psych 9c // chapter 12

• Social psychology is a field of psychology that focuses on the study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the presence of others.
• The social brain hypothesis is the idea that the size of a primate species’ standard social group is related to the volume of that species’ neocortex.
• An ingroup is a social group to which a particular person belongs.
• Ingroup favoritism is the tendency for people to evaluate favorably and privilege members of the ingroup more than members of the outgroup.
• An outgroup is a social group to which a particular person does not belong.
• The outgroup homogeneity effect is the tendency to view outgroup members as less varied than ingroup members.
• People are especially likely to organize themselves into groups when two conditions are met: reciprocity and transitivity.
• Reciprocity is the principle that people treat others as others treat them.
• Transitivity is the tendency for people to generally share their ingroup’s opinions of other people.
• Social identity theory is the idea that ingroups consist of individuals who perceive themselves to be members of the same social category and experience pride through their group membership.
• Minimal group paradigm is a research methodology used in social psychology that involves creating groups based on minimal or arbitrary criteria and examining how individuals behave towards members of their ingroup versus members of their outgroup.
• The middle region of the prefrontal cortex, called the medial prefrontal cortex, is important for thinking about other people both generally and specifically. This region is less active when people consider members of outgroups, especially members of extreme outgroups, such as people who are homeless or drug addicts.
• Deindividuation is a state of reduced individuality, reduced self-awareness, and reduced attention to personal standards that may occur when people are part of a group.
• People are especially likely to become deindividuated when they are aroused and anonymous, and when responsibility is diffused.
• Group polarization is the process by which initial attitudes of groups become more extreme over time.
• Proposed by psychologist James Stoner, risky-shift effect is the tendency for groups to make riskier decisions than individuals do.
• Proposed by psychologist Irving Janis, groupthink is the tendency of a group to make a bad decision as a result of preserving the group and maintaining its cohesiveness.
• Groupthink typically occurs when a group is under intense pressure, is facing external threats, and is biased in a particular direction to begin with.
• Social facilitation is the idea that the presence of others generally enhances performance.
• In social facilitation, if the required response is easy or well learned, so that the dominant response is good performance, the presence of others will enhance performance.
• In social facilitation, if the required response is novel or less well learned, so that the dominant response is poor performance, the presence of others will impair performance.
• Social loafing is the tendency for people to work less hard in a group than when working alone.
• Conformity is the altering of one’s behaviors and opinions to match those of other people or to match other people’s expectations.
• Normative influence is the tendency for people to conform in order to fit in with the group.
• Informational influence is the tendency for people to conform when they assume that the behavior of others represents the correct way to respond.
• Social norms are expected standards of conduct that influence behavior.
• Brain imaging studies have shown that activity in the medial prefrontal cortex can predict people’s conforming behaviors.
• Obedience is following the orders of a person of authority.
• Aggression is any behavior that involves the intention to harm another.
• People can learn to be aggressive by observational learning and by exposure to media violence. Any situation that induces negative emotions can trigger physical aggression, since emotional states can disrupt the functioning of brain regions involved in controlling behavior.
• One biological factor of aggression is the hormone testosterone. However, it’s unclear how testosterone is linked to aggression, and testosterone changes may actually be the result — rather than the cause — of aggressive behavior.
• Altered serotonin function has been associated with impulsive aggressiveness in adults and hostility and disruptive behavior in children.
• Genetic research has implicated that the MAOA gene might also be involved in impulsive behaviors such as aggressive violence. The MAOA gene controls the amount of MAO (monoamine oxidase), which is an enzyme that regulates the activity of neurotransmitters including serotonin and norepinephrine.
• Culture of honor refers to a belief system in which boys and men learn that it is important to protect their reputations through physical aggression.
• Shared superordinate goals, or goals that require people to cooperate, reduce hostility between groups. People who work together to achieve a common goal often break down subgroup distinctions as they become one larger group.
• Prosocial behaviors are actions that benefit others, such as doing favors or helping.
• Altruism is providing help when it is needed, without any apparent reward for doing so.
• Inclusive fitness is an explanation for altruism that focuses on the adaptive benefit of transmitting genes, such as through kin selection, rather than focusing on individual survival.
• Kin selection is a form of inclusive fitness that operates on the idea that by helping relatives who share some of their genes, individuals can indirectly increase the transmission of their own genes to future generations.
• Reciprocal helping is a form of cooperation where individuals provide assistance to others with the expectation of receiving assistance in return at a later time.