Thinking About Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behavior 2e Charles T. Blair-Broeker Randal M. Ernst

Variations in Individual and Group Behavior Domain

Social Psychology Chapter

Social Thinking and Social Influence Module 34

Introduction Module 34: Social Thinking and Social Influence

Social Psychology The scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another

Social Thinking Module 34: Social Thinking and Social Influence

Social Thinking: Attributing Behavior to Personal Disposition or the Situation Module 34: Social Thinking and Social Influence

Attribution Theory Theory that we tend to explain the behavior of others as an aspect of either an internal disposition (an inner trait) or the situation

Situational Disposition Attributing someone’s actions to the various factors in the situation

Dispositional Attribution Attributing someone’s actions to the person’s disposition, i.e. their thoughts, feelings, personality characteristics, etc.

Situational Attribution

Dispositional Attribution

Attribution

Fundamental Attribution Error Tendency to attribute the behavior of others to internal disposition rather than to situations People tend to blame or credit the person more than the situation –When we explain our own behavior, we tend to include the situation as part of our assessment. When we explain other peoples’ behavior, we tend to attribute it to permanent, personal qualities. –Would Jack Black or Dave Chappelle be believable if cast in a serious movie role?

Culture & Attribution Error Culture affects attribution. Several banks and investment firms lost millions in the 1990s when employees make unauthorized transactions. –In the US, this was blamed on unethical individuals, a dispositional attribution. –In Japan, newspapers blamed a lack of organizational controls – a situational attribution. –Research shows that people raised in Western countries (like the US and Canada) tend to make attributions based on dispositions far more often than those from East Asian cultures.

Social Thinking: Attitudes and Actions Module 34: Social Thinking and Social Influence

Attitude Belief and feeling that predisposes someone to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events –Attitudes have a powerful effect on behavior.

Attitudes Affecting Actions Many studies suggest a person’s attitudes do not match their actions –Someone who says he is against cheating, but then does it… Attitudes can predict behavior if: –Outside influences are minimal –People are aware of their attitudes –Attitude is relevant to behavior (if you say you believe exercise is essential for good health, but you dislike getting sweaty, you may avoid it. Your attitude toward exercise will guide your decision to exercise, or not).

Attitudes Affecting Actions

Actions Affecting Attitudes Under some circumstances one’s actions can influence attitudes. They include: –Foot-in-the-door phenomenon –Role playing –Cognitive dissonance

Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon Tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request –The fundraiser example: principal agreeing to small concessions first, then bigger ones. –Start small with your requests if you want someone to agree to something big!

Role Playing Playing a role can influence or change one’s attitude Zimbardo’s Prison Study –College students played the role of guard or prisoner in a simulated prison. –The study was ended when the guards became too aggressive and cruel.

Zimbardo’s Prison Study College students played the role of guard or prisoner in a simulated prison. The study was ended when the guards became too aggressive and cruel.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory Theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent When our attitudes are inconsistent with our actions, we change our attitudes to reduce the dissonance.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

So…Use it to your advantage If you have an attitude you’d like to change, such as negative feelings towards people from different social groups, then start by changing your BEHAVIOR towards those individuals. Therapists use when working with patients with depression; they encourage them to start talking and acting positively.

Social Influence Module 34: Social Thinking and Social Influence

Social Influence: Conformity and Obedience Module 34: Social Thinking and Social Influence

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

Solomon Asch ( ) Social psychologist who researched the circumstances under which people conform

Asch’s Conformity Study

Factors Increasing Conformity The person feels incompetent or insecure. The group has three or more people. The rest of the group is unanimous. The person is impressed by the status of the group. No prior commitments were made. The group is observing the person respond. One’s culture encourages conformity.

Stanley Milgram ( ) Social psychologist who researched obedience to authority

Obedience Tendency to comply with orders, implied or real, from someone perceived as an authority

Milgram’s Obedience to Authority

Milgram’s Obedience to Authority (Data from Milgram, 1974)

Milgram’s Obedience to Authority

Gretchen Brandt Some participants in Milgram’s obedience study confronted authority. Gretchen Brandt was a young medical technician and recent German immigrant. Several times she inquired of the experimenter whether she should continue, and was told yes each time. As she prepared to deliver a 210-volt shock, she announced firmly, “Well, I’m sorry, I don’t think we should continue.” Brandt never appeared tense or nervous; she simply stated that she “did not want to be responsible for any harm to the learner.” Milgram notes that her straightforward, courteous demeanor seemed to make disobedience a simple and rational deed. Brandt behaved differently because she grew up in Nazi Germany and was exposed to Hitler’s propaganda for the greater part of her youth. When asked about the influence of her background, she simply remarked, “Perhaps we have seen too much pain.”

Social Influence: Group Influence Invisible Dogs Youtube Module 34: Social Thinking and Social Influence

Social Facilitation Improved performance of tasks in the presence of others Occurs with simple or well learned tasks but not with tasks that are difficult or not yet learned –Ex: athletes tend to perform much better when competing, and especially in front of fans.

Social Facilitation

Social Loafing Tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable People may be less accountable in a group, or they may think their efforts aren’t needed. TUG OF WAR

Examples Students tend to exert less effort when they are doing a group thing with peers (when all members will receive the same grade). Blindfolded students asked to pull a rope as hard as they could. When they believed three others were pulling behind them, they their efforts dropped by almost 20%.

Deindividuation Loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity People lose their sense of responsibility when in a group. –Soccer fans –Looting

11 content categories: aggression, charity, academic dishonesty, crime, escapism, political activities, sexual behavior, social disruption, interpersonal spying and eavesdropping, travel and “catch-all” Prosocial, antisocial, nonnormative (violating social norms but without specifically helping or hurting others) and neurtral. Most frequent responses: 26% criminal acts, sexual acts 11%, spying behaviors 11%. Most common response was “rob a bank (15%), 36% were antisocial, 19% nonnormative, 36% neutral, 9% prosocial

Social Influence: Group Interaction Effects Module 34: Social Thinking and Social Influence

Group Polarization Enhancement of a group’s already existing attitudes through discussion within the group

Examples Terrorism – doesn’t suddenly erupt. The mentality builds as people with the grievances gather and become more extreme in their views. In the absence of moderate influences, terrorism reaches the point of kidnapping, murder and suicide bombing.

Groupthink Mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision- making group overrides a realistic appraisal of the alternatives It’s worse than group polorization because it tends to paralyze us.

Group Think Group makes faulty decisions because of group pressure leads to reality testing and moral judgment. Ignores alternatives and dehumanizes other groups, as a consequence. If the group members have the same background, are insulated from outside opinions, there is no devil’s advocate and no rules.

8 Symptoms 1.Illusion of invulnerability (optimism that encourages risk-taking). 2.Collective rationalism (group discounts warnings & don’t consider their assumptions). 3.Belief in inherit morality (group believes in the rightness of their cause) 4.Stereotyped views of “outgroup” (negative view of “the enemy”) 5.Direct pressure on dissenters (members under pressure not to suggest something that is counter to the group’s opinion). 6.Self-censorship (members who may not agree feel pressured not to share that doubt). 7.Illusion of unanimity (members think (often mistakenly) that all they all feel the same way 8.Self-appointed “mindguards” (someone in the group protects the group and the leader from other info that might challenge their belief). NOW, IN YOUR GROUP, GENERATE A LIST OF EXAMPLES WHEN YOU FEEL THIS HAS HAPPENED OR IS HAPPENING

a) incomplete survey of alternatives b) incomplete survey of objectives c) failure to examine risks of preferred choice d) failure to reappraise initially rejected alternatives e) poor information search f) selective bias in processing information at hand g) failure to work out contingency plans h) low probability of successful outcome (Janis) Review the following consequences of groupthink and consider how many of them apply to the Bush administration’s handling of the ‘war on terrorism’ and the issues related to Iraq and Saddam Hussein:

Social Influence: Our Power as Individuals Module 34: Social Thinking and Social Influence

Self-Fulfilling Prophecies When we believe something to be true about others (or ourselves) and we act in ways that cause this belief to come true –Example study that told some men that certain women found them attractive (when they hadn’t); as a result, the men were more kind and charming the women, in turn, DID find them more charming.

Minority Influence Minority groups can influence the majority Minority groups must be firm in their conviction Rosa Parks

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