Behavioral Sciences 8 Social Processes, Attitudes, and Behavior

Behavioral Sciences 8: Social Processes, Attitudes, and Behavior Group Psychology Social Facilitation: Describes the tendency of people to perform at a different level when others are around. Deindividuation: A loss of self-awareness in large groups. Bystander Effect: When in a group, individuals are less likely to respond to a person in need. Peer Pressure: The social influence placed on individuals by others they consider equals. Social Loafing: An individual does not pull his or her weight in a group setting. Polarization: The tendency toward making decisions in a group that are more extreme. Groupthink: The tendency for groups to make decisions based on ideas and solutions that arise within the group without considering outside ideas. Culture: The beliefs, ideas, behaviors, actions, and characteristics of a group or society. Assimilation: The process by which an immigrant or minority takes up elements of mainstream culture. Assimilation is a specific type of socialization. To experience assimilation, a person must first have their own culture, then absorb elements of a new culture. Multiculturalism: The encouragement of multiple cultures within a community to enhance diversity. Subcultures: A group of people within a culture that distinguish themselves from the primary culture. Attitudes & Behavior Attitudes: Tendencies toward expression of positive or negative feelings or evaluations of something. Attitude has 3 components: Affective, behavioral, and cognitive. Functional Attitudes States that there are four functional areas of Theory: attitudes: knowledge, ego expression, adaptability, and ego defense. Learning Theory: States that attitudes are developed through forms of learning: direct contact, direct interaction, direct instruction, and conditioning. Elaboration States that attitudes are formed and changed through Likelihood Model: different routes of information processing based on degree of elaboration: central route processing, peripheral route processing. Social Cognitive States that attitudes are formed through watching Theory: others, personal factors, and the environment. People change their behavior or attitudes based on observation. Socialization Socialization: The process of internalizing the social norms and values expected in one’s society. Sanctions: Positive: A reward for a certain behavior. Negative: A punishment for a certain behavior. Formal Sanction: An official reward or punishment. Informal Sanction: A sanction that is not enforced or punished by an authority but that occurs in everyday interactions with other people. Ex: Asking someone to lower their voice in a movie theater. Norms: Determine the boundaries of acceptable behavior within a society. Mores: Informal norms with major importance for society and, if broken, can result in severe sanctions. Ex: Drug abuse is not socially acceptable. “Right / Wrong” Folkways: Informal norms that are less significant, yet they still shape our everyday behavior. Ex: Holding a door open for someone. “Right / Rude” Taboos: Considered unacceptable by almost every culture (like cannibalism or incest). Stigma: The extreme disapproval or dislike of a person or group based on perceived differences form the rest of society. Deviance: Violation of norms, rules, or expectations in a society. Differential Deviance can be learned through our interactions with Association Theory: others. People commit crimes, at least in part, because of their associations with other people. Conformity: Changing beliefs or behaviors in order to fit into a group or society. Compliance: When individuals change their behavior based on the requests of others. Obedience: A change in behavior based on a command from someone seen as an authority figure.