[Crash Course] Psychology XXXVIII-XXXX Social influence and conformity/ Discrimination and prejudice Milgram experiment (1961): What might the average person be capable of when under orders? -Obedience was highest when the person giving the orders was nearby and was perceived as an authority figure, especially if they were from a prestigious institution. -The victim was depersonalised, or was placed in the distance -In the condition that they didn't see anyone else disobeying
Some of this conformity is nonconcious automatic mimicry, like how you're likely to laugh, or nod your head when they're nodding. In this way, group behaviour can be contagious.
Conformity describes how we adjust our behaviour or thinking to follow the behaviour or rules of the group we belong to.
Underscored the power of the situation in conformity— whether that situation elicts respect for authority, fear of being different, fear of rejection, or simply a desire for approval.
Normative social influence: the idea that we comply in order to fuel our need to be liked or belong.
Social faciliation: stronger responses on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others.
Social loafing: the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable.
Deindividuation: the loss of self-awareness and restraint that can occur in group situations. The less individual we feel, the more we're at the mercy of the experience of our group, whether it's good or bad.
Group polarisation: the enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group.
The Internet has made it easier than ever to connect like-minded people and magnify their inclinations. This can of course breed haters, but it can, and often does, work for good, promoting education,
Groupthink: the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal 0f althernatives.
What factors might cause us to help another person, or harm them, or fear them? What are the social, cognitive, and emotional roots of prejudice, racism, and sexism, and how do they shape our society?
Prejudice: prejudgement, an unjustified, typically negative, attitude toward an individual or group.
Stereotype: an overgeneralised belief about a particular group of people/
When stereotypic beliefs combine with prejudgicial attitudes and emtions, like fear and hostility, they can drive the behaviour we call discrimination.
Implicit association test (IAT): a test implemented in the late 1990s to try to gauge implicit attitudes, identities, beliefs, and biases people are unwilling, or unable to report.
People on both sides of the stereotype tend to respond similarly, with the subjects of prejudice themselves, often hold the same stereotypical implicit attitudes or engaging in the same discriminatory behaviour.
Why people prejudice: -a way of justifying social inequalities -us vs. them (the ingroup-outgroup phenomenon)
Robber's cave experiment (1961): What it would take for rivals to overcome their differences and resolve their conflicts? To test Realistic conflict theory (conflict happens when you combine negative prejudice with competition over resources). -While isolation and competition made enemies of the strangers, shared goals and cooperation turned enemies into friends.
Aggression and Altruism
Conflict and Cooperation
Aggression: behaviour intended to hurt or destroy someone, something, or even yourself. Frustration-agression hypothesis: the idea that people become aggressive when they're blocked from reaching a goal.
Altruism: our selfless or even self-sacrificing regard for the welfare of others. In which situation people tend to be altruistic? -noticed the incident -interpreted it as an emergency -assumed responsibility Social exchange theory: the theory that our social behaviour is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximise benefits and minimise costs.
Conflict: a 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 behaviour.