Download Myers Update 2011A

Myers’ PSYCHOLOGY
Seventh Edition in Modules
Module 55
Social Relations
Social Relations
 Prejudice- mixture of beliefs
 an unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude
toward a group and its members
 involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings,
and a predisposition to discriminatory action
 Stereotype
 a generalized (sometimes accurate, but often
over generalized) belief about a group of
people
Social Relations
What comes to
mind when
you first see
this picture?
Social Relations
 Does perception change with race?
Social Relations
 Americans today express much less racial
and gender prejudice
Social Roots of Prejudice
Why does prejudice arise?
Social Inequalities
“Haves” and “HaveNots”
Haves can develop attitudes that
justify the way things are
“Prejudice rationalizes inequalities”
Self fulfilling prophecy- Gordon Allport
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Steps to Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
•
Perceiver has expectations about how the target will
behave
* Perceiver then behaves in a way that is likely to elicit the
expected target behavior
* Target indeed behaves in a way that confirms
perceiver’s expectations
* Perceiver sees predicted behavior
- Objective perceiver might also see it
•


NOTE: you cannot have a self-fulfilling
prophecy with yourself
Good Example:You expect your new roommate to be shy so
you don’t speak much to him after he moves in, and he
therefore does seem shy
Wrong Example:Because you get a bad grade on your first
exam you give up and stop studying at all, leading you to fail
the course
Us and Them
 John Turner & Michael Hogg- Social
identities
 Ingroup
 “Us”- people with whom one shares a
common identity
 Outgroup
 “Them”- those perceived as different or
apart from one’s ingroup
Social Relations
 Ingroup Bias
 tendency to favor one’s own group
 Scapegoat Theory
 theory that prejudice provides an outlet for anger by
providing someone to blame
 Ex:Nazi’s blaming Jews for all problems.
 Just-World Phenomenon
 tendency of people to believe the world is just
 people get what they deserve and deserve what they
get
 Ex:When told about a rape victim, people would respond
that she had it coming, or that her behavior must have
invited rape.
Social Relations
 Vivid cases (9/11 terrorists) feed stereotypes
Just- World Phenomenon
The tendency of people to believe the
world is just and that people therefore get
what they deserve and deserve what they
get.
Hindsight bias also plays a part
Genetic & Neural Influences
Genetic:
Animals have been bred for aggressiveness
Twin studies suggest that genes influence
human aggression as well
Neural:
Animal and human brains have neural
systems that, when stimulated, inhibit or
produce aggressive behavior
Social Relations
 Aggression
 any physical or verbal behavior intended to
hurt or destroy
 Behavior emerges from interaction of biology
and experience
 Freud- our species has a volcanic potential to
erupt in aggression
 Frustration-Aggression Principle
 principle that frustration – the blocking of an
attempt to achieve some goal – creates
anger, which can generate aggression
Social Relations
Social Relations
 Men who
sexually
coerce
women
Do Video Games Teach or
Release Violence?
Social Relations
 Conflict
 perceived incompatibility of actions,
goals, or ideas
 Social Trap
 a situation in which the conflicting
parties, by each rationally pursuing their
self-interest, become caught in mutually
destructive behavior
Social Relations
 Social trap
Person 1
Person 2
Choose B
Choose A
Choose A
Choose B
Optimal
outcome
 by pursuing our
self-interest and
not trusting
others, we can
end up losers
 Biased
Perceptions
Probable
outcome
 Individuals or
groups of nations
can have deep
psychological roots
(self-serving bias &
fundamental
attribution error)
Social RelationsAttractiveness
 Mere Exposure Effect
 repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of
them
 Proximity- most powerful predictor of friendship
 Conceptions of attractiveness vary by culture
Social Relations
 Passionate Love
 an aroused state of intense positive
absorption in another
 usually present at the beginning of a
love relationship
 Companionate Love
 deep affectionate attachment we feel
for those with whom our lives are
intertwined
Social Relations
 Equity
 a condition in which people receive from a
relationship in proportion to what they give to it.
 Self-Disclosure
 revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others
 Ex: People who engage in deep, personal conversations
have a tendency toward intimacy over small talk
conversations with others.
 Altruism
 unselfish regard for the welfare of others
 Became a major concern after vile acts of sexual
violence
Social Relations
 Bystander Effect
 tendency for
any given
bystander to be
less likely to
give aid if other
bystanders are
present
Social Relations
 The decision-making process for
bystander intervention
Bystander intervention
*An
easier
diagram
to follow
Social Relations
 Social Exchange Theory
 the theory that our social behavior is
an exchange process, the aim of
which is to maximize benefits and
minimize costs
 Superordinate Goals
 shared goals that override differences
among people and require their
cooperation
Social Relations
 Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives
in Tension-reduction (GRIT)
 a strategy designed to decrease
international tensions
 Ex. League of Nations!
 one side announces recognition of mutual
interests and initiates a small conciliatory act
 opens door for reciprocation by other party