Social Relations
Attraction
Conflict and Prejudice
Altruism and Peacemaking
How do we relate to others?
Aggression
Prejudice
• An unjustifiable
attitude towards a
group of people.
• Usually involves
stereotyped beliefs
(a generalized belief
about a group of
people).
Overt
Subtle
Prejudice Over Time
Is it just race?
NO
• Palestinians and Jews
• Country and City
• Mainland and Island
• Men and Women
But women have some things going for them like……
Which person would you want to have
a long term relationship with?
Most pick B—feminine characteristics
Social Inequalities
(A principle reason behind prejudice)
Mike Hewitt/ Getty Images
• Ingroup: “us”- people
with whom one
shares a common
identity.
• Outgroup: “them”those perceived as
different than one’s
ingroup.
• Ingroup bias: the
tendency to favor
one’s own group.
Scotland’s famed “Tartan Army” fans.
Scapegoat Theory
• The theory that
prejudice
provides an
outlet for anger
by providing
someone to
blame.
Why is there prejudice?
• Categorization
• Vivid Cases
(Availability Heuristic)
– 9/11—All Muslims are
terrorists
• The Just-World
Phenomenon
– Good rewarded
– Bad punished
Belief in a
Just World
This demonstration
offers ways to predict
a variety of social
attitudes and
behaviors.
Acknowledgements: This demonstration was written by
Martin Bolt, Calvin College
Social Relations
• The kinds of social relations people
experience cause them to harm or
help one another—or even fall in love.
On the Just World Scale, your
total score is:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
1 to 20
21 to 40
41 to 60
61 to 80
81 to 100
Just-World Phenomenon
• The Just-World Phenomenon is the
tendency of people to believe the world
is just and that people therefore get
what they deserve and deserve what
they get.
Consider This…
• How does the Just-World Phenomenon
help explain bystanders’ responses to
crimes they witness?
• What role might hindsight play in
people’s belief in a just world?
Aggression
• Any physical or
verbal behavior
intended to hurt or
destroy.
• In the U.S. we are
MUCH more likely to
be murdered
compared to most
other developed
nations.
The Biology of Aggression
• Genetics
• Neural Influences (is
aggression in the
brain?)
• Biochemical
– Testosterone
– Castration leads to
docility (“fixing” males
cats…stay home more,
dogs less aggressive)
– Injections of
testosterone leads to
increased aggression
The Psychology of Aggression
Frustration-Aggressive
Principle:
• the blocking of an
attempt to achieve
some goal
• Creates anger which
generates aggression.
Goals can be:
•Sports or work
•Relationship
•Body Condition etc…
Hot Weather and Aggression
Can we learn to be aggressive
or gentle?
They can be learned but….
Once learned they are…difficult to
change.
Acquiring Social Scripts
The media portrays social scripts and
generates mental tapes in the minds of the
viewers. When confronted with new situations
individuals may rely on such social scripts. If
social scripts are violent in nature, people may
act them out.
“We are what we repeated do (see?)”
Aristotle
Aggression and
TV/Movies/Video Games
Watches
=
• By the time you are 18, you spend more time in front of TV than in school
•2/3 of all homes have 3 or more sets average 51 hours a week.
•By the time a child finishes elementary school they have witnessed 8000
murders and 100,000 other acts of violence on TV
•Over half of all deaths do NOT show the victim's pain
•As TV watching has grown exponentially, as does violent behavior- a strong
positive correlation.
•How do you think TV has effected sexual aggression?
Conflict
Conflict is perceived as an incompatibility of
actions, goals, or ideas.
A Social Trap is a situation in which the
conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing
their self-interest, become caught in mutually
destructive behavior.
Conflict
• A perceived incompatibility of actions, goals or ideas.
Enemy Perceptions
People in conflict form diabolical images of one
another.
George Bush
“Evil”
http://www.aftonbladet.se
http://www.cnn.com
Saddam Hussein
“Wicked Pharaoh”
Attraction
5 Factors of Attraction….
1-Proximity
• Geographic nearness
Mere exposure effect:
• Repeated exposure to something breeds liking.
Rex USA
A rare white penguin born
in a zoo was accepted
after 3 weeks by other
penguins just due to
proximity.
2-Reciprocal Liking
• You are more
likely to like
someone who likes
you.
• Why?
• Except in
elementary
school!!!!
3-Similarity
• Paula Abdul was
wrong- opposites do
NOT attract.
• Birds of the same
feather do flock
together.
• Similarity breeds
content.
4-Liking through Association
• Classical Conditioning
can play a part in
attraction.
• Mr. Kaplan loves
Theo’s Wings. If
hesee the same
waitress every time he
goes there, he may
begin to associate
that waitress with the
good feelings he gets
from Theo's.
5-Physical Attractiveness
The Hotty Factor
• Physically
attractiveness predicts
dating frequency (they
date more).
• They are perceived as
healthier, happier,
more honest and
successful than less
attractive
counterparts.
What is beauty?
• Some people say beauty is facial symmetry.
Beauty and Culture
Are these cultures really that
different?
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.
The Ideal Romantic
Partner
This activity is a
classroom survey that
measures characteristics
of students’ ideal
romantic partner.
Acknowledgements: This activity was written by Thomas E.
Ludwig, Hope College, with contributions by Ann Merriwether,
State University of New York at Binghamton
The Ideal Romantic Partner
• Mate selection is one of the most
fascinating aspects of human behavior.
Both men and women spend a great deal
of time and energy advertising
themselves as potential mates and
evaluating the desirability of other
people as mates.
Question 1: HEIGHT
My ideal romantic partner would be:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
considerably taller than I am.
a little taller than I am.
exactly my height.
a little shorter than I am.
any height; height isn’t an
issue for me.
Question 2: AGE
My ideal romantic partner would be:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
considerably younger than I am.
a little younger than I am.
exactly my age.
a little older than I am.
any age; age isn’t an issue for me.
Question 3: WEIGHT
My ideal romantic partner would be:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
considerably underweight.
a little underweight.
average weight.
a little overweight.
considerably overweight.
Question 4: COMMITMENT
My ideal romantic partner would be:
A. Completely committed and faithful for
life.
B. Willing to commit for a period of time.
C. Happy if both of us continued to “play
the field.”
D. Either committed to me or not;
commitment isn’t an issue for me.
A Typical Pattern of Results
Issue
Height
Age
Weight
Commitment
Ambition
Finances
Health
Attractiveness
Ethics
Typical Female Prefers
Taller mate
Older mate
Average weight
Mate willing to commit
Ambitious, high status mate
Financially secure mate
Healthy mate
Attractive mate
Strong integrity
Typical Male Prefers
Shorter mate
Younger mate
Average weight
Committed for now
Not an issue
Not an issue
Healthy mate
Very attractive mate
Flexible ethics
Preferences Across Cultures
Men
EuropeanAmerican
1.Trust
2.Friendship
3.Love
4.Honesty
Women 1.Trust
2.Friendship
3.Love
4.Honesty
AfricanAmerican
Honesty
Patience
Trust
Understanding
Communication
Love
Honesty
Trust
Jamaican
Love
Trust
Caring
Communication
Japanese
Beauty
Cooking Ability
Kindness
Youth
Truth
Love
Honesty
Respect
Love
Wealth
Fun
Honesty
Consider This…
• Evolutionary psychologists believe that
there are cultural universals in mate
selection today and these universals are
the product of millions of years of
history.
• Consider your responses to the Ideal
Romantic Partner Survey, along with the
typical results presented. What do you
think are some of these universal
attitudes and behaviors?
Trust
This activity helps
respondents
understand elements
of trust, a key in loving
relationships.
Acknowledgements: This demonstration was written by
Martin Bolt, Calvin College
Keys for a Loving Relationship
• Equity a condition in
which people receive
from a relationship
in proportion to
what they give to it.
• Self-disclosure
revealing intimate
aspects of oneself
to others.
Predictability —
The sum of your scores for
items 1, 3, 8, 11,13, and 18 is:
A.
B.
C.
D.
6 to 14
15 to 24
25 to 33
34 to 42
Dependability —
The sum of your scores for
items 2, 5, 7, 9, 15, and 17 is:
•
•
•
•
6 to 14
15 to 24
25 to 33
34 to 42
Faith —
The sum of your scores for
items 4, 6, 10, 12, 14, and 16
is:
•
•
•
•
6 to 14
15 to 24
25 to 33
34 to 42
Trust —
Your TOTAL SCORE for ALL
items on the scale is:
A.
B.
C.
D.
18 to 44
45 to 71
72 to 98
99 to 126
Loving Relationships
and Trust
• Equity and self-disclosure are keys to a
loving relationship.
• The authors of the Trust Scale suggest
that predictability, dependability, and
faith are three elements of trust,
possibly another key to a loving
relationship.
Consider This…
• Does the saying “Don’t judge a book by
its cover” apply to how we choose
partners we come to trust?
• In loving relationships in which trust is a
key component, do “opposites attract?”
Altruism
• Unselfish regard for
the welfare of others.
– Hotel Rwanda
• Kitty Genovese case.
• Bystander Effect
(bystanders less
willing to help if there
are other bystanders
around).
– “The Accused”—gang
rape incident in
Massachusetts
Bystander Effect
Tendency of any given
bystander to be less
likely to give aid if
other bystanders are
present.
Video
The Norms for Helping
Social Exchange Theory: Our social behavior
is an exchange process. The aim is to
maximize benefits and minimize costs.
 Reciprocity Norm: The expectation that we
should return help and not harm those who
have helped us.
 Social–Responsibility Norm: Largely learned, it
is a norm that tells us to help others when they
need us even though they may not repay us.
Peacemaking
• Give people superordinate (shared) goals that
can only be achieved through cooperation.
• Win Win situations through mediation.
• GRIT (Graduated and Reciprocated
Initiatives in Tension Reduction).
– This is a strategy designed to decrease
international tensions. One side recognizes mutual
interests and initiates a small conciliatory act that
opens the door for reciprocation by the other
party.
– Kennedy in stopping atmospheric nuclear tests