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Social Psychology notes

Person Perception and Impression Formation:

 Prefrontal Cortex Activity: Mason and Macrae (2004) found that the
prefrontal cortex is active when processing information about people rather
than animals or objects.
 Dehumanization of Social Groups: Harris & Fiske (2006, 2007) showed that
processing information about certain social groups, like the homeless, did not
activate the prefrontal cortex, indicating dehumanization.
 Krendl, Moran, & Ambady (2012): Dehumanization of the homeless occurs
when homelessness is seen as unchangeable (essentialized).

Impression Formation and Management:

 Processing in Interaction: Hood & Macrae (2007) found that when people
look directly at us, we process their features more fully and remember them
better.
 First Impressions: Impressions form in less than 100 milliseconds (Bar, Neta,
& Linz, 2006). Initial traits influence later judgments (Primacy Effect).

Facial Impressions:

 Political Candidates: Todorov et al. (2005) found that people judge political
candidates' competence from faces shown for just 1 second.
 Accuracy of Impressions: First impressions based on facial appearance are
often accurate (Ambady and Rosenthal, 1993).

Emotional Expression:

 Universal Facial Expressions: Ekman (1993, 1994) found universal facial


expressions for basic emotions, though cultural display rules influence when
and how emotions are expressed.
 Contempt Recognition: Contempt may be universally recognized across
cultures (Susskind et al., 2008).

Nonverbal Communication:

 Walk Speed: Montepare & Zebrowitz-McArthur (1988) found that people


who walk faster are perceived as happier and more powerful.
 Cross-Cultural Differences: Nonverbal behavior differs cross-culturally, with
warmer places having more abundant physical contact (Pennebaker et al.,
1996).
Gazes and Gestures:

 Eye Contact: Frequent eye contact is interpreted as liking, while staring is


seen as anger (Kleinke, 1986).
 Handshake Impact: Quality of a handshake affects personality assessments
and hiring recommendations (Chaplin et al., 2000; Stewart et al., 2008).

Scents and Emotional Communication:

 Ovulating Women: The smell of ovulating women increases men's


testosterone (Miller & Maner, 2010).
 Smell and Emotional Responses: Scents play a role in emotional
communication and contagion (de Groot et al., 2015; Mutic et al., 2015).

Detecting Deception:

 Lie Detection: People detect lies correctly only 54% of the time (Bond &
DePaulo, 2006).
 Linguistic Cues: Linguistic style, including pitch and speed, can give away
deception (Ekman and Friesen, 1974; De Paulo et al., 2003).
Attribution Theories: Internal vs. External Attributions

1. Attribution Theory (Fritz Heider, 1958):


o Internal Attribution: Attributing behavior to a person's dispositions or
traits.
o External Attribution: Attributing behavior to the environment.
2. Correspondent Inference Theory (Jones & Davis, 1965):
o Covariation Model (Harold Kelley, 1973):
 Covariational Model: Kelley's model involves noting patterns of
consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency to make attributions
about the causes of behavior.

Attributions in Relationships:

 Happy Marriage:
o Positive Behaviors: Internal attributions are made for a partner's
positive actions.
o Negative Behaviors: External attributions are made for a partner's
negative actions.
 Distressed Marriage:
o Positive Behaviors: External attributions are made for a partner's
positive actions.
o Negative Behaviors: Internal attributions are made for a partner's
negative actions.

Fundamental Attribution Error (Ross, 1977):

 People tend to underestimate situational factors and overestimate


dispositional factors when explaining others' behavior.
 Study by Jones & Harris (1967) on pro-Castro attitudes showed a tendency to
attribute internal qualities even when positions were randomly assigned.

Actor-Observer Effect:

 People tend to attribute their own behavior to situational factors but attribute
others' behavior to their disposition.

Two-Step Attribution Process (Gilbert, 1989, 1991, 1993):

 Quick, spontaneous internal attribution is followed by a conscious adjustment


considering the situation. This process is more likely when individuals
consciously slow down, think carefully, or are motivated for accuracy.

Cultural Differences:

 Members of individualistic cultures prefer dispositional attributions.


 Members of collectivistic cultures prefer situational explanations.

Social Neuroscience Evidence (Hedden et al., 2008):

 Brain activation patterns differ between Americans and East Asians when
attending to or ignoring contextual information, reflecting cultural influences.

Self-Serving Attributions:

 Self-Enhancing Bias: Attributing success to internal characteristics.


 Self-Protecting Bias: Attributing failure to external factors.

Depression and Attribution:

 People with low self-esteem tend not to use self-protection bias and attribute
failures internally.
 Depressive realism suggests mildly depressed individuals make more accurate,
less biased judgments.
Culture and Self-Serving Bias:

 More prevalent in Western individualistic cultures.


 Cultural influences on explanations of success, with Western cultures
emphasizing individual talent and Eastern cultures incorporating other people
and situational factors.

Explanation of Olympic Gold Success:

 Western cultures attribute success to unique talent, while Eastern cultures


incorporate others and situational factors.
 Cultural values, like modesty and harmony, influence self-serving bias.
Interpersonal Attractiveness:

 Interpersonal Attraction:
o Positive evaluation of others.
o Strength of liking or loving another person.
 Physical Attractiveness:
o Characteristics evaluated as beautiful or handsome.
o Element of romantic attraction.
 Agreement on Physical Attractiveness:
o Good agreement across cultures and ages.
o Studies show consensus on who is considered physically attractive.
 Physical Appearance Impact:
o Strong effect on interpersonal attraction.
o Physical attractiveness influences evaluations in various contexts.
 Features of Physical Attractiveness:
o Women: Cute/child-like or mature with prominent cheekbones.
o Men: Cute/boyish or mature and masculine.
o Youthful appearance is valued.
 Symmetry and Grooming:
o Symmetry signifies health and familiarity.
o Well-groomed individuals are perceived as attractive.
 Averaging Faces:
o Averaged faces are perceived as more attractive.
o Familiarity and frequent exposure contribute to attractiveness.

Benefits of Beauty:

 Associations with Beauty:


o Linked to better health outcomes, higher earnings, better teaching
evaluations, and electoral success.
o Example: Physical attractiveness predicting health outcomes in
premature infants.
 Halo Effect:
o Tendency to attribute positive characteristics to attractive individuals.
o "What is beautiful is good" stereotype.
 Positive Stereotypes:
o Attractive individuals seen as healthier, more intelligent, trustworthy,
kind, generous, and sociable.
o Influence legal judgments, mood, and social interactions.
 Self-Fulfilling Prophecy:
o Attractive individuals develop good social skills due to increased social
attention.
o Receive more positive evaluations.
 Cultural Differences:
o Self-serving biases more prevalent in Western cultures.
o Eastern cultures may emphasize modesty and harmony.

Interpersonal Attraction Factors:

 Proximity:
o Physical closeness increases the likelihood of friendships.
o Propinquity effect: More interaction leads to increased friendship.
 Mere Exposure Effect:
o Increased exposure leads to increased liking.
o Familiarity breeds attraction.
 Similarity vs. Complementarity:
o Overwhelming support for similarity over complementarity.
o Similar interests, attitudes, values, and personality traits foster liking.
 Affiliation and Need for Social Contact:
o Need for affiliation: Desire for regular social contact.
o Affiliation linked to life satisfaction.
o Desire for relationships and social networks.
 Consequences of Rejection:
o Ostracism: Being excluded or ignored.
o Rejection sensitivity: Tendency to expect and be oversensitive to
rejection.
o Consequences include health problems and violence in relationships.
 Cyberostracism:
o Online ostracism leads to sadness, loss of control, and conformity.
 Impact of Ostracism:
o Ostracized individuals experience coldness perception and desire warm
food.
o Activates neural systems associated with physical pain.
 Loneliness and Health:
o Loneliness associated with health problems and immune system
impairment.
o Rejection and ostracism affect mental and physical well-being.

In summary, interpersonal attraction involves various factors, including physical


attractiveness, proximity, similarity, and the need for social contact. Beauty brings
advantages but also entails challenges, while rejection and ostracism have profound
effects on individuals' well-being.

Sexual Attraction and Gender Differences:

 Evolutionary Psychology:
o Attributes differences in sexual behaviors to reproductive roles.
o Men's unlimited reproductive capacity vs. women's limited capacity.
 Mate Selection Criteria:
o Men focus on physical attractiveness and youth.
o Women prioritize resources and prefer older partners.
o Universal desire for warmth, loyalty, attractiveness, vitality, status, and
resources.
 Mate Preferences in Personal Ads:
o Men emphasize physical appearance.
o Women focus on partner's status and material resources.
 Gender Differences in Sexual Behavior:
o Men tend to be more promiscuous.
o Women are more cautious and selective.
o Men more jealous of sexual infidelity, women more jealous of
emotional infidelity.
 Promiscuity and Sexual Desire:
o Men more willing for casual sex.
o Desire for sexual variety higher in men.
o Men may over-perceive sexual interest, leading to higher infidelity
rates.
 Natural Differences and Gender Equality:
o Gender inequality may influence attractiveness preferences.
o Negative association between gender equality and mate preferences
differences.

Gender Pay Gap and Mate Preference:

 Sexual Economics Theory:


o Heterosexual relations as a marketplace.
o Women as sellers, men as buyers.
o Women trade sex for emotional, material, and social resources.
o Split in sex and marriage markets.
 Consequences of Contraception:
o Contraception reduces the market value of sex.
o Women dominate the quick sex market.
o Men have an advantage in the marriage and relationship market.
 Competition and Repression:
o Women compete for men on the marriage market.
o Sexual repression of women by women to gain access to men.
o Spread of ideals of chastity and sexual double standards.
 Women's Sexual Desire and Social Dynamics:
o Men reported having greater interest in sex.
o Feminist response questions methodology, unequal gender status, and
double standards.
o Sexual double standard contributes to reported gender differences.

Women's Repression of Female Sexuality:

 Controversy:
o Evolutionary Psychology and Sexual Economics Theory argue women
repress female sexuality due to competition.
o Feminist response: Men, due to societal dominance.
 Sexual Double Standard:
o Men receive prestige for multiple sexual partners.
o Societal dominance contributes to sexual double standards.
o Patriarchy reinforces unequal agency and citizenship rights.
 Support for Double Standards:
o Some theories suggest women are more supportive.
o Feminist response: Men may play a role in discouraging women.

Gender Inequality and Sexual Assault:

 Sexual Assault Statistics:


o 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men experience rape.
o 91% of victims are female.
 Intersectionality and Sexual Violence:
o The intersection of gender, race, and socio-economic factors impacts
experiences of sexual violence.

Women's Rights in the US:

 Gender Inequality:
o Ongoing issues despite progress.
o Gender pay gap, lack of representation, and sexual harassment persist.

Sexual Assault as a Repressive Force:

 Role in Repressing Women Sexually:


o Sexual assault plays a significant role in repressing women sexually.
o Evidence contradicts the notion that sexual assault has no such impact.

Sex as a Tool of Intergroup Domination:

 Statistics on Sexual Assault:


o 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men will be raped.
o Sexual assault contributes to the power dynamic between genders.

Intersectionality and Sexual Violence:

 Impact of Intersectionality:
o Factors such as race and socio-economic status intersect with gender,
influencing experiences of sexual violence.

In summary, the topics cover evolutionary explanations for sexual behaviors, mate
preferences, gender differences, sexual economics theory, societal dynamics, gender
inequality, and the role of sexual assault in repressing women sexually. The
discussion emphasizes the intersectionality of these issues and their broader societal
implications.

Love and Close Relationships:

 Evolutionary Influences on Attraction:


o Menstrual cycle influences women's attraction to men.
o Women more attracted to men with symmetrical and masculine
characteristics during fertile periods.
 Role of Oxytocin:
o Romantic love associated with oxytocin release.
o Oxytocin important in female reproduction and bonding.
o Influences long-term romantic attachments.
 Love Triangle Theory:
o Passionate Love: Exciting, arousing, short-lived.
o Companionate Love: Comfortable, trusting, based on friendship.
o Different components: Passion, Intimacy, Commitment.
 Brain in Love:
o Sexual desire involves testosterone.
o Romantic love linked to VTA activity, decreased prefrontal cortex
activity.
o Attachment involves VTA, oxytocin, and vasopressin.
o Brain in breakup: VTA, pain circuits, craving, distress system.

Exchange and Communal Relationships:

 Types of Relationships:
o Exchange Relationships: Governed by equity concerns.
o Communal Relationships: Primary concern is responsiveness to each
other's needs.
 Factors Contributing to Relationship Maintenance:
o Similarity: Shared interests and values enhance satisfaction.
o Reciprocity: Mutual self-disclosure develops intimacy.
o Equity: Fairness in contributions is crucial.
o Responsiveness: Partners recognizing, valuing, and supporting each
other.
 Relationship Satisfaction Factors:
o Sacrifices indicate commitment.
o Perceived partner responsiveness promotes trust and intimacy.

Attachment Styles:

 Attachment in Close Relationships:


o Attachment styles learned in childhood.
o Stable into adulthood.
o Secure, Anxious, Avoidant attachment styles.
 Self-Esteem and Interpersonal Trust:
o High self-esteem and interpersonal trust associated with secure
attachment.
o Dismissing attachment: Healthy self-esteem but difficulty forming close
connections.
o Preoccupied attachment: Desire for connection but anxious self-
concept.
o Fearful-avoidant attachment: Poor relationships and negative self-
concept.
 Impact on Relationship Quality:
o Secure attachment: Positive feelings about self and others.
o Anxious/ambivalent attachment: Good self-feelings, challenging
relations.
o Avoidant attachment: Other-concerned, struggle with self-esteem.
o Fearful-avoidant attachment: Difficulty meeting goals of self or other-
concern.

In summary, evolutionary factors influence attraction, hormonal influences play a


role, and different types of love exist. Attachment styles learned in childhood impact
adult relationships, influencing self-esteem, interpersonal trust, and relationship
quality. Exchange and communal relationships are governed by different norms, and
various factors contribute to relationship maintenance and satisfaction.
Social Cognition: Schemas

 Definition:
o Social cognition involves understanding how people select, interpret,
and use information for judgments about themselves and the social
world.
 Automatic and Controlled Thinking:
o Automatic thinking is quick, biased, and unconscious.
o Controlled thinking is deliberate and effortful.
o Both modes often work together effectively.
 Heuristics:
o Mental shortcuts for quick judgments.
o Can lead to biased or erroneous conclusions.
o Examples include cognitive accessibility, salience, and
representativeness heuristic.
 Schemas:
o Mental structures organizing and simplifying information processing.
o Function as filters, screening information and affecting attention,
encoding, and retrieval.
 Stereotypes:
o Rigid schemas about social groups, denying individuality.
o Justify inequality and influence self-perception and behavior of others.
o Activated automatically, biasing information processing.
 Stereotype Content Model:
o Dimensions: Warmth (communion) and Competence (agency).
o Elicit different emotions, some stereotypes are ambivalent.
 Self-Fulfilling Prophecy:
o Beliefs influencing behavior, confirming expectations.
o Example: White students' discomfort in interviews affecting African
American candidates.
 Stereotype Threat:
o Apprehension that behavior might confirm stereotypes.
o Example: Performance anxiety on a test reflecting badly on one's race.
 Pygmalion Effect:
o Rosenthal & Jacobson's study: Expectations influencing IQ test
performance.
o Similar to self-fulfilling prophecy.
 Primed Stereotypes:
o Priming: Recent experiences increasing schema accessibility.
o Example: Participants forming positive/negative impressions based on
primed words.
 Embodied Social Cognition:
o Metaphors relate abstract concepts to concrete, tangible ones.
o Embodied social cognition involves bodily experiences in processing
social information.
o Metaphors prime attitudes, memory, judgment, perception, and
behavior.
 Accessibility and Priming:
o Accessibility: Extent to which schemas are at the forefront of one's
mind.
o Priming: Process increasing accessibility due to recent experiences or
goals.

In summary, social cognition involves automatic and controlled thinking, heuristics,


schemas, and the impact of stereotypes. Stereotypes, influenced by priming and
accessibility, can lead to self-fulfilling prophecies and affect decisions in ambiguous
situations. Embodied social cognition emphasizes the role of metaphors and bodily
experiences in processing social information.
1. Studies on Social Cognition and Schemas:
o Key Points:
 Social cognition involves automatic and controlled thinking.
 Stereotypes as rigid schemas about social groups, influencing
judgments and behavior.
 Automatic processing through heuristics and schemas.
 Self-fulfilling prophecy and stereotype threat.
 The impact of priming and accessibility on stereotypes.
 Embodied social cognition and the role of metaphors.
2. Specific Studies Mentioned:
o Word, Zanna, & Cooper (1974): White college students' discomfort in
interviewing African American candidates.
o Rosenthal & Jacobson (1968): Pygmalion effect, where expectations
influenced children's IQ test performance.
o Steele & Aronson (1995): Stereotype threat affecting African American
participants' performance on a test.
o Freeman et al. (2011): Racially ambiguous person classification
influenced by clothing and status cues.
o Bargh et al. (1996): Activation of stereotypes of old vs. young people
affecting participants' behavior.
o Landau et al. (2010): Metaphors priming affect attitudes, memory,
judgment, perception, and behavior.

These studies contribute to our understanding of sexual behavior, mate selection,


close relationships, love, social cognition, and the impact of stereotypes on behavior
and decision-making.

Attitudes: Summary

Components of Attitudes:

 Affective Component: Involves emotional reactions.


 Behavioral Component: Relates to observable actions.
 Cognitive Component: Encompasses thoughts and beliefs.

Types of Attitudes:

 Cognitively Based Attitudes: Primarily based on beliefs and facts.


 Behaviorally Based Attitudes: Stem from observations of behavior.
 Affectively Based Attitudes: Rooted in preferences and feelings.

Self-Perception Theory (Bem, 1972):

 People infer their attitudes from their behaviors under certain conditions.
 Conditions include a weak or ambiguous initial attitude and no other plausible
explanation for behavior.

Affectively Based Attitudes:

 About one-third of the electorate forms strong feelings about politicians


despite limited knowledge.
 Affectively based attitudes can express identity or a value system.

Origins of Attitudes:

 Genetic Influence: Identical twins share more attitudes than fraternal twins.
 Learning: Classical conditioning, subliminal conditioning, mere exposure
effect, and operant/instrumental conditioning.
 Observational Learning: Acquiring attitudes or behaviors by observing
others.
Attitude-Behavior Link:

 Inconsistency Example: LaPiere (1934) found a gap between anti-Chinese


attitudes and actual discriminatory behavior.
 Fazio's Model: Emphasizes social context, social desirability, social norms, and
attitude accessibility.
 Attitude Certainty: Strong and certain attitudes predict behavior better.
 Personal Experience: Attitudes based on personal experience are stronger
and more accessible.

Predicting Deliberative Behaviors: Intentions

 Theory of Planned Behavior: Intentions are the best predictors of deliberate


behaviors.
 Determined by attitudes toward specific behaviors, subjective norms, and
perceived behavioral control.
 Accessibility of attitude is less critical in predicting deliberate behaviors, where
planning and contemplation are involved.
 Theory of Reasoned Action (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980) is relevant in this context.

Observational Learning:

 Form of learning through which individuals acquire new attitudes or behaviors


by observing others.
 Influential factors include adults, parents, reference groups, media, and social
comparison.

Inconsistency Between Attitudes and Behavior:

 LaPiere's Study (1934): Found inconsistency between anti-Chinese attitudes


and actual discriminatory behavior.
 Attitude to Behavior Link (Fazio, 1990): Social context, social desirability,
social norms, and attitude accessibility play roles.

Attitude-Behavior Consistency:

 Attitude Accessibility: Strength of attitude determines accessibility,


predicting behavior better.
 Attitude Certainty: Strong attitudes predict behavior better.
 Effective when attitude and behavior are measured simultaneously, especially
for non-deliberative behaviors.

Predicting Deliberative Behaviors: Intentions:


 Theory of Planned Behavior: People's intentions are the best predictors of
deliberate behaviors.
 Intentions are determined by attitudes toward specific behaviors, subjective
norms, and perceived behavioral control.
 Accessibility of attitude is less crucial in predicting deliberate behaviors;
attitude is only one factor.

Theory of Reasoned Action (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980):

 Rational process involving consideration of behavioral options and


consequences.
 Behavioral intentions moderately predict action, stronger when people have a
plan.

Additions to Theory of Reasoned Action:

 Perceived Behavior Control: People's belief in their ability to control


outcomes.
 Implementation Plan: A plan for executing their intentions into action.
 Other factors like habit and decision-making time may also be important.

Overall, attitudes are multifaceted and influenced by emotions, behaviors, and


thoughts. They can be based on beliefs, observations, preferences, and feelings.
The origin of attitudes involves genetic factors, learning (classical conditioning,
subliminal conditioning, mere exposure effect, operant conditioning), and
observational learning. Attitude-behavior consistency is influenced by
accessibility, certainty, and various social factors. Predicting deliberate
behaviors involves considering intentions, perceived behavioral control, and
other factors. The Theory of Planned Behavior and additions to the Theory of
Reasoned Action provide frameworks for understanding these processes.

Prejudice, Stereotypes, Discrimination: Summary

Prejudice:

 Defined as a negative inter-group attitude (Allport, 1954).


 Also characterized as negative inter-group affect (Fiske, 1998; Duckitt, 1992).

Stereotypes:

 Beliefs about the personal characteristics of a group or category of people.


 May arise from normal cognitive processes, functioning to reduce complexity
of social information.
 Can be overgeneralized, inaccurate, and resistant to new information.

Emotions Toward Different Groups:

 Different groups elicit various emotions and behaviors (Cottrell & Neuberg,
2005).
 Example emotions include disgust (towards gay men), pity (towards Native
Americans), fear (towards African Americans), and envy (towards Asian
Americans).

Forms of Discrimination:

 Subtle Discrimination:
o Comfort with own group, discomfort with out-group, exclusion, and
avoidance of the out-group.
 Blatant Discrimination:
o Open expression of negative emotions, hate, contempt, disgust,
hostility, aggression aiming to harm out-groups.

Hostile Sexism:

 Negative emotions directed towards women (e.g., anger, resentment)


stemming from dominant paternalism, competitive gender differentiation, and
hostile heterosexuality (Glick & Fiske, 1996).

Benevolent Sexism:

 Subjectively favorable emotions towards women related to a belief in male


dominance and chivalrous ideology.

Ambivalent Sexism:

 A mix of hostile and benevolent sexism, categorizing women into liked and
disliked groups (traditional vs. modern, career women, or lesbians).

Effects of Discrimination:

 Discrimination can impact one's reputation and character (Allport, 1954).

Reducing Prejudice:

 Presenting counter-stereotypical information may not change beliefs and can


even strengthen stereotypes.
 Recategorization: Bias can be reduced by transforming perceptions of group
boundaries from "us" and "them" to a more inclusive "we" (Gaertner et al.,
1993).
 Contact Hypothesis: Contact between groups can reduce prejudice if both
groups have equal status, a common goal, and cooperate (Allport, 1954;
Pettigrew & Tropp, 2000).
 Conditions for reducing prejudice through contact: mutual interdependence,
common goal, equal status, friendly, informal setting, knowing multiple out-
group members, and social norms of equality.

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