There are manyreasons why students binge drink, but oneof the most important is their perception ofthe descriptive norm. How much studentsdrink is highly correlated with how much theybelieve the average student drinks

The first of these is normative influence. When normative influenceis operating, people go along with the crowd because they are concerned about what othersthink of them.

When he was a teenager, my son often enjoyed looking at photographs of me and my wifetaken when we were in high school. He laughed at the hairstyles, the clothing, and the kindof glasses people wore “back then.” And when he was through with his ridiculing, we wouldpoint out that no one is immune to fashions and fads and that someday his children willprobably be equally amused by his high school photographs and the trends he found sonormal at the time.

These different ways of time-keeping can often lead to cultural misunderstandings. Individualsoperating on clock time are careful to be punctual and expect the same of others. Those onevent time are more spontaneous in beginning and ending events and, as a result, tend to beless punctual and more understanding when others are less punctual

Cultures differ greatly in their adherence to "clocktime". While some cultures pride themselves onmanaging time down to the second (the trains run ontime!), others have a more flexible view of when isthe right time for an event to begin or end.

People tend to spend more oftheir work time on-task in some cultures and more of that time socializing—informal chatting,having tea or coffee with others, etc.—in other cultures.

Therefore emotions can feelautomatic, natural, physiological, and instinctual, and yet still be primarily culturally shaped

People fromaround the world differ in their views ofpremarital sex, religious tolerance, respectfor elders, and even the importance theyplace on having fun.

As the world becomes more interconnected—more collaborations between countries, moreintermarrying between different groups—more and more people are encountering greaterdiversity of others in everyday life.

Whether we are aware of it or not (and usually we're not), wesort the world into "us" and "them" categories. We are morelikely to treat with bias or discrimination anyone we feel isoutside our own group.

People with a social dominance orientation are more likely tobe attracted to certain types of careers, such as law enforcement,that maintain group hierarchies.

Boys exhibit higher rates of unprovoked physical aggressionthan girls and are more likely to play organized rough-and-tumble games.

gender stereotypes, or thebeliefs and expectations people holdabout the typical characteristics, preferences,and behaviors of men and women.

You might be surprised to learn that toddlers 1 to3 years old are most aggressive. Toddlers often rely on physical aggression to resolve conflictand get what they want.

The good news is that the level of violence in the world is decreasing over time—by millennia

. Laypeople mightdescribe a salesperson that tries reallyhard to sell them something as“aggressive.” The salesperson does not,however, want to harm potentialcustomers

Physical differences between men and women may come into play (e.g., Wood &Eagly, 2002); the fact that men tend to have greater upper body strength than women makesthe cost of intervening in some situations less for a man. Confronting a thief is a riskyproposition, and some strength may be needed in case the perpetrator decides to fight. Abigger, stronger bystander is less likely to be injured and more likely to be successful.

Knowing that someone else could help seems to relieve bystanders of personalresponsibility, so bystanders do not intervene.

People often overestimate their willingness to help others inneed especially when they are asked about a hypotheticalsituation rather than encountering one in real life.

If you and your partner both cooperate (1), you will eachreceive $5. If you and your partner both defect (2), you will each receive $2. However, if onepartner defects and the other partner cooperates (3), the defector will receive $8, while thecooperator will receive nothing. Remember, you and your partner cannot discuss yourstrategy. Which would you choose? Striking out on your own promises big rewards but youcould also lose everything

This means we work together in groups to achieve goals thatbenefit everyone.

Without earlypredictors, and in the absence of a firm diagnosis until behavioral symptoms emerge,treatment is often delayed for two or more years, eclipsing a crucial period in whichintervention may be particularly successful in ameliorating some of the social andcommunicative impairments seen in ASD.

The special way in which the brainresponds to faces usually emerges bythree months of age (e.g., de Haan, Johnson, & Halit, 2003) and continues throughout thelifespan (e.g., Bentin et al., 1996). Children with ASD, however, tend to show decreasedattention to human faces by six to 12 months (Osterling & Dawson, 1994). Children with ASDalso show reduced activity in the FG when viewing faces (e.g., Schultz et al., 2000).

People are defined not only by their traits, preferences, interests,likes, and dislikes, but also by their friendships, social roles, family connections, and groupmemberships.

How many groups are you a part of on a daily basis? Whetherit’s family, class, work, social, sports, church or other areas, wetypically spend a good deal of our time and attention each dayinteracting with others in groups. [

“How have I become the kind of person I am today?” Every adult ponders this question fromtime to time.

Childhood social and personality development emerges through the interaction of socialinfluences, biological maturation, and the child’s representations of the social world and theself. This interaction is illustrated in a discussion of the influence of significant relationships,the development of social understanding, the growth of personality, and the development ofsocial and emotional competence in childhood.

Although nearly all infants developemotional attachments to their caregivers--parents, relatives, nannies-- their sense ofsecurity in those attachments varies.Infants become securely attached whentheir parents respond sensitively to them,reinforcing the infants’ confidence thattheir parents will provide support whenneeded. Infants become insecurely attachedwhen care is inconsistent or neglectful;these infants tend to respond avoidantly,resistantly, or in a disorganized manner(Belsky & Pasco Fearon, 2008).