Author Question: For social psychologists, the likely explanation of the mass suicide at Jonestown was a. members ... (Read 94 times)

Tazate

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For social psychologists, the likely explanation of the mass suicide at Jonestown was
 
  a. members of the cult were mentally unstable or clinically depressed.
  b. the cult leader used hypnotism or drugs to coerce his followers into obedience.
  c. processes that could ensnare almost any healthy person.
  d. the open, welcoming nature of the cult that made members feel it was safe to obey their leader.

Question 2

Few would disagree that human aggression is a very pressing social problem that leads to violent criminal acts, and that it is important to understand the causes of aggression before we can intervene to reduce it.
 
  How would a social psychologist approach this phenomenon? How would a social psychologist's approach differ from the approach of a personality psychologist or a sociologist?
 
  What will be an ideal response?



ju

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Answer to Question 1

Answer: C

Answer to Question 2

Answer: First, like a personality psychologist, a social psychologist would focus on the individual, instead of on larger structural variables like socioeconomic status or the availability of handguns. Unlike a personality psychologist, however, a social psychologist would be more likely to focus on specific social situations or on people's construals of those specific situations. Social psychologists put far less emphasis on enduring personality characteristics or traits, and are more interested in how people are like one another in those situations. This approach also differs from a sociologist's approach. Sociologistsunlike social psychologiststend to focus not on the individual, but on larger segments of society. Still, like social psychologistsand unlike personality psychologistssociol ogists would consider how people in different groups are different from one another when it comes to aggressive behaviors.



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