Social Psychology

Person Perception O Process of forming impressions of others. O Perceptions often inaccurate – many biases and fallacies in perception.

Physical Appearance O Attractive looking people command more attention than the less attractive. O Judgment of other personalities often persuaded by appearance O Good looking people are perceived to be more competent

Stereotypes O Widely held beliefs that people have certain characteristics because of their membership in a particular group. O Most common stereotypes: gender, age, ethnic, occupational

Stereotypes O Positive: a normal cognitive process. Saves time on understanding people individually O Negatives: O Lack of accuracy O Ignores diversity within social groups O Expectations may lead people to misperceive individuals

Stereotypes O Gender: O Women are emotional, submissive, illogical and passive O Men are unemotional, dominant, logical, aggressive

Stereotypes O Age: Elderly are slow, feeble, rigid, forgetful, asexual O Ethnic O Occupational: O Lawyers are manipulative O Accountants are conforming O Artists are moody

Subjectivity In Person Perspective O Stereotypes create biases that often lead to confirmation of people’s expectations about others O Illusory Correlation: when people estimate that they have encountered more confirmations of an association between social traits than they have actually seen. O People selectively recall facts that fit with their stereotypes.

Evolutionary & Bias in Person Perception O Many of the biases seen in social perception were adaptive in human ancestral environment O Physical attractiveness associated with reproductive health in women, and material resources in men.

Attributions O Inferences that people draw about the causes of events, others’ behaviors, and their own behavior

Internal Attributions O Personal dispositions O Traits O Abilities and feelings O “ I was late for school because I over slept”

External Attributions O Situational demands O Environmental constraints. O “ I was late for school because the bus broke down”

Fundamental Attribution Error O Observers bias in favor of internal attributions in explaining others behavior. O “ The student failed the test because they were not smart enough”

Defensive Attribution O Tendency to blame victims for their misfortune so that one feels less likely to be victimized in a similar way.

Actor – Observer Bias O Actors favor external attributions for their behavior ( the situation caused the behavior) O Observers are more likely to explain the same behavior with internal attributions. O Observers are often not aware of external factors ( historical and situational factors )

Interpersonal Attraction O Positive feelings toward another

Key Factors In Attraction O Physical Attractiveness O Key determinant in romantic attraction O Vital in initial stage of dating The Matching Hypothesis: Males and females of approximately equal attractiveness are likely to seek each other as partners

Key Factors In Attraction O Similarity Effect O Similarity causes attraction O Dating partners gradually modify attitudes

Passionate Love O Complete absorption in another that includes tender sexual feelings and the agony and ecstasy of intense emotion.

Compassionate Love O Warm, trusting, tolerant affection for another whose life is deeply intertwined with one’s own.

Love As Attachment Secure: majority secure attachment to caretaker in infancy Anxious – Ambivalent: Very anxious when separated from caretaker in infancy Avoidant: Never bonded with caretaker in infancy

Love As Attachment (Adults ) O Secure: (56% )easy to get close to others, love relationship trusting O Anxious Ambivalent:(20%) preoccupied with love, and accompanied by expectations of rejection. Volatile & Jealous O Avoidant: (24%) difficult to get close to others / love lacking intimacy and trust

Culture & Close Relationships O People value: mutual attraction, kindness, intelligence…. O Gender differences universal O Collectivism prevalent in Japan, China, India – but declining

Internet O Positive so far O Social Networks – superficial but intimate

Evolutionary Perspective O Physical appearance important – good looks indicate good health & fertility O Facial Symmetry O Women: men prefer hour glass figure & youthfulness O Men: Women prefer ambition, status, financial potential

Attitudes: Social Judgments O Attitudes – positive or negative evaluations of objects of thought. O Objects of Thought: social issues, institutions, consumer products, people

Components of Attitude O A ffective: emotiuonsabout an attitude O B ehaviors - act a certain way toward an attitude O C ognitive: Beliefs about an attitude

Dimensions of Attitude O Strong: firmly held, durable, powerful on behavior O Accessibility: How often and how quickly one thinks – highly correlated with strength O Ambivalent: conflicted evaluations

Attitudes & Behavior O Attitudes may not always predict behavior O Strong attitudes that are highly accessible are more predictable of behavior O Attitudes interact with social situational constraints ( social pressure ) to shape behavior

Explicit / Implicit Attitudes O Explicit: conscious / can describe readily O Implicit: Covert ( hidden ) O People have little control O Automatic responses O Central in study of prejudice O Negative ideas can seep into subconcious

Persuasion O Source: Person who sends communication O Expertise O Trustworthiness O Likeabilility

Persuasion O Message O 1 sided or 2 sided O Fear works O Truth Effect / Mere Exposure Effect

Persuasion O Receiver O Personality O Expectations – forewarning O Stronger – more resistant O Resistance – people can become more certain about their attitudes

Learning Theory O Attitude learned from parents, peers, media, cultural traditions, and society O Classical Conditioning ( evaluative ) O Transfer emotion to an unconditional stimulus (US) to a new conditioned stimulus (CS) O Advertising using celbrities

Learning Theory O Operant Conditioning O Agreement a reinforcer O Disagreement a punisher Observational - another’s opinion may rub off / others may reinforce if they agree

Cognitive Dissonance O Inconsistent cognitions – cause contradiction O Unpleasant tension - motivates people to reduce dissonance

Elaboration Likelihood O Central Route to persuasion - content and logic of message O Peripheral Route to persuasion – non message factors: attractiveness, credibility of source, emotional response

Solomon Asch O Leader of Social Psychology during the 1950’s O Investigated conformity

Asch Experiment O Used 7 participants, 6 were accomplices to the experimenter O 1 a subject

O Would the majority of people state an obviously wrong answer just to conform to the group? YES!!!!! 70% at least once 5% every time Solomon Asch’s Conformity Experiment (1952)

Asch Experiment O If one person dissents: O Conformity lowered by ¼ O Conformity lessened by hearing someone question then accuracy

Normative Influence O When people conform to social norms for fear of negative social consequences ABOUT BEING LIKED

Informational Influence O When people look to others for guidance about how to behave in ambiguous situations CONCERNED ABOUT BEING RIGHT not being liked

Obedience O A form of compliance that occurs when people follow direct commands, usually from someone in authority.