Social Psychology Why does the same person act differently in different situations? Module 74

Social Psychology The branch of psychology that studies how people think, feel, and behave in social situations Two Basic Areas of Social Psychology: 1. Social cognition - study of the mental processes people use to make sense of other people 2. Social influence - study of the effect of situational factors and other people on an individual’s behavior

Themes of Social Psychology 1.We construct our social reality 2.Our social intuitions can be wrong 3.Our behavior is shaped by social influences, our attitudes, our personality, and our biology 4.Social psychology is practical

Attribution: Explaining the Causes of Behavior

Attribution Theory People tend to give a causal explanation for someone’s behavior, often by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition

Effects of Attributions

Fundamental Attribution Error Explains how we view behaviors of OTHERS The tendency for observers, when analyzing another’s behavior, to give too much weight to personality and not enough to situational variables People tend to blame or credit the person more than the situation. It is common in individualistic cultures

Actor-Observer Bias Explains how we view our OWN behavior Attribute personality causes of behavior when observing someone else’s behavior Attribute situational causes when evaluating our own behavior (when we’re the actor) We tend to judge a person on their actions we see whether these are a true reflections of that person or not. Why? –hypothesis 1: we know our behavior changes from situation to situation, but we don’t know this about others –hypothesis 2: when we see others perform an action, we concentrate on actor, not situation -- when we perform an action, we see environment, not person –See the Active Psych Demo for more info on this.Active Psych Demo

Self-Serving Bias Tendency to attribute successful outcomes of one’s own behavior to internal causes and unsuccessful outcomes to external, situational causes – Individualistic Cultures do this. Self-handicapping – person creates a preliminary excuse they can fall back on if they do poorly – Scared you won’t do well on test so stay up late and tell everyone you didn’t study so you have an excuse if you don’t do as well as you hope.

Self-Effacing Bias Modesty bias - involves blaming failure on internal, personal factors, while attributing success to external, situational factors –Collectivist cultures do this. – Less likely to commit the fundamental attribution error – More likely to attribute the causes of another person’s behavior to external, situational factors rather than to internal, personal

Cross-Cultural Differences Western culture –people are in charge of own destinies –more attributions to personality Some Eastern cultures –fate in charge of destiny –more attributions to situation Age (years) Adult United States India Attributions to internal disposition

Attitudes What is an attitude? –predisposition to evaluate some people, groups, or issues in a particular way –can be negative or positive –Has three components Cognitive—thoughts about given topic or situation Affective—feelings or emotions about topic Behavioral—your actions regarding the topic or situation

Components of Attitudes An attitude is a positive or negative evaluation of an object, person, or idea

Attitudes Affecting Actions Many studies suggest a person’s attitudes do NOT match their actions HOWEVER… Attitudes can predict behavior if: –Outside influences are minimal –People are aware of their attitudes –Attitude is relevant to behavior

Actions Affecting Attitudes Can our actions change our attitudes? YES –Persuasion Techniques: Foot-in-the-door phenomenon Peripheral route Central route –Role playing –Cognitive dissonance

PERSUASION The deliberate attempt to influence the attitudes or behavior of another person in a situation in which that person has some freedom of choice

2 Forms of Persuasion 1.Peripheral Route – people make snap judgments based on incidental cues (celebrity endorsements, music, images) 2.Central Route – offers evidence and arguments to trigger favorable views. –Works best when you’re involved in the issue

Foot-in-the-door phenomenon Ask for something small at first, then hit customer with larger request later Small request has paved the way to compliance with the larger request –Used in brainwashing Cognitive dissonance results if person has already granted a request for one thing, then refuses to give the larger item “Can I go the movies with Jim? Can I sleep over at Jim’s house?”

Four-Walls Technique Question customer in such a way that gets answers consistent with the idea that they need to own object –Once you say “Yes” to a string of questions hard to say to know to buying something. Feeling of cognitive dissonance results if person chooses not to buy this thing that they “need”

Low-Ball Technique Persuader gets you to commit to a low-ball offer they have no intention of keeping. After you commit, they later tell you can’t do it for that price. Since you have already committed, it is hard to say no to the new higher price demand.

The Reciprocity Norm and Compliance We feel obliged to return favors, even those we did not want in the first place –opposite of foot-in-the-door –salesperson gives something to customer with idea that they will feel compelled to give something back (buying the product) –even if person did not wish for favor in the first place –“I’ll let you copy off my AP Psych notes if I can copy off your notes for Physics.”

Other Persuasive Techniques Door-in-the-Face – Make a large request you know they will say no to and then follow with smaller request. –“Can I have a car for my birthday? How about a cell phone?” That’s-Not-All – Make an offer but before it can be accepted you throw in something extra to make it even more attractive Rule of Commitment - Once you make a public commitment, it applies pressure to you to stay consistent with your earlier commitment.

Defense against Persuasion Techniques Sleep on it—don’t act on something right away Play devil’s advocate—think of all the reasons you shouldn’t buy the product or comply with the request Pay attention to your gut feelings—if you feel pressured, you probably are

Cognitive Dissonance (Leon Festinger) The theory that people act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) they feel when their thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent with their actions When our attitudes are inconsistent with our actions, we change our attitudes to reduce the tension/dissonance

Cognitive Dissonance Unpleasant state of psychological tension or arousal that occurs when two thoughts or perceptions are inconsistent When Attitudes and behaviors are in conflict –It is uncomfortable for us –We seek ways to decrease discomfort caused by the inconsistency –Easiest way to do this is change our views/attitudes to match our actions

How Cognitive Dissonance Leads to Attitude Change When your behavior conflicts with your attitudes, an uncomfortable state of tension is produced. However, if you can rationalize or explain your behavior, the conflict (and the tension) is eliminated or avoided. If you can’t explain your behavior, you may change your attitude so that it is in harmony with your behavior.

Insufficient-justification effect Festinger & Carlsmith (1959) –gave subjects a boring task, then asked subjects to lie to the next subject and say the experiment was exciting –paid ½ the subjects $1, other ½ $20 –then asked subjects to rate boringness of task –$1 group rated the task as far more fun than the $20 group –each group needed a justification for lying $20 group had an external justification of money since $1 isn’t very much money, $1 group said task was fun The less coerced and more responsible we feel for a troubling act, the more dissonance/tension we feel & the more pressure we feel to change our attitudes to justify the act.

Dissonance-Reducing Mechanisms Firming up an attitude to be consistent with an action (Festinger’s Studies) – once we’ve made a choice to do something, lingering doubts about our actions would cause dissonance, so we are motivated to set them aside –“People come to believe and love the things they have to suffer for.” Avoiding dissonant information – we attend to information in support of our existing views, rather than information that doesn’t support them Create an extraordinary excuse

Cognitive Dissonance: A Review –If you have a good excuse for a behavior that does not go with your attitude then you avoid dissonance. –If you do not have a good excuse for a behavior that is against your attitude you must change your attitude to fit your behavior.

“Fake it ‘til you make it” What we do we become. If your attitude is poor, act positive and before long your attitude will match your actions.

Role Playing What we do, we gradually become Playing a role can influence or change one’s attitude Zimbardo’s Prison Study –College students played the role of guard or prisoner in a simulated prison. –The study was ended after just 6 days when the guards became too aggressive and cruel. –Want to learn more about this famous study? See the Stanford Prison Experiment Online Slide Show or watch Stanford Prison Experiment video (8 minutes)Stanford Prison Experiment Online Slide ShowStanford Prison Experiment video –Modern issues of Prison Abuse – see CNN Report on Juvenile Jails and Abuse – 3 min.CNN Report on Juvenile Jails and Abuse – 3 min Dr. Phillip Zimbardo

Exit Slip On a half sheet of paper: –1. Give an example of a time you committed the fundamental attribution error. –2. Give an example of a time you felt cognitive dissonance and changed your actions or attitudes to compensate.