Behaviour in Social and Cultural Context Chapter 8

Behaviour in Social and Cultural Context Roles and rules Social influences on beliefs Individuals in groups Group conflict and prejudice

Roles and Rules Defining norms and roles The obedience study The prison study The power of roles

Defining Roles and Rules Norms Rules that regulate human life, including social conventions, explicit laws, and implicit cultural standards. Role A given social position that is governed by a set of norms for proper behaviour. Culture A program of shared rules that govern the behaviour of members of a community or society, and A set of values, beliefs and attitudes shared by most members of that community.

The Obedience Study Stanley Milgram and coworkers investigated whether people would follow orders, even when the order violated their ethical standards. Most people were far more obedient than anyone expected. Every single participant complied with at least some orders to shock another person. 2/3 shocked the learner to the full extent. Results are controversial and have generated much research on violence and obedience.

Factors Leading to Disobedience in Milgram’s study When the experimenter left the room. When the victim was in the same room. When the experimenter issued conflicting demands. When the person ordering them to continue was an ordinary man. When the subject worked with peers who refused to go on.

The Prison Study Subjects were physically and mentally healthy young men who volunteered to participate for money. They were randomly assigned to be prisoners or guards. Those assigned the role of prisoner became distressed, helpless, and panicky. Those assigned the roles of guards became either nice, “tough but fair,” or tyrannical. Study had to be ended after 6 days.

The Power of Roles Factors that cause people to obey: Allocating responsibility to the authority. Routinizing the task. Wanting to be polite. Becoming entrapped. Entrapment: A gradual process in which individuals escalate their commitment to a course of action to justify their investment of time, money, or effort.

Social Influences on Beliefs Defining social cognition Attributions Attitudes

Social Cognition An area in social psychology concerned with social influences on thought, memory, perception, and other cognitive processes. Researchers are interested in how people’s perceptions of themselves and others affect: Their relationships, thoughts, beliefs and values.

Attributions Attribution Theory The theory that people are motivated to explain their own and other peoples’ behaviour by attributing causes of that behaviour to a situation or a disposition. Fundamental Attribution Error Tendency in explaining others’ behaviours to overestimate personality factors and underestimate situational influence.

Attributions Self-serving bias Tendency, in explaining own behaviour, to take credit for one’s good actions and rationalize one’s mistakes. Just-world hypothesis The notion that many people need to believe that the world is fair and that justice is served Bad people are punished and good people rewarded.

Attitudes A relatively stable opinion containing beliefs and emotional feelings about a topic. Explicit We are aware of them, they shape conscious decisions Implicit We are unaware of them, they may influence our behaviour in ways we do not recognize.

Factors Influencing Attitude Change Change in social environment Change in behaviours Due to a need for consistency Cognitive Dissonance A state of tension that occurs when a person simultaneously holds two cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent, or when a person’s belief is incongruent with his or her behaviour.

Influencing Attitudes Effective ways to influence attitudes Endorsement by an attractive or admired person Repetition of an idea or assertion (validity effect) Association of message with a good feeling

Coercive Persuasion Person is in physical or emotional distress. Person’s problems are reduced to one simple explanation, repeated often. Leader offers unconditional love, acceptance, and attention. New identity based on group is created. Person is subjected to entrapment. Person’s access to information is controlled.

Individuals in Groups Conformity Groupthink The anonymous crowd Disobedience and dissent

Conformity Subjects in a group were asked to match line lengths. Confederates in the group picked wrong line. Subjects went along with wrong answer 37% of trials. Meta-analyses demonstrates that conformity has decreased in US since May be due to social norms. Individualistic v.s. Collectivist cultures. A B CTest line

Groupthink In close-knit groups, the tendency for all members to think alike and suppress disagreement for the sake of harmony. Symptoms of groupthink include Illusion of invulnerability Self-censorship Pressure on dissenters to conform Illusion of unanimity Groupthink can be counteracted by: Creating conditions rewarding dissent Basing decision on majority rule

The Anonymous Crowd Diffusion of Responsibility In organized or anonymous groups, the tendency of members to avoid taking responsibility for actions or decisions because they assume that others will do so. Bystander apathy People fail to call for help when others are near. Social loafing When people work less in the presence of others, allowing others to work harder.

Deindividuation In groups or crowds, the loss of awareness of one’s own individuality. Factors influencing deindividuation. Size of city, group. Uniforms or masks. Deindividuation can influence unlawful as well as friendly behaviours. Depends on norms of the specific situation.

Disobedience and Dissent Situational factors contributing to nonconformity: You perceive the need for intervention or help. Situation makes it more likely that you will take responsibility. Cost-benefit ratio supports your decision to get involved. You have an ally. You become entrapped.

Helping by Culture

Group Conflict and Prejudice Defining ethnocentrism Group Identity: Us versus them Stereotypes Prejudice

Ethnocentrism The belief that one’s own ethnic group, nation, or religion is superior to all others. Aids survival by making people feel attached to their own group and willing to work on their group’s behalf.

Group Identity: Us versus Them Social Identity The part of a person’s self-concept that is based on identification with a nation, culture, or group or with gender or other roles in society. Us versus them social identities are strengthened when groups compete with one another. Robber’s Cave studies

Robbers’ Cave Experiment Boys were randomly separated into two groups “ Rattlers” and “Eagles” Competitions fostered hostility between the groups. Experimenters contrived situations requiring cooperation for success. Cross-group friendships increased.

Stereotypes Cognitive schemas or a summary impressions of a group, in which a person believes that all members of the group share a common trait or traits (positive, negative, or neutral). Allow us to quickly process new information and retrieve memories. Distort reality in 3 ways. Exaggerate differences between groups. Produce selective perception. Underestimate differences between groups.

Prejudice The origins of prejudice Defining and measuring prejudice Reducing prejudice and conflict

Origins of Prejudice Psychological functions People inflate own self worth by disliking groups they see as inferior. Social and cultural functions By disliking others we feel closer to others who are like us. Economic functions Legitimizes unequal economic treatment.

Defining and Measuring Prejudice Not all people are prejudiced in the same way. People know they shouldn’t be prejudiced so measures of prejudice have declined. Distinguishing between explicit and implicit prejudice. Measuring implicit prejudice. Measures of symbolic racism. Measures of behaviours rather than attitudes. Measures of unconscious associations with a target group.

Measures of unconscious associations with the target group.

Experiencing Prejudice Research at McGill studied women or members of minority ethnic groups participants blamed themselves for failing a test unless they believed that the person grading the test had a history of discriminating against members of their group at a rate of 100 percent the tendency to blame themselves, rather, than others, may explain why members of minority groups report instances of group discrimination but not instances of individual discrimination e.g., “People in Canada discriminate against women, but I, myself, have never been a victim.”

Reducing Prejudice and Conflict Groups must have equal legal status, economic opportunities, and power. Authorities and community institutions must endorse egalitarian norms and provide moral support and legitimacy for both sides. Both sides must have opportunities to work and socialize together, formally and informally. Both sides must cooperate, working together for a common goal.