attitude A learned, stable, and lasting evaluation of a person, object, or idea. Not innate—acquired through interactions and experiences Resistant to change Possesses cognitive, affective, and behavioral components

First Impressions Form very quickly First thing likely to affect the formation of impression is physical appearance. Very difficult to overcome first impression.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy A belief that leads to its own fulfillment

Fritz Heider, Attribution Theory One can make one of two kinds of attributions about the causes of behavior: Personal or dispositional attribution Situational or external attribution

Dispositional attribution We won the football game because we have a high level of natural talent, we carefully studied our opponents strengths and weaknesses, and we paid the price of hard work and commitment by doubling our hours of practice.

Situational Attribution We lost the football game because of poor calls by the officials and the bad luck of having injuries to key players on our team.

Fundamental Attribution Error Tendency for observers, when analyzing another’s behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation, and overestimate the impact of personal disposition.

Mere Exposure Effect Predicts that we will be most attracted to those with whom we are familiar. Also found to be true in music, art and a number of other things

Cognitive Dissonance Theory The that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent. For example, when our awareness of our attitudes and of our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes.

Groupthink Groupthink occurs when a cohesive in-group seeks to have unanimity of opinion more than anything else. Janis (1972) cited the following conditions as conducive to groupthink: An isolated, powerful, decision-making group The lack of impartial leadership High levels of stress on the group

Six Symptoms of Groupthink Close-mindedness: Not being open to new ideas Rationalization: Heroic efforts to justify group opinion; may distort the reality process Squelching of dissent: Dissenters are ignored, criticized, or ostracized

Six Symptoms of Groupthink Formation of “mindguard”: Appointment of keeper of group norm to ensure the rest of the group stays in line. Feeling invulnerable: Belief that the group is right, given the intellectual power of the members and available information. Feeling unanimous: Everyone in group believes group opinions are shared by all.

Janis: Examples of Groupthink Bay of Pigs fiasco during Kennedy Administration Mass suicide at Jonestown in Guyana in 1978 Heaven’s Gate mass suicide

Historical Examples of Groupthink Although Chinese warned of retaliatory attacks, President Truman still made the decision to invade North Korea in 1950 Escalation of the Vietnam War in the 1960s by President Johnson Nixon’s attempted cover-up of Watergate

Historical Examples of Groupthink NASA’s decision to send up Challenger launch, despite warnings from engineers regarding safety of the O-rings in freezing temperatures. The War in Iraq?

Asch: Experiment on Conformity Solomon Asch (1951, 1956) Subjects told they are in an experiment on perception—actually experiment on conformity One subject, the rest of the group are confederates Will the subject conform to obvious wrong answer?

Line Length and Normative Influence 1 4 Conformity Line Length and Normative Influence

Normative Social Influence Influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval.

Stanley Milgram (1974) Classic experiment on obedience. Subjects obeyed Milgram’s requests to a level far beyond that predicted by him or others. Experts believed that only one in a thousand (the true sadist) would administer the maximum shocks. Actually 2/3 went all the way.

Kitty Genovese Slaying In 1964, Kitty Genovese was killed over the course of a half-hour within earshot of at least 38 witnesses in her apartment complex in New York City. The incident spurred research on inaction of bystanders. Darley and Latané discovered the Bystander Effect.

Bystander Effect The tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present.

The Effects of Others’ Actions When we witness someone in need of help, we use others’ reactions to help us interpret the situation. If we see that no one else is doing anything, we may falsely believe that inaction indicates there is no need for action

Prejudice Prejudice is a negative attitude for a particular group that is based on limited or faulty information about them. Prejudice is an attitude towards a group and not individuals, although we often direct our prejudicial attitudes for certain groups towards individual members of that group.

Social Categorization and Stereotypes Such classifications lead us to prototypes and prototypes lead us to stereotypes, which are prototypes applied to groups of people. Stereotypes help us to organize and simplify the world, but they also may oversimplify.

Stereotype A generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people.

Just-World Phenomenon The tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get.

The Robber’s Cave Study Sherif’s study of 11-year-old boys and Robbers Cave State Park in Oklahoma still stands as the classic experimental manipulation of prejudice. Sherif was able to increase prejudice in groups of boy campers at the park by having them compete for prizes and sporting events.

The Robber’s Cave Study The competition combined with the fact that the boys had formed cohesive groups within their separate cabins were all it took for a full-blown prejudice and discrimination to develop. Soon, the boys were fighting, sabotaging outgroup members, and engaging in vandalism of outgroup properties.

The Robber’s Cave Study After allowing the prejudice to develop, Sherif was able to reduce prejudice by forcing the boys to work cooperatively to accomplish superordinate goals (i.e., re-establishing water service to the cabins after a water pipe leak).

Deindividuation One factor that makes aggressive mob behavior more likely is deindividuation. Deindividuation occurs when, as a member of a group, we lose our sense of individual identity and self-restraint in situations which foster arousal and anonymity.

The Stanford Experiment When Zimbardo randomly assigned to Stanford students to the roles of “guard” and “prisoner” in his famous prison study, he intentionally deindividuated members from each group. Guards wore uniforms and mirrored sunglasses; prisoners wore different uniforms and stocking caps and were identified by number, not name.

The Stanford Experiment As a result of these circumstances, the otherwise normal participants who played the roles of the guards began to exhibit cruel and dehumanizing behavior. The experiment had to be halted before completion, because the deindividuating processes were so powerful that Zimbardo was at risk of losing control over the situation.

Foot-in-the-door Phenomenon The tendency for people who have agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request.