Social Cognition Final Exam with 100% correct answers

What is independent self-construal? What is interdependent self-construal? Self-construal: how we think about who we are in relation to others Independent self-construal: The self is viewed as independent of others. Stresses attending to the self sees people as being distinct and autonomous, stresses appreciation of differences from others. (This usually happens in western cultures) Interdependent self-construal: The self is viewed as interdependent (the self is experienced as a part of a social web and your understanding of yourself comes with how you fit into that web). Also the focus is on attending to the needs and work of others Briefly describe one research finding that identifies how self-construal can affect consistency, self-enhancement, and subjective well-being. Consistency: Choi and Choi (2002): East Asians are more tolerant of inconsistency (it makes them less uncomfortable than Americans) - for both self and others Suh (2002): Consistency is only a primary motivator when the self is the anchor of the behavior (increasing contextual focus reduces the importance of consistency Self-enhancement: Heine, Takata, and Lehman (2000): Differences in self-enhancement as a function of self-construal. Canadian Ps (independent) find it harder to say that they're worse at something, relative to their peers Japanese Ps (interdependent) find it harder to say that they are better at something, relative to their peers Kanagawa, Cross, and Markus (2001): Japanese Ps self-descriptions are consistency more negative (due to lack of self-enhancement and tendency toward self-criticism) Subjective well-being: Oishi and Diener (2001): Goal pursuit causes different benefits, depending on self-construal Independent goal pursuit: greater benefit for American Ps Interdependent goal pursuit: greater benefit for Asian Ps Oishi and Diener (2003): Cultural differences in motivation related to SWB (subjective well-being) American Ps prefer immediate reward and short-term enjoyment much more than Asian Ps (probably because Asian Ps focus more on long-term positive outcomes) Identify and briefly describe four research findings that suggest self-construal can affect attribution. Asian Ps (interdependent) make more situation corrections than their Western counterparts: Morris and Peng (1994) Media coverage of mass murders in America and China - American media focuses on negative personal characteristics of murderers (dispositional attributions). Chinese media focuses on situational and contextual factors Asian Ps hold many people accountable for outcomes, while Westerners focus on one individual: Chiu et al. (2000): Ps read a vignette about a pharmacist giving incorrect medicine and making people sick. American Ps think the pharmacist is responsible. Chinese Ps think the pharmacy, as a whole is responsible Asian Ps pay more attention to the entire background context than Western Ps: Masuda and Nishett (2001): Japanese Ps were much more likely to mention context (they noticed the the background of the screen saver way more than American Ps) and have context related memory of scores than American Ps East Asian Ps take more overall information into account when explaining an event: Choi et al. (2003): Ps were given 100 potential factors that may have contributed to an event. Korean Ps remembered more potential causes than American Ps East Asian Ps are more away of the "ripple effects" of events: Maddux and Yuki (2006): More aware of downstream effects of actions and events. Perceive actions as affection more people (this is the one were the news reporter would add way more context to the story and mention all of the people who were effected by the event not just the ones who died or got hurt but the ones that were late to work etc.) Describe the van Baaren et al. study that demonstrates cultural differences in automaticity. Differences in coconscious behavioral mimicry (touching your face when someone else is, etc.) as a function of self-construal IV: Japanese and American Ps are primed with their independent, control, or interdependent self-construal DV: If the Ps participate in behavioral mimicry (playing with a pen) and how much they participate in it. R: Japanese Ps engage in more mimicry than American Ps Ps primed with interdependent self-construal engage in more mimicry than those primed with independent self-construal With pen playing per minute on the y axis independent self construal played with their pend between 1-2 times per minute. Control did it between 4-5 times per minute. Interdependent did it between 6-7 times per minute. Where are there differences in culture within the United States? Why do they think some regions become more interdependent and others become more independent? The differences in culture are between the north and the south. The South has more collectivist tendencies (especially in the deep south). The North has more individualist tendencies (especially in the Mountain West and the Great Plains). Why (the South): Due to the defeat in the civil war they had to become an untied minority. The plantation system (supported by slavery) was collectivist). Prominence of religion and regional poverty. Why (the North): It is related to the settling of the last frontier of the US. To want to move out west you had to have certain values and personality types (you gave up everything for the chance to better yourself). The environment also shapes this because it involves "vast distances, sparse population, and harsh weather - you could be snowed in for days or weeks by yourself.) What is a culture of honor? Describe three pieces of evidence that this culture of honor is related to violence? Culture of honor: Honor is the paramount value and children are trained to defend their honor (typical example is the Deep South) Culture of honor promotes violence for the resolution of disputes (in the 1930-50s it was difficult to convict murderers if they had been insulted or had warned someone they'd kill them if an insult wasn't' retracted) Homicide rates are higher for white southern males than white northern males Southerners do not endorse more general violence, but they do endorse 1) violence for self-protection, 2) violence to respond to insults, 3) socialization for violence). Southern (white) males are more sensitive to provocation (provocation makes them angrier and primes them to respond violently to future insults) Be prepared to describe the Cohen et al. study, including two DVs. Ps were Northern and Southern White males IV: ½ of the Ps were insulted by a confederate who bumped into them and called them an "a$$hole" ½ of the Ps were not insulted, bumped, or called a name DVs: (Reaction to insult) Rate their anger and amusement about the whole situation (Physiological changes) Testing cortisol and testosterone of the P before and after the whole experiment (Behavioral measure of aggression) When Ps are leaving they see another confederate walking down the hall - the hall was narrow and either the P or the confederate had to move; the confederate was instructed not to move. R: (Reaction to insult): Ps from the Southern were much more likely to have higher anger ratings than amusement ratings. Ps from the North were much more likely to have higher amusement