ocial psychology

2. ocial psychology ** Influence of real, imagined, or implied presence of others

3. Conformity • 12.1 What factors influence people to conform to the actions of others? • Social influence: Process through which the real or implied presence of others can directly or indirectly influence the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of an individual • ** Conformity: Changing one’s own behavior to match that of other people

4. Conformity • Asch study • Subjects conformed to group opinion about 1/3 of the time 1 2 3 Standard Line Comparison Lines Source: Adapted from Asch (1956).

5. Groupthink ** Groupthink: Occurs when a decision-making group feels that it is more important to maintain group unanimity and cohesiveness than to consider the facts realistically

6. Characteristics of Groupthink

7. Compliance • Compliance and consumer psychology: • Door-in-the-face technique • Lowball technique • ** Foot-in-the-door technique asking for a small commitment and, after gaining compliance, asking for a bigger commitment. • Telemarketers know that anyone who agrees to listen to a pitch is more likely to by the product. • ** That’s-not-all technique

8. Obedience • 12.3 What factors make obedience more likely? • Compliance due to perceived authority of the asker • Request perceived as command

9. Milgram’s Obedience Experiment • METHOD: Participants (“teachers”) were instructed to give electric shocks to another person (“learner”), who only pretended to be shocked. • RESULTS: 65%obeyed until the end, even though many were upset by being asked to do so.

10. Sample Script Items from Milgram’s Classic Experiment • ** No one single personality trait was found to be associated to high levels of obedience.

11. Group Behavior • Group polarization: Tendency for members involved in a group discussion to take somewhat more extreme positions and suggest riskier actions when compared to individuals who have not participated in a group discussion

12. ** Social facilitation: Positive influence of others on performance Social impairment: Negative influence of others on performance ** Social loafing: When lazy person works in a group, that person often performs less well than if the person were working alone Group Behavior

13. Attitudes “She is such a nice person.” • ** Attitude: Tendency to respond positively or negatively toward certain people, ideas, objects, or situations

14. Attitudes Components of Attitudes Cognitive Affective Behavior I like country music; it's fun and uplifting. I thinkcountry music is better than any other kind of music. I buy country music CDs every chance I get.

15. 1 2 3 4 Attitude Formation Attitude formation can be the result of several processes: Direct contact Direct instruction ** Interaction with others Vicarious learning

16. Persuasion • ** Persuasion: Attempt to change another’s attitude via argument, explanation, etc. • Source of message • Message itself • Target audience

17. Elaboration Likelihood Model • Involves attending to the content of the message itself • Involves attending to factors not involved in the message, such as: • Appearance of source of message • Length of message Peripheral route Direct route

18. Cognitive Dissonance • ** Cognitive dissonance: • Discomfort arising when one’s thoughts and behaviors do not correspond • Lessening cognitive dissonance: • Change the conflicting behavior • Change the conflicting attitude • Form a new attitude to justify the behavior “I repeated gossip about my friend Chris.” “I am a good, loyal friend.”

19. Impression Formation and Social Categorization Impression formation:Forming of first knowledge about another person Influenced by primacy effect Part of social cognition • Stereotype:Set of characteristics that people believe is shared by all members of a particular social category • Social categorization: Automatic unconscious assignment of a new acquaintance to some category or group

20. Attribution Situational (external) Dispositional (internal) • Attribution: Process of explaining the behavior of others as well as one’s own behavior • ** Fundamental attribution error (actor-observer bias) “He probably got caught in some bad traffic, and then he was late for a meeting.” “He’s such a careless driver. He never watches out for other cars.”

21. Prejudice and Discrimination • Prejudice: • Negative thoughts and feelings about a particular group • Discrimination: • Treating others differently because of prejudice

22. Types of Prejudice and Discrimination • In-group: Social groups with whom a person identifies; “us” • Out-group:Social groups with whom a person does not identify; “them” • Realistic conflict theory • Scapegoating • **** Forms of prejudice include: • Ageism • Sexism • Racism • Too fat • Too thin US THEM

23. How People Learn Prejudice Social cognitive theory Social identity theory Stereotype vulnerability • Formation of a person’s identity within a particular group due to: • Social categorization • Social identity • Social comparison • Knowledge of someone else’s stereotyped opinions • Self-fulfilling prophecy • Stereotype threat Views prejudice as an attitude acquired through direct instruction, modeling, and other social influences

24. Rules of Attraction • 12.10 What factors govern attraction and love, and what are some different kinds of love? • Interpersonal attraction:Liking or having the desire for a relationship with another person • Factors • Physical attractiveness • Proximity • Similarity • Complementary qualities • Reciprocity of liking

25. Intimacy Commitment Passion Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love: Three Components of Love

26. Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love: Different Forms of Love • Intimacy, passion, and commitment produce seven different kinds of love: • Liking • Infatuation • Empty • Romantic • Fatuous • Companionate • Consummate Source: Adapted from Sternberg (1986).

27. Aggression • Biological influences: • Genetics • Amygdala and limbic system • Testosterone and serotonin levels • Learning influences: • Social learning theory and social roles • Media violence

28. Prosocial Behavior • Altruism and prosocial behavior • ** Bystander effect • Diffusion of responsibility • Fewer bystanders = less diffusion, more help

29. Latané and Darley’s Study • Participants in room filling with smoke more likely to report smoke when alone Source: Latané & Darley (1969).

30. Five Steps in Making a Decision to Help • Noticing • Defining an emergency • Taking responsibility • Planning a course of action • Taking action

31. Anatomy of a Cult • Cults use love-bombing, isolation, rituals, and activities to keep new recruits from questioning, critical thinking • Also use the foot-in-the-door technique