Social Psychology: How people interact with one another Social Cognition: How people think of themselves and others

Heider’s Attribution Theory People judge other’s actions based on: 1)Internal characteristics: dispositional/ person attribution 2)Environmental factors: situational attribution Example: shyness

Harold Kelley Determined the factors that cause us to attribute another’s behavior as situational or dispositional Consistency: how similar the individual acts in the same situation Distinctiveness: how similar the situation is to others Consensus- how others have responded in this situation

Attributions can be further classified as stable or unstable: unstable dispositional (person)- Jessica is not usually shy, but is tonight stable dispositional- Jessica is a shy person unstable situational- Jessica is uncomfortable because her ex is at the party stable situational- Jessica gets shy at parties

Fundamental Attribution Error tendency to attribute others’ actions to dispositional factors because we underestimate situational factors We attribute causation to our focus….

xample:

7 How can behavior affect our attitudes?

8 Attitudes Can Affect Action Not only do people stand for what they believe in (attitude), they start believing in what they stand for. Cooperative actions can lead to mutual liking (beliefs). D. MacDonald/ PhotoEdit

9 Small Request – Large Request Example: Korean War By complying to small errands, US Army prisoners were likely to comply to larger ones. Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon: The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request.

10 Door-in-the-face phenomenon after people refuse a large request, they will look more favorably upon a follow-up request that seems more reasonable

11 Role Playing Affects Attitudes Zimbardo (1972) assigned the roles of guards and prisoners to random students and found that guards and prisoners developed role- appropriate attitudes. Originally published in the New Yorker Phillip G. Zimbardo, Inc.

12 Cognitive Dissonance Leon Festinger Experiment- late 1950’s

13 Actions Can Affect Attitudes Cognitive dissonance – people are motivated to have consistent attitudes and behaviors. When their behaviors contradict their attitudes, they experience mental tension. To relieve ourselves of this tension we bring our attitudes closer to our actions (Festinger, 1957).

14 Cognitive Dissonance

15 Social Influence The greatest contribution of social psychology is its study of attitudes, beliefs, decisions, and actions and the way they are molded by social influence. NON SEQUITER © 2000 Wiley. Dist. by Universal Press Syndicate Reprinted with Permission

16 Aim: How do social influences affect our behavior?

17 Sometimes social influence can lead to….. Conformity- modifying our behavior or thinking to make it agree with a group

18 Conformity & Obedience We follow behavior of others to conform. Other behaviors may be an expression of compliance (obedience) toward authority. Conformity Obedience

19 The Chameleon Effect Conformity: Adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard (Chartrand & Bargh, 1999).

20 Soloman Asch’s Conformity Experiment (1950’s) Suggestibility is a subtle type of conformity, adjusting our behavior or thinking toward some group standard.

21 Group Pressure & Conformity Suggestibility: An influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality. William Vandivert/ Scientific American

Do Now: Work together You want to design a conformity experiment similar to Asch’s line study. What experimental conditions are necessary to maximize suggestibility and ensure that the subject will indeed conform with the confederates?

23 Conditions that Strengthen Conformity 1.One is made to feel incompetent or insecure. 2.The group has at least three people. 3.The group is unanimous. 4.One admires the group’s status and attractiveness. 5.One has no prior commitment or response. 6.The group observes one’s behavior. 7.One’s culture strongly encourages respect for a social standard.

24 Reasons for Conformity Normative Social Influence: Influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval Informative Social Influence: The group may provide valuable information, but stubborn people will never listen to others.

Do Now: How does informative social influence differ from normative social influence?

26 Summary Homework 1.Distinguish between normative and informational social influence. Give an example of a time that you were influenced by each 2.Give an example of when you obeyed when you didn’t agree with the request. Why did you obey?

27 Informative Social Influence

28 Informative Social Influence Baron et al., (1996)

29 Obedience People comply to social pressures. How would they respond to outright command? Stanley Milgram designed a study that investigates the effects of authority on obedience. Stanley Milgram ( ) Courtesy of CUNY Graduate School and University Center

30 Milgram’s Study Both Photos: © 1965 By Stanley Miligram, from the film Obedience, dist. by Penn State, Media Sales

31 Milgram’s Study: Results

Why was Milgram’s study so effective? Pressure from authority No one else is disobeying (positive role models) Prestigious University Depersonalization 32

33 Individual Resistance A third of the individuals in Milgram’s study resisted social coercion. AP/ Wide World Photos

34 Lessons from the Conformity and Obedience Studies In both Ash's and Milgram's studies, participants were pressured to follow their standards and be responsive to others.

AIM: How are individuals’ decisions affected by others?

36 Group Influence Social psychologists study various groups: 1.One person affecting another 2.Families 3.Teams 4.Committees

37 Individual Behavior in the Presence of Others Social facilitation: Improved performance on tasks in the presence of others. Examples: Cyclists Michelle Agnis/ NYT Pictures

Social Inhibition/Impairment Presence of others makes performance worse Easier tasks are affected by social facilitation Harder Tasks are affected by social inhibition

39 Social Loafing The tendency of an individual in a group to exert less effort toward attaining a common goal than when tested individually

40 Deindividuation The loss of self-awareness and self- restraint in group situations Power in Numbers Arousal Anonymity Mob behavior

Dark Room Scenario

Group Activity!