December Friday, 02, 2011
10:56 AM
Ch 10
Development begins with conception,
Conception- when a zygote forms when a one celled organism formed by the union of a sperm and egg through
fertilization
All other single cells in your body form from this single cell
Prenatal stage- extends from conception to birth, usually 9 months of pregnancy
II. Prenatal development
Stage like, qualitative nature
Nature-stages
Environment continuity
3 stages of prenatal period extends from conception to birth usually 9 months
1. Germinal stage- first 2 weeks after conception
Within 36 hours rapid cell division occurs and the zygote becomes a microscopic mass of multiplying cells
Migrates along the mothers fallopian tube to the uterine cavity
7th day the cell mass begins to implant itself on the uterine wall
During this implantation the placenta forms which allows oxygen and nutrients to pass into the fetus from the
mothers bloodstream, and bodily wastes to pass out to the mother
2. Embryonic stage- 2 weeks-2 months
Vital organs and body systems begin to form in the developing organism, the embryo
Heart, spine, brain emerge as cell division becomes more specialized
Important physiological structures
The embryo at the end of this stage is about an inch and looks human (arms, legs, hands, fingers, feet, eyes,
ears)
Period of great vulnerability, if anything interferes with normal development during this stage, devastating
effects result
Most miscarriages occur here
Birth defects occur here due to problems that occur during embryonic stage
3. Fetal stage- 2 months to birth
First 2 months of fetal stage=rapid body growth as muscles and bones begin to form
Developing organism is now a fetus, becomes capable of physical movements as skeletal structures harden
Brain cells multiply at brisk pace, layer of fat is deposited under the skin to provide insulation
Respiratory and digestive systems mature
Hearing= functional around 20-24 weeks
Between 22-26 weeks the fetus reaches age of viability= age at which baby can survive in the event of
premature birth
Environmental factors and prenatal development
Mother and fetus are linked via the placenta
Proper nutrition is crucial
Lack of proper nutrition leads to birth complications and neurological deficits
Low birth weight can lead to heart disease and obesity in the middle ages of new born
Drug consumption
most drugs consumed by the mother during birth can slip right through the membranes of the placenta
Prescribed drugs and over counter can also be harmful
Nicotine use during pregnancy is also problematic (smoking increases chances of miscarriages, still birth, and
prematurity and risk of sudden infant death syndrome)
Alcohol consumption= fetal alcohol syndrome
Collection of congenital (inborn) problems associated with excessive alcohol use during pregnancy
Most known cause of mental retardation
Deficits in IQ, reaction time, motor skills, attention span, math skills, antisocial and delinquent
behavior
The placenta can screen out many infectious agents but not all of them
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Social Behavior ch 15
Psychology 104 Page 1
Social Behavior ch 15
Social psychology- the branch of psychology concerned with the way individual's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are
influenced by others
(William James- founder of social psychology)
Person perception- how we think about other people.
Attribution theory-how can we explain someone's behavior
Internal- locate the causes of events within the people (traits, abilities, and feelings, dispositions)
External-locate the causes of events outside of people (situational demands and environmental factors)
Fundamental attribution error-refers to the observers bias in favor of internal attributions in explaining other's
behavior
Self serving bias- is the tendency to attribute one's success to personal factors and ones failures to situational factors
Success= internal Failure=external
Stereotypes- widely held beliefs that people have certain characteristics because of their membership in a certain
group
In group- a group that one belongs to and identifies with
Out group- a group that one does not belong to or identify with
Bernard Weiner
Concluded that people often focus on the stability of the causes underlying behavior
Interpersonal attraction
Refers to the positive feelings toward another person
Physical attractiveness
The key determinant of romantic attraction for both sexes was the physical attractiveness
Attractive people of both sexes enjoy greater mating success than their less-attractive peers
In the initial stage of dating physical attractiveness shows it continues to influence the course of commitment.
Matching hypothesis (phenomena)- males and females of equal physical attractiveness are likely to select each
others as partners.
Choose partners that match good
Reward theory attraction
Become attracted to people associated with rewarding events
Those whose behavior is rewarding to us
Positive situation---> positive feelings with others
Equity
Predicators of liking and relationship formation
Proximity- more exposure effect= feel secure with people we like. More frequency exposure=more liking
Physical attractiveness-- stated above
Similiarites or opposites attract
Bogus stranger technique
Adult attachment
Infant- adult adult -adult
Secure- both feel safe when other is near by and responsive Both .
engage in in close intimate action.
Play with one another's facial features.
Avoidant- uncomfortable with intimacy
Ambivalent- love hate relationship
Attitudes- positive or negative evaluations of objects or thought
Cognitive-made up of the beliefs that people hold about the object of an attitude
Affective -consists of the emotional feelings stimulated by an object of thought
Behavioral- consists of predispositions to act in certain ways toward an attitude object
Things that we think are appropriate we do, things that we think are inappropriate we dont do
Attitudes differ in strength, accessibility, and ambivalence
Attitude strength are viewed as ones that are firmly held, durable over time, and have powerful impact
on behavior
Accessibility refers to often one thinks about it and how quickly it comes to mind
Ambivalent attitudes are conflicted evaluations that include both positive and negative feelings about an
object of thought
When high, an attitude tends to be less predictive of behavior and more pliable in the face of
Psychology 104 Page 2
When high, an attitude tends to be less predictive of behavior and more pliable in the face of
persuasion
Factors in persuasion
Source- the person who sends a communication
Credibility- expertise or trustworthiness
Expertise- tends to be more influential when an argument is ambiguous or when the receiver is not
motivated to pay close attention to the argument
Trustworthiness- when a source appears to have something gained. Enhanced when people appear to
argue against their own best interests.
Receiver - person to whom the message is sent to
Message - information transmitted by the source
Central route- aimed at cognitive part, requires thinking.
Taken when people carefully ponder the content and logic of persuasive messages
All info and details
Content and logic of message
Analysis of argument recipient must think closely
High elaboration---> more durable attitude change
(politician campaigns by delivering carefully researched speeches that thoughtfully analyze complex
researched speeches)
Peripheral route- appeal to affective part (emotion)
Taken when persuasion depends on nonmessage factors such as attractiveness and credibility of
the source
Based on emotion
Pregnant moms that dont smoke see a pic of baby smoking cuz the mom smokes
Not a lot of details
Low elaboration--->less durable attitude change
(politician using marching bands, celebrity endorsements, flag waving, emotional slogans)
Channel - the medium through which the message is sent
Persuasion by inducing small behavioral commitments
Foot in the door- want people to do big favor for you, ask for something small and they do something big (small
favor leads to big favor)
Reciprocity norm- letting the person show how effective a product is (time share sellers)
Obligated to purchase something you normally wouldnt
Low ball technique-when something we see on sale is really cheap such as a new car but then at the end it
become more expensive
Social influences (text material pages 546-547; 439-442
Cognitive dissonance-exists when related attitudes or beliefs are inconsistent and contradict each other
Festinger and Carlsmith
$1.00 condition-rated more enjoyable experienced high dissonance
$20.00 condition-rated not enjoyable experienced little dissonance
Conformity- yielding to real or imagined social pressure
If you keep nice cut lawn to avoid neighbors complaints you are conforming
If you do it because you like to have a nice cut lawn your not conforming
Solomon Asch- experiment of visual perception which of the 3 lines matched the standard line in length
75% gave the wrong answer
Magic # is 3
Rewards and punishment
High self esteem
Importance of group members (as group size increases, conformity increases)
Source of information
When a situation is ambiguous we conform (new job setting)
Obedience- how we respond to a command
Milgram
Experiment: shock the guy; obey ratio
Slight shock= 95% obeyed
Very strong=80% obeyed
Severely strong= 70% obeyed
Psychology 104 Page 3
Severely strong= 70% obeyed
Xxx= 65% obeyed (very extreme shock)
Emotional distance of victim: "didnt he feel bad for them while they were painfully shocked"
The victim was invisible to the subjects
Dehumanization- making humans feel less than human
Group Influence
Group= 2 or more people that interact and are interdependent
Bystander effect- people are less likely to provide needed help when they are in groups than when they
are alone
Social loafing= a reduction in effort by individuals when they work in groups compared to when they
work alone
Both social loafing and the bystander effect share a common cause= diffusion of responsibility in groups
Group polarization- occurs when group discussion strengthens a group's dominant point of view and
produces a shift towards a more extreme decision in that direction
Groupthink- occurs when members of a cohesive group emphasize concurrence at the expense of critical
thinking in arriving at a decision (like a disease that can infect decision making in groups, not very
effective decisions)
Caused by high group cohesiveness
Group cohesiveness- refers to the strength of the liking relationships linking group members to each
other and to the group itself
Members of cohesive are close-knit, committed, have team spirit and are loyal to the group
Can help group achieve great things
Psychology 104 Page 4