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Behaviour in Social Context - Coggle Diagram
Behaviour in Social Context
Social psychology
The scientific study of how a person’s thoughts, feelings and behaviour are influenced by social groups (real, imagined, or implied presence of others)
Social Cognition (Thinking)
The ways in which people think about other people
Attitudes
Evaluations that predispose us to respond positively or negatively to people,
objects, ideas, or situations
Often poor predictors of behaviour
May be implicit (unconscious) or explicit (conscious)
3 Components
Affective (feelings: way you feel)
Behavioural (response tendencies: what you do)
Cognitive (beliefs: what you believe)
Formation
Direct contact with person, situation, object, or idea
Interaction with other people who hold a certain attitude
Direct instruction from parents or others
Observational learning: watching others’ actions and reactions to ideas, people, objects, and situations
Persuasion
The process by which a person’s attitudes or
behaviour are influenced by communications from others
Source of message (communicator)
The actual message (must be clear and well-organised)
Target audience (profile of audience)
The medium (method of communication)
Cognitive dissonance
Discomfort experienced when behaviour is inconsistent (conflicts) with personal cognitions
Can be reduced by
Changing conflicting behaviour
Changing conflicting cognition
Developing new cognitions to justify behaviour
Impression formation
First impressions of person (enduring)
Social categorisation
Automatic & unconscious categorisation of a new acquaintance to a particular group, based on common characteristics with that group as experienced in past
Stereotype: a belief that a set of characteristics is shared by all members of a particular social group (superficial basis)
Categorisation is based on Implicit Personality Theory: sets of assumptions about how different types of people, personality traits, and actions are all related (formed in childhood)
Schemas: mental patterns that represent what a person believes about certain types of people (organisational tool)
Schemas can become stereotypes (in adulthood) Attitudes
Impressions
Attributions
Process by which we explain our own behaviour and the behaviour of others
Formation
Situational attribution: Cause of behaviour due to external factors (delays, action of others, aspect of situation)
Dispositional attribution: Cause of behaviour due to internal factors (personality, character)
Fundamental Attribution Error: Tendency to overestimate the influence of person’s internal (dispositional) characteristics on behaviour and underestimate the external (situational) factors Attributions Internal- external Stable- unstable Global- specific
Social Influence
The ways in which a person’s behaviour can be affected by the presence of others
Conformity, and Groupthink
Complying with Social Pressures: change in one’s opinions to match that of other people, as a result of real or imagined pressure from others
Factors increasing conformity
When made to feel incompetent or insecure
When in a group of 3 confederates
When in a group where everyone else agrees
When admire group’s status and attractiveness
When have not made prior commitment to a response
When know that others in group will observe our behaviour
When from a culture that strongly encourages respects for social standards
When the task is difficult
Why people conform
Normative influence: Need to feel approved
Informational influence: Need for information; others’ behaviour provides information on how to act in ambiguous situations
Groupthink - Extreme form of conformity
When people within a group feel it is more important to maintain group unity rather than critically evaluate facts when making decisions (e.g., weapons of mass destruction)
Leads to faulty decisions as group members vulnerable
Illusion of invulnerability: group can do no wrong
Self-censorship (lack of disagreement): skeptics do not voice concerns
Pressure on skeptics to conform by members & leader
Illusion of unanimity (self-deception & insularity): illusion of consensus through suppression of opposing and alternative views
Group Behaviour
Group polarization
If a group is like-minded, discussion strengthens its prevailing opinions
Members in group discussions make more extreme decisions than individuals not in discussion (e.g., jury)
Social facilitation
Positive influence of others on performance if task perceived as easy
Social impairment
Negative influence of others on performance if task perceived as difficult Group Behaviour
Social loafing
People do not work as hard when in a group than individually; easy to “hide” in a group
Deindividuation: loss of awareness of one’s own individuality in groups or crowds: Increases:
as groups get larger
When group members wear masks or uniforms
Destructiveness or helpfulness depending on social norms
Compliance (Power)
A change in one’s behaviour requested by another person or group, often with no real authority or power
Techniques
Foot-in-the-Door Technique
Initial small request acts as an opener for a bigger one.
Door-in-the-Face Technique
Initial large request, when rejected, followed by smaller one.
Lowball Technique
Once commitment made, cost ↑
Obedience (Authority)
A change in one’s behaviour at the command of an
authority figure
Social Interaction (Relationships)
The positive and negative aspects of people relating to others
Social Interaction
Positive & negative relations
between people
Antisocial Relations
Prejudice & Discrimination
Aggression
Prejudice
A pre-judgement based on unsupported and negative stereotypes about members of a social group (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity, religion, weight)
Two types of prejudice
Explicit: prejudice that is conscious even if not publicly expressed
Implicit: prejudice that is not consciously held
Three Parts
Beliefs (stereotypes)
Emotions (e.g., hostility or fear)
Predisposition to action (to discriminate)
Group Identity: us versus them
In-groups: social groups with whom a person identifies; “us”
Out-groups: social groups with whom a person does not identify; “them”
Causes
Psychological causes: deflects feelings of anxiety, simplifies problems (scapegoat)
Social causes: pressures from friends, relatives & others
Economic causes: justifies a group’s economic interests and legitimises war
Cultural & national causes: bonds people to own group
Theories
Social cognitive theory
Prejudice is an attitude that is formed through cognitive processes in relation to understanding the social world.
Realistic conflict theory
Increasing degree of conflict between in-group and out-group seeking common resources (e.g., jobs, land).
Social identity theory:
3 processes (categorisation, identification, comparison) responsible for formation of person’s identity within a social group.
Overcoming Prejudice
Both sides must have equal legal status, economic standing and power
Authorities and institutions must provide moral, legal and economic support for both sides
Both sides must have opportunities to work and socialize together
Both sides must cooperate, working together for a common goal
Discrimination
Unjustifiable negative behaviour toward a
group and its members due to prejudice
Prosocial Relations (socially desirable behaviour)
Attraction
Altruism Social Interaction
Social Behaviors
Aggression
Any behaviour (verbal or physical)
intended to harm someone physically or emotionally
Biology
Fighting instinct for survival
Partly attributed to genetics, triggered by variations in brain function (amygdala activation), and internal or external chemical influences (testosterone, alcohol)
Experience
Much of human aggression is influenced by learning
Social learning theory: aggressive behaviour is learnt through observation of others (e.g., parents, siblings, friends)
Adopting a social role (e.g., soldier) can lead to an increase in aggressive behaviour
Childhood experience of abuse (does not necessarily mean that one will grow up to be an abuser)
Exposure to violent media (TV, movies, video games) can increase physical & verbal aggression
Attraction and Love
Liking or having the desire for a relationship with another, based on:
Physical attraction
Proximity: physically near someone
Similarity: usually similar to oneself, but also different ( opposites attract)
Reciprocity: liking people who like you
Love
Strong affection for another due to personal ties, sexual attraction, admiration, or common interests
Steinburg Triangle:
Intimacy
Passion
Commitment
Three types of Love:
Romantic: intimacy and passion
Companionate: intimacy and commitment
Consummate: intimacy, passion and commitment (ideal love)
Altruism
Socially desirable behaviour that benefits others with no expectation of reward, even at own risk
The bystander effect
Presence of others has an affect on the decision to help or not
Help less likely as number of observers increases
Diffusion of responsibility
Not taking responsibility or taking action due to presence of others who are perceived to share responsibility
Can lead to bystander apathy
Five Decision Points
Noticing
Defining an emergency
Taking responsibility
Planning a course of action
Taking action
Best odds for helping someone
Person appears to need and deserve help
Person is in some way similar to us
Person is a woman
If have just observed someone else being helpful
If not in a hurry
If in a small town or rural area
If feeling guilty
If focused on others and not preoccupied
If in a good mood
Impaired Social Functioning
Conditions
Autism
Alzheimer’s
Parkinson’s
Huntington’s
Depression
Personality Disorders
Anxiety Disorders