Social Psychology Interpersonal Attraction Behavioural attributions in self and others Attitude formation Effect of the group on the individual
Interpersonal Attraction What determines your liking/disliking of someone? 1) Similarity of personality and attitudes 2) Physical attractiveness 3) If they like us, or at least, start off disliking then liking us 4) If we have low self-esteem 5) Familiarity 6) First impressions
Attribution Processes For others: Fundamental Attribution Error (but occasionally the discounting principle) For yourself: Self-serving bias
Attitude Formation 2) Cognitive dissonance: when behaviour and attitudes/knowledge are at odds -what can you do? -alter behaviour, find cognitive support for behaviour, or change opinion -e.g. Smoking -boring study, grasshopper-eating study Formal communication: -source of the message -message itself Theories of attitude change 1) Balance Theory
Group Behaviour -in competition: Triplett (1897) -when cooperating: social loafing -with an audience: it depends... -Zajonc settles things -when in the audience: bystander intervention -pluralistic ignorance -diffusion of responsibility -normative function: we follow the group to fit in, or not look dumb -comparative function: we look to the group for information about ambiguous situations Popular explanation for why we do this: social comparison theory
The effect of the group on bystanders even applies when individual is threatened with harm (smoke study)
What about overt activity? Asch line length study
Social roles as defined by the group Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment (1974) -the setup: -ads placed on Stanford University campus, for a 2-week study they would be paid $15/day to participate in -students who answered were randomly assigned to be a guard or a prisoner -study began with a real police officer showing up at the “prisoners” houses and arresting them
Behaviour influenced by an authority figure Milgram’s obedience study -people are less conforming today, aren’t they? -what is your evidence? -I could argue people might conform more (video games) -what were you laughing at? -Milgram was successfully replicated in 2009
Cults
Group brainwashing -sleep deprivation -love bombing -under-isolation -physical exertion -peer pressure -milieu control 1 st stage softens you up: 2 nd stage: ego manipulation -mystical manipulation & sense of superiority -need for purity -confession -loading the language -doctrine over individuals Moonies ScientologyArmy