Chapter 10 Objectives

After covering this chapter you should:

  1. Be familiar with the different theories of why people engage in prosocial (helping) behavior

    1. Social-exchange theory

    2. Empathy-Altruism hypothesis

    3. Social norms hypothesis

    4. Negative-State relief model

    5. Empathetic joy hypothesis

    6. Genetic determinism model

  2. Be familiar with the five steps to emergency helping

  3. Be familiar with the various factors that inhibit helping at each step

    1. Noticing and Interpreting the situation

      1. Being in a hurry (Seminary student study)

      2. Ambiguity

      3. Pluralistic ignorance (Smoke filled room)

      4. Fear of looking foolish (embarrassment)

    2. Assuming responsibility

      1. Diffusion of responsibility (Seizure study)

      2. High cost to intervene

  4. Define the bystander effect and be able to explain how the presence of others affects the following factors that inhibit prosocial behavior.

    1. Ambiguity

    2. Pluralistic ignorance

    3. Fear of looking foolish

    4. Diffusion of responsibility

  5. Be familiar with the factors that increase the likelihood of helping.

    1. Victim characteristics

      1. Attractive

      2. Similarity to potential helper

      3. Not perceived as responsible for your plight

    2. Situational characteristics

      1. Few other bystanders are present

      2. We are in a small town or rural area

        1. Understand that factors that decrease the likelihood of receiving help in a big city compared to a small town

          1. Stimulus overload

          2. Fast-paced lifestyle

          3. Increased egocentrism

          4. Rarely alone

    3. Helper characteristics

      1. Not in a hurry

      2. Feeling guilty about something

      3. In a good mood

        1. Understand the effects of mood on helping

          1. When does a good mood increase likelihood of helping

          2. When does a good mood decrease likelihood of helping

          3. When does a bad mood increase likelihood of helping

          4. When does a bad mood decrease likelihood of helping

      4. Is an altruistic person

        1. Be familiar with the factors the make up an altruistic personality

          1. High empathy

          2. Strong belief in a just world (karma)

          3. High social responsibility

          4. High internal locus of control

          5. Low egocentrism

  6. Be familiar with gender differences in helping behavior

    1. When are men more likely than women to help?

    2. When are women more likely than men to help?

  7. Understand the effect of victim-helper similarity on reactions to receiving help

    1. What happens when the victim is very similar to the helper? Why?

    2. What happens when there is low victim-helper similarity? Why?

Chapter 11 Objectives

After covering this chapter you should:

  1. Be able to define aggression

  2. Be familiar with the techniques used to study aggression in the lab

  3. Be familiar with the biological and psychological approaches to understanding what causes aggression

    1. Biological theories

      1. Instinct theories (Why do social psychologists doubt instinct theory?)

        1. Freud

        2. Lorenz

      2. Neural influences

      3. Genetic influences

      4. Blood chemistry influences

        1. Testosterone

        2. Serotonin

    2. Psychological Theories

      1. Drive theories

        1. Frustration-aggression hypothesis

      2. Social learning theories

        1. Instrumental conditioning

        2. Observational learning

    3. Modern theory of aggression

      1. GAAM theory

        1. Be aware of the various input variables that can result in aggression

          1. Social Determinants

            1. Frustration

            2. Provocation

            3. Exposure to media violence

            4. Heightened arousal (excitation transfer theory)

          2. Personal Determinants

            1. Type A "personality"

            2. Hostile attribution style

            3. Narcissism

            4. Gender

          3. Situational Determinants

            1. Alcohol

            2. Temperature

  4. Be familiar with the various means of controlling aggression

    1. Catharsis (know why it doesn’t work)

    2. Punishment

    3. Exposure to nonaggressive role models

    4. Cognitive intervention

    5. Teaching social skills

    6. Inducing incompatible responses

Chapter 12 Objectives

After covering this chapter you should:

  1. Know the definition of a group (what are the 5 key aspects of a group?)

  2. Be able to define cohesiveness and list several factors that increase affect cohesiveness

    1. Cost of getting into a group

    2. Group size

    3. Past history of success

    4. External threats or competition

    5. Desire for status

  3. Be able to explain how the presence of others can affect our performance using:

    1. The Drive Theory of Social Facilitation

    2. The Distraction-Conflict Theory of Social Facilitation

  4. Be able to define social loafing

  5. Understand how expectancy, instrumentality, and valence operate to produce social loafing

  6. Be familiar with techniques that can be used to reduce social loafing

  7. Be familiar with the different strategies people use to manage conflict and the bases of these strategies.

  8. Be familiar with the different schemes groups frequently utilize to make decisions.

  9. Be familiar with the concept of group polarization and the reasons why it occurs

  10. Be familiar with how groups can make bad decisions

    1. Groupthink

    2. Failing to pool resources (information sharing)

  11. Be familiar with how people judge fairness

    1. Distributive justice

    2. Procedural justice

  12. Know the three methods used to distribute rewards

    1. Equity

    2. Equality

    3. Need

  13. Understand how equity theory explains how we perceive fairness