Studying the way people relate to others. Social Psychology Attitude Attraction Group Behavior Aggression Studying the way people relate to others.

How Does the Social Situation Affect our Behavior? We usually adapt our behavior to the demands of the social situation, and in ambiguous situations we take our cues from the behavior of others in that setting Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

How Does the Social Situation Affect our Behavior? Situationism – The view that environmental conditions influence people’s behavior as much or more than their personal dispositions do Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Social Standards of Behavior Social role – One of several socially defined patterns of behavior that are expected of persons in a given setting or group Script – Knowledge about the sequence of events and actions that is expected in a particular setting Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Social Standards of Behavior Social norms – A group’s expectations regarding what is appropriate and acceptable for its members’ attitudes and behavior Social norms influence students’ political views Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Conformity Adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard. How did you feel the first time someone asked you to smoke?

Conformity Studies Adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.

Asch’s Study of Conformity

Reasons for Conforming Normative Social Influence Influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disappointment Informational Social Influence Influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Conformity No opposition (control) Correct estimated (percent) 100 80 60 40 20 With partner Alone against majority Critical trials 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Asch’s Results About 1/3 of the participants conformed. 70% conformed at least once. To strengthen conformity: The group is unanimous The group is at least three people. One admires the group’s status One had made no prior commitment

Group Characteristics That Produce Conformity Ashe identifies three factors that influence whether a person will yield to pressure: The size of the majority The presence of a partner who dissented from the majority The size of the discrepancy between the correct answer and the majority position Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Groupthink Group members suppress their reservations about the ideas supported by the group. They are more concerned with group harmony. Worse in highly cohesive groups.

Conditions Likely to Promote Groupthink Conditions likely to promote groupthink include: Isolation of the group High group cohesiveness Directive leadership Lack of norms requiring methodical procedures Homogeneity of members’ social background and ideology High stress from external threats with low hope of a better solution than that of the group leader Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Deindividuation People get swept up in a group and lose sense of self. Feel anonymous and aroused. Explains rioting behaviors.

Zimbardo’s Prison Study Showed how we deindividuate AND become the roles we are given. Philip Zimbardo has students at Stanford U play the roles of prisoner and prison guards in the basement of psychology building. They were given uniforms and numbers for each prisoner. What do you think happened?

Milgram’s Study Of Obedience

Milgram’s Obedience Study

What did we learn from Milgram? Ordinary people can do shocking things. Ethical issues…. Would not have received approval from today’s IRB (Internal Review Board).

Obedience to Authority In Milgram’s experiment The victim was an actor The victim received no actual shocks Nevertheless, this controversial experiment demonstrated how powerful effects of obedience to authority Situational factors, and not personality variables, appeared to effect people’s levels of obedience Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Bystander Effect Kitty Genovese case in Kew Gardens NY. Conditions in which people are more or less likely to help one another. In general…the more people around…the less chance of help….because of… Diffusion of Responsibility Pluralistic Ignorance People decide what to do by looking to others.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 The Bystander Problem Diffusion of responsibility – Dilution or weakening of each group member’s obligation to act when responsibility is perceived to be shared with all group members Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Bystander Intervention in an Emergency 80 40 60 100 20 Percentage helping 2-person groups 3-person groups 6-person groups 20 80 120 160 200 240 280 Seconds from beginning of emergency Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

5 Factors of Attraction….

Proximity Geographic nearness Mere exposure effect: Repeated exposure to something breeds liking. Taiwanese Letters Mirror image concept

Reciprocal Liking You are more likely to like someone who likes you. Why? Except in elementary school!!!!

Similarity Paula Abdul was wrong- opposites do NOT attract. Birds of the same feather do flock together. Similarity breeds content.

Liking through Association Classical Conditioning can play a pert in attraction. I love Theo’s Wings. If I see the same waitress every time I go there, I may begin to associate that waitress with the good feelings I get from Theo's.

Physical Attractiveness

The Hotty Factor Physically attractiveness predicts dating frequency (they date more). They are perceived as healthier, happier, more honest and successful than less attractive counterparts.

Beauty and Culture Obesity is so revered among Mauritania's white Moor Arab population that the young girls are sometimes force-fed to obtain a weight the government has described as "life-threatening".

Are these cultures really that different?

What happens when we become aware that our attitudes don’t match or actions?

Cognitive Dissonance Theory We do not like when we have either conflicting attitudes or when our attitudes do not match our actions. When they clash, we will change our attitude to create balance.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Cognitive Dissonance Theory How does cognitive dissonance theory play a part in pledging a fraternity?

Compliance Strategies Foot-in-the-door phenomenon Door-in-the-face phenomenon Norms of reciprocity

Foot-in-the-door phenomenon The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request. If I give out an answer on a quiz, what happens next?

Door-in-face Phenomenon The tendency for people who say no to a huge request, to comply with a smaller one. If I ask my wife for the 1952 Topps Mantle card ($15k) she will say? NO But she may let me buy a new playstation game.

Attribution Theory The idea that we give a casual explanation for someone's behavior. We credit that behavior either to the situation or…. To the person’s disposition. Was my friend a jerk because she had a bad day or is just a bad person?

Fundamental Attribution Error The tendency to underestimate the impact of a situation and overestimate the impact of personal disposition. How do you view your teacher’s behavior? You probably attribute it to their personality rather than their profession.

Attribution At Work

Prejudice An unjustifiable attitude towards a group of people. Usually involves stereotyped beliefs (a generalized belief about a group of people). Overt Subtle

Prejudice Over Time

Does perception change with race?

Is it just race? NO Palestinians and Jews Towners and Lakers Men and Women But women have some things going for them like……

Dissimilarity and Social Distance Causes of Prejudice Dissimilarity and Social Distance Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Dissimilarity and Social Distance Causes of Prejudice Dissimilarity and Social Distance Economic Competition Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Dissimilarity and Social Distance Causes of Prejudice Dissimilarity and Social Distance Economic Competition Scapegoating Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Dissimilarity and Social Distance Conformity to Social Norms Causes of Prejudice Dissimilarity and Social Distance Economic Competition Scapegoating Conformity to Social Norms Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Dissimilarity and Social Distance Conformity to Social Norms Causes of Prejudice Dissimilarity and Social Distance Economic Competition Scapegoating Conformity to Social Norms Media Stereotypes Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Social Inequalities (A principle reason behind prejudice) Ingroup: “us”- people with whom one shares a common identity. Outgroup: “them”- those perceived as different than one’s ingroup. Ingroup bias: the tendency to favor one’s own group.

How does prejudice occur? Just world Phenomenon In one popular study female and male subjects were told two versions of a story about an interaction between a woman and a man. Both variations were exactly the same, except at the very end the man raped the woman in one and in the other he proposed marriage. In both conditions, both female and male subjects viewed the woman's (identical) actions as inevitably leading to the (very different) results. In-Group versus Out-Groups. In-Group Bias Scapegoat Theory

Combating Prejudice Contact Theory Contact between hostile groups will reduce animosity if they are made to work towards a superordinate goal. Serif camp study Election of Obama?

Prejudices can often lead to a…. Self-Fulfilling Prophecy A prediction that causes itself to be true. Rosenthal and Jacobson’s “Pygmalion in the Classroom” experiment.

Aggression Any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy. In the U.S. we are MUCH more likely to be murdered compared to most other developed nations.

The Biology of Aggression Genetics Neural Influences (is aggression in the brain) Biochemical

The Psychology of Aggression Frustration-Aggressive Principle: the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal Creates anger which generates aggression. Goals can be: Sports or work Relationship Body Condition etc…

Hot Weather and Aggression

Can we learn to be aggressive or gentle? They can be learned but…. Once learned they are difficult to change.

Aggression and TV = Watches By the time you are 18, you spend more time in front of TV than in school 2/3 of all homes have 3 or more sets average 51 hours a week. By the time a child finishes elementary school they have witnessed 8000 murders and 100,000 other acts of violence on TV Over half of all deaths do NOT show the victim's pain As TV watching has grown exponentially, as does violent behavior- a strong positive correlation. How do you think TV has effected sexual aggression?

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Terrorism Terrorism – The use of violent, unpredictable acts by a small group against a larger group for political, economic, or religious goals Taking multiple perspectives can provide important insights on the problems of aggression, violence, and terrorism Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007