Social Cognition, Attitude, Conformity and Obedience Social Psychology Social Cognition, Attitude, Conformity and Obedience

Bell Ringer If you could do anything humanly possible with complete assurance that you would not be detected or held responsible, what would you do? Keep your responses anonymous.

objective Identify what social psychologists study. Discuss how we tend to explain others’ behavior and our own. Describe automatic mimicry, and explain how conformity experiments reveal the power of social influence.

Discussion If a very good friend gets angry with you how would you explain his or her behavior? If someone you have recently gotten to know walks by you in the hall but doesn’t say hello, what would you think about that person? How do you explain poverty or unemployment?

Social Psychology Focus on same person, different situations Social schemas – consistent perceptions Top-down processing Self-fulfilling prophecy Attribution theory Fundamental attribution error Western vs. Asian culture Personal reflection Social and economic Actor-observer bias Self-serving bias Just-world hypothesis False-consensus effect

attitude ABC’s of attitude Peripheral v. central route persuasion Affective – emotional Behavioral – action Cognitive – belief Peripheral v. central route persuasion Persuasion changes attitude = changed behavior Attitude follows behavior Foot-in-the-door phenomenon Role playing morphs into real life Phillip Zimbardo – Prison Exp. Cognitive dissonance theory (Festinger, 1957) Ex: US invasion of Iraq

Aggression Genetics Neural Biochemical Psychosocial Reinforcement Found in twin studies Neural Amygdala, frontal lobe Biochemical Testosterone correlation Psychosocial Frustration-aggression principle Reinforcement Passive parents Social scripts

Aggression Media – pg. 794 “We are what we repeatedly do.” Video games Hostile Desensitized Dehumanized perceptions

Attraction Mere-exposure effect Reward Theory of Attraction Familiarity breeds fondness Survival value is hardwired; perception is key Similarity breeds content Reward Theory of Attraction Adrenaline makes the heart grow fonder Equity and self- disclosure are key

Social Cognition, Group Behavior, Prejudice and Discrimination Social Psychology Social Cognition, Group Behavior, Prejudice and Discrimination

Bell ringer Reading #38 – 40 Studies that changed psychology Assignment – Conformity and Cults

Objective Determine how our behavior is affected by the presence of others. Describe how behavior is influenced by cultural norms. Identify the social, emotional and cognitive roots of prejudice.

Conformity The chameleon effect  empathy = good and bad Cultural truisms Norms Solomon Asch, why we conform Normative social influence Informational social influence Cross-cultural = W. Europeans (ind.), Latin Am., Asia, Africa (group)

obedience Stanley Milgram brings controversy = stress, deception Replication  Jerry Burger (2009) slight decrease Historical examples The Holocaust The “Birkenhead drill” Lesson learned… “Do I adhere to my own standards or respond to others?”

The Presence of Others – the Good and the Bad Social facilitation  arousal amplifies actions Ex: the “home advantage”, crowding Social loafing men vs. women

Conflict Kitty Genovese (1964) John Darley & Bibb Latane (1968) – the bystander effect Happiness breeds helpfulness Norms Social exchange theory Reciprocity norm Social responsibility norm

Conflict: Causes and Resolutions Mirror-image perceptions lead to self-fulfilling prophecy Peace is promoted through contact, cooperation, communication and conciliation

The Presence of others – The good and the Bad Adverse effects of SF/SL  deindividuation Ex: tribal warriors, Internet bullies Beliefs strengthen with group polarization Separation+ Conversation = Polarization Desire for harmony = group think

Discussion – Identifying Stereotypes “Tide – My Tide TV Commercial – Tide Dad Short Version” Very Funny Pepsi Commercial with Chinese Monks Dr. Pepper 10 Commercial “Old Spice – The Man Your Man Could Smell Like”

The roots of prejudice Prejudice = attitude Discrimination = behavior Social Ingroup/outgroup Emotional Scapegoat theory Cognitive Scapegoating and ethnocentrism