Message Source-Characteristics of The Person Who Delivers The Message
Message Source-Characteristics of The Person Who Delivers The Message
Message Source-Characteristics of The Person Who Delivers The Message
Module 52
Attitude, Conformity and Social Cognition
Attitude
An enduring system of positive or negative beliefs (the cognitive component),
affective feelings and emotions, and action tendencies toward an object, a
person or a group of persons.
Routes to persuasion
Central route processing- Message interpretation characterized by thoughtful
consideration of the issues and arguments used to persuade.
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Targets who are highly involved, motivated, and attentive use central route processing when
they consider a persuasive message, which leads to a more lasting attitude change. In contrast,
uninvolved, unmotivated, and inattentive targets are more likely to use peripheral route
processing, and attitude change is likely to be less enduring.
Schemas
Sets of cognitions or mental image about people and social experiences
Central traits-- The major traits considered in forming impressions of others (e.g.,
warm, cold).
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1. Situational causes
Perceived causes of behavior that are based on environmental factors.
2. Dispositional causes
Perceived causes of behavior that are based on internal traits or personality
factors.
Biases in Attribution
1. Halo effect
A phenomenon in which an initial understanding that a person has positive traits
is used to infer other uniformly positive characteristics.
2. Assumed-similarity bias
The tendency to think of people as being similar to oneself, even when meeting
them for the first time.
3. Self-serving bias
The tendency to attribute personal success to personal factors (skill, ability, or
effort) and to attribute failure to factors outside oneself.
Prejudice
An evaluation of a person (negative or positive) based on his/her membership in
a particular group.
Prejudice is a feeling about a person based on his/her membership in a group.
Common stereotypes and forms of prejudice involve race, religion, ethnicity, and
gender. Over the years, various groups have been called “lazy” or “shrewd” or
“cruel” with varying degrees of regularity by those who are not members of that
group.
Discrimination
Negative behavior directed toward individuals on the basis of their membership
in a particular group.
Module 54
Sex and Gender
Sex:
biological maleness or femaleness including intersex (reproductive
differences based on genitalia, chromosomes, hormones); also, sexual
behaviors of intercourse/masturbation
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Gender:
psychological and sociocultural meanings added to biological sex
the sense of maleness or femaleness related to our membership in a given
society
gender underlies assumptions regarding ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’ behavior
Dimensions of Gender
Gender Identity:
Gender identity is self-defined.
Self-identification as either a man or a woman
Gender Role:
Gender role is socially-defined.
The set of expectations, defined by a particular society, that indicate what
is appropriate behavior for men and women.
Male first-year college students are much more likely than female first-year
college students to rate themselves as above average in academic ability,
mathematical ability, and emotional health. (Source: From Astin, A. W., Korn, W.
S., & Berz, E. R. (2004).
Spatial Cognition
o There are sex differences in spatial cognition that may have been selected
for through the course of evolution.
o Males needed to develop spatial abilities in order to navigate (Geary,
2007).
o Sex differences in map reading and mental rotation have been found in
preschool years.
o Mental rotation differences may exist in infancy.
o According to meta-analyses, the magnitude of sex differences is very small.
o Only 1 to 5% of the difference is due to gender.
o Mental rotation is especially prominent.
o Females show better performance in object and location memory.
o May be due to evolution…role as gatherers.
o Must be able to perceive small stimulus differences.
o Differential experiences may also play a role.
o Newcombe et al. (1983) asked college students to classify activities as
masculine, feminine, or neutral.
o Tasks with high spatial content were considered masculine.
o They found a gender difference on a test with strong spatial components.
o The more spatial activities one engages in, the greater one’s spatial ability.
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Sources/Causes of Gender Differences:
Biological Factors
Women perform better on tasks involving verbal skill and muscular
coordination during periods when their production of estrogen, the female
sex hormone, is relatively high compared with periods when it is low.
Women perform better on tasks involving spatial relationships when the
estrogen level is relatively low (Kimura, 1999; Rosenberg & Park, 2002).
Men tend to be more aggressive, competitive, and prone to taking risks
than women are.
Testosterone, an endogenous hormone, which is higher in males than
females, regulates sex drive and appears to germinate seeds of
personality; a higher level of testosterone makes the person more
dominant, sexually more active and aggressive.
A significant male bias in the initiation of kissing and a significant bias in
head-turning to the right in both kiss initiators and kiss recipients, with a
tendency among kiss recipients to match their partners’ head-turning
direction (Karim et al. 2017: The right way to kiss: directionality bias in
head-turning during kissing).
The Social Environment
From the moment of birth, boys receive an environment different from
girls.
For example, boys and girls are given different kinds of toys.
Parents interact with their children differently, depending on their sex.
Fathers play more roughly with their infant sons than with their infant
daughters.
Such differences in behavior produce different socialization experiences
for men and women.
Socialization is the process by which an individual learns the rules and
norms of appropriate behavior for men and women.
According to the processes of social learning theory, boys and girls are
taught and rewarded for performing the socially perceived appropriate
behaviors for men and for women, respectively (Archer & Lloyd, 2002;
Liben & Bigler, 2002; Leaper & Friedman, 2007).
Boys receive significantly more praise, criticism, and remedial help than
girls do, whereas girls are more apt (suitable) to be commended for their
neatness.
Society as a whole (including schools, colleges, and medias such as
television) communicates clear messages to children as they are growing
up.
Socialization produces a gender schema, a mental framework that
organizes and guides a child’s understanding of information relevant to
gender.
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Module 56
Positive and Negative Social Behavior
3. Similarity
Reciprocity-of-liking effect
We tend to like those who are similar to us. Discovering that others have
similar attitudes, values, or traits promotes our liking for them. One reason
similarity increases the likelihood of interpersonal attraction is that we
assume people with similar attitudes will evaluate us positively.
4. Physical attractiveness
For most people, the equation beautiful = good is quite true. As a result,
physically attractive people are more popular than physically unattractive ones, if
all other factors are equal.
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Love: How do I love thee?
What is love?
Love encompasses a variety of strong and positive emotional and mental
states, ranging from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest
interpersonal affection and to the simplest pleasure.
Components of Love
Psychologist Robert Sternberg proposes that love consists of three components:
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According to Sternberg, love has three main components: intimacy, passion, and
decision/commitment. Different combinations of these components can create other
types of love. Nonlove contains none of the three components.
See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangular_theory_of_love
2. Companionate love
The strong affection that we have for those with whom our lives are
deeply involved.
The love we feel for our parents, other family members, and even some
close friends falls into the category of companionate love
3. Fatuous love
A form of love made up from only two of three components, passion and
commitment (and excludes intimacy).
Can be exemplified by a whirlwind courtship and marriage—it has points
of passion and commitment but no intimacy.
An example of this is "love at first sight.
1. Instinct approach/theory
Freudian approach
Aggression is primarily the outcome of innate—or inborn—urges.
Catharsis
o Process of releasing or discharging built up aggressive energy
2. Frustration-aggression approach/theory
Aggression as a reaction to frustration
Frustration
o The thwarting or blocking of some ongoing, goal-directed behavior
Altruism
Helping behavior that is beneficial to others but clearly requires self-
sacrifice
Diffusion of responsibility
The tendency for people to feel that responsibility for acting is shared,
or diffused, among those present
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