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Social Psychology Assignment

1. Question 1

Stereotypes have a very large impact on people’s attitudes and performance. Depending on

its application, stereotyping can bare different results. For instance, labeling brown-eyed people

as inferior to blue-eyed people was found to cause a decline in the results of brown-eyed children.

The pupils believed the argument to be true especially because it came from their teacher who they

held in high regard. From the video, it is clear that negative stereotypes can result in low self –

efficacy thus leading to a decline in performance.

Stereotypes that project a people as superior tends to make the group feel better about

themselves which may consequently result in better performance. Additionally, people stereotyped

as superior will look down upon others. In this video, when the teacher stated that blue-eyed people

were better than brown-eyed people, some of the blue-eyed pupils bullied the brown-eyed ones

and often teased them based on the color of their eyes.

Individuals subjected to negative stereotypes feel a sense of helplessness and hate towards

the perpetrators of the stereotypes. The individuals develop a sense of victimhood and may result

in violence as a defense mechanism. In the video, John, a brown eyed kid, hit his blue-eyed

classmate for referring to him as brown eyes.

Stereotypes also have the power to damage strong relationships especially among friends

who differ in the stereotyped trait. The damage in relationships results from segregation based on

the stereotyped traits. For instance, in the video, one brown-eyed pupil felt that the teacher was

separating them from their blue-eyed friends. Additionally, stereotypes have the power to

generalize people’s behavior. In the clip, a blue-eyed pupil proposes that the teacher should hide

the yardstick under a desk just in case the blue-eyed pupils get out of hand.

2. Question 2

Social influence plays a huge role in an individual's decision-making process. In the Asch’s

conformity test, it can be established that an individual’s decisions are largely influenced by the

group of people in the surrounding to the extent that the individual may disagree with what is

clearly right and conform to the wrong opinions of the group. Conformity, however, depends on

the unanimity of the group. A unanimous group of people will influence an individual to conform

to the group's opinions. However, if the individual, finds another person who shares a similar

opinion, then the former is unlikely to conform to the group’s view. Individuals are also likely to

give honest responses when not exposed to social influence as is this case when the individual in

the clip is exposed to private response. The honesty is a result of less pressure to conform as the

individual is not exposed to criticism from outside sources.

Milgrim’s experiment shows the power of social influence especially when it originates

from a legitimate authority. In the clip, an individual is exposed to a situation in which he has to

administer electric shocks when an interviewee gives wrong answers. The current of the electric

shock increases with each wrong answer and has a probability of resulting in a fatality since the

interviewee has a history of heart disease. After several questions, the interviewee complains of

discomfort and subsequently stops responding to questions. The individual administering the

shock is reluctant to continue as he does not want to bear responsibility for the harm that might

occur. The experimenter dismisses these arguments and asks the individual to continue asking

questions and administering shocks. The individual obeys the command and administers the

shocks despite experiencing moral discomfort.From this experiment, Milgrim, therefore,

concludes that the moral nature and conscious limitations of human beings cannot be relied upon

to prevent individuals from committing inhumane acts under the direction of an inconsiderate

authority.

Zimbardo’s prison study explores social influence in the context of a hostile environment.

The experiment involved decent students. The study carefully observed the behavior of subjects

in a prison environment. After analysis, it was discovered that people behaved differently as a

result of exposure to the prison environment. For instance, some of the subjects grew rebellious

against harsh treatment from the guards. However, some of the subjects only looked out for

themselves and did not make efforts to fight for the rights of others. The experiment thus concluded

that under a hostile environment, even good people can do bad things.

Janis idea of groupthink also takes into consideration the power of social influence in decision

making. According to Janis, a group is likely to make irrational decisions due to pressure from a

source, mainly a leader.He cites pearl harbor as a viable case study.

3. Question 3

Alcohol myopia is one of the major theories used to explain aggressive behavior.

According to statistics from the various law enforcement agencies, alcohol is a major contributing

factor in violence. In a majority of drug-related violence, the victims report that the offender was

under the effects of alcohol. Reports show that alcohol-related violence mainly occurs between

people who know each other. The use of alcohol has been tied to over five thousand incidents of

violence in intimate relationships. Experts claim that alcohol causes aggression by increasing one’s

reactivity and reducing the ability to control impulses.

Social learning has also been termed as a major contributor of aggressive behavior. Social

learning as a cause of aggression is mainly applicable to children due to their naïve and

impressionable nature. The aggressive behavior is acquired from violent scenes on the various

forms of media to which the children are continually exposed.The aggressive tendencies may be

learned from violent video games resulting in desensitization about violence in the real world.

Research conducted by Paick and Comstock on the relation between exposure to media violence

and aggression revealed a + .31 correlation between the two. Exposure to pornography is also

considered to be a factor that may contribute to violence and aggressive behavior. An experiment

carried out by Zillman and Bryant revealed that exposure to pornography may lead to

desensitization on issues such as rape which is considered a form of aggression.

Experts generally agree deindividualization of people can motivate violent and aggressive

tendencies. Experiments reveal that crowds composed of people with similar attributes make it

difficult to point out individuals and hold them accountable for their actions. Consequently,

individuals feel free to display aggression. The Stanford prison experiment best illustrates the

relation between deindividualization and aggressive behavior. The students involved in the

experiment had previously demonstrated against unjust issues such as the war in Vietnam.

However, when the students were individualized, in this case placed in cells and harshly treated,

only a few of them were able to stand up for themselves.

4. Question 4

Social connection is the feeling of belonging to a certain group. Social connections keep

people healthy and happy in various ways. First, social connections allow individuals to experience

positive emotions. Positive emotions can be expressed through smiles as well as non-verbal cues

such as touch. Social connections also enable people to openly talk about their experiences. Such

open talks help relieve stress and anxiety thus enhancing people’s health. Social connections also

help individuals acquire support with regard to various difficulties they may be experiencing.

Through social connections, people are also able to share in fun activities such as hiking and

camping which are helpful in relaxation of the mind.

5. Question 5

Various elements determine conflict as well as satisfaction experienced in relationships.

One such element is how we perceive others. Proper use of verbal a non-verbal cues can serve to

strengthen the bonds that exist among people. However, if perceived out of context, the verbal and

non-verbal cues can lead to conflict thus damaging relationships. For instance, some gestures may

have totally opposite meanings among different societies and therefore there use can result in

conflict. Aggression is also a factor that has been found to lead to conflict in relationships.

Aggression may be in form of sexual or physical assault. Prosocial behaviors are the main

contributor to relationship satisfaction especially if they occur within the relationship.

6. Question 6

The degree of prosocial or altruistic behavior in people is dependent on various factors.

Studies reveal that exposure to uplifting music is likely to positively impact on an individual’s

altruistic behavior. According to experiments, people exposed to a modeled behavior are likely to

be prosocial if they encounter a similar situation. The experiment thus shows a direct relationship

between modeled behavior and altruism or prosocial behavior. Time is also a factor that has been

found to influence a person's altruism. An experiment by Darley and Batson revealed that people

in a hurry were less likely to engage in altruistic behaviors. The occurrence of disasters also tends

to positively impact on people’s altruistic behavior.

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