Unit 14: Social Psychology

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

Social Psychology Person Perception Attribution Processes Interpersonal Attraction Attitudes Conformity and Obedience Behavior in Groups

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

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

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

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

Person Perception: Forming Impressions of Others Effects of physical appearance Cognitive schemas Stereotypes Prejudice and discrimination Subjectivity in person perception Evolutionary perspectives

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

Figure Relationship between prejudice and discrimination

Prejudice Social Categorization – People organize the social environment by categorizing themselves and others into groups In-groups Out-groups In-group bias

Prejudice 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

Prejudice Racism – Discrimination against people based on skin color or ethnic heritage Sexism – Discrimination because of sex Stereotypes – Generalizations in which the same characteristics are assigned to all members of a group

Causes of Prejudice Dissimilarity and Social Distance

Causes of Prejudice Dissimilarity and Social Distance Economic Competition

Causes of Prejudice Dissimilarity and Social Distance Economic Competition Scapegoating

Causes of Prejudice Dissimilarity and Social Distance Economic Competition Scapegoating Conformity to Social Norms

Causes of Prejudice Dissimilarity and Social Distance Economic Competition Scapegoating Conformity to Social Norms Media Stereotypes

Figure The three potential components of prejudice as an attitude

Combating Prejudice Research suggests that the possible tools for combating prejudice include: – New role models – Equal status contact – Legislation Contact Hypothesis Jigsaw Classrooms

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

Constructing Social Reality: What Influences Our Judgments of Others? Social Reality – – An individual’s subjective interpretation of other people and of relationships with them Social Perception – – Process by which people come to understand & categorize the behaviors of others

Attribution Processes: Explaining Behavior Attributions – Internal vs. External – Kelley’s Covariation Model Biases in Attributions – Fundamental Attribution Error – Defensive Attribution – Self-serving Bias Cultural Influences

Figure Bias in the attributions used to explain success and failure by men and women

Making Cognitive Attributions Fundamental Attribution Error – Tendency to emphasize internal causes and ignore external pressures Self-serving Bias – Attributional pattern in which one takes credit for success but denies responsibility for failure

Figure 16.4 An alternative view of the fundamental attribution error

Attitudes 3 Components: Cognitive Affective Behavioral

Figure 16.8 The possible components of attitudes

Attitude Change Factors in Changing Attitudes – Source, Message, and Receiver Theories of Attitude Change – Learning Theory – Dissonance Theory – Self-perception Theory – Elaboration Likelihood Model

Figure Bem’s self-perception theory

Attraction and Self-Justification Cognitive Dissonance – A highly motivating state in which people have conflicting cognitions, especially when their voluntary actions conflict with their attitudes

Figure Design of the Festinger and Carlsmith (1959) study

Figure 16.9 Overview of the persuasion process

Interpersonal Attraction Key Factors of Attraction: Proximity Similarity Reciprocity Physical Attractiveness

Expectations and the Influence of Self-Esteem Matching Hypothesis – Prediction that most people will find friends and mates that are about their same level of attractiveness Expectancy-value Theory – Theory that people decide whether or not to pursue a relationship by weighing the potential value of the relationship against their expectations of success in establishing the relationship

Loving Relationships Romantic Love – A temporary and highly emotional condition based on infatuation and sexual desire

Perspectives on Love – Hatfield & Berscheid – Passionate vs. Companionate love – Sternberg - Intimacy and commitment – Hazen & Shaver – Love as attachment Evolutionary Perspectives – Mating priorities Close Relationships: Liking and Loving

Dependence Model – the likelihood to remain together is based on these judgments: 1.The degree to which intimacy, sex, emotional involvement, companionship, and intellectual involvement are important in the individual’s relationship 2. The degree to which each of those needs is satisfied in the relationship 3.For each need, whether there is anyone other than the current partner with whom the individual has an important relationship 4.The degree to which each need is satisfied by the alternative relationship Factors That Allow a Relationship to Last

Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love Passion IntimacyCommitment

Figure 16.5 Infant attachment and romantic relationships

Yielding to Others: Conformity Conformity – Solomon Asch (1950s) – Classic Experiment Group Size Group Unanimity

A123 Standard line Comparison lines Conformity: The Asch Studies Which line matches the line on the left?

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

Conformity No opposition (control) Alone against majority With partner Critical trials Correct estimated (percent)

Group Characteristics That Produce Conformity Asch 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

Yielding to Others: Obedience Obedience – Stanley Milgram (1960s) – Controversial landmark experiment – “I was just following orders” Presence of a Dissenter

Obedience to Authority Imagine if an experimenter studying “the effects of punishment on memory” asked you to deliver painful electric shocks to 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

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?”

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?”

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?

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

Obedience to Authority In Milgram’s experiment – The victim was an actor – The victim received no actual shocks Nevertheless, this controversial experiment demonstrated the powerful effects of obedience to authority Situational factors, and not personality variables, appeared to affect people’s levels of obedience

Obedience in Milgram’s Experiments

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

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

Behavior in Groups: The Influence of Other People The Bystander Effect - Darley and Latane (1968) – Diffusion of Responsibility Group productivity and Social Loafing Decision making in groups Polarization Groupthink

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

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

Group Behavior Social Facilitation – An increase in an individual’s performance because of being in a group Social Loafing – An decrease in performance because of being in a group

Figure The effect of loss of coordination and social loafing on group productivity

Group Behavior Deindividuation – Occurs when group members lose their sense of personal identity and responsibility and the group “assumes” responsibility for their behavior

Group Behavior Group Polarization – When individuals in a group have similar, though not identical, views, their opinions become more extreme Groupthink – An excessive tendency to seek recurrence among group members

Groupthink In “groupthink,” members of the group attempt to conform their opinions to what each believes to be the consensus of the group

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

Altruism and Prosocial Behavior Prosocial Behavior – Carried out with the goal of helping people Altruism – Prosocial behaviors without consideration for self safety or interests Reciprocal Altruism

Altruism and Prosocial Behavior Motives for Prosocial Behavior – Altruism – Egoism – Collectivism – Principlism

Effects of the Situation on Prosocial Behavior Bystander Intervention – Willingness to assist a person in need Diffusion of Responsibility – The larger the number of bystanders, the less responsibility any one bystander feels to help

Effects of the Situation on Prosocial Behavior Bystander must notice the emergency Bystander must label events as an emergency Bystander must feel responsibility

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?

Aggression Evolutionary perspectives Individual differences – Impulsive aggression – Instrumental aggression

Aggression Situational influences – Frustration-aggression hypothesis – Temperature and aggression – Direct provocation and escalation

Aggression Cultural Constraints – Construals of the self and aggressive behavior – Norms of aggressive behavior

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

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

The Robbers Cave: An Experiment in Conflict Mutual interdependence – Shared sense that individuals or groups need each other in order to achieve common goals

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

Psychology of Conflict and Peace Obedience to authority – Milgram’s study – Obedience paradigm – Test situation – To shock or not to shock? – Why do people obey authority?

Psychology of Conflict and Peace

Psychology of Genocide and War Genocide Concepts and images of the “enemy” Why will people go to war?

Peace Psychology – Interdisciplinary approach to prevention of nuclear war and maintenance of peace Analyzing forms of leadership and government Fostering contact to facilitate conflict resolution