Questions and Answers
Questions and Answers
According to Krizan and Baron, group polarization is “the tendency of group members to increase the extremity of their position following discussion of a relevant issue” (Krizan & Baron, 2007, p. 191). There are three main reasons of group polarization. The first of them refers to the idea of informational influence. During the discussion, group members listen to the arguments of each other and fall under the influence of the dominant arguments changing their own position and making it more extreme. The second reason is the desire of group members to present themselves in a special way. If the opinion of some members differs from the dominant opinion, they may slightly change it to suit the group. The last reason of group polarization is a lack of confidence that could also make one people change their opinion under the influence of the dominant position.
What is de-individuation? What factors make de-individuation more likely? What behaviors would a person engage in if he or she were experiencing de-individuation?
De-individuation is the loss of the sense of self. It appears when a person joins a large group, dips into an interesting task, or practices contemplative activities. De-individuation in the group answers the theory of the crowd and involves such factors as anonymity, lowered self-awareness, diffused responsibility, and the influence of the group size. When a person experiences de-individuation, he or she start to adopt the social behavior of the crowd. As Li writes, “if the individual has a lot in common with other group members and are assured that he or she will not be linked to the deviation from the social norm and the consequences of the deviation, the individual will conform to the activities of the group” (Li, 2010, p. 8).
People are attracted to those who are similar to them. Explain why similarity is attractive and the aspects of our personalities that matter when determining similarity to another person.
The interpersonal attraction appears on the basis of similar values, interests, attitudes, personalities, and even physical appearance. The attraction of similar people reflects the idea of self-affirmation; people like to get confirmation of their social and personal characteristics, and, as the result, look for the image of themselves in the people around. For instance, Locke and Horowitz found that “people in homogeneous dyads were more satisfied [and] people in mixed dyads were less satisfied, perceived each other as colder, and spoke about increasingly negative topics” (Locke & Horowitz, 1990, p. 829). Lack of similarities in interests, beliefs and the way of life can lead to a lack of conversations and misunderstandings that negatively influence friendship and relationships.
What is the difference between companionate love and passionate love?
Both passionate love and companionate love are parts of relationships. Passionate love appears at the beginning of the relationship and is based on strong love and desiring of another person. And companionate love, according to Sternberg, “evolves from a combination of the intimacy and decision/commitment components of love” (Sternberg, 1986, p. 124). Companionate love follows passionate love and means the appearing of mutual understanding between partners and care about each other. Passionate love answers for the appearing of the relationship, while companionate love means its survival.
Explain why the encoding of the facial expression of six major emotions is considered universal.
The Big Six universal emotions include fear, sadness, anger, disgust, happiness, and surprise. According to Ekman, these emotions are basic, as they do not strongly depend on the circumstances and external factors and deal with fundamental life tasks (Ekman, 1992, pp. 170-171). Izard and Ekman conducted several studies and investigated facial expressions of the people around the globe finding out that these six emotions have recognized universal features (Ekman & Keltner, 1997, pp. 31-32). Ekman’s studies were based on Darwin’s hypothesis of facial recognition, according to which universal facial expressions should be equally identified in every culture and in every country.
Explain the effect of culture on causal attribution.
Causal attribution is the way people explain each other’s behavior. Indeed, they often do this through the prism of their lives, interests, and beliefs. Culture forms that basis of the people’s beliefs, and, thus, it plays a crucial role in causal attribution. Mason and Morris write about the appearing of cultural differences in automatic and spontaneous causal judgments (Mason & Morrison, 2010, p. 293). For instance, American culture allows situational force conditions for specific behavior, while Japanese culture rejects them, and Koreans decrease their correspondence bias with the increase of the evidence for situational causations, while Americans do not (Mason & Morrison, 2010, p. 294).
What is the “culture of honor”? How is the culture of honor related to aggression?
The “culture of honor” is the culture that involves the protection of a person’s dignity through the answers on insults and threats. According to Shackelford, “A key element of cultures of honor is that men in these cultures are prepared to protect with violence the reputation for strength and toughness” (Shackelford, 2005, p. 381). The culture of honor mostly involves males who often protect their dignity and show their strength in aggressive ways including fights and weapons.
How can school shootings, such as Columbine shootings or the Virginia Tech shootings, be prevented?
The main issue that could help to prevent school shootings is gun safety and the regulation of gun storage and use. Furthermore, one should note the necessity of mental heath treatment and the protection of children from violence. Another possibility to prevent school shootings is the improvement of the school security. Psychological and social help to children who experience problems and the increased social responsibility also could help. Moreover, one should note the opinion of students. According to studies, 34% of students think that their teacher should be more careful about them and should show more active interest in their lives, and 12% support the necessity of the additional education about the threats of violence (Lethal violence in schools, n. d.).
References
Ekman, P. (1992). An argument for basic emotions. Cognition and Emotion, 6(3/4), 169-200. Retrieved from https://www.paulekman.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/An-Argument-For-Basic-Emotions.pdf
Ekman, P., & Keltner, D. (1997). Facial expressions of emotions. Retrieved from https://www.paulekman.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Universal-Facial-Expressions-Of-Emotion.pdf
Krizan, Z., & Baron, R. S. (2007). Group polarization and choice-dilemmas: How important is self-categorization? European Journal of Social Psychology, 37, 191-201. Retrieved from https://public.psych.iastate.edu/zkrizan/pdf/krizan_baron06.pdf
Lethal violence in schools (n. d.). Alfred University. Retrieved from http://www.alfred.edu/teenviolence/canweprevent.cfm
Li, B. (2010). The theories of deindividuation. CMC Senior Theses. Paper 12. Retrieved from http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/12/
Locke, K. D., & Horowitz, L. M. (1990). Satisfaction in interpersonal interactions as a function of similarity in level of dysphoria. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58(5), 823-831. Retrieved from http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/klocke/publications/jpsp90.pdf
Mason, M. F., & Morris, W. M. (2010). Culture, attribution and automaticity: a social cognitive neuroscience view. SCAN, 5, 292-306. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2894680/pdf/nsq034.pdf
Shackelford, T. K. (2005). An evolutionary psychological perspective on cultures of honor. Evolutionary Psychology, 3, 381-391. Retrieved from http://evp.sagepub.com/content/3/1/147470490500300126.full.pdf
Sternberg, R. J. (1986). A triangular theory of love. Psychological Review, 93(2), 119-135. Retrieved from http://pzacad.pitzer.edu/~dmoore/psych199/1986_sternberg_trianglelove.pdf
