LEMMINGS AS METAPHOR HUMAN BEHAVIOR IN THE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT Lesson Plan 6

Competency Analyze the Philip Zimbardo prison experiment on authority. Review the Milgram experiment on obedience. Investigate the research of Darley and Latene on diffusion of responsibility. Examine the research of Asche on conformity. Assess attribution theories.

Overview Social psychology is an area of psychology that focuses on how the individual interacts in a social context. Social psychologists look at how social roles, attributions and social pressure alter a person’s behavior and affect a person’s judgment of others. Among other topics, a social psychologist might study obedience, prejudice, discrimination, attitudes, and stereotypes. Social norms are necessary to keep society running smoothly and safely, but following social norms can sometimes lead to problems. One example might be drinking a large amount as a result of the encouragement from friends. Most people can think of things they have done that would have never occurred had they been alone.

Breaking Social Norms Ed, a social psychology student who uses a wheelchair, was given the assignment of breaking a social norm and was cautioned not to choose one that would endanger him in any way. He chose to break the social norm of facing the doors when riding on an elevator. He got on the elevator and faced toward the back until he reached his destination. As other passengers got on and off, they wondered what he was doing and would offer to help him get turned around. When he said, “No, thank you,” they would be visibly uncomfortable, as evidenced by fidgeting, tapping their feet or making an effort not to look at him. As soon as the doors opened, passengers would race out. Ed stated that he found this amusing but terribly uncomfortable. He reported feeling the social pressure to turn around and that not doing it made both him and the other passengers anxious.

Power of Social Roles and Their Norms Milgram’s Experiment Stanford Prison Experiment

Diffusion of Responsibility Story of Kitty Genovese Latane and Darley study Diffusion of responsibility- responsibility to take action is spread across all bystanders so no one person feels personally responsible to help. Pluralistic ignorance- when people are not sure about the situation, they look at what everyone else is doing. If no one else is taking action, then they assume no action needs to be taken Darley and Latane concluded that three things must happen to get bystanders to take action. First, bystanders must notice the situation. Second, they must interpret the situation as an emergency. Third, the bystander must choose to help.

Conformity- Asch’s Experiment Major research area in social psychology is conformity Solomon Asch was determined to identify the personal and social characteristics that make an individual resist or go along with group pressure even if he or she can see that the group pressure is inaccurate. A group of 8 individuals (1 subject and 7confederates) sat in a room and verbally stated which of three unequal lines matched a given line. Each subject responded several times. The subject always gave his/her answer after all of the confederates gave their responses. The confederates in the experimental group were told to all give the same wrong answer. This was to see if the subject would go along with the group. Initial Results: The results showed that three-quarters of the subjects conformed at least once by responding incorrectly. Overall, about one- third of all of the responses were conforming ones.

Attribution There are two main types of attributions: Dispositional or internal attributions occur when blame is placed on internal factors. Situational or external attributions occur when blame is placed on situational or external factors. Generally, people have a tendency to blame their failures on external factors such as someone else, the situation or luck. On the other hand, they take personal credit for their successes. This is called the self-serving bias.

Fundamental Attribution Error Fundamental attribution error is the inclination to over-emphasize dispositional attributions while under-emphasizing situational attributions. Tend to explain behavior in terms of personality traits, a person’s abilities or motives instead of external factors. The tendency to attribute the cause of someone’s behavior to personality factors and underestimating the impact situational factors could have had.

Attributions Situational Dispositional Fundamental Attribution Error

Technophobia Example of Tim Technophobia is the fear and/or avoidance of advanced technology, mainly computerized technology. These are much needed skills today. Some people become quite anxious at the thought of using computerized technology. They feel they will not be able to understand how to use the technology. They feel inadequate or inferior due to their fear and anxiety. Individuals avoid advanced technology is involved, including certain college classes, jobs or activities. Locus of control and Self-efficacy Self-talk can help with technophobia

Suggested Reading This web site discusses the study of attitude and persuasion: http://www.socialpsychology.org/social.htm#attitudes This web site focuses on the different types of persuasion and how they are used: http://www.workingpsychology.com/definit.htm This web site contains information regarding prejudice, its causes and its ramifications: http://www.understandingprejudice.org/apa/english/ Finally, take a look at the information related to altruism and pro-social behavior: http://www.apa.org/monitor/dec06/altruism.html

Homework Readings: Lesson Plan 7 and supplemental readings and Lesson Plan 8 and supplemental readings Assignments: Discussion 7.1 or 8.1 or 8.2 Assignment: Breaking the Norm (2-3 page paper) 40pts- Due February 7