Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Chapter 14 Social Psychology This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: Any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; Preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images Any rental, lease or lending of the program. ISBN:

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Social Psychology Social psychology – The branch of psychology that studies the effects of social variables and cognitions on individual behavior and social interactions Social context – The combination of (a)People (b)The activities and interactions among people (c)The setting in which behavior occurs, and (d)The expectations and social norms governing behavior in that setting

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 How Does the Social Situation Affect our Behavior? We usually adapt our behavior to the demands of the social situation, and in ambiguous situations we take our cues from the behavior of others in that setting

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 How Does the Social Situation Affect our Behavior? Situationism – The view that environmental conditions influence people’s behavior as much or more than their personal dispositions do

Dispositionism Internal factors including genes, traits and character qualities. We have a tendency to attribute our behavior to dispositionism and NOT to the situation. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Social Standards of Behavior Social role – One of several socially defined patterns of behavior that are expected of persons in a given setting or group Script – Knowledge about the sequence of events and actions that is expected in a particular setting

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Social Standards of Behavior Social norms – A group’s expectations regarding what is appropriate and acceptable for its members’ attitudes and behavior Social norms influence students’ political views

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 A123 Standard line Comparison lines Conformity: The Asch studies Which line matches the line on the left?

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Conformity: The Asch studies What would you say if you were in a room full of people who all picked line number three? A123 Standard line Comparison lines

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007Conformity No opposition (control) Alone against majority With partner Critical trials Correct estimated (percent)

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Group Characteristics That Produce Conformity Ashe identifies three factors that influence whether a person will yield to pressure: The size of the majority The presence of a partner who dissented from the majority The size of the discrepancy between the correct answer and the majority position

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Groupthink In “groupthink,” members of the group attempt to conform their opinions to what each believes to be the consensus of the group

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Conditions Likely to Promote Groupthink Conditions likely to promote groupthink include: Isolation of the group High group cohesiveness Directive leadership Lack of norms requiring methodical procedures Homogeneity of members’ social background and ideology High stress from external threats with low hope of a better solution than that of the group leader

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Obedience to Authority Imagine if an experimenter studying “the effects of punishment on memory” asked you to deliver painful electric shocks to a a middle-aged man who had been treated for a heart condition Each time the man missed an answer, you would be instructed to deliver an increasingly powerful shock

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Shock Generator Caution Amps On Intensity Resistance Amp Meter Slight Shock ModerateShock Strong Shock Very Strong Shock Intense Shock Extreme Shock Danger XXX Milgram’s Shock Generator Would you deliver a “Moderate Shock?”

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Shock Generator Caution Amps On Intensity Resistance Amp Meter Slight Shock Moderate Shock Strong Shock Very Strong Shock Intense Shock ExtremeShock Danger XXX Milgram’s Shock Generator Would you refuse the experimenter’s instruction to deliver an “Extreme Shock?”

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Shock Generator Caution Amps On Intensity Resistance Amp Meter Slight Shock Moderate Shock Strong Shock Very Strong Shock Intense Shock ExtremeShock Danger XXX Milgram’s Shock Generator What if the victim was screaming in agony?

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Shock Generator Caution Amps On Intensity Resistance Amp Meter Slight Shock Moderate Shock Strong Shock Very Strong Shock Intense Shock Extreme Shock Danger XXX Milgram’s Shock Generator Two thirds of participants delivered the maximum 450 volts to the learner

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Obedience to Authority In Milgram’s experiment The victim was an actor The victim received no actual shocks Nevertheless, this controversial experiment demonstrated how powerful effects of obedience to authority Situational factors, and not personality variables, appeared to effect people’s levels of obedience

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Obedience in Milgram’s Experiments

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Ten Steps Toward Evil- Getting Good People to Harm Others 1.Provide people with an ideology to justify beliefs for actions 2.Make people take a small first step toward a harmful act with a minor, trivial action and then gradually increase those small actions 3.Make those in charge seem like a “just authority” 4.Slowly transform a once compassionate leader into a dictatorial figure 5.Provide people with vague and ever changing rules

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Ten Steps Toward Evil- Getting Good People to Harm Others 6.Relabel the situation’s actors and their actions to legitimize the ideology 7.Provide people with social models of compliance 8.Allow verbal dissent but only if people continue to comply behaviorally with orders 9.Encourage dehumanizing the victim 10.Make exiting the situation difficult

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 The Bystander Problem Diffusion of responsibility – Dilution or weakening of each group member’s obligation to act when responsibility is perceived to be shared with all group members

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 The Bystander Problem In one experiment, a student was led to believe that the he or she was taking part in an experiment with between one and five other students (over an intercom) The student then heard what sounded like another student having a seizure and gasping for help The researchers timed how long it would take the students to ask for help

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Bystander Intervention in an Emergency 2-person groups 3-person groups 6-person groups Seconds from beginning of emergency Percentage helping

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 The Bystander Problem Diffusion of responsibility – Dilution or weakening of each group member’s obligation to act when responsibility is perceived to be shared with all group members

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 The Bystander Problem In one experiment, a student was led to believe that the he or she was taking part in an experiment with between one and five other students (over an intercom) The student then heard what sounded like another student having a seizure and gasping for help The researchers timed how long it would take the students to ask for help

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Constructing Social Reality: What Influences Our Judgments of Others? The judgments we make about others depend not only on their behavior but also on our interpretation of their actions within a social context

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Constructing Social Reality: What Influences Our Judgments of Others? Social reality – An individual’s subjective interpretation of other people and of relationships with them

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Making Cognitive Attributions Fundamental attribution error – Tendency to emphasize internal causes and ignore external pressures (The Lunch Date and Meet the Parents) Self-serving bias – Attributional pattern in which one takes credit for success but denies responsibility for failure (Defending Your Life)

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Prejudice and Discrimination Prejudice – A negative attitude toward an individual based solely on his or her membership in a particular group Discrimination – A negative action taken against an individual as a result of his or her group membership

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Prejudice and Discrimination In-group – The group with which an individual identifies Out-group – Those outside the group with which an individual identifies Social distance – The perceived difference or similarity between oneself and another person

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Causes of Prejudice Dissimilarity and Social Distance

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Causes of Prejudice Dissimilarity and Social Distance Economic Competition

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Causes of Prejudice Dissimilarity and Social Distance Economic Competition Scapegoating

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Causes of Prejudice Dissimilarity and Social Distance Economic Competition Scapegoating Conformity to Social Norms

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Causes of Prejudice Dissimilarity and Social Distance Economic Competition Scapegoating Conformity to Social Norms Media Stereotypes

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Combating Prejudice Research suggests that the possible tools for combating prejudice include: New role models Equal status contact Legislation

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 The power of the situation can help us understand violence and terrorism, but the broader understanding requires multiple perspectives that go beyond the boundaries of traditional psychology What Are the Roots of Violence and Terrorism?

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 The Robbers’ Cave: An Experiment in Conflict In the Robber’s Cave experiment, conflict between groups arose from an intensely competitive situation Cooperation, however, replaced conflict when the experimenters contrived situations that fostered mutual interdependence and common goals for the groups

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 The Robbers’ Cave: An Experiment in Conflict Violence and aggression – Terms that refer to behavior that is intended to cause harm Cohesiveness – Solidarity, loyalty, and a sense of group membership

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 The Robbers’ Cave: An Experiment in Conflict Mutual interdependence – Shared sense that individuals or groups need each other in order to achieve common goals

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Terrorism Terrorism – The use of violent, unpredictable acts by a small group against a larger group for political, economic, or religious goals Taking multiple perspectives can provide important insights on the problems of aggression, violence, and terrorism

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 End of Chapter 14