Social Psychology Discussions | Coursehero Helper

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UNIT 2 DISCUSSION

Primary Task Response: Within the Discussion Board area, write 300–500 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions with your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas.

In 1962, a classic social psychology experiment was completed by Schachter and Singer. In the study, the researchers injected participants with a drug. The drug was known to increase physiological arousal. Physiological arousal includes increased heart rate, blood pressure, and energy. Only half of the participants were told about the drug’s effects in advance. The participants were then divided into two groups. The first group of participants was placed in a waiting room with non-study individuals who acted happy. The second group of participants was placed in a waiting room with non-study individuals who acted annoyed. Interestingly, those participants who were not told about the drug’s effects beforehand responded to the drug in the same manner as the non-study individuals with whom they shared a waiting room. Participants waiting with happy people became happy, while participants waiting with annoyed people became annoyed (Schachter & Singer, 1962).

The Schachter and Singer study is believed to support Daryl J. Bem’s Self-Perception Theory. Bem’s theory suggests that when a person is experiencing vague or unknown internal stimuli (such as the increased heart rate and blood pressure mentioned in the study above), that person will then look outside him- or herself to clues within the environment. These external clues are then used to make an interpretation about how the person should feel or behave (Bem, 1972).

• Describe a situation from your own life or a situation you observed in which you or others responded primarily because of the behaviors, attitudes, or feelings of those around you (please describe the situation in detail).
• In your own words, define the theory by Schachter and Singer and explain how it applies to your situation. Describe the internal stimuli that you were experiencing and signals that you picked up on from the other people within your environment.
• In your own words, define Bem’s theory and provide an example. Discuss how Bem’s theory is different from Schachter and Singer’s theory?

Please make sure to use course materials to help define any theories or concepts to support your response.

UNIT 3 DISCUSSION

Primary Task Response: Within the Discussion Board area, write 300–500 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions with your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas.

In 1969, researchers Bibb Latane and John Darley conducted a series of experiments. The experiments tried to determine how and when individuals decide to act upon witnessing a person in need of assistance. In these experiments, the researchers would stage an emergency situation. Then the researchers would measure how long it took participants to respond. Interestingly, the researchers discovered that participants were less likely to respond when they were with a group of people (Latane & Darley, 1969). By 1970, these same researchers suggested that bystanders might not respond for the following reasons (Latane & Darley, 1970):

• Diffusion of responsibility: A bystander assumes that someone else will offer assistance
• Pluralistic ignorance: A bystander might look to see if others are helping first. If the situation seems ambiguous and no one else is helping, then the bystander is likely to think that there is no reason for concern.
• Bystanders might be concerned about making the wrong decision and being embarrassed or shamed as a result.

Watch the following video about bystander apathy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIvGIwLcIuw) , and answer the following:

• Describe your initial reaction to the video. Identify what surprised you the most and what was not surprising to you?
• Explain what factors (i.e. diffusion of responsibility or pluralistic ignorance) would make an individual more or less likely to respond to a situation like this (Please make sure you use concepts from course materials to support your answer).
• Discuss why bystanders are more likely to help once someone has already intervened. Explain why a person is more likely to receive assistance from a bystander if the event takes place in a rural area compared to an urban environment.

UNIT 4 DISCUSSION

Primary Task Response: Within the Discussion Board area, write 300-500 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions with your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas.

In your primary task response, you will focus on the dynamics of being part of a group. Reflect back on a time when you were part of a group at your workplace or another group experience in the past. Address the following:

• Describe the group you were a part of at your workplace or another group from your past experiences. In your own words, define the hierarchy in your group and describe how it was formed and sustained in your group.
• In your own words, define groupthink or group polarization and provide a good example of how this could affect your group.

UNIT 5 DISCUSSION

Primary Task Response: Within the Discussion Board area, write 300-500 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions with your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas.

In this assignment, you will investigate concepts such as conformity, compliance, and obedience. Each of you has probably seen a story on the news about someone joining a cult or gang. As you watched the news story, you may wonder why that person would conform to the strict requests made by the cult or gang. For example, a cult in 1997 called Heaven’s Gate convinced all 39 members to commit suicide. A group called the Moonies (Unification Church) would convince its members to cut contact with anyone outside of the group (family and friends) and donate all of their money to the church. Why would anyone willingly join one of these groups?

Discuss the following:

• In your own words, summarize the gang or cult’s mission. Describe how that group outwardly recruits someone into the gang or cult?
• Define conformity, compliance and obedience in your own words. Discuss how the group uses these types of social influence to keep members in the gang or cult (please use course materials to help you define these concepts to support your response).
• Discuss why it would be difficult to leave a gang or cult and explain reasons that prevent them from leaving?