In social psychology, how can media depictions of people shaking hands to greet each other influence learning about social norms?

• A. They can reinforce the handshake as a culturally accepted greeting, leading viewers to adopt this behavior.
• B. They can discourage viewers from using handshakes by portraying them as outdated.
• C. They have no impact on viewers' understanding of greeting behaviors.
• D. They only affect viewers who already practice handshaking and do not influence others.

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the concept of social norms, which are the accepted behaviors within a society or group that guide how individuals interact with each other.
2. Step 2: Recognize that media depictions serve as a form of observational learning, where individuals learn behaviors by watching others, especially in social contexts.
3. Step 3: Analyze how seeing people shake hands in media can signal that this behavior is common and accepted, thus reinforcing the handshake as a social norm.
4. Step 4: Consider the psychological process of modeling, where viewers may imitate behaviors they observe in media if those behaviors are portrayed positively or frequently.
5. Step 5: Conclude that media depictions can influence learning about social norms by encouraging viewers to adopt the handshake as a culturally accepted greeting through repeated exposure and positive portrayal.