Social Psychology

1. Social Psychology

2. Definitions • Study of how we think about, influence and relate to one another • Study of thoughts, feelings and behavior influenced by the real, imagined or implied presence of other people.

3. First impressions • Primacy effect • Always accurate?

4. Attribution Theory • Attribution: process of explaining behavior • Fritz Heider • Attribute behavior to: • Internal disposition (trait) • External situation

5. Fundamental Attribution Error • When making attributions about others: • Overestimating influence of personality (internal disposition) • Underestimating influence of situations • Actor/Observer differences

6. Effects of Fundamental Attribution Error • Toward poverty, unemployment other social problems... What do you think?

7. Attitudes & Actions • Attitude: belief, feeling that predisposes one to respond in a particular way • Attitudes guide actions when other influences are minimal • Mirror effect • Attitudes follow behavior • Foot-in-the-door (small to big) • Role playing (prison experiment)

8. Attitude Formation • A, B, C Theory • A=Affect • B=Behavior • C=Cognition

9. Cognitive dissonance • We act to reduce the discomfort we feel when our behavior and attitudes are inconsistent • When actions and attitudes clash, we change our attitudes • Justification theory

10. Zimbardo’s prison experiment • Journal assignment: • www.zimbardo.com • Explore the information re: the prison experiment • Choose a discussion question • Write your answer • Prepare to lead discussion in class on your question.

11. Class Activity • Judging time

12. Asch’s Conformity Experiments • Conditions that strengthen conformity • Feeling incompetent or insecure • Group is unanimous • Admires group’s status • Has made no prior commitment or response • Others in group will observe behavior • Culture strongly encourages respect for social standards

13. Normative social influence • Being sensitive to social expectations and norms • Often used to avoid rejection or gain social approval • Informational social influence • Being willing to accept other’s opinions about reality

14. Obedience • Milgram’s study 1964, 1974 • Estimates • Video

15. Obedience highest when: • Person giving orders was authority figure and close by • Authority figure supported by prestigious institution • Victim depersonalized, or distant • No role models for defiance

16. ABC news versionhttp://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=2765416&page=1 • Tested 18 men – 65% complied • 22 women – 73% complied • With accomplice that refused, 63% continued • Ethnically diverse • Highly educated group • 22.9% some college • 40% bachelor’s degree • 20% master’s degree

17. Possible explanations • Personality? • No traits or groups of traits found to predict those who obey. • Situation? • Foot in the door technique • Milgram stated that “ordinary people, simply doing their jobs, and without any particular hostility on their part, can become agents in a terrible destructive process.” (1974) Obedience to Authority, New York: Harper and Row p. 6

18. Group influence • Social facilitation • Improved performance in presence of others • Well learned or simple tasks • Social Loafing • Exerting less effort in group • Deindividuation • Loss of self-awareness and restraint in group situations fostering arousal and anonymity

19. Group interaction • Group Polarization

20. Groupthink • Occurs when desire for harmony in decision-making groups overrides realistic appraisal of alternatives • To avoid harmonious but unrealistic Groupthink: • Welcome various opinions • Invite expert critique • Assign people to identify problems • Leader withholds opinion initially

21. Prejudice • “unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members.” • Stereotyped beliefs (generalizations re: group) • Negative feelings • Predisposition to discriminatory action

22. Discrimination • Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members

23. Social Roots of Prejudice • Social inequalities: • Prejudice rationalize inequalities • Ingroup and Outgroup • In-group bias: favoring own group, even randomly assigned • Scapegoating • Finding someone to blame

24. Cognitive Roots of Prejudice • Categorization • Leads to stereotypes and biases perceptions • Vivid Cases- Illusory Correlations • Availability heuristic • The Just-World Phenomenon • “People get what they deserve”

25. Aggression • Biological influences • Male • Neural system that facilitates • Frontal lobes to inhibit • Biochemical: • Alcohol • Testosterone

26. Aggression • Psychological factors • Aversive events: Frustration Aggression principle • Learning experiences • Media influences • Desensitization • Social scripts

27. Conflict • Perceptions: • Self-serving bias • Fundamental attribution error • Self-fulfilling prophecy • Social traps • Pursue own interests and lose • If communicate, more cooperation

28. Attraction • Proximity • Mere exposure effect • Physical Attractiveness: What is beauty? • Cultural standards • Americans spend more on beauty supplies than on education... • 8.5 million cosmetic treatments in 2001 • Similarity

29. Romantic Love • Schacter’s two-factor theory of emotion • Emotions have two ingredients • Arousal • Interpretation (cognitive appraisal) • Arousal from any source can enhance emotion depending on how we interpret it

30. Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love • Three components: Intimacy, passion and commitment • Liking = Intimacy only • Romantic = Intimacy + Passion • Infatuation = Passion only • Fatuous = Passion + Commitment • Empty = Commitment only • Companionate = Intimacy + Commitment • Consummate = Intimacy + Passion + Commitment

31. Altruism • Bystander effect – less likely to give aid when others were around

32. Peacemaking • Contact non competitive • Parties have equal status • Give groups superordinate goals • Small conciliatory acts