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Social Psychology

Social Psychology. Social Psychology. The study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another. 3 Themes Social thinking How we think about others. Social influence How we are influenced by others. Social relations How we relate to and interact with others. Social Thinking.

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Social Psychology

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  1. Social Psychology

  2. Social Psychology • The study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another. • 3 Themes • Social thinking • How we think about others. • Social influence • How we are influenced by others. • Social relations • How we relate to and interact with others.

  3. Social Thinking Attributions Attitudes

  4. Attribution Theory • Fritz Heider - 1958 • We explain people’s behaviors by crediting the person’s internal disposition OR the external situation • A teacher notices that one of her students is particularly hostile. • Aggressive personality (internal attribution) • Reaction to stress or abuse (external attribution)

  5. Examples • Mom yelled at me today.  • Internal attribution • Mom enjoys yelling at me. • External attribution • Mom had a bad day at work. • I bought mint chocolate chip ice cream today! • Internal attribution • I realllllllllllllly like mint chocolate chip ice cream. • External attribution • I was told mint chocolate chip ice cream is popular these days, therefore I should get it because it’s cool.

  6. Attribution Theory and Politics • Poverty in America • Conservative perspective - internal attribution • People live in poverty because they are lazy and less motivated than others. • Liberal perspective - external attribution • People live in poverty because their life circumstances have resulted in an unfortunate situation.

  7. Attribution Errors • Ourselves • We mostly attribute our behaviors mainly to external situational circumstances. • Ex: I know I act different at school than I would with my friends, or with my parents, or with my grandparents… or with my boyfriend’s grandparents. • Others • We mostly attribute other’s behaviors to internal personality elements. • Ex: When I observe strangers, I tend to think very shy people are timid in all aspects of their lives because it seems to be their personality.

  8. Attitudes • Feelings based on our beliefs that influence our reactions and responses to people, objects, and events. • Ex: If we believe someone is mean, we may feel dislike for the person, and act unfriendly.

  9. Attitudes Affecting Behaviors • Positive or negative attitudes affect our behaviors in positive or negative ways… • Sports teams - bonding and teamwork

  10. Behaviors Affecting Attitudes • Foot-in-door phenomenon • Tendency to agree to a small request at first, then to a larger request later • Start small and build • Doing becomes believing • Communist brainwashing during Korean War • Consent to “safe driver” small sign then to large, ugly sign later. • Signing a petition and later agreeing • Desegregation and diminished racial prejudice

  11. Behaviors Affecting Attitudes • Role-playing • Tendency to strive to be the role that is assumed • Behaviors feel phony at first, but then real. • Zimbardo’sStanford Prison Experiment (6 days!), 1972 • Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq, 2004

  12. Behaviors Affecting Attitudes • Cognitive dissonance • When behaviors and attitudes do not match, we change our attitudes to reflect our behaviors • The more dissonance (tension/conflict) we feel, the more motivated we are to change attitudes to justify the behavior. • Change in reason behind Iraq War (WMD  liberation) • You don’t study for a test (behavior) because you believe the material is beneath you (attitude). You fail the test and blame it on the teacher, the test, the weather, etc (change in attitude)

  13. Social Influence Conformity Obedience

  14. Conformity • Adjusting behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard • Behavior is contagious. • Chameleon effect – mimicking others’ behaviors • Mood linkage – mimicking others’ emotions • Copycat school violence, suicide clusters, etc

  15. Conformity • Asch (1955) asked participants to judge line lengths, when most would answer wrong, the participant would go along with it more than 1/3 of the time

  16. Conformity – Why and When? • Why conform? • Social and cultural norms • Understood rules for accepted and expected behavior • Gain approval • Avoid rejection/stigmas • Conform when? • Feeling incompetent or insecure • Groups of 3+ • Unanimous groups • Cultural stigmas (ex: That is uncool/unaccepted) • Cultural norms (ex: This is cool/accepted)

  17. Obedience • Complying to social pressures and authority • Milgram’s Obedience Experiments (1963,1974) • Paired teachers and learners and when the learner got it wrong, they got a “shock.” Shocks were stronger as they questions continued - 63% (of 40) completed it.

  18. Obedience • Why continue to shock? • Authority figures • Prestigious institutions • Depersonalization and distance of victims • No role models for defiance

  19. Obedience • “The most fundamental lesson of our study is that ordinary people, simply doing their jobs, and without any particular hostility on their part, can become agents in a terrible destructive process…” • Milgram • “I was only following orders.” • Adolf Eichmann, Director of Nazi deportation of Jews to concentration camps

  20. Obedience – Group Influence

  21. The Power of the Individual • Minority influence – the power of 1 or 2 individuals to sway a majority • Difficult but influential • Must be consistent

  22. Social Relations Prejudice Aggression Attraction

  23. Prejudice • A negative, unjustifiable attitude toward a group and its members. • Stereotyped beliefs • Negative feelings/emotions • Discriminatory actions

  24. Prejudice, Racial Profiling, and Attribution Theory • After Hurricane Katrina, residents began to search for food and supplies in abandoned stores and houses. The media attributed these actions to different reasons based on race and prejudices. • African Americans – “looting,” attributed to racial stereotypes that were believed inherent in AAs • Whites – “finding,” attributed to situational circumstances

  25. Causes of Prejudice • Social inequities • Have vs. have-nots • Seeks to rationalize disparity • Ex: Occupy movement • Social groups • US (ingroup) vs. THEM (outgroup) • Ingroup bias • Ex: cliques in HS, nations at war, sports fans, Blue vs. Brown Eyes • Scapegoating • Blaming as an outlet for anger • Ex: Hitler and persecution of Jews

  26. Aggression • Physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy • Genetics (nature) • Brain – amygdala • Hormones – testosterone • Males tend to be more aggressive • Environment (nurture) • Aversive events • Cultural/social expectations • Observation (Bandura’sbobo doll study) • Desensitization

  27. Attraction • Interaction between people that can result in friendship or a romantic relationship • Proximity – geographic nearness/closeness  increased interactions • Familiarity breeds fondness.

  28. Attraction • Physical attractiveness • Evolutionary • Masculine/dominant/mature men • Youthful/healthy women • Cultural • “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”

  29. Attraction • Similarity • Opposites do not attract. • Similarity breeds content.

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