EXPLORING PSYCHOLOGY EIGHTH EDITION IN MODULES David Myers PowerPoint Slides Aneeq Ahmad Henderson State University Worth Publishers, © 2011

2 Social Psychology

Social Thinking Module 37 3

4 Attributing Behavior to Persons or to Situations  The Effects of Attribution Attitudes and Actions  Attitudes Affect Actions  Actions Affect Attitudes  CLOSE-UP: Abu Ghraib Prison: An “Atrocity-Producing Situation”?

5 Social Psychology Social psychology scientifically studies how we think about, influence, and relate to one another. “We cannot live for ourselves alone.” Herman Melville

6 Social Thinking Social thinking involves thinking about others, especially when they engage in doing things that are unexpected. Social psychologists study the social influences that help explain why the same person acts differently in different situations.

7 Attributing Behavior to Persons or to Situations Attribution Theory proposes that we usually attribute others’ behavior either to their internal dispositions or to their external situations (Heider, 1958). For instance, we may notice that Juliette rarely talks in class, and therefore assume that she is shy. Because personality traits are enduring, these attributions are sometimes valid.

8 Attributing Behavior to Persons or Situations The tendency to overestimate the impact of personal disposition and underestimate the impact of the situation in analyzing the behaviors of others leads to the fundamental attribution error. We see Juliette as quiet, shy, and introverted most of the time, but with friends she may be talkative, loud, and extroverted.

When explaining others’ behavior we often make the fundamental attribution error. But, when we explain our own behavior we tend to be sensitive to how it changes with situation. Studies have shown that if we look at behavior from the point of view of the actor rather than the observer, we can better appreciate the situation. 9 Attributing Behavior to Persons or Situations In this shot, people felt that Obama gave Hilary the cold shoulder at this political event, when in fact he had just greeted her and then turned away to speak to someone off-camera.

10 Effects of Attribution Our attributions can have important consequences. A jury must decide whether a shooting was malicious or accidental. An interviewer must judge whether an applicant is being sincere. In looking at the political effects of attribution, researchers have found that political conservatives tend to attribute poverty and unemployment to the poor themselves. While political liberals tend to attribute these problems to past or present situations.

11 Attitudes & Actions Attitudes are beliefs and feelings that predispose a person to respond in a particular way to objects, other people, and events. If we believe a person is mean, we may feel dislike for the person and act unfriendly.

12 Attitudes Affect Actions Our attitudes predict our behaviors imperfectly because other factors, including the external situation, also influence behavior. Democratic leaders supported Bush’s attack on Iraq under public pressure. However, they had their private reservations.

Attitudes can be changed by: Central route persuasion - interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts. Peripheral route persuasion - people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker’s attractiveness. Leonardo DiCaprio has used both his celebrity (peripheral route) and a documentary (central route) to persuade people to think about the environment. 13 Attitudes Affect Actions

14 Actions Can Affect Attitudes Not only do people stand for what they believe in (attitude), they start believing in what they stand for. Cooperative actions can lead to mutual liking (beliefs).

15 The Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon In the Korean War, Chinese communists solicited cooperation from US army prisoners by asking them to carry out small errands. Once they had complied with small errands they were likely to comply to larger ones. Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon: The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request.

When adopting a new role – becoming a college student, getting married, becoming a parent – you strive to follow the social prescriptions. At first you may feel like you’re acting, but eventually the new role becomes your life. 16 Role Playing Affects Attitudes

17 Role Playing Affects Attitudes Zimbardo (1972) assigned the roles of guards and prisoners to random students and found that they developed role-appropriate attitudes. Many of the “guards” developed disparaging attitudes and were cruel and degrading to the “prisoners”. Zimbardo believes that the atrocities at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq arose partly because the guards attitudes were changed by their situation.

18 Cognitive Dissonance Why do actions affect attitudes? One explanation is that when our attitudes and actions are opposed, we experience tension. This is called cognitive dissonance. To relieve ourselves of this tension we bring our attitudes closer to our actions (Festinger, 1957).