Notes - February 24, 2014

Social Relations

• How do we relate to others?
• Attraction, conflict and prejudice, altruism and peacemaking

Prejudice - unjustifiable attitude towards a group of people

• Stereotype - a generalized belief about a group of people
• Social Inequalities - a principle reason behind prejudice
• Ingroup - "us" people with whom one shares a common identity
• Outgroup - "them" those perceived as different than ones ingroup
• Ingroup Bias - the tendency to favor one's own group
• Scapegoat Theory - the theory that prejudice provides an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame
• Just World Phenomenon - belief that those who suffer deserve it
• Reciprocity Norm - only help those who have helped you
• Social Responsibility -  expectation that people will help those who depend on them

Why is there Prejudice?

• categorization
• vivid cases

Aggression - any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy

The Psychology of Aggression 

• Frustration-Aggression Principle - blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal
• creates anger which generates aggression

Conflict - a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals or ideas - social trap or prisoner's dillema

Attraction

5 Factors of Attraction

• Proximity 
• geographic nearness
• Mere Exposure Effect - repeated exposure to something breeds liking
• mirror image concept
• Reciprocal Liking
• you are more likely to like someone who likes you
• Similarity
• opposites attract
• birds of the same feather flock together
• similarity breeds content
• Physical Attractiveness
• some people say beauty is facial symmetry
• Love
• Passionate Love - an aroused state of intense positive absorption of another
• Compassionate Love - the deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined .
• What makes compassionate love work?
• Equity - fair
• Self Disclosure - no secrets

Altruism - unselfish regard for the welfare of others

• Bystander Effect - bystanders less willing to help if there are other bystanders around
• Social Exchange Theory - the idea that our social behavior is and exchange procces which we maximize benefits and minimize cost

Peacemaking - give people superordinate (shared) goals that can be achieved through cooperation

• win - win
• GRIT - Graduated Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension Reduction