Social Psychology - David G Myers (10th Edition) Chapter 5-9

natural selection * Evolutionary psychology the study of evolution of cognition and behavior using principles of natural selection norms Standards for accepted and expected behavior. Norms prescribe "proper" behavior. ( what others do- what is normal) personal space the buffer zone we like to maintain around our bodies - size depends on our familiarity with whoever is near us gender characteristics, whether biological or socially influenced by which people define male and female empathy vicarious experience of anothers feelings; putting oneself in another's shoes aggression physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone - in lab experiments it may mean delivering a shock or saying something likely to hurt other person androgynous from andro(man) + gyn(woman) - thus mixing both masculine and feminine characteristics gender role set of behavior expectations (norms) for males and females interaction a relationship in which the effect of one factor (such as biology) depends on another factor (such as environment) conformity change in behavior or belief as the result of real or imagines group pressure Asch's research - line test - people faced with strong group consensus sometimes go along even though they think the others may be wrong compliance conformity that involves publicly acting in accord with an implied or explicit request while privately disagreeing (direct request) "please do it because its my birthday" obedience acting in accord with a direct order or command acceptance conformity that involves both acting and believing in accord with social pressure autokinetic phenomenon self (auto) motion (kinetic) - the apparent movement of stationary point of light in the dark (optical illusion) cohesiveness "we feeling" ; the extent to which members of a group are bound together, such as by attraction for one another normative influence conformity based on a persons desire to fulfill others expectations, often gain acceptance informational influence conformity occurring when people accept evidence about reality provided by other people reactance a motive to protect or restore one's sense of freedom. reactance arises when someone threatens our freedom of action persuasion the process by which a message induces change in beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors central route to persuasion occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts peripheral route to persuasion occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as speaker's attractiveness credibility believability. a credible communicator is perceived as both expert and trustworthy sleeper effect delayed impact of a message that occurs when an initially discounted message become effective, as we remember the message but forget the reason for discounting it attractiveness having qualities that appeal to an audience. an appealing communicator (often someone similar to the audience) is most persuasive on matters of subjective preference primary effect other things being equal information presented first usually has the most influence recency effect information presented last sometimes has the most influence. recency effects are less common than primary effects channel of communication the way the message is delivered - whether face-to-face, in writing, on film, or in some other way two-step flow of communication process by which media influence often occurs through opinion leaders, who in turn influence others need for cognition motivation to think and analyze. assessed by agreement with items such as "The notion of thinking abstractly is appealing to me" and disagreement with items such as "I only think as hard as i have to" cult group typically characterized by 1. distinctive ritual and beliefs related to its devotion to a god or person 2. isolation from surrounding "evil" culture 3. charismatic leader attitude inoculation exposing people to weak attacks upon their attitudes so that when stronger attacks come, they will have refutations available group two or more people who, for longer than a few moments, interact with and influence one another and perceive one another as "us" co-actors co-participants working individually on a noncompetitive activity social facilitation 1. tendency to perform simple or well- learned tasks better wen others are present 2. strengthening of dominant (prevalent, likely) responses in the presence of others, weakening of non dominant tasks in the present of others evaluation apprehension concern for how others are evaluating us social loafing the tendency for people to exert less effort when they pool their efforts toward a common goal than when they are individually accountable free riders people who benefit from the group but give little in return deindividuation loss of self-awareness and evaluations apprehension; occurs in group situations that foster responsiveness to group norms, good or bad group polarization group-produced enhancement of members' preexisting tendencies; a strengthening of the members' average tendency, not a split within the group pluralistic ignorance false impression of what most other people are thinking or feeling, or how they are responding social comparison evaluating ones opinions and abilities by comparing oneself with others groupthink concurrence - seeking becomes so dominant in a cohesive in-group that it tends to override realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action leadership the process by which certain group members motivate and guide the group task leadership leadership that organizes work, sets standards, and focuses on goals social leadership leadership that builds teamwork, mediates conflict, and offers support transformational leadership leadership that, enabled by a leader's vision and inspiration, exerts significant influence cultural diversity the diversity of languages, customs, and behaviors between cultures culturual similarity - "essential universality" between cultures (incest taboo) gender difference in age preference of a mate woman marry older men marry younger women (except teenage men) evolutionary theory cultures study: across cultures, men value youth/beauty women value earning potential/resources social role theory find women's economic power accounts for variations in sex differences in mate preference critique of evolutionary approach hindsight? lack of experimental data evolutionary perspective seeks to understand behaviors in their evolutionary contexts cultural perspective seeks to understand behavor in a cultural context - socially programmed (diversity and similarity) social influence happens when... you know something is wrong, factually or morally when you are under the pressure to do it anyway Ciadini's 6 compliance principles reciprocation commitment/consistencyauthoritysocial validationscarcityliking/friendship reciprocation A social norm – gift giving and receiving Obligation of repayment Discovered in all cultures of the worldreal world: Free gifts free samples commitment/consistency We tend to act in ways consistent with past behaviorDoor-to-door sales: –problem of cancellations –having customers complete sales forms themselves greatly reduced cancellation rate later on Foot-in-the-door: agreeing to small initial request leads to agreeing to larger related requests (Billboard study - Freedman & Fraser, 1966) authority More likely to comply with someone in authority (real or imagined) social validation Do things when we see others doing them (normative social influence). Buy things when we think it is popular. scarcity Things that are in short supply seem more valuable. liking People are more likely to say yes to people they know and like. Compliments: an effective strategy obedience changing one’s behavior in response to a directive from an authority figure (power status) E.g. soldiers take order from officers Milgrim's Shock experiment Factors that Affect social influence - group size - unanimity or consensus- uncertainty of the situation - status-public response