Words of the Day AP Review #2 Name and explain the 7 perspectives of Psychology
Answers: Behavioral Approach: concerned with reactions to stimuli; experience (Pavlov, Watson, Skinner) Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Approach: unconscious instincts, conflict and motives (Freud, Jung, Adler) Humanistic Approach: individual potential for growth (Rogers, Maslow)
Answers: Biological Approach: Physiological and biochemical factors that determine behavior Cognitive Approach: how we receive, store and process information; think or reason (Piaget, Vygotsky) Evolutionary Approach: natural selection favored behavior Sociocultural Approach: cultural differences affect behavior (Milgram, Asch, Zimbardo)
Social Influence Social Influence Me and My Gang Who or what influences you??
Throughout my life I have noticed that I act differently around different groups of people. Throughout my life I have noticed that I act differently around different groups of people. Around my family I act quiet and reserved. Around my family I act quiet and reserved. Around friends I act silly and fun. Around friends I act silly and fun. But, around my fellow teachers and students at school I talk about curriculum and study skills for the AP test. But, around my fellow teachers and students at school I talk about curriculum and study skills for the AP test. In other words, the people around us affect the way we behave. In other words, the people around us affect the way we behave.
Group Influence on Behavior Lets look at how groups effect our behavior.
When are you most likely to do your best?? Social Facilitation –Improved performance of tasks in the presence of others. Occurs when one is very skilled at a task or it is a very easy task Take Lebron James. He is very good in basketball and when he is practicing alone I am sure he looks pretty good. But because he is so skilled, he actually performs better in front of a group of people. Social Impairment when a task is very hard or one is not skilled, one performs worse in front of a group than if they were alone.
Conformity Adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard. How did you feel the first time someone asked you to smoke, drink, or skip class?
Asch’s Study
Conditions that Strengthen Conformity One is made to feel incompetent The group is at least three people The group is unanimous One admires the group’s status One had made no prior commitment The person is observed
Reasons for Conforming Normative Social Influence A desire to gain approval or avoid disappointment of others (acceptance or rejection) Informational Social Influence Influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality
Obedience Milgram’s Experiments compliance with commands given by an authority figure
Milgram’s Obedience Study
Why do People Obey Immoral Commands?? Legitimization of Authority –We are taught to obey authority figures and not to question or second-guess them Social Validation –We use other people’s behavior as a standard for judging the appropriateness of our own actions We may see that someone is admired for their behavior so we use that to legitimize our behavior and even look up to those people even more
What did we learn from Asch & Milgram? Ordinary people can do shocking things
Other Issues in Group Dynamics
Social Loafing The tendency to put forth less effort when working as a member of a group than when working alone Sometimes people take advantage of being in a group Think of the last time you did a group project – you may have worked less because if the group did badly it was not a direct reflection of your skills, but the group as a whole
Deindividuation The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations People lose inhibitions and sense of responsibility and feel anonymous – mobs, riots, and looting. Behave in a way you usually would not Zimbardo Prison Study
Group Polarization The tendency of people to make decisions that are more extreme when they are in a group as opposed to a decision alone or independently
Groupthink Occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision- making group overrides common sense. –Members pressure others to conform –Members squash dissent and focus just on information that agrees with the group’s point of view How could hazing incidents be an example of groupthink?
Self-Fulfilling Prophecies Occurs when one person’s belief about others leads one to act in ways that induce the others to appear to confirm the belief. If you think someone finds you attractive, they more likely will!!!
Prejudice and Discrimination Prejudice = attitude Discrimination = behavior
Prejudice An unjustifiable attitude towards a group of people. Usually involves stereotyped beliefs (a generalized belief about a group of people). Overt Subtle
Why is there prejudice? The Just- World Phenomenon –People get what they deserve in this world
Social Inequalities Ingroup: “us”- people with whom one shares a common identity. Outgroup: “them”- those perceived as different than one’s ingroup. Ingroup bias: the tendency to favor one’s own group.
Scapegoat Theory The theory that prejudice provides an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame.