Social Thinking –Attributing behaviors –Attitudes & actions Social Influences –Conformity & Obedience –Group Influence Social Relations –Prejudice –Aggression –Conflict –Attraction –Altruism –Peacemaking

Objectives Describe the importance of attribution in social behavior & the dangers of fundamental attribution error. Identify the conditions under which attributes have a strong impact on actions. Explain the foot-in-the-door phenomenon & the effect of role playing on attitudes in terms of cognitive dissonance theory. Discuss the results of experiments on conformity, & distinguish between normative & informational social influence. Describe Milgram’s controversial experiments on obedience & discuss their implications for understanding our susceptibility to social influence.

Describe conditions in which the presence of others is likely to result in social facilitation, social loafing, or deindividuation. Discuss how group interaction can facilitate group polarization & groupthink, & describe how self-fulfilling prophecies & minority influence illustrate the power of individuals. Describe the social, emotional, & cognitive factors that contribute to the persistence of cultural, ethnic, & gender prejudice & discrimination. Describe the impact of biological factors, aversive events, & learning experiences on aggressive behavior. Discuss the effects of observing filmed violence & pornography on social attitudes & relationships.

Explain how social traps & mirror-image perceptions fuel social conflict. Describe the influence of proximity, physical attractiveness, & similarity on interpersonal attraction. Explain the impact of physical arousal on passionate love & discuss how companionate love is nurtured by equity & self-disclosure. Describe & explain the bystander effect, & explain altruistic behavior in terms of social exchange theory & social norms. Discuss effective ways of encouraging peaceful cooperation & reducing social conflict.

Social Thinking Why do people act as they do? Social Psychologists – study how we think about, influence, & relate to one another Attributing Behavior to Persons or Situations – example of drivers (p.645) How we explain someone’s behavior affects how we react Attitudes & Actions – affect each other under certain circumstances; foot-in-the- door-phenomenon (small request, then larger), cognitive dissonance theory (bring our attitudes into line with actions) Attribution Theory Fundamental Attribution Error

Social Influence Conformity & Obedience –Asch’s study (line length) –One example can prompt others to follow –Milgram study (shocks) –Strong social influences can make people conform –Zimbardo’s prison study (role playing) Normative social influence Informational social influence

Group Influence Individual behavior around others Social facilitation Better at easy task Social loafing Don’t try as hard Deindividuation (sf+sl)

Group Interaction Group polarization –Beneficial & negative Groupthink –Super Bowl commercials Self-fulfilling prophecies & minority influence

Social Relations Prejudice Less racial & gender prejudice today Us & Them Scapegoating (blaming) Do people of another race look alike? Just-world phenomenon (people get what they deserve) Aggression Influences are biological & psychological (vending machine deaths, soccer riot) TV correlational studies (teach or release violence) Sexual aggression, porn, violence & society

Continued… Conflict –Social Traps (self-interest) –Enemy perceptions (“them”) Attraction –Psychology –Physical (symmetry) –Conceptions vary by culture & time –Similarity –Romantic Love (triangular theory)

Altruism –Stopping to help –Kitty Genovese –Fewer people help if others seem available –Bystander effect –Social exchange theory Peacemaking –Superordinate goals override differences –Communication & Conciliation (GRIT) Continued…

Your Study –Don’t forget need for science Not everyone agrees with you (false consensus affect) We don’t always know the results & it’s OK if your hypothesis is not correct (overconfidence, hindsight bias, confirmation) It’s not all intuition & common sense OPERATIONALIZE (what did we learn from the cookies, shoes, and M&M’s???) What are other possibilities? (confounding variables & alternative conclusions) What method of study are you using? –What are some challenges to that method? What does your data indicate? Is there a need to follow up? ETHICS, ETHICS, ETHICS!!!

POSTER Scientific Method –Topic/Question –Background information (at least 1 reference) –Hypothesis (if, then statement) –Design of Study –Collection of Data –Analysis & Report –Sources of control / other possibilities Will need to meet with me 1 time outside of class before turn in on the 28 th