PSYC 1101 Learning Unit 4G

1. PSYC 1101 Learning Unit 4G The Social Subsystem Social Relations

2. Social Relations Social psychology teaches us how we relate to one another from prejudice, aggression and conflict to attraction, altruism and peacemaking.

3. Prejudice Simply called, �prejudgment,� a prejudice is an unjustifiable (usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members � often of different cultural, ethnic or gender groups. OBJECTIVE 57-1| Identify three components of prejudice.OBJECTIVE 57-1| Identify three components of prejudice.

4. Reign of Prejudice Prejudice works at the conscious and [more so] the unconscious level. Thus prejudice is more like a knee-jerk response than a conscious decision. Prejudice is a negative attitude. Discrimination is a negative behavior often influenced by prejudice.

5. How Prejudiced are People? Over the duration of time many prejudices Such as those against interracial marriage, gender, homosexuality, minorities have waned. OBJECTIVE 57-2| Contrast overt and subtle forms of prejudice, and give examples of each.OBJECTIVE 57-2| Contrast overt and subtle forms of prejudice, and give examples of each.

6. Racial & Gender Prejudice Americans today express much less racial and gender prejudice, but prejudices still exist.

7. Race Nine out of 10 white respondents were slow at responding to words like �peace� or �paradise� with a black individual�s photo compared to a whites (Hugenberg & Bodenhausen, 2003). Those who showed the most implicit prejudice were also those most likely to perceive anger and apparent threat in photos of black faces.

8. Gender Most women still live in more poverty than men. About 100,000,000 women are missing in the world. There is a preference for male children in China and India, even with sex-selected abortion outlawed.

9. Social Roots of Prejudice Why does prejudice arise? OBJECTIVE 57-3| Discuss the social factors that contribute to prejudice.OBJECTIVE 57-3| Discuss the social factors that contribute to prejudice.

10. Social Inequality When people have money, power and prestige, and others do not, prejudice develops. The �haves� seek to justify their status relative to the �have nots�. Social inequality increases prejudice.

11. In and Out Groups Ingroup: People with whom one shares a common identity. Outgroup: Those perceived as different from one�s ingroup. Ingroup Bias: The tendency to favor one�s own group.

12. Emotional Roots of Prejudice Prejudice provides an outlet for anger [emotion] by providing someone to blame (scapegoating). After 9/11 many people lashed out against innocent Arab-Americans. OBJECTIVE 57-4| Explain how Scapegoating illustrates the emotional component of prejudice.OBJECTIVE 57-4| Explain how Scapegoating illustrates the emotional component of prejudice.

13. Cognitive Roots of Prejudice One way we simplify our world is to categorize. We categorize people into groups by stereotyping them. OBJECTIVE 57-5| Cite four ways that cognitive processes help create and maintain prejudice.OBJECTIVE 57-5| Cite four ways that cognitive processes help create and maintain prejudice.

14. Cognitive Roots of Prejudice

15. Cognitive Roots of Prejudice The tendency of people to believe the world is just and people get what they deserve and deserve what they get (the just-world phenomenon).

16. Conflict Perceived incompatibility of actions, goals or ideas. Conflict is fed by a variety of factors including some of those that influence prejudice. Other factors that feed conflict are social traps and distorted perceptions.

17. Conflicts: A Game of Social Trap By rationally pursuing our self-interest and not trusting others, both parties can end up being caught in mutually destructive behavior.

18. Enemy Perceptions People in conflict form diabolical (and often reciprocal) images of one another.

19. Unselfish regard for the welfare of others. Altruism OBJECTIVE 58-3| Define altruism, and give an example.OBJECTIVE 58-3| Define altruism, and give an example.

20. Kitty Genovese Case March 13, 1964 in Queens, New York A stalker repeatedly stabbed and then reaped Kitty Genovese outside her apartment at 3:00 AM. 38 of her neighbors heard her screams. The attacker fled only to return and stab her 8 more times and rape her again. Not until the attacker ran again did anyone even call the police.

21. Bystander Efect Darley and Latane (1968) Simulated a physical emergency in the laboratory. Students in separate rooms in a discussion though an intercom. One student (an accomplice) feigned a seizure. Students who thought only they could hear the seizure were more likely to respond to help.

22. Bystander Effect Tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present. OBJECTIVE 58-4| Describe the steps in the decision-making process involved in bystander intervention.OBJECTIVE 58-4| Describe the steps in the decision-making process involved in bystander intervention.

23. Bystander Intervention The decision-making process for bystander intervention.

24. We are most likely to help when� Victim appears to need and deserve help Victim is similar to us We have just observed someone else being helpful We are not in a hurry We are in a small town or rural area We feel guilty We are focused and not preoccupied We are in a good mood We are the only one available to help

25. The Norms for Helping Social Exchange Theory: Our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs. However, our helping behavior is also influenced by social norms: Reciprocity Norm: The expectation that we should return help not harm to those who have helped us. Social�Responsibility Norm: Largely learned, a norm that tells us to help others when they need us even though they may not repay us in kind. OBJECTIVE 58-5| Explain altruistic behavior from the perspective of social exchange theory and social norms.OBJECTIVE 58-5| Explain altruistic behavior from the perspective of social exchange theory and social norms.

26. How can we overcome social conflict and encourage cooperation? Contact and greater familiarity between parties in conflict can help but is often not enough. Shared goals that provide mutual benefit and require cooperation to achieve facilitate resolution of conflict. Cooperation can lead to cognitive accommodation � redefining �ingroup-outgroup� schemas. �us and them� become �we�

27. Superordinate Goals are shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation. Peacemaking OBJECTIVE 58-6| Discuss effective ways of encouraging peaceful cooperation and reducing social conflict.OBJECTIVE 58-6| Discuss effective ways of encouraging peaceful cooperation and reducing social conflict.

28. Peacemaking Communication and understanding is developed through talking to one another. However, conflict can lead to more rigid stereotyping and judgments, and more difficult communication. Sometimes mediation by a third party can help break the impasse.

29. Graduated & Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-Reduction (GRIT) A strategy developed by social psychologist Charles Osgood designed to decrease international tensions. One side recognizes mutual interests and initiates a small conciliatory act that opens the door for reciprocation by the other party. If the �enemy� responds with hostility, one reciprocates in kind but if the enemy makes a conciliatory response then the possibility of negotiation and resolution is enhanced. Peacemaking