502 CHAPTER 12
- Intergroup contact is more effective in reducing prejudice if the
groups have equal status. - Prejudice and discrimination can also be reduced when a super-
ordinate goal that is large enough to override all other goals
needs to be achieved by all groups. - Prejudice and discrimination are reduced when people must
work together to solve a problem because each person has an
important key to solving the problem, creating a mutual interde-
pendence. This technique used in education is called the “jigsaw
classroom.”
- 12 Identify factors involved in interpersonal
attraction.
- Interpersonal attraction refers to liking or having the desire for a
relationship with another person. - People tend to form relationships with people who are in physi-
cal proximity to them. - People are attracted to others who are similar to them in some way.
- People may also be attracted to people who are different from
themselves, with the differences acting as a complementary sup-
port for areas in which each may be lacking. - People tend to like other people who like them in return, a phe-
nomenon called the reciprocity of liking. - Use of a specific social networking site may be partially deter-
mined by racial identity and ethnic identity. The ways sites are
used are influenced by both gender and the status of current
social relationships. - Love is a strong affection for another person due to kinship, per-
sonal ties, sexual attraction, admiration, or common interests.
- 13 Describe the different types of love outlined in
Sternberg’s theory.
- Sternberg states that the three components of love are intimacy,
passion, and commitment. - Romantic love is intimacy with passion, companionate love is
intimacy with commitment, and consummate love contains all
three components.
- 14 Explain how aggressive behavior is determined
by biology and learning.
- Aggression is behavior intended to hurt or destroy another
person in a way that may be physical or verbal. Frustration is a
major source of aggression.- Biological influences on aggression may include genetics, the
amygdala and limbic system, and testosterone and serotonin
levels. - Social roles are powerful influences on the expression of aggres-
sion. Social learning theory states that aggression can be learned
through direct reinforcement and through the imitation of suc-
cessful aggression by a model. - Studies have concluded that violent television, movies, and
video games stimulate aggressive behavior, both by increasing
aggressive tendencies and by providing models of aggressive
behavior.
12. 15 Identify the factors influencing why people help
others.
- Prosocial behavior is behavior that is socially desirable and ben-
efits others.
- Altruism is prosocial behavior in which a person helps someone
else without expectation of reward or recognition, often without
fear for his or her own safety.
- The bystander effect means that people are more likely to get
help from others if there are one or only a few people nearby
rather than a larger number. The more people nearby, the less
likely it is that help will be offered.
- When others are present at a situation in which help could be
offered, there is a diffusion of responsibility among all the
bystanders, reducing the likelihood that any one person or per-
sons will feel responsibility for helping.
- Researchers Latané and Darley found that people who were
alone were more likely to help in an emergency than people
who were with others.
- The five steps in making a decision to help are noticing, defining
an emergency, taking responsibility, planning a course of action,
and taking action.
- Biological influences on aggression may include genetics, the
Applying Psychology to Everyday Life: Peeking
inside the Social Brain
- 16 Define social neuroscience.
- Social neuroscience is the study of how biological processes
influence social behavior. Studies use fMRI and other imaging
techniques to discover areas of the brain involved in social
actions.
Test Yourself
Pick the best answer.
- Saul admits that he conforms so as to be liked by others. This is
known as
a. compliance.
b. obedience.
c. informational social influence.
d. normative social influence.
- According to the text, in which of the following has groupthink been
known to occur?
a. presidential elections
b. the fall of communism
c. mass suicides by cults
d. the sinking of the Titanic