Understanding Social Influence and Bystander Apathy in Group Dynamics

1. Social Influence 2

2. Deindividuation Loss of individual identity in presence of group • Occurs in large groups • e.g., looting, rioting • Physical anonymity • e.g., Would KKK members burn crosses if they weren’t wearing hoods? • Diminished self-awareness “Jump bitch jump”

3. Kitty Genovese • New York City, 1964 • Kitty Genovese was raped and murdered while at least 38 neighbors looked on • nobody phoned the police until after the attacker left the scene • When asked why they didn’t act, bystanders said things like, “I just don’t know,” or “I just didn’t want to get involved.”

4. Bystander Apathy • field studies (Harold Takooshian) • New York City • bicycle theft • wallet pickpocketing • man put unconscious woman in car trunk • 20 replications, no intervention • why car alarms suck • 95-99% false alarms • few people stop thieves (1-5%) • field study (Takooshian) • 8% intervened • 15% helped thief break in • many people complain (60%) and some damage car out of aggravation • doesn’t deter real thieves • waste of police resources

5. Bystander Apathy • Experiment (Latane and Darley, 1970) • subjects heard student in adjacent room having an epileptic seizure and gasping for help • likelihood and speed of intervention depended on how many others subject though were present

6. Why Don’t People Help? • ambiguity • risks to self • anonymity • diffusion of responsibility

7. Diffusion of Responsibility “I used to ask myself, ‘Why doesn’t somebody do something?!’ Then I realized I am somebody.” -- Jane Wagner

8. Practice What You Preach • Experiment (Darley & Batson, 1973) • Princeton Theology Seminary students were on their way to give a sermon about “The Good Samaritan” • Good Samaritan: New Testament figure who takes time to help injured man at a roadside • Subjects were deliberately made to be early, on-time, or late • On their way through an alley, the seminary students found a man slumped in a doorway, coughing and groaning • What do you think they did?

9. Persuasion • Robert Cialdini, social psychologist who trained with the best • reciprocity • Hare Krishnas’ flower power: “Please, it is a gift for you.” • preys on reciprocal altruism • lowballing • “Would you be a subject in an experiment at 7:00 a.m.?” • 24% yes • “Would you be a subject in an experiment? Yes? By the way, it’s at 7:00 a.m.” • 56% yes, 95% of them showed up • “I’ll give the car to you for $7,000. I need to discuss this with my manager. The manager says you can have it for only $7,300.” • door-in-the face technique • foot-in-the-door technique

11. Social Impact Theory Convergence of social forces Diffusion of social impact

12. Personality Test Scores • How would you rate the accuracy of your personality test score (available on the main course web page)? 0 = very poor, no relation to my personality 1 = poor, not very close 2 = more wrong than right 3 = more right than wrong 4 = pretty close 5 = describes me almost perfectly

13. Freud in a Nutshell

14. Sigmund’s Greatest Hits See text, Ch. 15, FQ 26-32 • Psychoanalysis • Id, Ego, Superego • Psychosexual stages of Development • Freudian slip • Oedipal Complex (and Electra Complex) • Defense Mechanisms • Interpretation of Dreams • Penis Envy • Influence on later psychologists • Cocaine

15. 1. Psychoanalysis • hysterical women in Vienna • the “talking cure” • catharsis = explosive release of pent up emotions • hypnosis • free association • Anna O.

16. Superego Id Ego 2. Id, Ego, Superego • unconscious • driven by libido • pleasure principle • conscience • reality principle

17. genital 3. Psychosexual Stages of Development oral anal phallic latent

18. Fixation • Example: Anal retentiveness

19. Sigmund’s Greatest Hits 4. Freudian slip • subconscious, often sexual, thoughts lead to misspeaking 5. Oedipal (Electra) complex • boys (girls) are in love with their mothers (fathers) 6. Defense Mechanisms • e.g., repression 7. Interpretation of Dreams • latent vs. manifest content 8. Penis envy 9. Later psychologists • Carl Jung, Erik Erikson, Anna Freud, Karen Horney 10. Cocaine

20. Three Revolutions in Human Thought(… according to Freud himself) Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) • the earth is not the centre of the universe Charles Darwin (1809-1882) • humans are not special, they are just a species like any other animals Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) • humans are not motivated only by their conscious thoughts but largely by unconscious (and often unpleasant) motives

21. Praise for Freud • most influential psychologist ever • psychoanalysis has been very popular • huge impact on pop culture • recognized importance of unconscious influences on behavior • recognized importance of early development on adult behavior

22. Critiques of Freud • real theories make testable predictions and can be disproved • subjective, unverified analyses • experiments have not supported theories • theories of development were not based on observing children • hysterical women in Vienna are not representative • some argue he was misogynistic