Copyright © 2004 by Allyn & Bacon Chapter 14 Social Psychology

Copyright © 2004 by Allyn & Bacon Social Psychology  The area of study that attempts to explain how the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others influences the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individuals.

Copyright © 2004 by Allyn & Bacon Attributions  Situational attributions: the person attributes behavior to some external cause or factor operating with the situation.  Dispositional attributions: the person attributes the behavior to some internal cause or personal trait.  Actor-Observer Bias: the tendency to attribute our own shortcomings primarily to situational factors and those of others to internal or dispositional factors.

Copyright © 2004 by Allyn & Bacon Factors Influencing Attraction  Proximity or geographic closeness  Reciprocity or reciprocal liking  Similarity  Physical Attractiveness  Matching hypothesis

Copyright © 2004 by Allyn & Bacon Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love  Components of Love  Intimacy  Passion  Commitment  Liking (Intimacy only)  Infatuated love (Passion only)  Empty Love (Commitment only)  Romantic Love (Intimacy and passion)  Fatuous Love (Passion and commitment)  Companionate Love (Intimacy and commitment)  Consummate Love (Intimacy, passion & commitment)

Copyright © 2004 by Allyn & Bacon Social Influence  Conformity (Solomon Asch study) Asch’s Conformity Experiment  Obedience (Stanley Milgram study)

Copyright © 2004 by Allyn & Bacon Asch’s Conformity Experiment Social Influence

Copyright © 2004 by Allyn & Bacon Compliance  Foot-in-the door technique: first make a small request and follow it with a larger request.  Door-in-the-face technique: first make a large unreasonable request and follow it with a small request.  Low-ball technique: get person to agree to attractive terms and then the terms are changed to be less favorable.

Copyright © 2004 by Allyn & Bacon Group Influence  Social facilitation: refers to any effect on performance, whether positive or negative, that can be attributed to the presence of others.  Social loafing: the tendency to exert less effort when working with others than when working alone.  Group polarization: group discussion often causes persons to shift to more extreme positions.  Groupthink: tight-knit groups often make poor decisions because they are more interested in maintaining group cohesion than getting the right answer.

Copyright © 2004 by Allyn & Bacon Components of Attitudes  Cognitive component – Thoughts and beliefs about attitudinal object  Emotional component – Feelings toward attitudinal object  Behavioral component – Predisposition to act toward attitudinal object

Copyright © 2004 by Allyn & Bacon Cognitive Dissonance  Dissonance is what we feel when there is incompatibility between our belief and our actions or attitudes. We generally reduce dissonance by changing the behavior or attitude or by somehow explaining away the inconsistency or reducing its importance. Methods of Reducing Cognitive Dissonance

Copyright © 2004 by Allyn & Bacon Methods of Reducing Cognitive Dissonance Cognitive Dissonance Explain Away Inconsistency “Ill quit before it can hurt me.” “I really don’t smoke that much.” Change Behavior Quit Smoking Source of Cognitive Dissonance Behavior: “I smoke” Attitude: “Smoking Causes Cancer.” Change Attitude Smoking isn’t that dangerous Reduce Importance of Inconsistency “I have good gene, my family lives to ripe old age.” “I exercise and have a better diet than most people.”

Copyright © 2004 by Allyn & Bacon Elements of Persuasion  Source of the Communication  Audience  Message  Medium

Copyright © 2004 by Allyn & Bacon The Bystander Effect  Bystander Effect: as the number of bystanders at an emergency increases, the probability that the victim will receive help from them decreases.  Diffusion of responsibility: the tendency to feel less responsible in the presence of other people.

Copyright © 2004 by Allyn & Bacon Aggression  Biological Factors in Aggression  Genetics  Level of arousal  Testosterone  Frustration-aggression hypothesis  Aggression in response to pain  Aggression resulting from invasion of personal space  Aggression resulting from crowding  Social Learning Theory of Aggression  The Media and Aggression

Copyright © 2004 by Allyn & Bacon Prejudice and Discrimination  Realistic conflict theory  In-group/out-group conflict  Social cognition  Stereotypes  Discrimination in the workplace

Copyright © 2004 by Allyn & Bacon Figure 19.2 Typical spatial zones (in feet) for face-to-face interactions in North America. Often, we must stand within intimate distance of others in crowds, buses, subways, elevators, and other public places. At such times, privacy is maintained by avoiding eye contact, by standing shoulder to shoulder or back to back, and by positioning a purse, bag, package, or coat as a barrier to spatial intrusions.

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Figure 19.7 Results of Milgram’s obedience experiment. Only a minority of subjects refused to provide shocks, even at the most extreme intensities. The first substantial drop in obedience occurred at the 300-volt level (Milgram, 1963).

Copyright © 2004 by Allyn & Bacon Figure 19.8 Physical distance from the “learner” had a significant effect on the percentage of subjects obeying orders.

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Activity  Assess the Violence in Children’s Cartoons  Violent Act Tally  Name of Cartoon: ____________________________________ Length: ____________  Characters: ________________________ ________________________  ________________________ ________________________  Implicit Acts Explicit Acts  Total: ____________ Total: ____________  Acts Per Minute: ____________ Acts Per Minute: ____________

Copyright © 2004 by Allyn & Bacon THE END…  You made it! You still have your last test to take.  I hope you gained personal insight…and an appreciation of your fellow humans.  I had fun teaching this class…I hope you had fun learning from all of the resources…including each other!