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58 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
The Bell Curve
-intelligence and class structure in American Life.
-intelligence can be measured
-intelligence and IQ scored correlate with many things [up IQ = good in school]
Racial Differences in IQ
-Finding: an approximately 15-point difference between US whites and African Americans on standard IQ tests
-mention of African Americans lower IQ and genetic connection with IQ score - many people assumed genetic inferiority, but is not explicitly stated and people continue to argue if that is implied.
-recent evidence that gap is narrowing
-are IQ tests culturally biased?
-Bias: Implies that a test measures something differently in one group compared with another
-If test bias exists, correlations between IQ and other variables should be different across the 2 groups.
Scarr and Weinberg (1976)
-Transracial adoption study
-adoption of African American children into white European families - assumption of putting things on same plane - however cannot control them being discriminated against - researchers acknowledged limitation - IQ scores were higher than when raised in African American families (National average) - still no support for strong genetic basis for IQ score
study of racial admixture
-examine blood
Claude Steele
-research on stereotype threat
-if African Americans told that they are taking an IQ test or test to explore abilities = higher IQ score.
Within group heritability vs between group heritability
-within group heritability does not mean between group heritability
-Plant example:
-within group: over a few weeks grow to certain height - variability of height between 2 boxes - average of both boxes that same
-between group: separate boxes - over a few weeks - one sent to Cale and other to person good at taking care of plants.
-genetic factors create variability - separate - creates clear difference between groups.
Sex differences in IQ
regarding overall averages...
-males' scares are more variable than female's scores (larger range)
-males are better at visual spatial rotations
-females high on tests with verbal abilities (perhaps because females talk more?)
-cross-culturally - masculine vs. feminine behaviors
Social Psychology
-studying the impact of group factors on the individual
-interpersonal relationships - important to how we relate to others - ways interact with others is important to our psychological health
-includes such topics as conformity, obedience, bystander intervention, and attitude change
-keep in mind the adaptive nature of these psychological phenomena
The Great Lesson of Social Psychology
-the fundamental attribution error (Lee Ross): the tendency to underestimate the impact of situational influences on behavior
-tend to make [in daily life] when we evaluate and judge other people's behavior - make assumptions
-when people do unexpected behavior we try to make judgement calls on why they did that
Collective Delusions and Mass Hysteria
-striking case studies in group influence:
(1) "war of the worlds" (orson welles, 1938) - social contagion - listening to the radio - mass hysteria
(2) "flying saucers" (Arnold 1947) - flying saucers or flying sausages = aliens
(3) windshield pitting (Seatle, 1950s) pits in windsheild - nuclear testing - mass hysteria - pits were always there
(4) cattle mutilations (1970s and 1980s) livestock go missing and then discover carcas w/o insides - aliens landing and taking livestock and take insides
(5) Boston - Turner Broadcasting (recent)
-Urban Legends
Stereotypes
-not necessarily negative
-stereotypes - make generalization about group
Prejudice
-negative attitudes toward group
-results in discrimination
discrimination
-treat someone badly based on prejudice
Perceptions
-first impressions can have lasting effects
-self fulfilling prophecies - have initial perception or idea of something we behave some way
-where stereotypes go wrong...prejudice and discrimination
-FILM: Jane Elliot classroom study (blue eyes vs. brown eyes)
Social Comparison
-"The Fundamental Attribution Error" (Lee Ross)
-tendency to underestimate the impact of situational influences on the behaviors of others
-collective delusions and mass hysteria
-urban legends
Interpersonal Influences
-conformity and obedience studies:help to illustrate power of the situation
-candid camera examples (elevator)
Conformity:
Asch Study
-Asch (1955) study: aimed to ascertain how much individuals will conform to group opinions that contradict their own
-method: required subjects to make judgements of line length while either alone or with a group of people (confederates) who contradicted an obvious fact
-the task was presented to subjects as a perceptual judgement task. (deception)
Asch Study Findings
-when alone, accuracy rates were nearly 100%
-when in groups, subjects yielded to the majority (i.e. made errors) about 1/3 of the time
-about 75% of subjects yielded to the majority at least once
-subjects typically reported feeling uncertain and puzzled. They often appologized when they did not conform
-results affected reporting, not perception, of line length
Variables Influencing Conformity in Asch Study
-unanimity of the majority (if one person goes against others, then more likely to go against majority)
-size of majority (conformity rates plateau)
-individual and group differences
-self-esteem (down self-esteem, up conformity)
-cultural factors (collectivistic emphasizes group harmony = conform)(Individualistic emphasizes being an individual and leader = nonconforming)
-no clear sex differences
"Groupthink" (Irving Janis)
-Definition: a preoccupation with group unanimity that impairs critical evaluation of an issue (negative thing)
-impaired critical decision making
-concept originated from Janis' analysis of the "Bay of Pigs" invasion during Kennedy's administration
-later example - 1986 explosion of the space shuttle challenger
"Groupthink": symptoms
-conformity pressure
-illusion of invulnerability ("we can't fail" - illusion where you can't be wrong)
-unquestioned belief in the group's correctness or moral authority
-self-censorship
-"mindguards" (people within group self-appointed who are used to quiet dissent)
Group Polarization ("The Risky Shift")
-decisions tend to be more extreme when made by groups than when made by individuals
-discussion tends to strengthen the average inclination of group members prior to discussion
-holds important implications for jury decisions making
-does not occur in every group decision
-often "yes or no","guilty or not guilty" - before discussion there is already average way jury is leaning - after further discussion, go more in that direction
-idea, jury takes evidence and makes informed decision, but group polarization could occur
Milgram (1963): Obedience Study
-Aim of Study: to ascertain the extent to which authority figures can elicit antisocial behavior from relatively normal participants
-antisocial - bad, illegal, etc... behavior
-Milgram = attention seeking researcher (studied holocaust)
Milgram Obedience Study: Method
-subjects at Yale University believed they were participating in a study of the effects of "punishment" on learning
-were "randomly assigned" to the role of teacher and were led to believe that an innocent "learner" (actually a confederate of Milgram) was connected to a shock apparatus
-subjects (teachers) were told to give increasingly intense electric shocks to a "learner" each time the "learner" made an error on the learning task
-authority figure (in a lab coat) directed "teacher" to adminiter shocks of greater intensity
-shock levels marked from 0-450 volts - "slight shock" to "danger" or "severe shock" or "XXX"
-learner made certain prearranged errors and received "shocks" of increasing intensity
-if the "teacher" objected, authority figure responded with certain standarized, prearranged prompts: "please continue" "the experiment requires that you continue" "you have no other choice, go on"
-not told before experiment that they could leave at any time
Prior to Milgram Study
-Milgram asked 40 psychiatrists and psychologists at Yale University to predict the results (after design of study was carefully described to them)
-predicted results:
-most subjects will stop at 150 volts ("strong shock" to "very strong shock")
-less than 1% of subjects will go to the very end of the shock generator (i.e. will exhibit total compliance with the authority figure)
-human behavior experiments - Milgram study and more recent, real world example
Milgram Obedience Study: Results
-100% of subjects went to 300 volts ("extreme intensity")
-about 65% of subjects went to the very end of the shock generator (i.e. showed total compliance)
-the learner actually stops responding at some point, but teacher continues)
-striking example of the fundamental attribution error
-initial study = all men (25-50) of various occupations
-virtually all subjects showed distress
Milgram: Variations on Research Design
-Note: Percentages of subjects showing total compliance to experimenter
-study moved to office building in Bridgeport - 48% compliance
-learner in same room as teacher - 40% compliance (@ Yale)
-touch proximity - 30% (push hand down on shock plate)
-experimenter gives orders by phone - 30%
-experimenter is called away to run errand; hands control over to another "experimenter" (a confederate) - 20%
-experimenter's assistants walk out in protest in middle of study - 10%
-roles of experimenter and learner reversed - 50%
-two experimenters who disagree - 0%
Ethical Issues Raised by Milgram Studies
-Baumrind (parenting studies) vs. Milgram: was deception justified? did costs outweigh the benefits?
-Baumrind: lack of full informed consent rendered study ethnically indefensible (lack of information of risks)
-Milgram: most participants later said that they were glad to have participated. Moreover, none reported adverse psychological effects
Bystander Apathy
-Kitty Genovese
-Darley and Latane: two major factors that inhibit helping in emergency situations:
(1) Pluralistic ignorance: presence of others doing nothing leads people to assume the situation is not actually an emergency
(2) diffusion of responsibility: presence of others leads each person to feel less individual responsibility for the consequences of not helping
-(human behavior experiments - Darley and Latane research and more recent, real world example)
-address someone directly - place responsibility
-self-conscious and embarrassed - what if not situation?
Bystander Apathy: Research Findings
-Darley and Latane's counterintuitive prediction:
-the more people who are present at an emergency, the less likely it is that someone will help
(1) "smoke filled room" experiment
on own - 70% went to get help
more and one - 20-30%
(2) "woman on the ladder" experiment
(3) "epileptic seizure" experiment
audio experiment
Factors that Promote Helping
(1) Individual Differences
(a) unconventionality - people who don't care about view from others are more likely to help
(b) sex differences - males more likely to intervene than females (not enough studies) - perhaps due to male physical strength - societal expectations?
(2) situational factors
(a) positive affect - feel good? put in good situation and then one where need help
(b) prior exposure to models who help - observe helping behavior (or donating time)
(3)exposure to information concerning studies of bystander intervention (Bedman et al. 1978) if exposed increase helping behavior
-"enlightenment effects" (Kenneth Gergen) - exposure to information on psychology can influence human behavior for better
Social Loafing
-individuals tend to exert less effort in group than in individual tasks (Latane)
-appears largely due to diffusion of responsibility
-has been reported in studies of clapping and cheering, "brainstorming," worker productivity even Beatles' songs
-best way to avoid: ensure that all people in the group feel personally responsible for the outcome of the group effort
-not apply to team sports due to personal responsible
Emotion
-define you, mark important moments
-evolutionary view (Darwin, Ekman): emotions have evolved via natural selection
-and therefore have cross-culturally universal expressions (e.g. facial expressions)
Likely cross-culturally recognized emotions
-happiness
-sadness
-surprise
-anger
-fear
-disgust
-[contempt(?)]
Ekman's Studies on Facial Expressions of Emotion
-Paul Ekman describes the multiple roles of the human face and its primary importance in displaying emotions. His studies of emotional expressions in preliterate cultures, some of which are shown here, confirm his findings in literate cultures.
-blind exhibit these faces having not seen them
-not learned but instinctual
Cognitive Views of Emotion
-view emotions primarily as the result of an interpretation of one's behavior and the environment
James-Lange Theory of Emotion
-experience of emotion is perception of physiological responses to emotion - arousing stimuli
-sight of oncoming car (perception of stimulus) - pounding heart (arousal) - fear (emotion)
Cognitive Views of Emotion: criticism and recent view
-criticism: bodily changes take too long for most emotions to occur; most people are aware of emotions almost immediately
-more recent view: two factor theory of emotion (Schachter and Singer 1962): emotion is a joint function of
(1) generalized nonspecific physiological arousal
(2)cognitive attribution of this arousal (what you contribute to)
Schachter's Two-Factor Theory of Emotion
-to experience emotion you must
-be aroused
-cognitively label the arousal
-sight of oncoming car (perception of stimulus) - (1) pounding heart (arousal) (2) cognitive label "I'm afraid" - fear (emotion)
Schachter and Singer (1962)
Gave participants an injection of adrenaline
-all participants were told that the shot contained a vitamin
-some participants were not told about effects of the "vitamin"
-other participants were told that the vitamin produces pounding heart rapid breathing, etc.
-all participants were exposed to either a happy or angry condition (more trouble with angry setting)
-findings: participants moods changed in direction of the confederate, but only when not told of "vitamin's" effects
-people told of side effects experiences physiological side effects and contributed everything to side effects as opposed to "happiness"
Other Evidence for the Two-Factor Theory
-Dutton and Aron: sexual attraction on the bridge
-compared male participants responses to attractive female confederate on regular bridge vs. suspension bridge
-male participants found female confederate more attractive when on suspension bridge: moreover, they were more likely to call her up later
-confidence?
-random men - other relationship?
-exercise and arousal?
Unconscious Influences on Emotion
-facial feedback hypothesis (Adelmann and Zajone)
-facial expressions cause emotions by means of feedback to the brain
-therefore smiling itself will make you happy
-mouth and pencil study (strack et al. 1988)
-teeth vs. lips - forced smile liked comics more than other group
-consistent with James-Lange Theory
Happiness
-evidence suggests that it is substantially genetically influenced
-is surprisingly unaffected by dramatic life events or financial status
-however, there are some correlates of happiness
-the "hedonic treadmill": we may each have a relatively stable level of happiness that we deviate from slightly in response to life events
other emotional behaviors...
-catharsis
-emotional release
-catharsis hypothesis: releasing aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges
Memory
-H.M.
-sensory register (decay - info that never becomes long term) - short term momory (decay - info that never becomes long term) (rehearsal) - long term memory
Sensory Memory
-iconic memory: form of sensory memory in the visual mode
-velry brief (~1 second)
-echoic memory: sensory register in an auditory mode
-is also brief, but longer than iconic memory (~5-10 seconds)
*exercise with remembering numbers
Short Term Memory
-magic number: 7 +/- 2
-is storage capacity of short term memory
-duration of short-term memory is brief, about 20 seconds
-but you can retain information in short term memory by rehearsal
-storage is primarily acoustic - based on sound
Long Term Memory
-storage capacity is considerable
-things after 20 seconds
-duration is long, even life long
-storage is primarily semantic - with meaning significance attached to it - attached to something we already have
Levels of Processing
-"deeper" levels - longer lasting (Craik and Lockhart, 1972): random word pairs - test and see pairs remembered - could rehearse but can only remember for so long - semantic rehearsal - imagine things - meaningful ways to remember - attach more meaning = more likely to remember
Common Memory Beliefs
-memory belief #1: memory works like a videotape or tape recorder
-memory belief #2: we store the memories of everything that has ever happened to us (problem is retrieval)
-memory belief #3: there is a high correlation between the confidence of memories and their accuracy (if you say you are confident in memory - it is accurate)
Creation of Incorrect Memory
-read a list of words - ask if word mentioned
-Deese-Roadiger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm: Method for eliciting "memory illusions"
-ciritical lure word: word not in list but other words all related to the lure word
-typically people will say lure word was on list - very confident lure word on list
-schematas - frameworks
From Brewer and Treyens (1981)
-sitting in office...then get questions asked
-did the office contain a desk? yes
-did the office contain books? no
-did the office contain a wine bottle? yes
-did the office contain a telephone? no
...among other questions...
-people would endorse things that typically are in the office
-visualizing objects increased confidence
How Accurate is Long Term Memory
-don't assume because remembered something it happened and don't assume high confidence means happened
-Elizabeth Loftus (1975): leading questions and reconstructed memories - continually asking questions influences memory
-Neisser and Harsch (1992): "Phantom flashbulbs: False Recollections of hearing the news about Challenger"
-approximately one third of memories were substantially incorrect
-essentially no correlation between confidence and accuracy
Bottom Line
-memory is not a passive process of retrieval
-instead, memory is an active, reconstructive process
-our memories are shaped by expectations social cues and other extraneous factors
-this point bears important implications for memory recovery techniques in psychotherapy
Zimbardo: Deindividuation
-Antisocial behavior resulting from a loss of individual identity doing something that is bad or harmful when they usually would not
-When stripped of our identity, other normally suppressed impulses may spring into action feel differently/behave differently when less personally identifiable
-(Human Behavior Experiments- Stanford Prison Study and more recent, real world example) wearing uniform puts you as part of a group rather than individual identity
Stanford Prison Study: (Haney, Banks, & Zimbardo, 1971)
-Stanford students randomly assigned to be prisoners or guards (were preselected for mental health and adjustment)
-Study scheduled to last two weeks
-Prisoners were “arrested” by Palo Alto police and brought to basement of Stanford Psychology department prisoners and guards stayed in the basement the whole time there was informed consent
-Prisoners and guards were dressed in uniforms to take away individual identity guards had khaki uniforms and reflective sunglasses (couldn’t see eyes) prisoners were white smock type outfits and given numbers to be called by)
-Guards were abusing prisoners by day 2; many were sadistic and cruel became sexual
-Many prisoners reported feeling depressed, hopeless, and alienated. They revolted
-Zimbardo terminated study by day 6 was supposed to last two weeks he too was falling into role as warden what would have happened if outsider hadn’t come in
Attitudes and Attitude Change
-When do our attitudes change?
-Cognitive Dissonance theory (Leon Festinger) ways in which or attitudes change… sometimes in counterintuitive ways
-Cognitive Dissonance: an unpleasant state of tension resulting from the awareness that two (or more) of our cognitions (beliefs) are in conflict
-When cognitions A and B are in conflict we can:
A) change cognition A
B) change cognition B
C) introduce a third cognition, C

Ex. Has to drive 87 miles to work everyday. Cognition A she hates the ride b/c there is nothing to look forward too… not pretty/no good music. Cognition B hate the job!
Change cognition A I don’t mind the drive… nice to have time to relax and think/ time by myself
Change cognition B I don’t mind the job… its actually working out
Add cognition C well it makes sense for my first job- it will get better etc…

In job she doesn’t like and driving the long drive… that’s where there is conflict
Cognitive Dissonance Theory
-(Festinger et al., 1956) classic study of “The Seekers” clear belief among “the seekers” is that on Dec. 21st there is going to be a major flood leader named Ms. Keech says this will happen. flood didn’t happen introduced cognition C prayed to be kept safe and so their prayers stopped the flood strengthened belief
-Festinger and Carlsmith (1957):**IN HOCK BOOK** participants asked to engage in boring task and told to lie to another participant about this task; some given $1 to lie, others $20 to lie
-FINDINGS: participants given $1 report that they liked the boring task more than did participants given $20