Social Thinking, Influence, and Intergroup Relations Chapter 6: Human Adjustment John W. Santrock McGraw-Hill © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 6-2 Chapter Outline Social Thinking Social Influence Intergroup Relations

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 6-3 Learning Objectives 1. Describe how people think about the social world 2. Identify how people are influenced in social settings 3. Discuss intergroup relations

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 6-4 SOCIAL THINKING Making Attributions Forming Impressions Changing Attitudes

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 6-5 Making Attributions  Fundamental attribution error - tendency for observers to overestimate importance of a person’s traits and underestimate importance of situations when they seek to explain someone else’s behavior Attributions = thoughts about why people behave the way they do

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 6-6 Figure 6.1 The Fundamental Attribution Error

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 6-7 Self-Serving Bias  Self-serving bias - we tend to be self-enhancing, and we often exaggerate positive beliefs about ourselves.  We tend to attribute our successes to our own characteristics and attribute our failures to external factors

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 6-8 Forming Impressions - Stereotyping and Attitudes  We often use stereotypes in forming impressions Stereotype = generalization about a group’s characteristics that does not account for variations from one individual to another Attitudes = evaluations of people, objects, and ideas

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 6-9 Impression Management  Nonverbal cues (facial expression, eye contact, body posture, gestures) are important in self-presentation Impression management (self-presentation) = process of acting in a way that presents a desired image

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Impression Management  Techniques of impression management include: – conforming to situational norms – showing appreciation of others – behavioral matching (imitating behavior of other person)

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Self-Monitoring Self-monitoring = paying attention to impressions you make on others and the degree to which you fine-tune your performance

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Changing Attitudes  Attitude persuasion research focuses on: – communicator (source) - who conveys the message – message - communication – medium - how message is conveyed – target (audience) - who receives message

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Review - Learning Goal 1 – What is attribution? What are two ways in which our attributions tend to be biased? – What determines our impressions of others? – What factors influence whether people will change attitude?

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved SOCIAL INFLUENCE Conformity Obedience Compliance

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Conformity  Solomon Asch (1951) reported participants in a line- matching task conformed one-third of the time Conformity = change in person’s behavior to coincide more closely with a group standard

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Figure 6.2 Asch's Conformity Experiment

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Factors That Contribute to Conformity  Normative social influence - conforming because we seek approval or avoid disapproval from others  Informational social influence - conforming because we want to be right

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Factors That Contribute to Conformity  Factors that contribute to conformity: – unanimity of group – prior commitment – personal characteristics – group members’ characteristics – cultural values

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Obedience  Stanley Milgram (1965) reported that up to two-thirds of participants in a research study on punishment would obey an order to deliver an electric shock to a stranger Obedience = behavior that complies with explicit demands of the individual in authority

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Adjustment Strategies for Resisting an Unjust Request by a Person in a Position of Authority 1. Give appearance of complying 2. Publicly dissent by showing doubts but still follow order 3. Openly disregard order and refuse to comply 4. Challenge authority 5. Get higher authorities to intervene

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Compliance Compliance = change in behavior in response to a direct request

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Compliance  Robert Cialdini (2001) identified six principles of persuasion and compliance: – reciprocation (repay what someone provided) – commitment and consistency (agree to requests consistent with prior commitment) – social proof (examine what others are doing) – liking (prefer to say yes to people we know and like) – authority (pressure to comply with request from authority) – scarcity (opportunity more valued when less available)

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Adjustment Strategies For Resisting Persuasion and Compliance Techniques 1. Defend against use of reciprocity pressures 2. Resist influence of commitment and consistency pressures 3. Reduce susceptibility to faulty social proof 4. Reduce unwanted influence of liking 5. Defend against detrimental effects of authority 6. Combat scarcity pressures

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Review - Learning Goal 2 – What factors are involved in conformity? – What is obedience and how was it demonstrated in Milgram’s study? – What are the six principles of persuasion and compliance?

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved INTERGROUP RELATIONS Groups and Their Functions Group Identity: Us Versus Them Prejudice and Discrimination Immigration Ways to Improve Interethnic Relations

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Groups and Their Functions  Functions of groups : – satisfy personal needs – reward – provide information – raise self-esteem – give identity

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Group Identity: Us Versus Them  Social identity - way you define yourself in terms of your group membership  Kay Deaux (2001) identified 5 types of social identity: – ethnic and religious – political – vocations and avocations – personal relationships – stigmatized groups

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Social Identity Theory  Henry Tajfel (1978) proposed social identity theory - we can improve our self-image by enhancing our social identity (favoring our in-group and disparaging our out- group) Ethnocentrism - tendency to favor one’s own group and believe it is superior to other groups

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Prejudice and Discrimination Prejudice = unjustified negative attitude toward an individual based on the individual’s membership in a group Discrimination = unjustified negative or harmful action toward a member of a group simply because the person belongs to that group

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Sources of Prejudice  Sources of prejudice include: – individual personality – competition between groups over scarce resources – motivation to enhance self-esteem – cognitive processes that contribute to stereotypes – cultural learning

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Modern Racism  Old-fashioned racism - overt; asserting inferiority of non-whites  Modern racism - negative feelings about minority groups; covert; unconscious; denied

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Immigration  Stressors of immigrants include: – language barriers – separation from support networks – dual struggle to preserve ethnic identity and to acculturate

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Adjustment Strategies for International Students 1. Be patient, it takes time to adapt to a new culture 2. Develop a support system 3. Talk with U.S. students 4. Share your culture

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Ways to Improve Interethnic Relations  Task-oriented cooperation - stress cooperation – Aronson (1986) suggested the jigsaw classroom, in which each student makes a contribution to the learning of the whole  Intimate contact - sharing one’s personal worries, successes, personal ambitions and coping strategies  Acknowledge diversity - recognizing and respecting differences

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Adjustment Strategies for Improving Interethnic Relations 1. Participate in cooperative tasks 2. Have intimate contact 3. Pay attention to differences and diversity 4. Engage in perspective-taking 5. Think reflectively 6. Be emotionally intelligent 7. Be an effective communicator

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Review - Learning Goal 3 – What functions do groups serve? – How does social identity lead to "we/they" thinking? – How are prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination related? – What are some of the special stresses faced by immigrants? – What strategies for improving interethnic relations are effective?