Social Psychology Kimberley A. Clow Login: psych Password: greentea

Outline Social Psychology Helping Who we help When we help Influence of Groups Social Facilitation Social Loafing Attraction Beauty Love

Social Psychology Definition Social psychology is the scientific study of the way in which people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviour are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people Emphasizes the situational factors that affect behaviour

Helping

Who Do We Help? % Helping HighMediumLowNone Genetic Relatedness

Social Factors Similarity Responsibility

Kitty Genovese

The Process of Helping

Minutes Passed Since Smoke Started % Reporting Smoke AloneThree Person Group Smoke Filled Room

Decision Stages  Helping

Do Groups Help or Hinder? What influence do groups have? Do you perform better in a group? Do you perform worse in a group? Do groups alter the way you behave?

Presence of Others Physiological Arousal Improved Performance Impaired Performance On well- mastered or simple tasks dominant response is right On difficult or complex tasks dominant response is wrong Dominant Responses

Social Loafing Told to clap or cheer as loud as you can Wearing headphones Hearing others clap or cheer Can’t hear themselves

Facilitation vs. Loafing

When Do People Join Groups? When they believe they would fail on their own Stereotypical male vs. female tasks When they want information When they don’t want to face an uneasy situation alone

Another Shocking Study… Women giving shocks KKK outfits Nurse uniforms Deindividuation Losing one’s sense of personal identity More susceptible to the cues in the situation?

Attitude Towards Grad School Unsure Definite GO Before Group Discussion After discussion, the group that initially favored grad school would be even more strongly in favor Definite NO (Get A Job!) Conversely, the group that initially disfavored grad school would be even more opposed After Group Discussion

What About Attraction? Influencing Factors Similarity Personality, attitudes, interests, physical features Proximity College dorm study Familiarity Mere exposure Physical Attractiveness

Which of these three faces do you prefer? Beauty

Beauty Across Time Beauty in the 1950s. Recognize “her”? Beauty in the 1980s. Recognize “her”?

The Matching Principle People tend to date others of similar attractiveness and with similar attitudes

Situational Determinants

Getting Acquainted Study Men and women talk over intercom Men shown pictures Attractive or unattractive

Beauty Is Good Stereotype Male’s Male’s Female’s Expectations Behavior Behavior

Many Types of Love

Love Changes People involved in serious relationships rate beautiful models as less attractive The more committed the person, the less they reciprocate interest from another attractive other Some people switch attachment styles in response to relationship experiences People married to dissimilar partners change their personalities more over the years

Problem Factors Too much dissimilarity Boredom Changes in reciprocal evaluations and attributions Jealousy Inequity Temperament Exchange Orientation

How to Communicate Some helpful rules Positive framing Express appreciation Avoid silent treatment Don’t pretend to be a psychologist Speak for yourself, not your partner Say it directly Nothing nice to say? Then keep quiet