Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Chapter 14 Social Psychology
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Stanford Prison Experiment Turn to page 565 Prison Experiment
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Social Psychology Social psychology – The branch of psychology that studies the effects of social variables and cognitions on individual behavior and social interactions. Social context – The combination of: (a)People (b)The activities and interactions among people (c)The setting in which behavior occurs (d)The expectations and social norms governing behavior in that setting
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 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 Social Situations 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 (unwritten rules). Violating Social Norms in an Elevator
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Conformity The tendency for people to adopt the behaviors, attitudes, and opinions of other members of a group.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 A123 Standard line Comparison lines Conformity: The Asch Studies Which line matches the line on the left?
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Conformity: The Asch Studies What would you say if you were in a room full of people who all picked line number three? A123 Standard line Comparison lines
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Group Characteristics That Produce Conformity Asch identifies three factors that influence whether a person will yield to pressure: 1. The size of the majority. 2. The presence of a partner who dissented from the majority. 3. The size of the discrepancy between the correct answer and the majority position.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Groupthink In “groupthink,” members of the group attempt to conform their opinions to what each believes to be the consensus of the group.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Groupthink Conditions likely to promote groupthink include: High group cohesiveness Directive leadership Similarity 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 Obedience to Authority Imagine if an experimenter studying “the effects of punishment on memory” asked you to deliver painful electric shocks to a middle-aged man who had been treated for a heart condition. Each time the man missed an answer, you would be instructed to deliver an increasingly powerful shock.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The Shocking Results Nearly 2/3 delivered the maximum 450 volts to the learner! Most of those who refused to give the maximum shock obeyed until reaching about 300 volts. No one who got within 5 switches of the end refused to go all the way (by then their resistance was broken).
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Obedience to Authority This controversial experiment demonstrated the powerful effects of obedience to authority. Situational factors, and not personality variables, appeared to effect people’s levels of obedience.
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 The Bystander Problem In one experiment, a student was led to believe that the he or she was taking part in an experiment with between one and five other students (over an intercom). The student then heard what sounded like another student having a seizure and gasping for help. The researchers timed how long it would take the students to ask for help.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Bystander Intervention in an Emergency 2-person groups 3-person groups 6-person groups Seconds from beginning of emergency Percentage helping
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Constructing Social Reality: What Influences Our Judgments of Others? The judgments we make about others depend not only on their behavior but also on our interpretation of their actions within a social context.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Constructing Social Reality: What Influences Our Judgments of Others? Social reality – An individual’s subjective interpretation of other people and of relationships with them.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Interpersonal Attraction Reward theory of attraction – A social learning view that says we like best those who give us maximum rewards at minimum cost. ProximitySimilarity Self-Disclosure Physical Attractiveness
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Reward Theory of Attraction Proximity People will make friends with those who are nearby. Similarity People are attracted to those who are more similar to themselves. Self-Disclosure Allows you to get to know each other and signifies a sense of trust in the relationship. Physical Attractiveness People find it more rewarding to associate with people they find physically attractive.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Expectations and the Influence of Self-Esteem Matching hypothesis – Prediction that most people will find friends and mates that are about their same level of attractiveness. Expectancy-value theory – Theory that people decide whether or not to pursue a relationship by weighing the potential value of the relationship against their expectations of success in establishing the relationship.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Attraction and Self-Justification Cognitive dissonance – A highly motivating state in which people have conflicting cognitions, especially when their voluntary actions conflict with their attitudes.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Making Cognitive Attributions Fundamental attribution error – Tendency to emphasize internal causes and ignore external pressures. Actor-observer effect – Tendency to attribute internal causes more often for other people's behavior and external attributions more often for one’s own behavior. Self-serving bias – Attributional pattern in which one takes credit for success but denies responsibility for failure.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Prejudice and Discrimination Prejudice – A negative attitude toward an individual based solely on his or her membership in a particular group. Discrimination – A negative action taken against an individual as a result of his or her group membership.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Prejudice and Discrimination In-group – The group with which an individual identifies. Out-group – Those outside the group with which an individual identifies.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Prejudice and Discrimination Social distance – The perceived difference or similarity between oneself and another person. Scapegoating – Blaming an innocent person or a group for one’s own troubles.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Other Topics in Social Psychology Social facilitation – An increase in an individual’s performance because of being in a group. Social loafing – A decrease in performance because of being in a group.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Other Topics in Social Psychology Deindividuation – Occurs when group members lose their sense of personal identity and responsibility and the group “assumes” responsibility for their behavior.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Other Topics in Social Psychology Group polarization – When individuals in a group have similar, though not identical views, their opinions become more extreme.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Loving Relationships Romantic love – A temporary and highly emotional condition based on infatuation and sexual desire.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love Commitment PassionIntimacy Friendship Infatuation Complete Love Romantic Love
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 The power of the situation can help us understand violence and terrorism, but the broader understanding requires multiple perspectives that go beyond the boundaries of traditional psychology. What Are the Roots of Violence and Terrorism?
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Turn to page 597 and read The Robbers’ Cave: An Experiment in Conflict
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 The Robbers’ Cave: An Experiment in Conflict In the Robber’s Cave experiment, conflict between groups arose from an intensely competitive situation. Cooperation, however, replaced conflict when the experimenters contrived situations that fostered mutual interdependence and common goals for the groups.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 The Robbers’ Cave: An Experiment in Conflict Violence and aggression – Terms that refer to behavior that is intended to cause harm. Cohesiveness – Solidarity, loyalty, and a sense of group membership.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 The Robbers’ Cave: An Experiment in Conflict Mutual interdependence – Shared sense that individuals or groups need each other in order to achieve common goals.
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 End of Chapter 14
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Strategies of Persuasion Foot-in-the-door technique: A method of eliciting compliance by first making a modest request and then following it with a larger request. Door-in-the-face technique: A method of compliance by first making an outrageous request and then replying to the refusal with a more reasonable request.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Strategies of Persuasion Bait-and-switch technique: The procedure of first offering an extremely favorable deal and then making additional demands after the other person has committed to the deal. That’s-not-all-technique: A method of eliciting compliance when a person makes an offer and then improves the offer before anyone has a chance to reply.