MINI DICTIONARY

OCOMA, LANCE FRANCEOUA R.

BSA 1- A
MODULE 5 :
MY MINI DICTIONARY
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
According to psychologist Gordon Allport, social psychology uses scientific methods "to
understand and explain how the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of individuals are influenced
by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of other human beings."

Social Psychology is the study of social relationship or interaction.

Social Psychology is a branch of psychology that studies the individuals as they interact with
others (Lahey, 2007)
Social Psychology Key Figures
ALLPORT (192)SOCIAL FACILITATION
-Allport introduced the notion that the presence of others (the social group) can facilitate certain
behavior. It was found that an audience would improve an actors’ performance in well
learned/easy tasks, but leads to a decrease in performance on newly learned/difficult tasks due
to social inhibition.

BANDURA(1963)SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

-Bandura introduced the notion that behavior in the social world could be modeled. Three
groups of children watched a video where an adult was aggressive towards a ‘bobo doll’, and
the adult was either just seen to be doing this, was rewarded by another adult for their behavior
or was punished for it.

FESTINGER (1950)COGNITIVE DISSONANCE

-Festinger, Schacter and Black brought the idea that when we hold beliefs, attitudes or cognition
which are different, then we experience dissonance – this is an inconsistency that causes
discomfort. We are motivated to reduce this by either changing one of our thoughts, beliefs or
attitudes or selectively attending to information which supports one of our beliefs and ignores
the other (selective exposure hypothesis).

TAJFEL(1971)SOCIAL IDENTITY THEORY

-When divided into artificial (minimal) groups, prejudice results simply from the awareness that
there is an “out-group” (the other group). When the boys were asked to allocate points to
others(which might be converted into rewards) who were either part of their own group or the
out- group, they displayed a strong in-group preference.

WEINER (1986)ATTRIBUTION THEORY

Weiner was interested in the attributions made for experiences of success and failure and
introduced the idea that we look for explanations of behavior in the social world. He believed
that these were made based on three areas: locus, which could be internal or external; stability,
which is whether the cause is stable or changes over time: and controllability.

MILGRAM (1963)SHOCK EXPERIMENT

Participants were told that they were taking part in a study on learning, but always acted as the
teacher when they were then responsible for going over paired associate learning tasks. When
the learner (a stooge) got the answer wrong, they were told by a scientist that they had to
deliver
an electric shock. This did not actually happen, although the participant was unaware of this as
they had themselves a sample (real!) shock at the start of the experiment. They were
encouraged to increase the voltage given after each incorrect answer up to a maximum voltage,
and it was
found that all participants gave shocks up to 300v, with 65 percent reaching the highest level of
450v.

HANEY, BANKS ZIMBARDO (1973)STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT

-Volunteers took part in a simulation where they were randomly assigned the role of a prisoner
or guard and taken to a converted university basement resembling a prison environment. There
was some basic loss of rights for the prisoners, who were unexpectedly arrested, given a
uniform
and an identification number (they were therefore DE individuated). The study showed that
conformity to social roles occurred as part of the social interaction, as both groups displayed
more negative emotions and hostility and dehumanization became apparent. Prisoners became
passive, whilst the guards assumed an active, brutal and dominant role.

The Difference Between Interactions and Relationships

It is important to understand the difference between an
interaction and a relationship as you work to raise your visibility in
your organization and industry. Interaction is defined as “the degree
to which you engage one-to-one with colleagues.” While interactions
are one way to raise your visibility, it is inevitable that some
interactions will begin to build a relationship. Relationship is one of those words that we use
often, yet we find it hard to define when asked. Consider the following as a definition for
“relationship:”

“A relationship is a series of interactions where a dependency and/or an expectation is created.”

You will quickly note that relationships are actually interactions. To become a relationship,
however, these interactions need to create a dependency or an expectation between two or
more individuals. As you work to raise your visibility in your organization and industry, some of
your interactions will lead to the creation of a dependency and/or an expectation and some will
not.

Paul Millet is a successful attorney, author, speaker, and consultant, and each of these roles
has required him to interact with colleagues in a variety of ways. Through these experiences,
Paul has built a rich perspective on the difference between interacting and building
relationships. “People aren’t
interested in what you are selling or what you need. People are interested in building a
relationship that is mutually satisfying and beneficial. The focus of the interaction shouldn’t just
be me or you, but us. I get
to the ‘us’ by focusing more on the other person, asking questions, and offering ways to help
them. They feel better by doing the same, and the next thing you know, a relationship is born.”

Person Perception
Person perception refers to a general tendency to form impressions of other people. Some
forms of person perception occur indirectly and require inferring information about a person
based on observations of behaviors or based on second-hand information.

First Impressions, which are formed within a very short time with little conscious thought and
biased past experiences are part of personal perception. People use external appearance as
immediate basis
for assessing, judging, or evaluating others. However, it is wrong to judge the character of a
person on the basis of first impressions because biases and errors may occur. It is advisable to
always validate one’s perception through further observations, gathering of feedbacks and
reports, and
interaction, among others, before making judgements.

Social Norms
Norms define how to behave in accordance with what a society has defined as good, right, and
important, and most members of the society adhere to them. are patterns of traits characterized
as typical or usual for a group. is also known as the average or standard. Social norms, or
mores, are the unwritten rules of behavior that are considered acceptable in a
group or society. function to provide order and predictability in society. On the whole, people
want approval, they want to belong, and those who do not follow the norms will suffer
disapproval or may even be outcast from the group. This is how we keep society functioning,
not just with direct rules
but also expectations. When people know what is expected of them they tend to comply. While
some people seek to be different, most just want to be part of the group

NORMS
can change according to the environment, situation, and culture in which they are found, and
people's behavior will also change accordingly. Social norms may also change or be modified
over time.
Examples of Social Norms

To make a good impression on other members of your community there are social norms that
are commonly accepted, such as:
Shake hands when you meet someone.
Make direct eye contact with the person you are speaking with.
Unless the movie theater is crowded, do not sit right next to someone.
Do not stand close enough to a stranger to touch arms or hips. Don't invade someone's
personal space.

Do not curse in polite conversation and always avoid racist or discriminatory comments.

Do not pick your nose in public and if you must burp or fart, say "excuse me."
Be kind to the elderly, like opening a door or giving up your seat.
If there is a line, go to the back of the line instead of pushing or cutting your way to the front.
If you hit or bump into someone by accident, say "I'm sorry.
If someone sneezes near you, say "bless you."
When at someone else's home, ask permission to do things such as turning on the television or
using the bathroom.
Flush the toilet after use and always wash your hands when finished.
Say "please" when asking for something and say "thank you" when someone does something
for you.

Dress appropriately for the environment you are in.

Don't interrupt someone while they are talking. Wait for them to finish and then take your turn.

When dining out at a restaurant there are social norms that are commonly expected from the
diner. These include:
Leave a tip for the waiter or waitress. The tip should be at least 15% of the bill.
Chew with your mouth closed and avoid making loud sounds while chewing.
Do not talk with food in your mouth.
Dress according to the restaurant's dress code.
Do not eat soup with a fork
Do not belch loudly at the table.
Do not eat sloppily or quickly or use your hands unless it is finger food.
Do not eat off another person's plate without asking.
Always thank your server.
Do not be loud or vulgar or disturb other diners.

Students learn from an early age that there are certain norms to follow while in class or at
school. Some examples include:
 Do not use a cellphone during class. Texting and making calls are not appropriate in class time.
Ask the teacher if you can be excused during class to use the restroom. Never just get up and
leave.
Do not listen to music with headphones.
Do not sit in other people's assigned chairs
Come to class prepared with book, paper, pen, etc
Never read other material during class.
Stand up to bullies and do not allow others to be bullied.
Do not be rude to teachers or your classmates.
Arrive to class on time.

Gender specific social norms

There are certain norms expected for each gender that have existed for a long time. While these
are examples of norms that have changed over time and are still changing, they still persist in
many communities. Many of the gender norms are stereotypes and can be considered
discriminatory. Some
examples of gender-specific norms include the following:

Girls wear pink; boys wear blue.

Men should be strong and not show emotion.
Women should be caring and nurturing.Men should do repairs at the house and be the one to
work and make money while women are
expected to take care of the housework and children.
A man should pay for the woman's meal when going out to dinner.

Social Groups-are a basic part of human life. Except in rare cases, we all typically belong to
many different types of social groups. Our groups give us security, companionship, values,
norms, and so on. Beyond our
primary groups of family and friends, most of us have several secondary groups that exist at
work or school. With every group we're in, we see different effects, advantages, disadvantages,
and consequences. The
effects we'll discuss in this lesson are groupthink, social
loafing, and social facilitation.

GROUPTHINK
-When in group settings, we are often influenced by the
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors around us. Whether it is due to normative or informational
social influence, groups have power to influence individuals. Another phenomenon of group
conformity is
groupthink. is the modification of the opinions of members of a group to align with what they
believe is the group consensus (Janis, 1972). In group situations, the group often takes action
that individuals would not perform outside the group setting because groups make more
extreme decisions
than individuals do.

SOCIAL LOAFING-Another negative effect of groups is , which is the tendency for people to
exert less effort to achieve a goal when they are in a group. This goes against the adage that
the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I'm sure you can think about school groups that
you've been a part of that demonstrate social loafing. Certain members of the group would sit
back and watch while other members did the majority of the work.
Another way in which a group presence can affect our performance is social loafing. It is the
exertion of less effort by a person working together with a group. Social loafing occurs when our
individual performance cannot be evaluated separately from the group.

SOCIAL FACILITATION-Not all intergroup interactions lead to the

negative outcomes we have described. Sometimes being in a group situation can improve
performance when an individual performs better when an audience is watching than when the
individual performs the behavior alone. This typically occurs when people are performing a task
for
which they are skilled at. This is a theory which states that a person’s
performance depends a lot on somebody else’ presence. Depending on the situation, the task
he is given – simple or complex, will decide if his
performance becomes better or worse in the presence of people.

Conformity
Conformity is a type of social influence involving a change in belief or behavior in order to fit in
with a group. This change is in response to real (involving the physical presence of others) or
imagined (involving the pressure of social norms / expectations) group pressure. Conformity
refers to yielding to group pressure to act as everyone does, even when no direct request has
been made (Lahey, 2009). It is the tendency to behave like
others in the group do.

Conformity is brought about by two motivations:

1. Reward (approval)/avoid punishment (disapproval)
2. To gain information
Some factors make conformity more likely to exist in a group (Lahey, 2009)
1. Size of the group. The more people there in the group, the more likely a member tends to
conform
2. Unanimous groups. Conformity is highest when an individual faces a group in which all
members feel the same way about a topic, a problem, or an issue.
3. Culture. Conformity occurs in all cultures. However, some cultures emphasize the welfare of
the individual; thus, people are less conforming. Others focus on collective welfare so people
tend to be more conforming. A high degree of conformity leads to faster accomplishments of a
task or
work.
4. Gender. In the past, females were more likely to conform than males, but research has
shown that it is no longer the case today. (Eagly & Johnson, 1990)

Social Roles and Sociogram

Social roles are the part people play as members of a social group. With each social role you
adopt, your behavior changes to fit the expectations both you and others have of that role.

A social role defines a set of behaviors that are expected of someone who holds a particular
status. It's easy to confuse a status and a role, but the basic difference between them is that we
occupy a status
and play a role. Every status has an expected set of behaviors - a role. A woman becomes a
mother when she has a child and so occupies the status of mother. She is expected to also play
the role of mother by
caring for and loving her children (among other things).

Interestingly, role expectations can change over time and also differ between cultures. Not that
long ago, it was a role expectation for mothers to stay at home with their children and 'keep
house' while the
fathers played breadwinner. Today in our culture, this still occurs but is no longer a strict
expectation of
the mother's role - just an acceptable option. In other cultures, however, a mother working
outside the home is still considered to be strange or even unacceptable.

Sociogram
A is a visual depiction of the relationships among a specific group. The purpose of a sociogram
is to uncover the underlying relationships between people. A sociogram can be used to increase
your understanding of group behaviors. A is a tool for charting the relationships within a group.
It’s a visual representation of the social links and preferences that each person has – valuable
data for leaders.

Interpreting the Sociogram

Here are three patterns to look for when breaking down a sociogram:

Isolates – One of the alerts a leader gets from this is that there are some people – the isolates –
who no one has chosen or who have only been chosen by another isolate. In the sociogram
above, Sam is an isolate and so is Jill, having only been chosen by Sam. While it is wise to
have a certain degree of philosophical skepticism in making initial assumptions about isolates,
they are a cause for concern. You want to make sure they feel connected and supported in the
larger group.

Cliques – There are several quite tight groups which may well merit some degree of skepticism.
Are these groups “cliques” that exclude others? Cliques are defined as groups of three or more
people within a
larger group who all choose each other. In the above example, Ann, Fleur and Meg have all
chosen each other, and are clearly a tight group. You may want to observe to make sure they
aren’t excluding other
People.

Stars – Stars are people who have been chosen many times on the sociogram. These people
are generally popular and well-liked, hence being chosen by many of their peers

Nature and Depth of Relationship

-Relationships are among the most important aspects of our lives. They can be positive or
conflicted, but the lack of relationship could be the worst of all as it creates loneliness.

Familiarity -refers to being comfortable with another person and is a necessary condition for a
close relationship to develop. Friends and lovers are those who have been around together for
so long; who have grown up together; who have gone to school together. Research has shown
that people like to associate with others who are similar to them in terms of the following:
attitudes, behaviors patterns, personal characteristics, taste in fashion and clothes, intelligence,
personality, and the likes.

ATTRACTION -What attracts someone to another person? What makes people spend more
time with each other or with one another? Is physical attraction important at an early stage of a
relationship? Attraction may lead to deeper relationships (Santrock, 2003). One person may be
drawn or attracted to another due to reasons like similarities or differences in interests,
personality, characteristics, life goals, and lifestyles, to name a few. Attraction paves the way for
enjoying the company and being comfortable with the other person, and for feeling of ease and
confidence.

Love- is a special attachment one has for himself/herself or for somebody else. It is an intense
feeling of deep or constant affection and emotion in which a person always sees to the good,
happiness and welfare of the other. The person is willing to sacrifice or to give up something for
the good of his/her love. It can manifest as love for God, spouse, children, family, or country
among others. Love is essential to our well-being. Though most have experienced it in their
lives, defining love is challenging. Few researchers have put forth a viable theory on the concept
of love. One exception is the triangular theory of love, developed in the late 1980s by
psychologist Robert Sternberg.

THREE COMPONENTS OF LOVE

In Dr. Sternberg's theory, the concept of love is a triangle that is made up of three components:
1 INTIMACY which involves feelings of closeness, connectedness, and bondedness. Intimacy
is an emotional bonding, a sense of closeness to another person, having shared experiences.

2. PASSION , which involves feelings and desires that lead to physical attraction, romance, and
sexualconsummation. The realm of romance, physical attraction, engaging in sexual acts,
and/oranything partners relate to erotic love.

3. COMMITMENT , which involves feelings that lead a person to remain with someone and
move toward shared goals. Sternberg was careful to specify that this can include either short-
term, long-term commitment, or both.
TYPES OF LOVE

The three components of love interact in a systematic manner. The presence of a component of
love or a combination of two or more components create seven kinds of love experiences.
These types of love may vary over the course of a relationship as well.

1. Liking
This type of love is when the intimacy or liking component is present, but feelings of passion
and commitment in the romantic sense are missing. Friendship love can be the root of other
forms of love.

2. Infatuation
Infatuation is characterized by feelings of lust and physical passion without liking and
commitment. There has not been enough time for a deeper sense of intimacy, romantic love, or
consummate love to develop. These may eventually arise after the infatuation phase. The initial
infatuation is often very powerful.

3. Empty Love
Empty love is characterized by commitment without passion or intimacy. At times, a strong love
deteriorates into empty love. The reverse may occur as well. For instance, an arranged
marriage may start out empty but flourish into another form of love over time.

4. Romantic Love
Romantic love bonds people emotionally through intimacy and physical passion. Partners in this
type of relationships have deep conversations that help them know intimate details about each
other.

5. Companionate Love
Companionate love is an intimate, but non-passionate sort of love. It includes the intimacy or
liking component and the commitment component of the triangle. It is stronger than friendship,
because there is a long-term commitment, but there is minimal or no sexual desire.

6. Fatuous Love
In this type of love, commitment and passion are present while intimacy or liking is absent.
Fatuous love is typified by a whirlwind courtship in which passion motivates a commitment
without the stabilizing influence of intimacy. Often, witnessing this leaves others confused about
how the couple could be so impulsive. Unfortunately, such marriages often don't work out.
When they do, many chalk the success is up to luck.

7. Consummate Love
Consummate love is made up of all three components and is the total form of love. It represents
an ideal relationship. Couples who experience this kind of love have great sex several years into
their relationship. They cannot imagine themselves with anyone else. They also cannot see
themselves truly happy without their partners. They manage to overcome differences and face
stressors together.

Sternberg’s triangular theory of love

Attitudes are beliefs that predispose people to act and feel in certain ways towards people,
objects, or ideas. They can either be positive or negative.

Positive attitude is reflected in a happy, pleasant, or optimistic disposition

Negative attitude is associated with pessimism or a general feeling of dislike.
The three (3) distinct features of attitudes include belief, feelings, and disposition.

STRUCTURE OF ATTITUDES

Attitudes structure can be described in terms of three components.

Affective component: this involves a person’s feelings / emotions about the attitude object. For
example: “I am scared of spiders”.
Behavioral (or cognitive) component: the way the attitude we have influences on how we act or
behave. For example: “I will avoid spiders and scream if I see one”.
Cognitive component: this involves a person’s belief / knowledge about an attitude object. For
example: “I believe spiders are dangerous”. This model is known as the ABC model of attitudes.

ATTITUDE STRENGTH
The strength with which an attitude is held is often a good predictor of behavior. The stronger
the attitude the more likely it should affect behavior. Attitude strength involves:
Importance / personal relevance refers to how significant the attitude is for the person and
relates to self-interest, social identification and value.

THE FUNCTION OF ATTITUDES

Attitudes can serve functions for the individual. Daniel Katz (1960) outlines four functional areas:
➢ Knowledge
Attitudes provide meaning (knowledge) for life. The knowledge function refers to our need for a
world which is consistent and relatively stable. This allows us to predict what is likely to happen,
and so gives us a sense of control. Attitudes can help us organize and structure our experience.
Knowing a person’s attitude helps us predict their behavior. For example, knowing that a person
is religious we can predict they will go to Church.
➢ Self / Ego-expressive
The attitudes we express (1) help communicate who we are and (2) may make us feel good
because we have asserted our identity. Self-expression of attitudes can be non-verbal too: think
bumper sticker, cap, or T-shirt slogan. Therefore, our attitudes are part of our identity, and help
us to be aware through the expression of our feelings, beliefs and values.

➢ Adaptive
If a person holds and/or expresses socially acceptable attitudes, other people will reward them
with approval and social acceptance. For example, when people flatter their bosses or
instructors (and believe it) or keep silent if they think an attitude is unpopular. Again, expression
can be nonverbal [think politician kissing baby]. Attitudes then, are to do with being a part of a
social group and the adaptive functions helps us fit in with a social group. People seek out
others who share their attitudes, and develop
similar attitudes to those they like.
➢ Ego-defensive
The ego-defensive function refers to holding attitudes that protect our self-esteem or that justify
actions that make us feel guilty. For example, one way children might defend themselves
against the feelings of humiliation they have experienced in P.E. The lesson is to adopt a
strongly negative attitude to all sports. People whose pride has suffered following a defeat in
sport might similarly adopt a defensive attitude:

Stereotype
In social psychology, a is an over-generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is
an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of
expectation can vary; it can be, for example, an expectation about the group's personality,
preferences,
or ability.

One ADVANTAGE OF STEREOTYPE is that it enables us to respond rapidly to situations

because we may have had a similar experience before. One disadvantage is that it makes us
ignore differences between individuals; therefore we think things about people that might not be
true (i.e. make generalizations).

Positive example of stereotypes include judges (the phrase “sober as a judge” would suggest
this is a stereotype with a very respectable set of characteristics), overweight people (who are
often seen as “jolly”) and television newsreaders (usually seen as highly dependable,
respectable and impartial).
Negative stereotypes seem far more common, however.
1.Prejudice is an unfair, biased, or intolerant attitude or opinion towards the members of a
group. An example is the opinion that overweight women are not as intelligent as women of
normal weight. Acting on prejudice leads to discrimination
2.Discrimination is the specific unfair behavior or treatment towards the members of a group.
An employer refusing to hire women because of her gender is an example of discrimination.
a. Racism is the discrimination against people based on their skin color, or ethnic heritage
b. Sexism is the discrimination against people because of their gender.