Dr Alexandra Hooper
Clinical Psychology
CAMHS
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Self-concept: Refers to the most complete description of an
individual – including attitudes held about the self and others,
perceived relationship with others and the environment etc.
◦ Self-esteem: The degree to which one holds oneself in high regard or
values oneself. Encompassing both high and low self-esteem. Low selfesteem has been associated with a variety of psychiatric disorders (e.g.
depression, anorexia, etc.). A high degree of social support and social
contact is associated with high self-esteem, so these become protective
factors.
◦ Self-image: Description of the self as it is imagined to be. The greater the
discrepancy between the actual self and self image may be related to
certain affective disorders – derived from personal experiences and the
behaviour of others towards oneself. This becomes self-reinforcing, as
you behave in the way you view yourself.
◦ Self recognition and personal identity: Self recognition
develops over the first 2 years of life – an understanding of
oneself as a distinct individual
 <3rd-4th month – little interest in own image in mirror
 3rd – 6th month – reaches out to own image (same as toy)
 1st year – can use reflection to determine location of object in ‘real
world’
 18th – 24th month – responds to own, unusual features seen in mirror
(e.g.paint)
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Person Perception: The perception of ourselves
and others is a central theme in social psychology.
The behaviour of others (and ourselves) has to be
interpreted and understood – through inferences
made from observations of behaviour.
Affiliation: Positive relationships that may vary
greatly in closeness, ranging from mere cooperation to romantic love. Not sure whether this
is a continuum, or whether these social
relationships vary along a range of dimensions and
should be regarded as distinct.
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Friendship: Complex relationship influenced by –
◦ Physical attractiveness – important factor in the formation of
friendships, seen in young children. Beliefs about others are also
dependant to some degree on physical attractiveness – e.g.
attractive men are regarded as more intelligent.
◦ Similarity – Extends beyond demographic factors such as age and
social class to psychological characteristics, with personality being
of particular importance. Even physical characteristics such as
height are important.
◦ Exposure – Increases positive attitudes to others (unless a
negative attitude already exists, and then this increases). Any
familiar object is more likely to elicit a positive response.
◦ Proximity – In part due to convenience
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The Exchange Theory: Individuals are
concerned with maximising personal gains
from relationships while minimising costs –
essentially an economical model of
friendship.
The Equity Theory: Primary concern is
equality of costs and rewards in both
partners.
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We assess a relationship according to its
potential rewards and costs
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All things being equal, individuals will tend to be
attracted to, and are more likely to pair with,
other individuals who are of the same or like
degree of physical attractiveness to themselves.
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Explanation for behaviour, ascribing personality
characteristics, motives, beliefs etc on the basis of
observed behaviour. It allows the behaviour to be
explained and understood, and for subsequent
behaviour by that individual to be predicted.
Heider proposed that the individual was a ‘naïve
scientist’ making observations and deriving
explanations and predicting on the basis of these..
Not particularly scientific – no testable hypothesis.
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Dimensions / factors in attribution
◦ Global / specific
 Outcome of certain tasks will determine outcome of
others / cause is unique to one task
◦ Internal /external
 Personal traits / Environment
◦ Controllable / uncontrollable
 We can alter outcome / we have no control
◦ Stable / Unstable
 Same behaviour on another occasion will yield same
results / provide different results
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Three types of information are used to make attributions:
1. Consensus: the extent to which others behave in the same
way
2. Consistency: the extent to which the individual always
behaves as such
3. Distinctiveness: the extent to which this behaviour occurs
in other situations.
Criticisms of the model: In realistic situations individuals do
not choose actively to seek out such information, but
instead make attributions on a different basis (e.g. sex /
age).
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Tendency to overestimate the extent to which internal and
stable characteristics (such as personality characteristics)
motivate and cause behaviour in others, while simultaneously
underestimating external and unstable (i.e. situational)
factors.
Results from a desire to predict behaviour in others – which
requires behaviour to be the result of stable personality
characteristics rather than transient situational factors.
However, the attribution of our own behaviour tends to be
primarily situational – possibly due to unwillingness to regard
self as driven by unchanging characteristics, but instead as a
response to the contingencies present in a given situation
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The initial interactions will have a significant
impact on subsequent interactions and the
interpretation of novel information.
We attribute their behaviour to some internal and
stable disposition, and potentially ambiguous
behaviour understood accordingly.
First impressions do count!
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The ability to attribute mental and intentional states to
oneself and others. Allows the explanation and prediction of
behaviour – importance in the development of imaginary play,
with both inanimate objects and other peers. Individuals with
Autism lack ‘theory of mind’
◦ Children with autism appear to show impaired imagination
◦ Impairment may be discrete, affecting only the ability to represent mental
states
◦ Therefore not affecting other intellectual function.
◦ Functions impaired rely on mental representations (e.g. inferring
behaviour)
◦ Social behaviour not relying on such representations will be unimpaired
(e.g. greeting someone)
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Think of a person you consider to be a great
leader and list the characteristics that made
them so.
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Task-Orientated: Maximising productivity
e.g. Motivating group
Emotion-Orientated: Reduced inefficiency by
ensuring that the group remains happy.
Not fulfilled by same individual
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Three main leadership styles
◦ democratic-participative: acts with support
of the group and takes into account other
opinions
◦ free reign- laissez-faire: relaxed, informal
style that promotes individuality
◦ autocratic- authoritarian: absolute
authority, with no requirement to consult
others.
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No single personality type- most people are
capable of being leaders if necessary
The effectiveness of a leader is an interaction
between their style and the situation (Feidler).
Good leaders have a predominant style but
use all three
Bad leaders stick to one style
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Think of a situation when each of the three
Lewin styles of leadership would be
appropriate
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The Coercive Style of Leadership
'The Dictator'
This is the dominant 'macho' leadership style. It is appropriate in
emergencies and severe situations, but otherwise will tend to disempower
and disillusion subordinates.
The Authoritative Style of Leadership
'The Visionary'
This style focuses on the goal or vision of the future and inspires others to
follow. This is appropriate when a new direction is required or a
clarification of the goals to be achieved.
The Affiliative Style of Leadership
'The People Person'
Here there is a focus on people, teambuilding, bonding and forging
alliances. This style is useful in creating teams or for healing dysfunctional
relationships.
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The Democratic Style of Leadership
'The Listener'
This is a useful style to adopt when attempting to involve a wide range of
people in decision making or building a consensus.
The Pacesetting Style of Leadership
'The Superman/Superwoman'
Using this style, the leader sets an example by working to extremely high
standards of performance. This is useful to raise the stakes when a
competent and motivated team is working well.
The Coaching Style of Leadership
'The Nurturer'
This style focuses on helping to improve people's strengths, and is
especially useful in building skills to develop managers and future leaders.
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Would you act in a way that was against your
basic principles if you were given instruction
to do so by a person in authority?
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1zlCybd
vdg
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"With numbing regularity good people were seen to
knuckle under the demands of authority and
perform actions that were callous and severe. Men
who are in everyday life responsible and decent
were seduced by the trappings of authority, by the
control of their perceptions, and by the uncritical
acceptance of the experimenter's definition of the
situation, into performing harsh acts. .A substantial
proportion of people do what they are told to do,
irrespective of the content of the act and without
limitations of conscience, so long as they perceive
that the command comes from a legitimate
authority." (1965)
Milgram's last subject was tested 4 days before
Adolf Eichmann was hanged for war crimes
he committed in obedience to his superior
officer, Adolf Hitler.
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Performance can be affected by the presence
of others◦ social facilitation/ coactive effect- if the task is
familiar the presence of others may improve
performance
◦ social loafing/ Angelman effect- the presence of
others produces anonymity and reduces the effort
at the task.
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Influences on behaviour include◦ informational influence- if internalise information it
can alter attitudes and therefore behaviours
◦ normative influence- act towards the norm of the
group with compliance but without changing
attitude.
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The Asch Paradigm
Stick length experiment
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Conformity occurred in 1/3 of situations
When stating correct response – apparent
discomfort
Intelligence, high self-efficacy beliefs,
internal locus of control – internal factors
which reduce effect of conformity pressures.
Helen is a writer who is said to have considerable
creative talent but who so far has been earning a
comfortable living writing cheap Westerns. Recently
she has come up with an idea for a potentially
significant novel. If it could be written and accepted,
it might have considerable literary impact and be a
boost to her career. On the other hand, if she cannot
work out her idea, or the novel is a flop, she will have
expended considerable time and energy without pay.
(Stoner, 1961)
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Imagine that you are advising Helen. Please check the
lowest probability that you would consider acceptable
for Helen to write the novel.
__ 1/10
__ 6/10
__ 2/10
__ 7/10
__ 3/10
__ 8/10
__ 4/10
__ 9/10
__ 5/10
__ 10/10
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Individuals marked their answers first while alone, and
then again after discussing their opinions with a group.
Groups made riskier decision than individuals.
Risky Shift: A group consensus is almost always
“riskier” than the average decision made by individuals
prior to a group discussion
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Many experiments demonstrated a shift toward risk, but
sometimes people demonstrated a shift toward caution
after the group discussion.
Inconsistent results created major problems.
◦ Is there a risky and a cautious shift?
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The “Risky Shift” is not about risk at all.
Moscovici & Zavalloni (1969) re-conceptualized the
risky shift as a more general phenomenon called group
polarization.
Group Polarization: A group discussion strengthens the
average inclination of group members.
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If individuals are asked to rate their opinions on a
subject, and then grouped and asked to reach a
decision on the same subject as a group, the
ultimate decision reached by the group will tend to
be more extreme than the aggregated opinions of
the individual group members.
◦ Increased number of arguments in favour of a certain
position available in groups
◦ Reinforcements effects of support for ones opinions by
others.
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The individuality of members of the group
becomes subordinate to the behaviour of the
whole
Can you think of examples where this is
positive and negative?
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Personal identity is influenced by self
esteem
Social identity defined by the groups we
belong to.
Varying levels of identity in individuals e.g.
low personal identity may need higher
social identity.
Tajfel and Turner- ‘in group bias’ and
aggression to those not in the group
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Ingroup: The group with which an individual
identifies himself
◦ Can be a member of many groups
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Outgroup: Group with which the individual
does not identify with
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The adoption of an attitude on the basis of
limited or insufficient information – the
implication being that the attitude is in some
sense unfair or unwarranted
◦ May be positive or negative
◦ Relies heavily on stereotypes
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Crude generalisations used to characterise
members of a group
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May be positive or negative
Resistant to change but are flexible
Categorisation in social context
Becomes self-fulfilling – observations become
biased.
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Minimal group experiments: where subjects are
randomly assigned to membership of a group on
some spurious criterion
◦ Common goals
◦ Bias (e.g. lend money to same group)
◦ Suggests intergroup behaviour is a fundamental
characteristic of human social behaviour
 Strong instinctive tendencies to favour preferentially
whichever group one finds oneself a member of
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bWlTZZN
3DY
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZwfNs1p
qG0
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Zimbardo- social identity can allow
deindividuation
Diffuse responsibility onto the group and
conform to roles in the group
Can lead people to act in extreme ways
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Relevant to many areas
Worth reading a decent text eg Gross
Easiest to learn by experiments
Some plain rote learning