudes Through Experience and Socialization A. Negative attitudes develop more rapidly than positive attitudes. B. mere exposure effect: greater exposure to a stimulus leads to greater liking for it C. Attitude-behavior consistency 1. Ease of attitude accessibility predicts behavior that is resistant to change. D. Explicit and implicit attitudes 1. explicit attitudes: attitudes that a person can report 2. implicit attitudes: attitudes that influence a person’s feelings at an unconscious level a. Implicit Association Test (IAT) X. Discrepancies Lead to Dissonance A. cognitive dissonance 1. an uncomfortable mental state  2. due to contradiction between two attitudes or between behavior and attitude B. Insufficient justification 1. Festinger and Carlsmith’s study C. Justifying effort 1. people experience a great deal of dissonance when they put themselves through pain, embarrassment, or discomfort to join a group 2. people can resolve the dissonance by inflating the importance of the group and their commitment to it D. Postdecisional dissonance 1. motivates individuals to focus on the positive aspects of their choice after making a decision XI. Attitudes and Behaviors Can Be Changed Through Persuasion A. Persuasion is the active and conscious effort to change an attitude through the transmission of a message. 1. various factors affect the persuasiveness of a message a. source: who delivers the message b. content: what the message says c. receiver: who processes the message B. According to the elaboration likelihood model, persuasive communication changes attitudes in two fundamental ways. 1. central route: paying attention to the information presented 2. peripheral route: minimal attention to information leads to impulsivity C. Compliance 1. the tendency to do things requested by others  a. foot in the door b. door in the face c. low-balling How Do People Think About Others? XII. People Make Judgments About Others A. Nonverbal behavior 1. the facial expressions, gestures, mannerisms, and movements by which one communicates with others a. Accurate judgments can be based on brief observations. b. Facial expressions and body movements influence impressions. B. Attributional dimensions 1. attributions: people’s explanations for why events or actions occur a. personal attributions: explanations of people’s behavior that refer to their internal characteristics, such as abilities, traits, moods, or efforts b. situational attributions: explanations of people’s behavior that refer to external events, such as the weather, luck, accidents, or other people’s actions C. Attributional bias 1. fundamental attribution error: while explaining other people’s behavior, the tendency to overemphasize personality traits and underestimate situational factors a. it involves a mistaken association between a behavior and a fundamental feature about a person 2. actor/observer discrepancy a. In interpreting our own behavior, we focus on the situation.  b. In interpreting anothers’ behavior, we focus on personality. XIII. Stereotypes Can Lead to Prejudice and Discrimination A. Stereotypes: mental shortcuts for rapid processing of social information 1. As a result of directed attention and memory biases, people may see illusory correlations. 2. subtyping: when people encounter someone who does not fit a stereotype, they put that person in a special category rather than alter the stereotype B. Prejudice and discrimination 1. prejudice: negative feelings, opinions, and beliefs associated with a stereotype. 2. discrimination: inappropriate, unjustified treatment of people as a result of prejudice C. Stereotypes and perception 1. shooter bias effect 2. implicit bias D. Modern prejudice 1. modern racism: subtle forms of prejudice that coexist with racist beliefs XIV. Prejudice and Its Effects Can Be Reduced A. Stereotype threat: fear or concern about confirming negative stereotypes related to one’s own group, which in turn impairs performance on a task 1. applies to any member of a group who believes that negative stereotypes exist about the group 2. interventions to reduce stereotype threat effects are often successful B. Inhibiting stereotypes  1. In everyday life, inhibiting stereotyped thinking is difficult and requires self-control. C. Perspective taking and perspective giving 1. Perspective taking involves people actively contemplating the psychological experiences of other people. 2. perspective giving: in which people share their experiences of being targets of discrimination What Determines the Quality of Relationships? A. Relationships are connections with friends and with romantic partners. XV. Situational and Personal Factors Influence Interpersonal Attraction and Friendships A. Relationships are promoted by: 1. Proximity and familiarity a. The more people come into contact, the more likely they are to become friends. 2. Birds of a Feather a. matching principle b. people similar in attitudes, values, interests, backgrounds, and personalities tend to like each other 3. Personal characteristics a. People tend to especially like those who have admirable personality characteristics and who are physically attractive. 4. Physical attractiveness a. How people rate attractiveness is generally consistent across all cultures.  B. “what is beautiful is good” stereotype: the belief that attractive people are superior in most ways XVI. Emotions Play an Important Role in Romantic Relationships A. Passionate love: intense longing and sexual desire 1. generally happens early in relationships B. companionate love: strong commitment based on friendship, trust, respect, and intimacy 1. evolves in relationships C. Passion fades 1. If people do not develop companionate forms of satisfaction in their romantic relationships the loss of passion leads to dissatisfaction and often to the eventual dissolution of the relationship D. Attachment theory 1. Love in relationships may be related to early attachment styles. E. Dealing with conflict 1. being overly critical 2. holding the partner in contempt (i.e., having disdain, lacking respect) 3. being defensive 4. mentally withdrawing from the relationship F. Attributional Style and 1. Happy couples also differ from unhappy couples in attributional style. 2. Happy couples overlook bad behavior or respond constructively, a process called accommodation. XVII. Findings from Psychological Science Can Benefit Your Relationship A. Try to understand your partner’s perspective. B. Be affectionate with your partner. C. Show you care. D. Spend quality time together. E. Maintain trust among each other. F. Learn how to handle conflict.