Term
| What is prejudice? How does it affect self-esteem? Be prepared to describe findings for either minority or female self-esteem. |
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Definition
A hostile/negative feeling toward a person, based solely on their membership in a given group
Clark and Clark (1947) – doll study
Black kids were offered a choice of playing with a Black or White doll
Most chose the white doll, saying she was prettier and better |
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Term
| What is realistic conflict theory? How is it connected to scapegoating? |
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Definition
Competition for limited resources leads to conflict and prejudice
Prejudice (and violence) tends to increase when times are tense and conflict exists over goals
When people are frustrated, they tend to displace aggression onto groups that are disliked, visible, and relatively powerless
The form of aggression will depend on what is allowed by the in-group |
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Term
| What is social identity theory? What are the three ways we can feel like we are members of the best possible group? |
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Definition
Argues that group membership has implications for our self-esteem
Feeling good about ourselves is partially due to the groups we belong to
We want to belong to the best groups
Categorization is the basis for prejudice
We want to be members of the best group and to achieve this we can:
enhance our own group (ingroup love)
derogate other groups (outgroup bias)
or use both ingroup love and outgroup bias |
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Term
We want to be members of the best group and to achieve this we can:
enhance our own group (ingroup love)
derogate other groups (outgroup bias)
or use both ingroup love and outgroup bias |
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Definition
Ps are randomly assigned to one group or the other (e.g., a dot estimation task)
They are then put in a situation where they can help or hurt members of their own or other groups.
Ps seem to spontaneously favor the groups to which they belong. |
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Term
| What is sexism? Describe briefly two of the three studies that demonstrate how gender influences expectancies and attribution. |
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Definition
Sexism is prejudice and discrimination based on a person’s gender
Gender expectations start early (Condry & Condry, 1976).
When startled, male babies are seen as angry and female babies are seen as scared.
Gender expectations cause self-fulfilling prophecies.
Eccles found that parent’s math stereotypes affect female success in math.
Gender affects attributions.
Deaux and Emswiller (1974) study of attributions after success; men are skilled and women are lucky. |
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Term
| What is ambivalent sexism? What are the two types of sexism that are specified in this theory? |
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Definition
Positive and negative stereotypes combine to produce a mixed reaction towards women
Two different types of sexism
Hostile Sexism – Involves negative feelings towards women (focuses on incompetence stereotype)
Benevolent Sexism – Involves positive feelings towards women (focuses on warmth stereotype) |
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Term
| Describe the set-up and IV of the Rudman & Borgida (1995) study and one of the DVs (note: we discussed four in class). |
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Definition
Participants are college aged males
First, participants watched a variety of advertisements that either:
Portrayed women as sexual objects
Did not portray women, but advertised the same products (the control condition
Second, participants took a test measuring cognitive accessibility
After being shown objectifying ads:
Sexist words (e.g., bimbo, babe, etc.) were accessible
Nonsexist words (e.g., sister, nurturer, etc.) were inhibited
Third, Ps conducted a practice job interview with a female confederate
After being shown objectifying ads:
Ps asked more sexist questions
“Do you think it’s ok for an employer to ask a female employee to dress more attractively?”
Ps are rated by this woman as more sexually motivated
Fourth, Ps were given a memory test
After being shown objectifying ads:
Ps remember more about the woman’s looks
Ps remember less biographical detail (like her name)
Ps spend less time in evaluating her for the job
Fifth, participants made some ratings of the woman they interviewed
After being shown objectifying ads:
Ps spend less time evaluating her for the job
Ps rate her as more friendly and attractive
Ps rate her as less competent, BUT
Ps are more likely to hire her and pay her well |
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Term
| What is the idea behind the research on socially acceptable prejudice? What research findings support this theory? |
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Definition
Ps rated social groups on how acceptable it was to feel prejudice towards them
Correlation between social acceptance of prejudice and actual rated prejudice was .97!
Told people jokes about various groups.
For groups with high social acceptability of prejudice, the same jokes were rated as less offensive |
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Term
| How is modern racism different from old-fashioned racism? |
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Definition
Old-fashioned racism
Openly admitting racist attitudes
Not as common now, but this has to do with norms governing the expression of prejudice
Modern racism - Even for groups that it is unaccepted to report prejudice against, you can still find prejudice if you ask in an unobtrusive way
Prejudice is revealed in indirect ways
E.g., seating distance from Ian, speech errors
The Modern racism scale |
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Term
| What is aversive racism? Did it change from 1989 to 1999? How does research demonstrate aversive racism? |
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Definition
The idea that modern racial attitudes are a function of
negative stereotypes and prejudice
a culturally-shared belief in egalitarianism
These create ambivalence toward minority targets
Overt endorsement of prejudice declines significantly from 1989 to 1999
Aversive racism is the same in the two time periods
Strong job qualifications or weak job qualifications – Black and whites equally preferred
Moderate job qualifications – Whites significantly more preferred than Blacks |
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Term
| What is the contact hypothesis? What conditions are necessary for intergroup contact to work in reducing prejudice? |
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Definition
The Contact Hypothesis – the idea that promoting or forcing contact between groups will lead to prejudice reduction
e.g., school busing programs
Tends in many cases not to work, or to lead to increased prejudice
Mutual Interdependence
Equal Status
Informal, interpersonal contact and likelihood of developing friendships
Multiple contacts with members of the other group
Social norms of equality
A common superordinate goal
They make all members equal in attaining the goal
They create a new group and ingroup love processes work against prejudice |
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Term
| What is a group? What three characteristics do all groups have? Why do groups form? |
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Definition
Group – a collection of people who:
have direct interactions over an extended period of time
share a common fate
Roles-Set of expected behaviors that certain individuals perform
Can be formal or informal
E.g., the group counselor, the funny one, the follower, the leader
Norms-Rules of behavior for a group; prevailing beliefs/values/attitudes
Can be formal or informal
Social behavior deals with
figuring out the norms for a group
deciding when to follow norms
deciding when to reject norms
Cohesiveness-Forces that push group members closer together
Can be positive or negative
E.g., rewards for membership or punishment for leaving
Can range from low to high
Low: the passengers in a subway car
High: immediate family
Some form by default: family groups, students in a class, etc.
Other important reasons:
to achieve a goal that cannot be achieved by a lone individual
to increase social status
to rebel
to express values and beliefs |
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Term
| What is social facilitation? Describe Zajonc’s research that demonstrated this effect. When does it occur and what affect does it have on task performance? |
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Definition
Completing a task in groups enhances performance or success, relative to performance alone
Came up with a theory about when the presence of others would enhance performance
He tested this on cockroaches
IV 1: simple or complex maze to escape bright light
IV2: did this alone or in the presence of spectators
DV: speed of finding the dark space
Results
In a simple maze, roaches ran faster when they were in the presence of an audience of other roaches than when they were alone.
In a complex maze, roaches ran more slowly in the presence of others than alone.
THE BOOK GIVES 3 REASONS WHY OTHERS CAUSE AROUSAL. MAKE SURE TO READ THIS!!!
· They make us stay alert – we might need to respond to something they do
· They may be evaluating us – we could be nervous or worried because they are evaluating our performance. This perspective would suggest that social facilitation effects would only be observed when other people are going to be evaluating us (not just mere presence)
· They are distracting – we could be aroused because there is something else there to distract us. This perspective would suggest that social facilitation effects would be observed whenever something distracting is present (flashing light, loud noise)
So which is it? All 3 have support…
We can now define social facilitation as the tendency for people to do better on easy tasks and worse on hard tasks when they are in the presence of other people. (and performance can be individually evaluated)
The idea of social facilitation can be sort of confusing, so let’s just make sure that everyone understands this point – social facilitation occurs regardless of whether the presence of other people makes individual performance better or worse. It isn’t just better performance that is social facilitation. The trick is to think of social facilitation as the presence of other people facilitating the dominant response, whatever that response may be. Zajonc’s reformulation made all those inconsistent results make sense.
For easy tasks
dominant response → success
Easy and well-learned
For hard tasks
dominant response → failure
Hard and not well-learned
Below average pool players made more shots when they were unobserved (35%) than when they were observed (23%)
Above average pool players made more shots when they were observed (80%) than when they were unobserved (70%) |
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Term
| What is social loafing? When does it occur and what affect does it have on task performance? |
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Definition
But, sometimes people “slack off” in a group setting
Sometimes, being in a group decreases arousal
This → relaxation as you perform
This decreases the likelihood of the dominant response
We fade into the crowd – they key is that our individual efforts cannot be evaluated
For easy tasks, we relax and slack off
This decreases the dominant response (success)
Result is more failure
For hard tasks, we relax and anxiety doesn’t interfere with performance
This decreases the dominant response (failure)
Result is more success |
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Term
| What is deindividuation and what characteristics promote deindividuation? What two cues cause the characteristics of deindividuation to have their effect? |
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Definition
The loss of a person’s sense of individuality
Particularly likely in groups
Loosening of normal constraints on behavior
This typically leads to an increase in impulsive and deviant behaviors
Similar appearances (E.g., uniforms)
Members disguised (E.g., masks)
Individual decision making discouraged (E.g., focus on following orders)
Appeals to cohesiveness (E.g., team spirit)
More people mean less accountability for any one person (accountability cues)
Being in a group can reduce self-awareness (attentional cues)
We ignore self-discrepancies |
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Term
| What has research found about deindividuation and the internet? |
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Definition
The anonymity of internet posting may increase deindividuation
Postmes et al. (1998) – stereotyping and discrimination are higher in anonymous computer communication
Raises questions about
Evaluations on the internet
Courses taken without any face-to-face interactions |
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Term
| Does deindividuation always cause negative behavior? Describe the Johnson & Downing (1979) study to support your answer. |
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Definition
IV 1: Ps wore KKK robe or nurse’s uniform
IV 2: Ps were individually identified or not
Ps had the chance to shock an obnoxious confederate
DV: level of shock
The more people are deindividuated, the more they will go along with the group
If the group is engaging in positive behaviors this is a good thing
We typically hear about situations in which groups produce deviant behaviors |
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Term
| What is process loss? What three phenomena demonstrate process loss? |
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Definition
Any aspect of group interaction that inhibits good problem solving
Focus on common knowledge, not unique knowledge of group members
Three main types
Group polarization
Groupthink
Social dilemmas |
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Term
| What is group polarization? What are the two reasons group polarization occurs? |
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Definition
When groups make decisions that are more extreme than the initial inclination of individual members
This can → more risky or more cautious decisions
There are two reasons this happens |
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Term
| What is groupthink? What are two causes of group think? What are three symptoms of groupthink? What is the ultimate consequence of groupthink? Be prepared to describe an example of groupthink in policy in terms of these causes and symptoms. |
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Definition
Decision-making style characterized by an excessive tendency to seek agreement (Janis, 1982)
Cohesiveness is valued more than accuracy
High cohesiveness – this leads to harsh treatment to dissenters
Isolation - group is prevented from alternate viewpoints
Strong, directive leaders
No systematic decision making procedures
Stress – threat from outside and urgency
Self-censorship – people don’t voice contrary opinions
No one wants to “rock the boat”
An example of public conformity
Due to normative influence
Illusion of invulnerability – group thinks it is invincible and can do no wrong
Illusion of unanimity – people who disagree are overlooked or ignored
Dissenters are pressured to conform
Incomplete study of alternatives
Failure to examine risks of preferred choices
Poor information search
Failure to develop contingency plan
Ultimately, an increased probability of bad decisions
Launch occurred despite:
A near disaster of an earlier launch
Strenuous warnings from engineers that the O-rings on the booster rockets about problems in freezing temperatures
NASA had two dozen previously successful launches
Overconfidence and illusion of invulnerability
Need for funding made liftoff more desirable than delay
Stress on group members
Manufacturer reassured NASA by taking a vote amongst employees
They polled everyone but the engineers, who knew there was a problem
Evidence of ignoring dissenting views |
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Term
| What are three ways to avoid groupthink? |
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Definition
Avoid isolation, get outside opinions
“team of rivals” idea
Leader should initially remain impartial
Allow for anonymous opinions (e.g., secret ballots)
Leader should encourage objections
Have someone play devil’s advocate |
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Term
| What role do leaders play in group decisions? What are the different styles of leadership? What is the contingency theory of leadership? What role does gender plan in considering leaders? |
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Definition
Great person theroy-certain key personality traits make a person a good leader, reguardless of the situation
Transactional-set clear, short-term goals and reward people who meet them
Transformational-inspire followers to focus on common, long-term goals.
contingency theory of leadership-the idea that leadership effectiveness depends both on how task-oriented or relationship oriented the leader is and on the amount of control and influence the leader has over the group
women are seen as more able to deal with crisis |
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Term
| What are social dilemmas? What are the three types? What is the effective solution to the prisoner’s dilemma? |
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Definition
Social dilemma-a conflict in which the most beneficial action for an individual will, if chosen by most people. have harmful effect on everyone
Prisoners dilemma, public goods dilemma-paying taxes, commons dilemma-grassy area, tit for tat strategy |
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Term
| Does threat help to resolve conflict? How does communication play into conflict resolution? What is negotiation and how does it work? What kind of solution does negotiation tend to favor? |
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Definition
no,communication leads to soultion only when trust is involved.
Negotiation-a form of communication between opposing sides in a conflict in which offers and counter offers are made and a solution occurs only when both parties agree.
Intergrative solution-a solution to a conflict whereby the parties make tradeoffs on issues according to their different interests each side concedes the most on issues that are unimportant to it but important to the other side |
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Term
| What is an attitude? What are the three properties of attitudes? |
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Definition
A positive, negative, or mixed summary evaluation of some specific object
How much we like or dislike something
Valence
Is your overall evaluation positive or negative?
Extremity
How positive or negative is it?
Strength
How strong or weak is your attitude? |
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Term
| What are the three components of attitudes? Are all three important? Are all three required? Be prepared with an example of each. |
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Definition
Attitudes are made up of three components:
Affect – Emotional response to the object
Behavior – How you behave toward the object
Cognition – Thoughts about the object
Thoughts, feelings, and behaviors can be inconsistent
Can be a mix of positives and negatives
E.g., having pets
Some attitudes are primarily based just on thoughts, emotions, or behaviors
The three components are not weighed the same in determining every evaluation |
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Term
| Why do we have attitudes? Be prepared with an example of each. |
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Definition
Knowledge
Organizing and interpreting information
Value-Expression
Expressing central values or beliefs
Utilitarian Function
Maximizing rewards, minimizing punishments |
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Term
| What are the three types of self-report attitude measurements? What are problems with self-report measures? |
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Definition
Self-reports
Likert scale: agree/disagree format
I like the taste of Macaroni & Cheese
Macaroni & Cheese is disgusting (R)
Semantic differentials: good/bad format
Bogus Pipeline Measures – involves a fake lie detection machine
Problems with self-reporting attitudes:
Social desirability
Problems articulating attitude
Inadequacy of response scales |
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Term
| What are the three types of covert measures of attitudes? How does the IAT measure attitudes? |
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Definition
Covert measures
Behavioral
e.g., Ian the skinhead study
Physiological
e.g., using heart rate or EDA
Implicit measures
IAT
The Implicit Associations Test
Attempts to measure the association between two or more concepts in a person’s mind.
One of the two concepts is typically positive or negative words (e.g., “good” vs. “bad”) |
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Term
| When will attitudes predict spontaneous and deliberative behavior? What is the theory of planned behavior and what is required for behavior to be consistent with attitudes? |
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Definition
Attitudes will predict spontaneous behaviors only when they are highly accessible (Fazio)
Accessible attitudes come to mind easily
Theory of planned behavior (Azjen & Fishbein, 1977)
Attitudes will predict deliberative behavior when people have time to form a behavioral intention
a plan to behave in a certain way
Attitude toward a specific behavior
Subjective Norms - perceptions of other people’s attitudes towards behavior
Perceived Control - perceptions of ease/difficulty in behaving
These three → behavioral intention |
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Term
| What are the characteristics of strong attitudes? What are the other three factors that influence attitude strength? |
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Definition
Resistant to change
Persistent over time
Impact information processing and judgments
They predict behavior
Knowledge about the object
Greater knowledge → stronger attitudes
How the attitude was initially formed
Direct experience → stronger attitudes
Consistency
More consistency between ABCs → stronger attitude |
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Term
| What is persuasion? What are the three factors that influence persuasion? Be prepared with an example of each. |
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Definition
Definition - an attempt to change someone’s attitude through communication
Factors that influence persuasion
Source –person delivering the message
Message – aspects of the persuasive communication
Audience –recipient of the message |
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Term
| What is the Elaboration Likelihood Model? What are central and peripheral route processes? Which process is associated with stronger attitude change? |
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Definition
Persuasion is based on elaboration – the amount of thinking done about the message
Elaboration determines:
What will be persuasive
How long attitude change will last
Identified two attitude change processes
Central Route- Occurs when elaboration is high
Involve focusing on strength of message arguments
Leads to strong attitude change
e.g., coming up with pros and cons, questioning source credibility
Peripheral Route- Occurs when elaboration is low
Involves focusing on heuristics
Leads to weak attitude change
e.g., agreeing with celebrities, being persuaded because the source is attractive |
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Term
| How can ability and motivation affect elaboration? Be prepared to describe Petty, Cacioppo, & Goldman (1981) to demonstrate the importance of personal relevance, |
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Definition
Elaboration will be highest when both ability and motivation are high
Ability is influenced by:
Distraction
Fatigue
Attention
Intelligence
Motivation
Need for cognition
I only think as hard as I have to.
It’s enough for me that something gets the job done; I don’t care how or why it works.
Personal relevance
Ps gave an initial rating of adding senior comps to the psych major, then read a persuasive communication
IV 1: Personal relevance
Ps told comps would begin next year or in 10 years
IV 2: argument strength
Weak vs. strong arguments
Strong: The average starting salary of graduates increased by over $4000 during the two-year period in which the exams were instituted
Weak: One student was quoted in the school newspaper as saying, "The history of exams of this type can be traced to the ancient Greeks. Even if there were no other benefits, it should be worth it just to follow tradition." |
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Term
| What are the factors that influence how persuasive sources and messages are? How do fear appeals work and what is required for them to be effective? What factors determine how persuade-able audiences are? What is need for cognition? |
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Definition
Source Factors
Credibility
Likeability
Attractiveness
Audience Factors
Need for cognition
Reactance
Message Factors
Number of arguments
Fear appeals - Persuasive messages that use fear to change attitudes
Low and high levels of fear → no effect
Moderate fear → attitude change, as long as there’s a realistic solution to the bad outcome |
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Term
| How can celebrities serve as cues under both high and low elaboration? |
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Definition
Peripheral Route – e.g., You prefer a product because it’s endorsed by celebrity
Central Route – e.g., You use evaluate celebrity endorsement as an argument because of the celebrity’s expertise |
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Term
| What is attitude inoculation? How can it influence persuasion? |
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Definition
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Term
| Describe the Cesario & Higgins (2008) study in detail. What might advertisers take away from this study to try to more effectively persuade people? |
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Definition
Based on the idea that nonverbal cues affect persuasion (e.g., talking speed)
Also tied to regulatory fit
People have a default orientation as promotion focused (goal-seeking) or prevention focused (risk-avoiding)
Tasks that fit their orientation will “feel right” and be easier
Variable 1: Ps regulatory focus
Ps watch a persuasive video about an after school program
Variable 2: Eager (promotion) or Vigilant (prevention) nonverbal cues
DVs: effectiveness of message & degree of “feeling right”
Ps find messages more persuasive
When regulatory focus matches the style of message (e.g., promotion + eager OR prevention + vigilant):
Messages are more effective
Participants report more “feeling right” about the program (independent of positive mood) |
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