Social Influence Notes PDF

4.1 Obedience Obedience Form of social influence. Involves performing an action under the orders of an authority figure. Differs from compliance and conformity. EXAMPLE: a child putting their toys away when asked t...

4.1 Obedience Obedience Form of social influence. Involves performing an action under the orders of an authority figure. Differs from compliance and conformity. EXAMPLE: a child putting their toys away when asked to by a parent. Research on obedience came from the need to understand the situational conditions whereby people would suspend their own moral judgements to carry out an order from someone they considered to be an authority figure. Milgram (1963) To see how obedient people would be in a situation where obeying orders would mean breaking their own moral code and hurting an innocent person. 40 American men aged 20-50 recruited by advertisement to participate in a learning experiment about the effects on punishment on learning. Participants drew straws to determine their role of either learner or teacher however Milgram ensured the participant was always the teacher and the confederate Mr Wallace was always the learner. The learner was strapped into a chair behind a screen and connected to a shock generator. Participant tested the confederate on his memory for word pairs. The experimenter (wore grey lab coat) ordered the participant to flick a switch to shock Mr Wallace when he got an answer wrong or did not provide an answer. Shocks increased by 15 volts each time up to a potentially lethal 450 volts. The participant did not know there were no real shocks. As the level of shocks increased, Mr Wallace cried out and begged to be released. At 300 volts, he went silent apart from weak knocking on the screen. When participants would protest at having to continue, the experimenter gave verbal prods “please continue”, “you have no choice, you must go on, the experiment requires you to continue”. 65% continues to the highest level of 450 volts. 100% continued to 300 volts. People have a strong tendency to obey orders even when these go against their morals. Many crimes against humanity may be the outcome of situational factors rather than dispositional factors. An individual’s capacity for making independent decisions is suspended when they find themselves in a subordinate position within a powerful social hierarchy. Dispositional Referred to as internal factors. Factors Personal qualities that we have little control over. EXAMPLES: genetic predispositions, personality traits, intelligence, levels of self-esteem Situational Factors Elements in our environment that can influence our behaviour. EXAMPLES: work, school, people around us Factors That Various factors influence obedience. Influence Status of Orders were given in an important location. When Milgram’s study was conducted Obedience Location in a run-down office in the city, obedience levels dropped. Prestige increases obedience. Personal When there is less personal responsibility, obedience increases. When participants Responsibility could instruct an assistant to press the switches, 95% shocked to the maximum 450 volts. Legitimacy of the People tend to obey orders from other people if they recognise their authority as Authority Figure morally right and/or legally based. This response to legitimate authority is learned in a variety of situations EXAMPLE: family, school, workplace. Prestige or Milgram’s experimenter wore a lab coat (symbol of scientific expertise) which gave Status of the him high status) Authority Figure When the experiments wore everyday clothes obedience was very low. Uniform of the authority figure can give them status. Higher levels of perceived prestige are associated with increased obedience. Peer Support If a person has the social support of their friends, then obedience is less likely. The presence of others who are seen to disobey the authority figure reduces the level of obedience. Proximity to the It is easier to resist the orders from an authority figure if they are not close by. Authority Figure When the authority figure is close by, then obedience is more likely.  Deindividuation Losing your individuality, ability to think and make decisions for yourself, instead going along with he groups’ behaviour. Become lost in a group and go along with whatever the rest of the group is doing EXAMPLE: commenting on a post because everyone else is doing it. May be because individuals experience a sense of anonymity in a group. The larger the group, the higher the incidence of deindividuation. People are moved by the group experience to do things that without group support they would not normally do. Associated with higher levels of obedience. Ethical Issues Psychological Placed participants under significant emotional strain. Associated with Harm and Several participants had marks on their hands from digging their nails in discomfort, Milgram’s Research Distress others were visibly sweating and trembling. 3 participants recorded as having seizures. Right to When participants indicated that they did not want to continue the researcher Withdraw responded with verbal prods suggesting that they had no choice but to continue. Deception Milgram organised a selection process where the true participant was always the teacher. Stated the aim of the study was learning and punishment rather than obedience to authority. Participants were made to believe they were administering real electric shocks and harming another person Stanford Prison In 1971, Zimbardo and colleagues devised a study to study behaviour in prison situations. Experiment Converted the basements of the Stanford University psychology building into a mock prison. Advertised asking for volunteers to participate in the psychological effects of prison life. 75 applicants who answered were given diagnostic interviews and personality tests to eliminate candidates with psychological problems, medical disabilities, history or crime or drug abuse. Selected 24 men deemed to be the most mentally and physically stable and least likely to engage in antisocial behaviour. Participants did not know each other and were paid $15 per day to participate. Allocated to the role of prisoner or guard based on their interview. Participants were unexpectedly arrested at their homes by real policemen, handcuffed and taken to a real police station to be photographed, have photos taken and be booked. Participants did not yet know they had been selected for the study. Prisoners were blindfolded and transported to the mock prison to stay for 14 days. Upon arrival, prisoners were stripped naked, deloused, and given a beige smock, nylon cap, number to replace their name and a lock and chain around one ankle. Guards wore khaki uniform and reflective sunglasses to prevent prisoners from seeing their eyes. Prisoners were exposed to a range of humiliating and degrading acts from the guards along with physical punishment if they were deemed to be stepping out of line. Over the next 6 days, the prisoners became dehumanised, and guards had been ordered to do whatever they felt was necessary to maintain order within the prison with the exclusion of physical violence. Zimbardo informed participants that any violence would terminate the study and make them exempt from the payment agreed upon. Deindividuation quickly occurred with both guards and prisoners becoming immersed in their roles and forgot the reality that they were participants in a study. Less than 36 hours into the experiment, Prisoner #8612 began suffering from acute emotional disturbance, disorganised thinking, uncontrollable crying, and rage. Not released from the experiment. Demanded a meeting with the guards but he was told he was unable to leave and suggested he become an informant. After the meeting, the distress escalated, and he was released from the experiment. The experiment continued for another 6 days with no modification to the prisoner’s treatment. After 6 days of sever emotional distress of prisoners and excessive brutality from the guards the experiment came to an end. Situation rather than dispositional factors play a significant role in the behaviours exhibited at any given time, particularly where strong stereotypes exist. 4.2 Conformity Conformity Where individuals yield to group pressures Affected by a number of different factors.  Be defined as a ‘change in behaviour or belief as a result of real or imagined group pressure’. Types Of Three types of conformity Conformity Compliance: publicly change our behaviour to be more like the majority but we do not privately change our minds about what we believe or how we would like to act. Shallowest level of conformity. Short-term change. EXAMPLE: eating broccoli and grandmas house because it is expected Identification: take on the views of individuals or groups we admire. Middle level of conformity. Changed public behaviour and private beliefs but only in the presence of the group. Short-term change. Takes place when in the presence of a particular group. EXAMPLE: drinking alcohol in front of friends but not at home or in front of family. Internalisation: deepest level of conformity. True change of beliefs. Changes public behaviour to match those of the group. Other have convinced us their beliefs are right, so our behaviour adjusts accordingly to match these beliefs. EXAMPLE: influence by partner to become vegetarian so stops eating meat. Continue eating vegetarian whether in the presence of partner or not because they have internalised this belief as a healthier and preferred diet option. Change in public behaviour Change in private belief Short term/ Long term Compliance Yes No Short-term Identification Yes Only in presence of the Short-term group/ majority Internalisation Yes Yes Long-term Why People Normative social influence (NSI): a person conforms to be accepted or belong to a group. Conforms Conform because it is socially rewarding or to avoid social punishment. Usually associated with compliance and identification. Informational social influence (ISI): a person conforms to gain knowledge or because they believe that someone else is right. Usually associated with internalisation. Result of a person adopting a new belief system because they genuinely believe that their new beliefs are right. Can also occur in ambiguous or unfamiliar situations. EXAMPLE: person changes their political ideology from Conservative to Liberal, then they have internalised these new beliefs on a semi-permanent basis and believe that voting Liberal is right. Individual Influence the extent to which conformity occurs. Differences Also Personal characteristics and the individual’s position within the group play a role. Affect Conformity Individuals with low status within a group or are unfamiliar with a particular situation are the ones most likely to conform. EXAMPLE: students new to a class, new members of a sports team, drama group, new employees in a workplace. Personality traits such as concern with being liked or the desire to be right, play influence into the likelihood that people will conform to the social norms around them. Cultural factors are also influential. Certain cultures are more likely than others to value group harmony over individual expression. Factors Affecting Size of the group Conformity tends to increase as the size of the Conformity group increases. Optimal group size for conformity is 4. Lack of group unanimity When one other person in the group gives a different answer from the others and the group answer is not unanimous, conformity drops. Even the presence of just one confederate who goes against the majority choice can reduce conformity as much as 80%. Difficulty of task When we are uncertain, it seems we look to others for confirmation. The more difficult the task, the greater the conformity. Answer in private When participants were allowed to answer in private, conformity decreases. This is because there is less group pressure and normative influence is not as powerful. Anonymity When participants could write their answers down rather than announce them in public, conformity dropped.  Suggests the individuals conform because they are concerned about what other people think of them (NSI) Status of majority group If someone is of high status or has a lot of knowledge, they might be more influential, and so people will conform to their opinions more readily (ISI). The higher the status of the group, the higher the level of conformity. Social, Cultural And Observational research is often the chosen method of conducting cross-cultural research on social Ethical Impact Of influence. Ethnocentric Bias In Social, cultural, and ethical implications of conducting research with Indigenous groups. Observational Minority communities can be subject to ethnocentric bias when the investigator collected data by Research observation of selected participants. Ethical Implications Australian guidelines highlight the need to respect and support research participants with additional elements for research with Indigenous people and communities. All research involving Indigenous peoples must be reviewed and approved by a registered Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC). Must include assessment by or advice from people who have networks with and/or knowledge of research with Indigenous peoples; and people familiar with the cultures and practices of the people with whom participation in the research will be discussed. In rural areas, where presented with the consent paperwork, there is a high incidence whereby Indigenous people are not able to read or comprehend the information adequately to be considered informed consent. If an elder has agreed to speak with a researcher about their culture, then this should be considered absolute consent. In the event where paperwork is produced regarding informed consent, it is likely that the elder will refuse to engage further and he does not understand this Western principle. It is important to ensure that indigenous participants have access to translators, interpreters and advocated during the research process. Explicit and implicit power differentials create ethical challenges and may arise simply due to the researchers enhanced educational standing. Cultural Implications Increasing demand for social research and data collection in the field of psychology to stretch beyond the typical Westerns populations. One challenge is the need for culturally appropriate research methods and ethics. One should never assume that a task in a psychological instrument will have the same meaning cross- culturally. Much of the existing research on Indigenous peoples is contaminated by Eurocentric prejudice. Conducting research with Indigenous cultures requires a culturally specific approach where Universal principles in research and ethics are removed. Most research instruments have been developed for use within Western populations so there is an increased risk of cultural bias and critical interpretation of cultural practices and everyday behaviour. With a little tweaking to make them situationally and culturally responsive, Western social research methods, methodologies and ethics protocols can be made applicable to all social and cultural contexts. Indigenous research needs to be respectful of the differences between Indigenous culture and that of the researcher to ensure that an ethical approach and practice is maintained. Even well-intentioned research has been a source of distress for Indigenous people because the use of culturally insensitive research designs and methodologies fail to meet the needs, customs, and standards of Indigenous people and communities. When there is no understanding of cultural differences and universal research methods are applied, objectivity in recording, analysis and reporting may be compromised and reinforce the disempowerment of Indigenous people, particularly when the need to distribute and report academic findings contrast with the need to protect Indigenous knowledge. Social Implications Much of the research conducted on Indigenous communities and culture tends to focus on the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous heath, service provisions and service engagement, alongside crime and incidents of death during incarceration.  Numerous communities report their decision to disengage with mainstream researchers is due to their lack of understanding of culturally specific needs when working with Indigenous people. Some concern that these research areas reinforce the on-going stigma and marginalisation of Indigenous peoples. Many Indigenous communities choose to limit sharing their traditional customs and knowledge with mainstream society on this basis with various research findings indicating that Indigenous participants felt that their personal safety within the community was compromised due to engaging in the research process. The responsibility is on the researcher to ensure that there is access to information about appropriate and accessible services that the participant can seek help and advice from. 4.3 Attitudes and Persuasion Attitudes A learned tendency to evaluate things in a certain way. Can include evaluations of people, issues, objects, or events. There are several different components that make up attitudes. A – Affective Emotional reactions or feelings a person has towards something. Component Based on judgement therefore results in a positive, negative, or neutral emotion. An ambivalent response occurs when you have both positive and negative feelings about something. Positive EXAMPLE: liking rollercoasters. Negative EXAMPLE: disliking raw tomatoes Neutral EXAMPLE: lack of interest in current affairs B – Behavioural Actions or behaviours we do in response. Component Positive EXAMPLE: going on rollercoasters. Negative EXAMPLE: ask to remove tomato on burger for lunch. C – Cognitive Thoughts of beliefs we have about the topics. Component Beliefs are linked to what we have learned about the world we live in and are shaped by our experiences and the people we meet along the way, they form part of our general knowledge. Some beliefs are based on fact. EXAMPLE: centripetal force is what keeps you from falling out of a rollercoaster while it is upside down. Some beliefs may be false or based on opinion EXAMPLE: all babies are cute. Some beliefs can be verified, others cannot. Factors Affecting Attitudes are affected by external factors associated with persuasion. Attitude Formation Persuasion is the process of changing our attitude toward something based on some kind of and/or Attitude communication from other people. Change Source, Message, Certain features of the source of a persuasive message, the content of the message, and the Audience – The characteristics of the audience will influence the persuasiveness of a message. Yale Attitude Source: Message: Audience: Change Approach Person who conveys the Need to evoke strong emotions Features of the audience affect message. or strong processing in the how easy it is to persuade More favourably we view the audience. attitude change. source, the more likely we are to Could include statistics or a story Audience members must be view the message more to arouse emotions. paying attention. favourably. Positive feelings can make a Older generations have more Effectiveness of the source is message more convincing. conservative views, they are determined by their credibility, Negative emotions are also more likely to have formed trustworthiness, expertise, and effective EXAMPLE: fear using attitudes through direct attractiveness or likeability. in drink-driving campaigns. experience (harder to change). Speakers who are credible or Messages that are more subtle Younger people often form have expertise on the topic, and are more persuasive than direct attitudes based on what other who are deemed as trustworthy messages however, a message people have told them (easier to are more persuasive. is more effective when people change). Taking quickly increases don’t think they are being People with low self-esteem are trustworthiness as it makes you tricked. persuaded more easily. seem more intelligent and Repetition of a message is a How much we know about a knowledgeable. good way for people to topic and our personality are remember it. also factors.  More attractive speakers are more persuasive than less attractive speakers. Central Route Of Making the audience think carefully about the message to evaluate the information. Persuasion Logic driven and uses data and facts in the message to convince people of the persuasive message. Works best when the audience is analytical and willing to engage in processing of the information. These people need a message that is credible, presented clearly and simply, and backed up by evidence. The argument must be strong and if successful will result in lasting attitude change. EXAMPLE: car salesperson wanting to persuade you to buy the latest model will emphasise the car’s safety features and fuel economy. Peripheral Route Of Persuading people using peripheral cues. Persuasion Requires little processing or thinking by the audience. Relies on association with positive characteristics EXAMPLE: having a celebrity endorse a new model of car pointing out its range of colours is more likely to be persuasive for a younger audience. Audience that is targeted is often young or has low self-esteem. Children are targets with colour, cartoons, and jingles. Audience does not need to be analytical or motivated to process the message. The persuasion is often subtle EXAMPLE: strategic product placement in movies. Direct Experience Attitudes are formed and changed through direct experience. You have experienced something yourself. EXAMPLE: you loved a band, so you attend their concerts again. Attitudes formed through direct experience are generally stronger attitudes. More likely to think and talk about things that happen to us personally – strengthens the attitude, making them more enduring and resistant to change. Indirect Experience Being exposed to a topic, event, issue, or object involves forming an attitude in a way that is less personal. EXAMPLE: reading or being told about something. Attitudes formed this way are more susceptible to change. Less emotionally intense and do not evoke the same levels of thinking or talking. Norm Of Reciprocity Based on the social norm that people will return a favour when one is granted to them. More likely to occur when the requester has previously complied with one of the target’s requests. EXAMPLE: given a free taste test of a product, leads you to feel obligated to return the favour of the taste test by purchasing the product. Door In The Face Begins with an initial large request, suggestion to do something, or purchase something. EXAMPLE: people who stop you in the mall to ask you to donate to a charity, they ask you to spend $100, you say no so they suggest $5, likely to respond positively and donate the $5. The initial request must be rejected by the target person. The target person must be persuaded to believe that they are making a concession or reducing their expectations. Foot In The Door The persuader gets a person to agree to a small favour or to buy a small item, only to later request a larger favour or purchase of a bigger item. EXAMPLE: asking a parent to let you stay out half an hour later, but then asking them the next week to stay out an hour later. Because you have complied with the initial request or purchase, you are more likely to respond positively to the additional request or suggestion to continue purchasing more items. Bidirectional Attitudes can influence behaviour. Relationship Attitude strength Strong attitudes are those that are firmly held and Between Attitudes highly influence behaviour. And Behaviour People tend to have stronger attitudes about things, events, ideas, or people they have considerable knowledge and information about.  When attitudes are formed through direct experience, they tend to have more influence over behaviour. EXAMPLE: direct experience eating anchovies and disliked the flavour, so you are less likely to eat them again in the future. Attitudes formed through direct experience are better predictors of future behaviour than those formed through indirect experience. EXAMPLE: someone who hears about your dislike of anchovies second-hand is more likely to try them in the future. Attitudes developed through direct experience are more clearly defined, held with greater certainty, more stable over time and therefore more resistant to counterinfluence. Attitude accessibility Refers to the ease with which it comes to mind. Highly accessible attitudes tend to be stronger. Attitudes that are retrieved the fastest are the most accessible and are better predictors of behaviour so the relationship between the attitude and behaviour is stronger. People who talk about an issue frequently are more likely to engage in behaviour consistent with the attitude than those who rarely consider the issue. EXAMPLE: those who talk frequently about their health and fitness are more likely to go to the gym. Attitude accessibility is influenced by relevance. Attitude specificity Another way to increase the chances that an attitude will lead to consistent behaviour is to make sure that the attitude is more specific than general. EXAMPLE: many people would say they have a positive attitude towards exercise and fitness, yet if asked to go for a run, would decline the offer indicating a weak relationship between attitude and behaviour. If you indicated a positive attitude towards walking on the beach on weekend, this is a much more specific attitude and a greater predictor of behaviour. EXAMPLE: explains why someone may value family but not attend every family function Behaviour can influence attitudes. If we engage in a behaviour, particularly one that we had not expected, our thoughts and feelings towards that behaviour are likely to change. EXAMPLE: troy enrolled in a university course, as it was expected that he would continue with study after school. He didn’t really know how he felt about the course, as it wasn’t something that he was passionate about, but he attended as it seemed to be the right thing to do. Trou also had a part time job at a children’s play café. At first, he was unsure whether working with young children suited him, but he persisted, and continued to work there. After some time, troy discovered he enjoyed working at the café and when he was offered the option of full-time work versus continuing with his university course, he opted for the full-time work. Troy learned to love his job and therefore his behaviour of working influenced both the affective and cognitive components of his attitude and helped shape his attitude towards deferring university. Self-perception occurs when we use our own behaviour as a guide to help us determine our own thoughts and feelings. When people are unsure of their own attitudes, one way to infer them is by looking at their behaviours. EXAMPLE: when you have had a bad day and are feeling tired and grumpy but need to go to sports training. When your teammates greet you with a smile, it is challenging to frown and continue being your  grumpy self, so you smile and pretend to be happy. Generally, our original grumpy feelings decrease after smiling and exhibiting ‘happy behaviour’. This is an example of our behaviour changing our attitude. Cognitive An internal form of attitude change is experienced through cognitive dissonance or the tension we Dissonance experience when our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are not aligned with one another. Defined as psychological discomfort arising from holding two or more inconsistent attitudes, behaviours, or cognitions. EXAMPLE: awkward uncomfortable feeling when you are out with friends and tempted to do something you know you parents wouldn’t approve of. To reduce dissonance, you need to change your thoughts, feelings, or behaviours so that they align with one another. Consistency Of Any given attitude of the ABC’s are normally aligned with one another. Attitude Behaviour It is logical that our attitudes (measured via self-report measure) are likely to guide behaviour. EXAMPLE: Link a person with a positive attitude towards protecting the environment who recycles paper and bottles shows high attitude-behaviour consistency. Attitudes predict behaviours well only under certain conditions and for some people; when the attitude and the behaviour both occur in similar social situations away from situational pressures, when the attitudes are measured at a specific rather than general level, for low self-monitors rather than high self-monitors. Situational Greater attitude-behaviour consistency when the social situations match. Pressures EXAMPLE: high school student tells their parents they hate the idea of smoking cigarettes. This negative attitude towards smoking seems to be a strong one. Believe that cigarettes are dirty, expensive, and unhealthy. But a peer group may be able to convince them to try smoking, through peer pressure, despite their initial negative attitude. Behaviours are more likely to be consistent with attitudes when the social situation in which the behaviour occurs is similar to the situation in which the attitude is expressed. Self-Monitoring Refers to individual differences in the tendency to attend to social cues and to adjust our behaviour to the social environment. Attitudes therefore predict behaviour better for some people than for others. EXAMPLE: if a high school student is a high self-monitor, they will be concerned about being accepted and liked by others, so they are likely to be persuaded by peer pressure to try a cigarette. If they are a low self-monitor, they will not be concerned about what their friends think and are likely to resist the peer pressure. Their negative attitude towards smoking will then match their behaviour. The relationship between attitudes and behaviour will be weaker for high self-monitors than it is for low self-monitors. Consequences Of Attitude-behaviour inconsistency can cause mental distress. Inconsistency EXAMPLE: unhappy with your job but still go to work everyday because you need money is going to Between Attitudes negatively impact your mental health in the long run. Likely to adversely impact on your everyday And Behaviour interactions with work colleagues, friends, and family. Attitude-behaviour inconsistency can also create inability to predict behaviour. Self-report methods like surveys and interviews are vulnerable to attitude fallacy if reported attitudes are inconsistent with the behaviour. This makes it difficult to predict behaviours. EXAMPLE: saying yes to an event because at the time you had a positive attitude towards attending the event only to not actually turn up on the day. Social Desirability Results from inconsistency between attitudes and behaviours. Bias Although people may have positive attitudes toward behaviours they see as desirable, they do not actually perform the behaviours as often as they say they do. When behaviours may be seen as desirable may be particularly sensitive to attitude fallacy. EXAMPLE: easy to say you dislike something when you have been asked about it especially if you are standing right there and I know I’m going to be on the news, I might self-report my attitude as negative towards topics like drugs and speeding, but actually behave in a way that is inconsistent with this attitude because I have fallen victim to social desirability when asked about things the general public frowns upon. 4.4 Prejudice and Discrimination Prejudice, Stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination often are root causes of human conflict, which explains how Discrimination And strangers come to feel hatred towards one another to the extent of causing others harm. Stereotyping Are As people develop strong attitudes of their own, and often seek out likeminded peers who share similar Linked attitudes, any differences between groups of people can be difficult for some people to understand and respect which in turn may lead to prejudice toward people who are different. Stereotyping A specific belief or assumption about individuals based solely on their membership in a group, regardless of their individual characteristics. Stereotypes become over-generalised and applied to all members of a group. EXAMPLE: someone holding stereotypical attitudes towards older adults may believe that older adults are slow and incompetent. Stereotyping involves categorising people into groups (race, gender, sexuality) and assuming that all members of a particular group are the same (all teenagers throw out of control parties). Prejudice A negative attitude (cognitions and feelings) toward an individual based solely on someone’s membership in a particular social group. EXAMPLE: in high school some groups may dislike the footy players for no other reason than because they play footy. Can be a result of positive emotions. EXAMPLE: favouring the music students by giving them additional time to complete an assignment. Discrimination When people act on their prejudicial attitudes toward a group of people. Action towards an individual because they belong to a particular group. EXAMPLE: as a result of holding negative beliefs (stereotypes) and negative attitudes (prejudice) about a particular group, people may treat the target of prejudice poorly by bullying them or leaving them out of social activities. Function Connection Example Stereotype Cognitive: thoughts Overgeneralised AFL Collingwood fans about people beliefs about people are arrogant and may lead to prejudice obnoxious Prejudice Affective: feelings Feelings may influence I hate Collingwood about people (positive treatment of others, fans; they make me and negative) and the leading to angry because they are cognitive thought about discrimination so arrogant and people obnoxious. Discrimination Behaviour: positive or Holding stereotypes I would never hire nor negative treatment of and harbouring become friends with a others prejudice may lead to person if I knew they excluding, avoiding, were a Collingwood and biased treatment of footy fan. group members. Why Are People Stereotypes play a role in shaping prejudice. Prejudiced Stereotypes are very accessible forms of an attitude, therefore because we can access this information easily about people, we are very quick to jump to assumptions about them as a group. Prejudice is a judgment or attitude towards a group of people based on insufficient evidence, or incorrect information about a group of people, that doesn’t take into account individual differences between the people in the group. Prejudice focuses on groups of people and identifiable people within a group and is not directed towards an isolated person. Prejudice and stereotyping are examples of the mistakes that result from trying to quickly categorise information about the people we meet. Unintentional Unconscious biases are essentially automatic, unintentional, inbuilt attitudes that we use when we process Biases information. EXAMPLE: elderly person came through your checkout at the supermarket you might think consciously or unintentionally think to yourself ‘this person won’t be very good with technology’. These biases affect behaviour and decision making but are often an inaccurate assessment of a person. Have implications in all sorts of scenarios (workplace, sporting team, interactions with the general public).  Confirmation bias Occurs when you favour or choose information that fits with your existing beliefs and is selective, meaning that you might overlook or reject information or ideas that don’t fit with your current view. Attribution bias When something good happens, or we achieve good outcome we attribute this to your own behaviours. When something bad happens, mistakes are made, we attribute this to external factors, other people, or things outside our control. Gender bias The tendency to prefer one gender over another. Conformity bias The tendency to behave the same as other members in the group. Exposure Exposure through direct experience is likely to help you develop a stereotype and therefore prejudice. EXAMPLE: if you walk to school each day past a group of homeless people who ask you each and every day for some money. You may believe that all homeless people beg for money (our cognition and linked to stereotyping homeless people). You also don’t like being asked for money each day (these are feelings which when linked with your cognitions are likely to lead to prejudice). People tend to conform to the social norms they are exposed to in their daily lives. EXAMPLE: if your family and friends develop a prejudice towards a group of people, there is a high likelihood you too will develop this same prejudice until you have your own direct experience and are able to re-assess your attitude. Learning Children are not born with prejudiced attitudes or stereotypes. These are learned from the people around them. Prejudice is learned in the same way other attitudes and values are learned. - Association: children may learn to associate a particular group with poverty, crime, violence, and other bad things. - Reinforcement: children may be reinforced for telling derogatory ethnic, sexist, or homophobic jokes, others might laugh along or think they’re cool. - Modelling: children may simply imitate the prejudices of their older family and popular friends. Parents play an important role in prejudice acquisition. Parents teach prejudice directly through reinforcement and children often learn their parents’ prejudiced attitudes by simply observing their parent talking about and interacting with people from other groups. Schools, employers, sporting organisations, parents, the media, and celebrities all have a role to play in reducing stereotypes, prejudice and ultimately discrimination through their message. Effects Of Prejudice Victims of prejudice may suffer a range of personal traumas that range from physical, psychological, social disadvantage, to low self-esteem and abuse. Social stigma Used to explain the disapproval of, or discrimination against, a person based on a stereotype that they may associate with or be associated with. Members of stigmatised social groups often face prejudice that causes depression and low self-esteem. Continual insults, denial of equality, exposure to violence, discrimination can threaten your social identity and be psychologically harmful. Members of stigmatised groups often start to become aware that they aren’t being treated the same way and know they are likely being discriminated against. Internalisation Internalised stigma refers to the process in which a person cognitively or emotionally of others absorbs negative messages or stereotypes that they have heard about and comes to evaluations believe them and apply them to themselves. Can affect the behaviour of those who are stigmatised. Those who are stereotyped often start to act in ways that their stigmatisers expect of them. It not only changes their behaviour, but it also shapes their emotions and beliefs. Can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy. You may eventually change your behaviour so that it keeps with the stigma you now associate with. Stereotype Situation in which people are or feel themselves to be at risk of conforming to threat stereotypes about their social group. Can be considered a contributing factor to long-standing racial and gender gaps in academic performance. If negative stereotypes are present regarding a specific group, group members are likely to become anxious about their performance, which may hinder their ability to perform to their full potential. Repeated experiences of stereotype threat can lead to a cycle of reduced confidence, poor performance, and loss of interest in achievement.  Has been argued to show a reduction in the performance of individuals who belong to negatively stereotyped groups. Groups include people from low-socio-economic backgrounds, different racial background, gender, and disability. Changing Attitudes Explicit forms of discrimination are now illegal and socially censored. And Reducing Education plays an important role in changing existing attitudes, and helping young people form positive Prejudice attitudes free from stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination. There are laws in Australia which prevent discrimination. Under the combination of Federal and State laws existing in South Australia, it is unlawful to discriminate on the following grounds in the following areas: Grounds for discrimination Areas of discrimination - Age - Education - Disability - Employment - Marital or domestic partner status - Accommodation - Identity of spouse or partner - Disposal of interest in land - Pregnancy or potential pregnancy - Conferral of qualifications - Family responsibilities - Provision of goods and services - Association with a child (in provision of - Membership of associations. goods, services, or accommodation) - Breastfeeding - Race - Sex - Sexuality or chosen gender - Religious appearance or dress - Political opinion - Social origin - Irrelevant criminal record - On the basis of having disclosed public interest information to a relevant authority or having made a complaint of discrimination Examples of discrimination Reluctance to help Reluctance to help other groups Poor accessible access for achieve equal access or improve physically disabled employees in their position in society by a workplace. passively or actively not providing assistance. Reverse (positive) Creating prejudice in favour of a Deliberately favouring a minority discrimination minority group group with employment policy to ensure equality and inclusion EXAMPLE: 50% of SA police recruits must be available for females. Tokenism Deliberately giving trivial Employing one woman in a assistance to a minority group to predominantly male be seen as inclusive or avoid organisation. accusations of prejudice and discrimination. Strategies For The following strategies have proven successful to an extent. Changing Attitudes Education: the formation of prejudice can be reduced through education programs in schools where And Reducing children are taught about proactive values such as tolerance, community, the consequences of prejudice Prejudice and what discrimination looks like. Harmony Day, Bullying No Way, Reconciliation Week and Wear It Purple Day aim to provide awareness, understanding and empathy for living and working together in harmony. Intergroup contact: prejudice can be reduced through direct contact between groups of people who have prejudicial attitudes towards each other. Direct contact alone however is not likely to work, if opposing  groups are just expected to get along because they are placed together. Includes the following factors: ongoing interactions and contact between the groups, mutual interdependence where the groups participate in cooperative collaborative activities that require the two groups to work together, equal status between the groups so there is no hierarchy or dominance created, explicit social norms established aimed at reducing prejudice. Subordinate goals: working towards common goals can support knowledge and understanding between groups. This is a particularly useful strategy in schools, and the workplace. The goals must be shared and require contributions from both groups, otherwise conflict and further reasons for prejudice, discrimination, and the effects of these may continue. Direct experience: directly experiencing another culture or lifestyle, either in another country or within our own is one step towards creating understanding and empathy for another culture. This may be through learning another language, learning about another culture or cultural immersion experiences. Direct experiences create attitudes that are stronger, have greater accessibility and are more durable over time. 4.5 Self Presentation (Impression Management) Self-Presentation Refers to how people attempt to present themselves to control or shape how others view them. Involves expressing oneself and behaving in ways that create a desired impression. Part of a broader set of behaviours called impression management, which is a conscious attempt to control how others perceive them. Often achieved by controlling all the information shared in any social interaction. There is increased pressure to present positive attributes which may result in some individuals withholding information that reflects the authentic self an misrepresents themselves to gain social rewards. EXAMPLE: likes or comments on photos by peers and unknown friends of friends. It is not surprising that self-promotion occurs more frequently on social media compared to face-to-face interactions as social media provides the individual with the opportunity to strategically construct the image that they want to represent themselves and to aid in the construction of self-concept. Compared to social media, face-to-face interactions provide a limited opportunity to employ this form of social influence or share the volume of information that online platforms provide. Online presentation removes the opportunity for verbal and non-verbal cues to contradict the image the online platforms provide. EXAMPLE: being socially competent and not socially awkward. Self-presentation serves three important functions: - Helps facilitate social interaction. - Enables individuals to attain material and social rewards. - Helps people privately construct desired identities. Self-Concept Refers to our private sense of self, who we are and what is it that makes us so. Helps build our identity and see ourselves whilst social identity is linked to the perception or belief of how others see us. Our self-concept is made up of three components: - Ideal self: the person you want to be. - Self-image: how you see yourself including attributes like your physical characteristics, personality traits, and social roles. - Self-worth: how much you like, accept, or value yourself, which can be impacted by several factors including how others see you, how you think you compare to others, and your role in society. Validation Social media sites increase self-esteem as people present themselves as socially desirable with a positive self-view to other when online. This gives individuals a self-esteem boost but decreases self-control. Validation of self-concept is achieved by uses carefully crafting their online presence by positing images that only show the most enviable moments and picture-perfect photos that reflect the idealised concept of beauty and success. External validation comes from the number of likes, hearts, smiling faces, and comments reinforcing approval of the images shared which aligns with the individual’s self-presentation and self-concept, further enhancing self-esteem. Whilst there is opportunity for positive validation there is also validation for the individual unsuccessful in their pursuit for approval. The lack of responses may reinforce negative self-concept despite the ongoing attempt at positive self- presentation. High Self-Monitors Worry about their image and how they present to others. They strive to be the best version of themselves in any given situation.  They change their behaviour based on others around them and have a stronger need to fit in and be accepted. They behave differently around various people or when the social need arises. Behaviour is ultimately guided by social cues of those around them. More likely to engage in strategic use of social media in attempt to validate their self-concept and manage their self-presentation. Exhibit less congruence between their underlying attitudes and their public behaviour (do and say something that is in conflict with their true beliefs to do the right thing in specific social settings). Likely to have more social media account, followers, and friends compared to low self-monitors. Low Self-Monitors Are concerned with genuineness, even if it means being the odd person in the room or standing out from the crowd. Guided by their own true feelings and beliefs in any social situation. Tend to have fewer but closer friends. Have less engagement on social media and refrain from using this as a means of validation and self- presentation. More likely to have fewer social media accounts and less friends and followers. Value congruence between their attitudes and their behaviours which is true to their genuineness. Impression Impression management and self-presentation are intrinsically linked given out motivation to influence the Management impression that others have of us. Managing your image not only aids in leaving a lasting impression on others, but it also helps in attaining goals and being successful in a range of situations. Online impression management is now considered an integral aspect of impression management by controlling the information, photos, and videos that are posted to construct desired identities. Key to reinforcing and validating our self-concept through our engagement with self-presentation to other both face-to-face and online. The primacy effect refers to the phenomenon where information received at the beginning carries more weight than the information that follows. This means that the first impression is generally hard to adapt therefore when the individual is provided with additional information, they tend to be drawn to the information that support their first impression. The recency effect refers to the phenomenon where the most recent information carries more weight than information received prior. This means the most recent information provided to us about an individual is more influential in impression formation that previous interactions or information. EXAMPLE: people who are described by positive traits, followed by negative traits, are often evaluated negatively and vice versa. A schema refers to our internal template of what we know and what to expect in any given situation. Generally develops and evolves based on direct experience and indirect learning. Informs our thinking, how we interpret information, what we take in and the memories we form, alongside categorising information to enable us to access information quickly. EXAMPLE: when your friend asks you to walk their pet Husky, it is likely you will not be shocked when you get there and see their dog as it matches what you expected it to be. Can be beneficial for learning new information or adding to existing information. Can also compromise our ability to change or adapt our existing schema therefor influencing our behaviour and attitudes based on flawed beliefs and expectations. Understanding of schema theory helps us to understand the existence and maintenance of stereotypes and prejudice which occur due to generalisations and categories for groups of people that exist in our current schema. Social Media Prosocial behaviour encompasses helping behaviour, altruism, and cooperation. Strong positive correlation between engagement in social media with pro-social behaviours and a negative correlation between gaming and online pro-social behaviours. Social media platforms have been found to strengthen young people’s existing interpersonal relationships whilst providing the opportunity for young people who live in rural and remote areas to stay socially connected. It not only prevents social isolation but provides an insight to the social behaviour and expectations of unfamiliar social experiences. Provides an opportunity for individuals to explore and experiment with the individual identity and self- expression safely. Can provide young people with a space to work out identity and status, make sense of cultural cues and negotiate public life.  Political views and cultural expression can be tested through social media with the reaction from others providing insight to the acceptability of these views. Mental Health Increase of youth experiencing mental health challenges. Passive use (simply monitoring other’s posts) correlates with depression and lower wellbeing, whereas active use (posting and interacting with other users) correlates with better wellbeing and lower levels of depression. Media has long been criticised for presenting unrealistic ideologies of beauty and success so it is no surprise that young people can become so obsessed with how they look and present themselves on social media. Young people are particularly vulnerable when it comes to cultivating the perfect image leaving them susceptible to a range of mental health challenges. The ongoing monitoring for approval on social media accounts has raised question around this being an addictive behaviour. Ethical Concerns Social media stakeholders have been criticised for using the individual’s engagement on all platforms to With Social Media pre-determine which content will be released as ads, pop-up content and generally entice ongoing interaction and influence. Social media companies have been known to disrespect their user’s privacy, consent, and free will. Most young people with social media accounts are not of the age recommended for engagement.