PSY234 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Stroop Effect, Dictator Game, Upper Class
2 Jun 2018
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Power and Status: Week 13 Lecture
Lecture outline:
• Social hierarchies
• Power
• Approach/inhibition
• SES and selfishness
Hierarchies –
• We share this characteristic with animals = e.g. lobsters meet each other and
fight, then dominant and subordinate lobster is created
• Humans = bands (there’s always a dominant person), losers & winners
• Structures of competition
o Mating opportunity
o Food
• Hierarchies occur in much of what we do
Natural status strivers –
• Children (tough and weak kids)
• Social rank and reproductive success are linked
o Success is pleasurable (climbing up the ladder feels good)
• But not all societies are hierarchical (probably no universality)
o Hunter-gatherers – they do not have a status hierarchy; they are
egalitarian
o Respected individuals, but no elevated rank
Egalitarian societies –
• Lee’s description of the !Kung (hunter-gatherers):
o Dislike stinginess or arrogance
o Elaborate devices for puncturing the bubble of conceit and enforcing
humility
▪ E.g. downplaying the value of others’ gifts, minimize others’
skills
o The necessity of these tactics suggests the ever-present tendency for
status-seeking
• When elevating themselves, others bring them down
Social hierarchy and surpluses –
• Societies that store food vs. those that live hand to mouth
o 80% of food storers had social status
o only 7% of the non-food storers had social status – status seems
something to do with storing resources
• This status striving leads to the idea of costly signalling:
o Peacock’s tail feathers (handicap) – puts itself at risk: signaling fitness
o Giving away food – signaling wealthiness
• Distinct social classes emerge with economic productivity and surpluses
• Social levelling
o Goods within reach of everyday folks
• Conspicuous consumption
o Art, music, literature
Advantages of hierarchies –
• Dividing resources – reduces conflict
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Lecture outline: social hierarchies, power, approach/inhibition, ses and selfishness. Advantages of hierarchies : dividing resources reduces conflict, complex group decisions are made manageable leader has the final say, efficient coordination. Individual sacrifice - members more likely to sacrifice themselves for the group. French and raven (1959: varieties of social power, coercive/reward ability to punish/reward power, expert power specific expertise on information, legitimate/authority e. g. your boss at work, referent power from someone we respect e. g. mum/dad. Leadership and power: who becomes a leader, machiavelli: deception, manipulation, but gossip and rumour, non-coercive force is more effective, chenowith & stephan (2008) examined 323 opposition movements occurring over 100 years, e. g. Rosa parks black/white section of the bus, rosa was arrested and this initiated the civil rights movement. Who becomes a leader: expertise and skill relevant to the goals of the group, social skills/extraverted, sharing resources.
