Social Psychology Unit 4 PDF

Social Psychology Dr. Kurt Hugenberg Unit 4 Chapter 11- Aggression Aggression- Any behavior intended to cause harm - Instrumental Aggression- Using aggression as a tool to achieve a goal - Strategic, deliberative - Robbing a store, terrorist attack. Direct goal is not to cause h...

Social Psychology Dr. Kurt Hugenberg Unit 4 Chapter 11- Aggression Aggression- Any behavior intended to cause harm - Instrumental Aggression- Using aggression as a tool to achieve a goal - Strategic, deliberative - Robbing a store, terrorist attack. Direct goal is not to cause harm - Hostile Aggression- Triggered by anger and simply wants to harm someone or something. - Indirect Aggression- Aggression that is more subtle and used through manipulation - Gossip, and talking poorly of someone, for example - Some suggest aggression is caused by: - Irritation - Rumination - Susceptibility Frustration-Aggression Theory- Theory that frustration fuels aggression. Catharsis- Having less aggression after being aggressive. Cognitive-Neoassociation Model- Aggressive thoughts and behaviors are inspired by memories. - Also there exists a correlation between hot weather and aggression - Found that presence of guns can weapons can act as triggers of hostile outbreaks Social Learning Theory- People learn aggression through repeating actions of others. - Children who had aggressive adults around them tended to hit the clown doll and be more aggressive, following an aggressive script.  - Found that violent media made people aggressive immediately after consuming the media - Also found that males who grew up with violence in media were more violent for longitudinal amounts of time. Culture of Honor- Idea that men are violent as it is their duty to be protective of others and their reputations. [In class 12/3] Causes of aggression Hormonal Effects- Testosterone! - Found in animals and humans alike - Correlation found between higher levels of testosterone and steroids. - Prisoners convicted of violent crimes tended to have higher levels of testosterone than prisoners who committed white collar crimes. - It is possible to manipulate testosterone levels in humans Physical violence is more apparent in men, indirect aggression seen more in women - Culture shows how much aggression people may have (Japan v. Brazil, for example) Frustration-Aggression Theory- We are more likely to be aggressive if we become frustrated by failure. - Even small stuff! Excitation transfer process Negative arousal → Misattribution arousal to event unfolding → Frustrating event → Heightened Aggression Bad day at work→ partner asks you to clean → you get mad at partner, not work Frustration → Negative Arousal → Emotional Aggression Heat also makes people upset, or any unpleasant experience Chapter 12 Prosocial Behavior- voluntary behavior to help someone else. - Egoistic helping- Helping someone to gain something in return - Altruistic helping- Helping someone without hoping for anything in return Reciprocal Helping- Helping someone with the hope that they will do you a favor in the future Norm of social responsibility- Society norm that we must help others when they are in need of it. Norm of Social Justice- Norm that we should only help those who deserve it. - May discriminate against the homeless, drug addicts, etc.. Personal Distress- People feel personally anxious or distressed when they see others who are in poor conditions and in need of help. - Sign of empathy Bystander Intervention Model- A 5-step model that people use to determine if they should intervene. 1. Something unusual happening? 2. Do you decide something is wrong? 3. Do you think you have a responsibility to help? 4. Do you know the appropriate type of help? 5. Do you decide to implement said form of help? - If yes for all, then one intervenes. Audience Inhibition Effect- Worry that if a bystander helps, they will be judged by others if the situation was not an emergency. - People with better moods are also more likely to help. Negative state relief model- Opposite theory suggesting that people in bad moods might help others to lift their own spirits. Empathy-altruism hypothesis- Theory that feeling empathy towards someone creates an altruistic attitude towards helping someone. Just-world belief- belief that the world is fair and people deserve to belong where they do. [In class 12/5] Ground squirrels yell when they see a predator to alert other squirrels, even though the sound may put them in more danger. - Ants do similar things; they work in groups and sacrifice themselves for the queen ant’s survival - Reciprocal Altruism (Helping)- Quid pro quo - Chimps have shown to do this - Vampire bats trade favors for food - Norm of reciprocity- Expectation that helping others increases the likelihood they will help us in the future. - Negative-state relief- It feels bad to see others in pain, so we’ll help more when we have to watch pain - Homeless disabled person at stop light, for example - Batson’t Empathy Altruism Model- Emotional empathy triggers attempts to help for altruistic reasons, without gain. - So, more empathy, more likely to help Bystander Intervention Kitty Genovese- Murdered, and no one around her did anything to help White Smoke Study (Latane & Darley, 1970)- Had participants in the room where smoke would start coming out of the vents. Stopwatch to see how long it would take to do anything. - Social Influence - Nobody else seems worried about the smoke, so no one says anything about it. Pluralistic ignorance - Normative Social Influence- We want to be liked; don’t want to be the odd one who freaks out over small things. Chapter 9 We have a need to belong, or a need for social interaction and be accepted by others Social Comparison Theory- Theory that we value ourselves by comparison to others. Social Exchange Theory- We form interpersonal relationships because there is more reward than cost. - When that flips, we leave that relationship. Matching Hypothesis- We are attracted to those with similar characteristics as us [In class 12/10] Informational Social Influence- Noone else seems worried, causes pluralistic ignorance Normative Social Influence- We want to be liked and have an embarrassment of being wrong. Darley & Latane- Helping and seizures. A diffusion of responsibility that asks “why is it my problem if other people can help?” - Lifeguards point to one specific person and assign them to call 911 - We might also feel we don’t have the capacity to help (we are not mechanics, doctors, etc…) Attraction - We are attracted to others because of the Fundamental Affiliation Needs - Humans evolved a motivation to: - Learn about ourselves - Gain positive outcomes Social Comparison Theory- Uncertainty about the self. - We use others to act as points of comparison. - Accuracy is tested by comparing ourselves to others - Gaining positive outcomes. Social Exchange Theory- We are motivated to gain positive outcomes. - We are attracted to and maintain relationships in which the rewards exceed the costs - What situations influence attraction? - Proximity - ⅔ of participants at MIT had closest friends on same floor of dorm - Works in classrooms, college dorms, workplace etc… - Probably driven by mere exposure effect - Similarity - We are more so attracted to people who are more similar to us - Similar attitudes, political beliefs, looks, height, etc… - Familiarity  - Tend to like those who are familiar to us (again, mere exposure effect) - Reciprocal Liking - We like those who like us (strongest force) - Experiment in ‘get to know you’ interaction - One participant showed up 15 mins early. Completed a brief personality survey and showed it to other participants. Was told the other person liked them already OR told the partner dislikes you. Interaction was positive for liking, negative if disliking prior. - Leads to self-fulfilling prophecy Chapter 10- Intimate Relationships Attachment- The strong relationship between an infant and their caregiver Secured Attachment style: Llow avoidance, low anxiety Preoccupied Attachment style: Low avoidance, high anxiety Dismissing-Avoidant Attachment style: High avoidance, low anxiety Fearful Attachment style: High avoidance, high anxiety Social Penetration Theory- We tend to have closer relationships as we increase our self-disclosure, or, how much we reveal about ourselves to that person Passionate Love- A state of intense longing for one Two-factor theory of emotions- Our emotional experience is based on: 1. Physiological arousal and how we label the cause of that arousal. Excitation Transfer- When you get psychological arousal elicited by another type of arousal. Compassionate Love- Love that is so twined it cannot be broken. Equity Theory- The theory that relationships are most satisfying when the cost-benefit ratio is the same for both parties of that relationship. [In class 12/12] - Shock test. Some were told it was very light. Others told it would be extremely painful. - ½ anxious, other half not. Before test, offered two waiting rooms to sit at. One with another person; one empty. Anxious patients always choose the room with another person - Anxiety breeds affiliation! Relationships - What relationships make us happy? - We want relationships that meet what we expect and feel we deserve - Comparison Level (CL)- expected level of relationship outcomes - Outcomes-CL- Satisfaction or dissatisfaction - Over-benefit- high rewards, few costs. Long term guilt - Under-benefit- Few rewards, high costs. Long term anger, depression Comparison Level of Alternatives (CL Alt)- A person’s CL Alt is set at best perceived relationship outcomes outside of the current relationship. - We consider Plan B’s to our romantic relationships - Diekman wife: “I would leave you for the Boss.” husband laughs because CL Alt is unrealistic  - Cost of relationship is part of CL Alt. You have to consider the cost of transition (who gets what items & friends, children etc…) - This is partially why people stay in an abusive relationship. CL Alt may look worse. - Golden 5-1 rule: 5 positive things said, 1 negative - Sarcasm is bad for relationships. Stonewalling is bad for relationships when one partner tries to fight, the other does not engage/address issues Evolutionary Theory of Sexual Attraction - Central Tenets - Humans evolved to select mates that solve ‘adaptive problems’ - Goal of mate selection= successful offspring Sexual Selection/Parental Investment Model - Seeks to explain features of valued mates - Men face the problem of not knowing if a child is certainly theirs - Women face the problem of certainly having to invest time/money in their child. - Assumes selection pressures exerted on evolutionary ancestors - Men and women look for different things. - Women less likely for hookups at 0% while men are at 75% yes. Dates are 50/50