Social Psychology

Social Psychology • scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

Internal attitudes External influences Behavior Social Thinking • Our behavior is affected by our inner attitudes as well as by external social influences

Internal Influences • Attitude • belief and feeling that predisposes one to respond in a particular way to objects, people and events • Often learned • Can change as acquire new information and experiences • Ages 16 – 24 critical period for these

Internal Influences • Attribution Theory • tendency to give a causal explanation for someone’s behavior, often by crediting either the situation (Situational Attribution) or the person’s disposition (Dispositional Attribution)

Internal Influences • Fundamental Attribution Error • tendency for observers, when analyzing another’s behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition

Internal Influences • Self-Serving Bias • the tendency to take credit personally for good things that happen and blame the situation, others, etc. for mistakes and failures

Internal Influences • Cognitive Dissonance Theory • we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts or beliefs are inconsistent or our behavior does not match our thoughts (or beliefs)

Internal Influences • Dissonance is reduced by: • Rejecting one of the beliefs • Changing the behavior • Denying the evidence which points out the discrepancy • Rationalize • Ignoring (Repression)

External Influences • Norm • An understood rule for accepted and expected behavior • Role • set of expectations about a social position that defines how those in the position ought to behave

External Influences • Groups: • two or more people interacting with and influencing one another

External Influences • Conformity • adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard • Obedience • following direct commands, usually from an authority figure

External Influences • Group Polarization • The tendency within a group to move toward the group’s prevailing attitudes through discussion within the group • Groupthink • mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides realistic appraisal of alternatives

External Influences • Diffusion of Responsibility • when in an anonymous group, the belief that someone else “will do it” • Deindividuation • loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity

External and Internal Influences • Prejudice • an unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members • Stereotype • An often inaccurate and overgeneralized belief about a group of people • Discrimination • prejudicial action taken

External and Internal Influences • Ingroup Bias • tendency to favor one’s own group • Scapegoat Theory • theory that prejudice provides an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame

Social Psychology