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Social Psychology Concepts
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Social Psychology Concepts
PSYC*1000 Unit 9
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1
Question
What is the fundamental equation proposed by Kurt Lewin to conceptualize psychology?
Answer
Lewin's equation, \(B = f(P,E)\), symbolizes that Behavior (B) is a function of the Person (P) and the Environment (E).
2
Question
How did Kurt Lewin's \(B = f(P,E)\) model challenge earlier psychological theories?
Answer
Lewin's model challenged Freudian theories by including environmental factors alongside the person and questioned behaviorism by incorporating the individual's role in choosing and interpreting situations.
3
Question
What is synchrony in the context of social interactions?
Answer
Synchrony occurs when two individuals engaged in social interaction exhibit increasing similarity in their speech, language, and even physiological activity.
4
Question
How does mimicry function as 'social glue' in human interactions?
Answer
Mimicry helps people feel reassured and validated, unconsciously sending a message of similarity and attentiveness, which helps coordinate behaviors in social settings.
5
Question
What distinguishes social norms from social roles?
Answer
Social norms are generally unwritten guidelines for behavior applicable to group members, while social roles are specific guidelines that apply to particular positions within a group, often with assigned labels.
6
Question
When does synchrony occur between individuals in social psychology?
Answer
Synchrony occurs when two individuals interact socially, leading their speech, language, and physiological activity to become more alike.
7
Question
What happens if someone intentionally tries to mimic another person's behavior to manipulate them?
Answer
Consciously attempting to manipulate through mimicry can lead to trouble; if the other person notices the mimicry, they tend to like that person less as a result.
8
Question
What is the primary motivator for individuals to conform to social norms?
Answer
A very important motivator for conforming to social norms is social approval, as individuals who deviate from norms often face unpleasant consequences like insults or legal trouble.
9
Question
What negative psychological effects can ostracism produce, as observed in studies like the ball-toss experiment?
Answer
Ostracism can produce anger, sadness, temporarily lowered self-esteem, reduced self-confidence, and even a diminished sense of meaningful existence.
10
Question
How can ostracism lead to hyper-normative behavior?
Answer
Individuals, especially those with a high need to belong, may respond to ostracism by increasing identification with their ingroup's beliefs and enhancing the perceived moral importance of those beliefs.
11
Question
What was the Stanford Prison Experiment designed to study in the early 1970s?
Answer
The Stanford Prison Experiment was designed to study how quickly people adapt to assigned social roles, specifically as prisoners or guards in a makeshift jail.
12
Question
What was a significant criticism of the Stanford Prison Experiment related to demand characteristics?
Answer
A significant criticism is that the lead investigator coached the guards on how to play their role, which weakens the conclusion that randomly assigned roles alone turned otherwise good people into cruel guards.
13
Question
What were the findings of the British Prison Study when controlling for demand characteristics, compared to the Stanford Prison Experiment?
Answer
The British Prison Study found that guards were reluctant to engage in abusive behavior, and prisoners coalesced to develop coping strategies, ultimately improving their well-being over the study's course.
14
Question
How do perceived social norms influence alcohol abuse among university students?
Answer
Students who perceive high rates of drinking on campus tend to overestimate actual rates and are much more likely to be binge drinkers and heavy drinkers themselves.
15
Question
What is social loafing in the context of group dynamics?
Answer
Social loafing occurs when an individual puts less effort into working on a task with others, often described as coasting, slacking, or free-riding.
16
Question
What are some of the reasons why individuals engage in social loafing?
Answer
People loaf due to low efficacy beliefs (tasks are too difficult), believing their contributions are unimportant, not caring about the group's outcome, or feeling like others in the group are not trying hard.
17
Question
What is social facilitation, and what did Norman Triplett observe in his early experiment?
Answer
Social facilitation is when one's performance is affected by the presence of others. Norman Triplett observed that cyclists ride faster when racing against each other than when trying to beat the clock.
18
Question
Under what conditions does the presence of others interfere with performance?
Answer
The presence of others is likely to interfere with performance when an individual's skills are poor or the task itself is difficult.
19
Question
Why does arousal, caused by the presence of others, sometimes decrease performance on complex tasks?
Answer
Arousal strengthens dominant responses, but for complex tasks, conscious attention and careful control of responses are needed. Increased arousal reduces the ability to direct behavior, thus decreasing performance.
20
Question
What is conformity in social psychology?
Answer
Conformity refers to a change in behavior to fit in with a group, regardless of whether that change is intentional or unintentional.
21
Question
How did Solomon Asch study conformity in the laboratory during the 1950s?
Answer
Asch had a research participant join a group of confederates in judging simple perceptual tasks, with confederates giving incorrect answers at specific times. Participants often conformed to the group's incorrect response.
22
Question
How does normative influence differ from informational influence in driving conformity?
Answer
Normative influence stems from social pressure to adopt a group's perspective for acceptance (public compliance), whereas informational influence occurs when people believe the group offers useful information (private acceptance).
23
Question
What is public compliance in the context of conformity?
Answer
Public compliance is when an individual modifies their public statements or actions to fit in with a group, but does not internalize the group's perspective.
24
Question
What is groupthink and what is its primary characteristic?
Answer
Groupthink is a decision-making problem where group members avoid arguments and prioritize agreement over generating diverse ideas or critically evaluating decisions.
25
Question
What three main problems arise when groups are more concerned with avoiding disagreements than generating ideas, leading to groupthink?
Answer
The three main problems are minimizing/ignoring potential problems and risks, settling too quickly on ideas due to social pressure, and becoming overconfident, leading to a reduced ability to learn from mistakes.
26
Question
What historical events are often cited as examples where groupthink played a role in terrible decisions?
Answer
Historians have implicated groupthink in the 1986 decision to launch the Space Shuttle Challenger despite safety concerns and the decisions by the Bush and Blair administrations to start the Iraq War based on faulty evidence.
27
Question
Which types of groups are more susceptible to groupthink?
Answer
Groups with a strong, 'directive' leader who suppresses dissent and encourages fewer alternative ideas, and groups with members who are more similar to each other, especially in sociopolitical perspectives, are more susceptible.
28
Question
What psychological phenomenon was Stanley Milgram's obedience experiment designed to investigate?
Answer
Milgram's obedience experiments investigated the power of authority and how easily otherwise normal people could be made to act inhumanely by following instructions.
29
Question
What percentage of participants in Milgram's original study continued to administer the maximum 450-volt shock?
Answer
Approximately 65% of subjects continued to administer the maximum 450-volt shock in most versions of Milgram's study.
30
Question
What significant variation in Milgram's experiment demonstrated the power of dissent?
Answer
In one variation, when two confederate teachers refused to continue with the experiment, 90% of actual subjects also refused to obey the experimenter.