PSYC 1200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Murder Of Kitty Genovese, Deindividuation, Distressing
19 Jun 2018
School
Department
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Professor
Social Psychology Part 2
Group Influence- Social Facilitation
Does the presence of others improve or lower performance?
Research mixed but explained by Zajonc
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Being around others increased arousal which facilitates the dominant
response (the behaviour we are most likely to perform in a given
situation)
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Leads to improved performance for similar or well-learned tasks and
impaired performance in complex or novel tasks
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So how we perform is at least partially the function of the situation we are
in (alone or in a group)
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Deindividuation
"Isolated, a man can be a cultured individual in a crowd he is a barbarian."
(Le Bon, 1879)
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Larger groups can create an even larger effect called deindividuation
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Reduced self-awareness because of
The arousal from the large crowd
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Diffusion of responsibility
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Results in people acting in ways quite unlike their normal self
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Prosocial Behaviour
Behaviour that benefits others
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Includes all types of helping, cooperation, sympathy
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Bystander Intervention
Situational factors - When people help
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Kitty Genovese --> Darley & Latane (38 people who saw a murder and didn’t
call the police)
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Bystander Effect: As number of bystander at emergency increases
probability that the victim receives help decreases.
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Diffusion of Responsibility: individuals less compelled to act than if one had
total responsibility
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So it is the situation that predicts the behaviour not the personality of the
bystanders
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Psychological Disorders
What is Abnormal Behaviour?
Not simple to distinguish between normal and abnormal•
3 D's
Deviant
Statistical criterion
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Social norms criterion
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Dysfunctional
For individual and/or society; maladaptive
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Distressing to individual
Personal suffering disproportionate or too long lasting
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Could add another-- Danger
Is the person a danger to themselves or others?
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Often viewed as a continuum instead of categorical•
Historical Perspective
The Demonic Model
Caused by Evil spirits, possession
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Treatment - Exorcism, prayer
Or just persecution
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Medical Model
So-Called "Age of Enlightenment"
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Treatment in asylums very harsh (Bedlam)
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Moral Model
Pioneers like Pinel, Dix established more humane treatment
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Dignity, kindness and respect
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Perspectives on Psychological Disorders
Biological Perspective
Focus on brain and genetic factors
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Cognitive Perspective
Interpretations of responses
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Unhealthy cognitions result in maladaptive behaviour
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Behaviour Perspective
Learn abnormal responses
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Humanistic Perspective
Negative self-concept
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Psychoanalytic Theory (Freud)
Result of unresolved conflicts
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Classification of Mental Disorders
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)
Released May, 2013
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More reliable than DSM-IV
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APA Publication that classifies hundreds of disorders•
Describes symptoms that must be present for diagnosing each disorder•
Most widely used in classification system•
Lecture 11/21
November 21, 2017
8:30 AM
