1. Social Psychology

2. What is Social Psych?
Examines the way people think and act in certain situations
Focuses on the impact group interaction has on the behavior and attitudes of individuals

3. Attitudes
Beliefs & feelings about objects, people and events that can affect how people behave in certain situations
Primary motivator for our behavior
Linked to strong emotions
Tend to remain stable, but can change

4. Attitudes Where do attitudes come from? Conditioning:
Being reinforced for saying/doing things consistent with the attitudes of authority figures
Observational learning:
Watching the actions of others and imitating in hopes of acceptance or approval
Cognitive Evaluation:
Evaluating evidence from many sources and forming beliefs based on their evaluation
Cognitive Anchors:
Earliest attitudes, persistent beliefs that shape your views/opinions

5. Aggression Words or actions that are meant to hurt other people
Social problem: murder, abuse, etc.

6. Aggression Why are people aggressive? Biological: Psychoanalytic:
Hypothalamus stimulation, testosterone, survival
Psychoanalytic:
Unavoidable reactions to daily frustrations, often repressed but will find outlets
Catharsis: venting aggressive impulses
Cognitive:
A person’s values, the choices they make and the way they perceive events – believe their actions are justified and necessary
Learning:
Repeat behaviors that are reinforced (tantrums, games)
Sociocultural:
Cultures that encourage competition ultimately encourage aggressive behaviors

7. Altruism Unselfish concern for the welfare of other people
Sacrifice their own well-being to help others in need

8. Altruism Why are people altruistic? Their state of mind (good mood)
Are sensitive due to their own problems
Have empathy
Competent in the situation (doctor/nurse)
Need for the approval of others
Feel responsible

9. Altruism Why aren’t people altruistic? Not aware there is a problem
Don’t think they can do anything
Fear making a mistake or being ridiculed
Dangerous situation
Others are present to observe
Bystander Effect: people are less likely to give aid when others are present

10. Persuasion
A direct attempt to influence other people’s views or attitudes
Central Route:
use evidence and logical arguments
Peripheral Route:
indirect, attempt to associate objects, people or events with positive or negative cues

11. Persuasion What techniques are effective? Sales Resistance:
Two-sided Argument:
People present their side of the argument and their opponents in an attempt to discredit their view
Emotional Appeal:
Persuade through arousing feelings like loyalty, desire or fear rather than evidence
Sales Resistance:
The ability to refuse a request or sales pitch
Typically people with high self-esteem and low social anxiety are better at this ability

12. Prejudice A generalized attitude toward a specific group of people
Literally means prejudgment
Prejudice is based on stereotypes
Prejudice leads to discrimination
Stereotypes:
unchanging, oversimplified, and usually distorted beliefs about groups of people
Discrimination:
the unfair treatment of individuals because they are part of a particular group

13. Prejudice What causes prejudice? Exaggerating differences
Tend to view those different than us as more different than they really are
Justifying economic status
Higher economic groups tend to believe those in lower groups must be inferior in some way
Social learning
Learn the attitudes from others, like parents
Victimization
Victims of prejudice feel pride and power by being superior than others
Scapegoating
An individual or group is blamed for the problems of others
Real problem is viewed as too complex, to powerful, or too remote to be resolved

14. Social Perception Primacy Effect: Recency Effect:
Tendency for people to form opinions of others on the basis of first impressions
Recency Effect:
Occurs when people change their opinions of others on the basis of recent interactions, rather than having their first impression remain

15. Social Perception The ways in which people perceive one another
Affects the attitudes people form towards you or that you form about others

16. Social Perception Attribution Theory:
People tend to explain behavior in terms of either dispositional (personality) factors or situational factors.
Ex: you meet someone at a party that is not talking to many other people
Shy/conceited – personality
Usually friendly, doesn’t know anyone – situational

17. Social Perception – Attribution Theory
Actor-Observer Bias
Tendency to attribute the behavior of others to dispositional (internal) factors and their own behavior to be situational (external)
Fundamental Attribution Error
Tendency to overestimate the effect of dispositional causes for another persons behavior and to underestimate the effect of situational causes
Self-Serving Bias
Tendency to attribute their own successes to dispositional factors and their failures to situational factors
Ex: Job interview successful because of my talent and skill
Ex: Job interview unsuccessful because the interviewer was crabby

18. Group Behavior
People behave differently when part of a group than they do individually
Group Polarization:
The strengthening of a groups shared attitudes over time
Can be positive or negative

19. Group Behavior Social Facilitation: Social Loafing: Risky Shift:
People often perform better when other people are watching than they do when they are alone
Evaluation Apprehension: the concern about the opinion of others
Social Loafing:
Tendency for people to exert less effort towards completing a task when they are part of a group
Diffusion of Responsibility: tendency for people to feel less responsible for accomplishing a task when the effort is shared among a group
Risky Shift:
Tendency for people to take greater risks when part of a group than acting individually

20. Group Behavior Group Decision Making
Being part of a group affects the decision making process
Social Decision Schemes:
Rules that govern group decision making

21. Group Behavior Social Decision Schemes: Majority-Wins Scheme:
Decision is supported by the majority of the members
Truth-Wins Scheme:
Members of the group realize one option is better than the other choices once they have all information
Two-Thirds Majority Scheme:
Two-thirds of members agree on a choice
First-Shift Scheme:
Applies when a group is split 50-50, then one person changes their mind to break the tie

22. Group Behavior Types of Group Leadership: Authoritarian Leaders:
Exert absolute control over all decisions for the group
Ex: military leaders
Democratic Leaders:
Encourage group members to express and discuss ideas and to make their own decisions
Ex: group voting to make a decision
Laissez-Faire Leaders:
Encourage group members to express and explore their own ideas, take a less active role in decision-making

23. Obedience Following the orders or directions of a person in authority
Good: learn social rules and norms, create safe and orderly environments
Bad: commit crimes – “just following orders”

24. Obedience Why do people obey? Socialization Foot-in-the-door Effect
Learn through social rules it is correct to obey authority figures (teachers obeyed the researchers)
Foot-in-the-door Effect
People will give in to major demands once they have given in to minor ones (shocks)
Confusion
Distraction, disturbances or confusion may lead a person to lose focus on their beliefs and act against them (yelling, pounding)
Buffers
Protected from observing the consequences of their actions (wall between them)

25. Conformity
To change or modify ones’ attitudes and behavior to make them match those of other people
Social Norms: Standards of behavior people share (to do/not to do)
Explicit Norms: spoken, written rules
Traffic rules, student handbook
Implicit Norms: unspoken, unwritten rules
How to dress, how to greet someone

26. Conformity Why do people conform? Cultural influences
Belonging to a specific group with expectations
Need for acceptance
Want to be liked or accepted by certain people
Other factors
Conforming increases as the groups size increases
All other group members are unanimous

27. Attraction A kind of attitude – that of liking another person
Love or friendship

28. Attraction What attracts us to others? Physical appearance
Universals of beauty: large eyes, high cheekbones, narrow jaws, smiles
Similarity & Reciprocity
Matching hypothesis: people tend to choose friends and partners they think are similar to themselves in attractiveness
Choose similar race, ethnicity, age, level of education, religion, etc.
Reciprocity: the mutual exchange of feelings or attitudes