The Importance of Early Emotio...

  • attachment

    The Importance of Early Emotional Bonds: Attachment Theory

    The attachment theory was pioneered by John Bowlby, an English psychiatrist and Mary Ainsworth, an American psychologist. The theory focuses on the bonds and relationships between people especially parents and children.

     

    In his theory, Bowlby sought to show that formation of early emotional bonds had lasting effects on human beings. Previous psychological theories suggested that attachment was a learned behavior. These theories stipulated that attachment occurred between a child and a caregiver during feeding. The caregiver provided nourishment for the child and the child became attached to the caregiver.

     

    Over time, Bowlby had noticed that children became highly distressed and anxious when they were separated from their primary caregivers in spite of being fed. Bowlby posited that attachment depended on the interaction between the child and the environment to which the child is exposed.

     

    Why bonding is important? Bonding is responsible for:

     

    Shaping future relationships

    Scientific studies of the brain have established that bonding plays a major role in shaping relationships. These studies have established that people who were unable to establish early emotional bonds with a significant person experience difficulties communicating with other people in their work or love lives when they grow up.

     

     

    In the 1980s, Cindy Hazan and Phillip Shaver extended the attachment theory in the field of social psychology to adult romantic relationships. They found that adults who had secure attachments with caregivers in their childhood had a positive perception of themselves, their relationships and their partners. Such adults were comfortable with intimacy and independence.

    On the other hand, adults who were unable to establish healthy attachments were overly dependent, impulsive and showed low emotional expressiveness. These adults tended to suppress their feelings and avoided close relationships.

     

    Ability to communicate effectively

    All infants experience a bundle of emotions intense − fear, joy, fear and anger. The emotional attachment that develops between a child and a caregiver is the first interactive relationship and depends heavily on non-verbal communication. When a child bonds effectively with a caregiver, he/she is able to relate and interact easily with people throughout their life. This is because the child was able to establish a foundation for all verbal and nonverbal communication during the early years.

     

    Self-esteem

    People who bonded effectively with their caregivers in the early years are confident and find satisfaction in the presence of others. They are also able to deal with discouragement, disappointment and misfortune better compared to people others who had unhealthy attachments.

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  • social identity

    Why Do We Seek Strength in Numbers: Social Identity Theory

    Social Identity Theory

    Man is a social animal. Our sense of identity stems from belonging to a group. We often compare our group with others in order to sharpen our sense of identity.

    Social identity is separate from personal identity, which is formed by personal attributes and individual relationships.

    Social Identity at Work

    If you have ever travelled to a place or country, which is completely different from your own, you may have noticed that you feel your sense of national belonging far more keenly than usual. If you have been lucky enough to find another person from your homeland, you will surely band together in order to adhere to your sense of national identity. In this case, this national identity is your social identity where you feel you belong to a particular nation of people.

    Social identity Theory and Prejudice

     Like we tend to group together according to this social psychology principle, we also tend to discriminate against other groups. This discrimination helps us enhance our self-image.

    Flocking together brings out the worst in us because we discriminate by trying to identity the negative aspects of the other groups, to improve ours. This gives rise to prejudiced views. For example, prejudiced views against a certain nationality can result in a racist bias.

    Why we categorize people?

    Social identity theory is one of the psychological theories that primarily deals with the categorization of people to better orient ourselves in our social environment. We use social categories like black, white, Asian, Christian, etc. because these labels help us assemble people into a reasonable grouping.

    Similarly, we become aware of ourselves by of knowing what our own category is. The norms of society like in terms of behavior are decided by this categorization. It is important to note that an individual may belong to multiple groups or categories.

    Conclusion

    This aspect of social psychology is critical in understanding the root cause of prevailing prejudice. If groups identify themselves as rivals, they are bound to lock heads to boost their own self-esteem. It is absolutely fine to have a sense of social identity. Just ensure that you choose the groups you belong to with care.

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  • scarcity

    Hurry, Offer for Limited Period: Understanding the Scarcity Principle

    Scarcity Principle

    When we are faced with scarcity, our desire to obtain the scarce object heightens because we fear possible regret over not acquiring it.

    This desire is further fuelled if we think that another has a better chance of acquiring said object and benefitting in terms of social position which could be ours.

    Real-life connect

    The scarcity principle is one of the most popularly exploited psychological theories in business. If you are enticed by those banners claiming ‘While stocks last’ or ‘60% off on select styles’, you have been tagged by this ingenious principle.

    This principle operates on the fact that the fewer the number of items, the greater the value we attach to them. A statement that claims that the item is available only in limited number it works like a psychological trigger that boosts sales. Short supply = high demand.

    Methodology of the Scarcity Principle

    In the field of marketing, this principle is commonly propagated using two methods:

    1. Limited number: The said object is in short supply and will cease to become available when it runs out.
    2. Limited time: The said object is only available for a particular period of time following which it will become unavailable.

    Brick-and-mortar as well as online stores commonly make use of these strategies to increase sales.

    Why you need to know it

    While you have seen the scarcity principle in operation primarily in business, it is the same principle that we use in our romantic relationships. Playing hard to get makes it seem that you are of high value. Therefore, we can say that this principle is the defining point of many of our social and personal behavioral patterns.

    Even when something is in scarce supply weigh its importance to you. This will help you curb any compulsive shopping behaviors and save you money.

     

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  • sleeper effect

    Persistance is Key to Maximize the Sleeper Effect

    Sleeper Effect

    In social psychology, this is used to describe the impact of a persuasive message. Generally, the power of a persuasive message will tend to fade over time. With the sleeper effect, a message from a low-authority source can gain momentum and increase in persuasiveness over time if the conditions are conducive.

    Low authority may be due to a discounting cue like a prediction for sunny skies given by the TV weatherman (who is presumed to be biased and a people pleaser). However, if the message is disseminated from another source (by dissociation), it gains more credibility. While this sounds incredulous, it does work or at least the impact shows a significant slowing down.

    How it works

    The sleeper effect might sound like those psychological theories that defy sense or explanation. Naturally, the persuasion factor of a message should be at its best just after it is delivered. With time, the effect should fade and people should return to their original attitudes – while true for most cases, it has been proved otherwise by Kumkale & Albarracin, 2004.

    However, there are specific conditions that should hold true for the sleeper effect to come into force:

    1. Massive first impact

    The first impact of the message would have to be immense for it to invoke the sleeper effect. If that does not occur, the message will simply filter right through in a while.

    1. Discounted source

    The source of the message should be obvious in its lack of credibility so that it can be easily disbelieved.

    What is actually at work is that people are persuaded by the arguments presented until they realize that the source cannot be discredited. But as the discounting cue tends to fall through in most people, they tend to forget that they had discounted the message after some time. By now, the contents of the message have been completely digested by the recipient and it accomplishes its mission.

    This is why persistence in sending a sales message will end in positive results over a period of time.

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  • hot hand

    Making the Most of the Hot Hand

    Hot Hand Phenomenon

    The hot hand phenomenon is claimed to embody the essence of the saying ‘success breeds success’. It is said to occur when people believe that a person successful at doing something have a greater likelihood of succeeding in following attempts. In reality though, even then they are fully governed by the laws of chance.

    Hot hand in sports and life

    The hot hand is popularly seen in basketball when a player makes a shot. In such a case, other players are more likely to pass this player the ball with the thought that he will be equally successful the second time around.

    It is also often observed that players are successful a second and even a third time around. Don’t we often say, “He’s on fire today!”? According to experts in sports psychology, this phenomenon could be heightened due to the boost of confidence the player gets from making the first shot.

    Xu and Harvey confirmed these psychological theories when they found that winners have a greater probability of continuing on the winning streak while losers continue to face failure. This was credited to the fact that winners balanced risky and safe bets as opposed to losers whose desperation to win caused them to place riskier bets to recover losses.

    This is why the hot hand phenomenon is sometimes called the Hot Hand Fallacy. It is in stark contrast with the Gambler’s Fallacy, which banks upon the sudden reversal of fortunes.

    What you need to watch for

    There are cases where players whop have landed a perfect first and maybe even a second shot have failed to land the third. This set the pattern and the player continues to lose.

    This is exactly what you need to watch for. If you have won once and even twice, don’t become overconfident thinking that you are invincible. Continue to play the game of life with as much focus as you would if you wanted to land your first shot. This is the secret of making the most of the hot hand.

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  • halo effect

    Know the Secret to Popularity: The Halo Effect

    Halo Effect

    In social psychology, our tendency to classify a person as good or bad in one category makes it more likely for us to gauge the person positively or negatively in other categories as well.

    It may appear that we find it hard to isolate different categories. This tendency may also arise in order to avoid conflict, as making them good at one thing and bad at the other would create a disagreement on the general evaluation of the person.

    Real-life examples

    The best example of the halo effect is a movie star. The charisma and charm of a movie star bleeds over into the judgment of their other personality traits like intelligence, friendliness and honesty. This is why many stars are rated highly for likeable even when we see evidence that says otherwise.

    Similarly, politicians also take advantage of the halo effect to appear open and friendly, while giving noting away of their real intentions. People tend to believe that their strategies are good and their policies fair, because the person comes across as such. It’s really one of the least complicated psychological theories observed across society.

    How it works

    We would think that it should be easy to correct such gross errors in judgment with simple self-examination and pick up on our mistake. However, in the 1970s, famous social psychologist Richard Nisbett showed us that reality is contradictory.

    For the purpose of research, students were asked to view videos of the same professor, with a strong accent. One group saw the professor patiently and warmly fielding student queries. The other group was shown videos where the professor answered the same questions coldly.

    When students were asked to rate the professor it was no wonder that students who saw the ‘warm’ persona rated him as more attractive, well-mannered and even fund his accent appealing. This was the halo effect at work.

    What is surprising is that students were unable to pinpoint the real reason they found the professor likeability. This is what you need to tap into in your daily life if you wish to succeed.

    If you wish to capitalize on the halo effect, dress and act like the ideal example of the position you aspire to. People are more likely to view you in a positive light if they perceive you as the correct fit.

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  • amplification

    Get Greater Social Media Influence Using the Amplification Hypothesis

    Amplification Hypothesis

    When communicating with another person, show certainty about an attitude to cause the attitude to increase or harden. Displaying uncertainty about an attitude will soften that attitude.

    Tailor your communication to suit the attitude; a cognitive attack on a person with an emotional attitude will amplify resistance. Notice that an emotional argument never works on a person driven by logic and vice versa.

    How it works

    For a real-life example of how the amplification hypothesis works, consider your social media feeds. Notice that when a person says something often and with authority, others listen and their social media influence increases.

    Essentially, this is one of the social psychological theories that is the underlying factor of social persuasion. The repeated expression of a particular idea or thought with absolute conviction and confidence will boost credibility. This is because others will be more likely to accept another’s views when they are expressed with authority.

    Factors influencing amplification hypothesis

    The social psychology that influences the persuasion process is influenced by the following factors:

    Credibility: The credibility and reputation of the communicator affects the acceptance of the message by the receiver.

    Order of opinions: There seem to be two differing schools of thoughts on this one. Some say that opinions supporting an idea should be placed at the opening of the message while yet others feel they should be included at the end for reinforcement.

    Stating both sides of the coin: If the receiver does not agree with an idea it is best to include both pros and cons in your message to boost social persuasion. If the receiver agrees with the idea or does not know much concerning the subject, it’s best to only include only the pros. But one must remember that this will offer lower social persuasion.

    Drawing conclusions: If the receiver is open to an idea, it is best to leave them to draw their own conclusions rather than stating them in your message.

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  • chameleon effect

    Chameleon Effect: Does Mimicking People Really Make Us More Likeable?

    Chameleon Effect

    It is every so often that we read in the glossies or persuasion manuals that playing copycat to someone’s body language will automatically make us seem more likeable. But what is important to establish is whether mimicry is the reason for others to like us, or is imitation a by-product of successful social communication.

    Real-life connect

    In our daily lives, this is a tendency that occurs naturally. Very often, we don’t even realize that we are doing it. In social psychology it is known as the communication accommodation theory. What it means is that we tailor the message in the way we think the recipient is most likely to receive it well.

    By mimicking another’s actions, we are reinforcing their behavior and building a rapport. The key to making the most of psychological theories like the chameleon effect lie in having more empathy towards others. Researchers Chartrand and Bargh found that people who have a greater empathy quotient showed a greater likelihood to imitate others. This is because empaths are more inclined to pay attention to people and their behavior. In the process, they make more friends than non-empaths.

    Using mirroring to connect with others easily

    Verbal mirroring is the simplest way to create a connection with another. For this to work, one needs to listen intently to what the other is saying, and reflect back the words or tonal inflections they use.

    Take a cue from the words they use to communicate like “excited”, “dejected”, “tired” in their speech, and use the same words when formulating a response. When you mirror another’s language it shows that you are in harmony with the other person, that you comprehend their condition and that you are an empathetic listener.

    Remember that ‘Imitation is the best form of flattery’. If you would like to successful at business, mirror what your prospects and customers are saying. If you truly want to boost sales, ask your customers to describe your brand. Use these words in customer communication to match your audience.

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  • contact hypothesis

    Battling Prejudice with the Contact Hypothesis

    Contact Hypothesis

    According to this hypothesis, if people in conflict are brought together then they will begin to understand each other better and the conflict will be resolved.

    In effect, the rules of social psychology dictate that increasing contact between different people will help reduce prejudice towards an out-group.

    In an ideal world, these psychological theories should work because of their simplistic intuitiveness. However, we see examples to the contrary in plentiful. The most prolific example is that of gender equality issues that exist even though men are in constant contact with women.

    Conditions for Contact Hypothesis

    There are certain conditions that need to be fulfilled if the contact hypothesis is to operate successfully:

    • Eradicate conflict: The root cause of the problem should be addressed or it will continue to be a thorn in either party’s side.
    • Mutual dependency: When one party can cleanly pull out anytime leaving the other in a bind, the skewed power play can wreck mutual understanding.
    • Equal status: If one party enjoys more privileges than the other, this again results in an imbalance of power.
    • Positive interaction: The setting in which the parties meet should always be positive and create a sense of fair play.
    • Typical contact: The people who represent the other group must be model representatives so that positive perceptions about the group become universal for that population.
    • Social equality: When the groups come into contact with each other, the general; norm must be set as all parties being of equal status.

    Strategies for tolerance

    Many a time, all the conditions for the contact hypothesis to work may exist but prejudice does not decrease due to the fact that people segregate themselves even if not asked to. To foster the development of meaningful inter-group relations, there are some strategies suggested.

    The most important is team activities like team sports where the different groups are brought together to fulfill a common goal. This logic is also followed by many US schools that use the jigsaw puzzle teaching technique where students are broken up into mixed groups in order to complete assignments together.

    If you are a manager facing such problems, try these strategies to get people to work together.

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  • repulsion hypothesis

    Attract the Right People Using the Repulsion Hypothesis

    Repulsion Hypothesis

    According to popular psychological theories, we are most attracted to people who share similar attitudes with us. While we can surely get along with those whose attitudes vary a little, but we will be completely repulsed by those whose attitudes are extremely different from ours.

    When we make friends, we look for similar qualities and exclude anyone whose attitudes are beyond a certain set.

    How dissimilarity-repulsion works

    You may notice that while people in one country may consider certain insects a delicacy, others are grossed out by it. This is exactly how the dissimilarity-repulsion principle works.

    If you want to be friends with someone, try attitude alignment or mimicking their behavior to get your foot in the door. While you may not be good friends, but moderation will help you talk to new people. This is a very helpful trait to cultivate if you are in sales as you can influence people by getting to know them better.

    The similarity-attraction effect

    Converse to the repulsion hypothesis is the similarity-attraction effect. Basically, it means that the similarities in people tract the to each other. It is the social psychology theory at play on social networking and dating sites. Notice that dating sites explicitly match people based on the similarity of their preferences, hobbies and traits.

    This proves the popular saying ‘Birds of a feather flock together’. So, we can move on to the next idea in attitude alignment that is called attraction through association.

    Attraction through association

    This theory is an offshoot of the dissimilarity-repulsion principle and similarity-attraction effect wherein the attraction or repulsion is felt due to the sharing of an experience. We tend to like people with whom we have shared a pleasant experience or people whom we associate with enjoyable events. For example, if we meet someone at a party where we are having fun, we are more likely to be attracted to those people.

    Relationships that were formed on the basis of positive feelings are more likely to succeed than those where negative feelings are involved.

    This is key to the process of classical conditioning that drives dissimilarity-repulsion and similarity-attraction.

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