1. Microsociology: Testing Interaction Theories “Social Psychology”

2. The Rational Choice Proposition  Within the limits of their information and available choices, guided by their preferences and tastes, humans will tend to maximize.  limits of info and available choices….. social forces powerful – Stark: people have different basis for making choice and different alternatives from which to choose  Preferences and tastes define what the individual finds rewarding or unrewarding.  Tend to maximize

3. Altruism? Is there any such thing as selfless behavior  From a rational choice perspective perhaps not  But people are selfless – Mother Teresa  Her behavior violates rational choice only if we adopt narrow definition of rewards  Power of Christian message is NOT that we avoid rewards. It is that we should find rewards in serving others.

4. Symbolic Interaction Theory  Assumption is that much of what we want we can only get from others – social beings  People are endlessly influencing and being influenced by other people around them.  Interaction through the use of symbols makes and keeps people human.

5. Who are you? “Self,” “Identity”…Self: Conception of who we are  George H Mead – Self develops when we can “take the role of the other”  E.g., Soccer game with young vs. older children  Charles Cooley’s “Looking Glass Self” – we see ourselves as we think others see us –We imagine how we appear to others –We judge ourselves –We manipulate who we are

6. Exchange Theory  Central concern is to explain how people exchange rewards with one another.  Exchanges occur because each partner values what the other offers more than what must be offered in return.

7. Exchange Theory:  Relationships that are not reciprocal are unstable  In the absence of restraints, cheating is expected – try to get more than we give  Law of liking – cooperation and agreeing = liking  Law of agreement – the more we like = more agreement  Law of inequality – easier to like people of similar rank  Law of conformity – solidarity = intense demand for conformity

8. Famous Studies  Solomon Asch A B C

9. Asch study shows….  Role of solidarity – 33% gave wrong answer when all in agreement, only 5% when one disagreed  Power of social influence – we are “vulnerable” - perhaps far more than we want to realize  Smart to consider implications –E.g., Olympic judges, group meetings

10. Lofland and Stark research on the Unification Church  People brainwashed? No, more a matter of understanding the principles of conformity  Ideology/theology identification explain conversion?  No – attachment to others (and conformity that results) explains ideology/theology –Only people who developed strong ties within converted –People who could not neutralize outside group ties did not –Beliefs came later

11. Lofland and Stark study shows  People are drawn to the commitments, beliefs, convictions of others  Not so easy to believe the unbelievable  But if people to whom we are attached believe….

12. Measurement and Research  Theorize…. Hypothesize… Collect data  Hypothesis = predicted relationship between independent and dependent variable  Independent = causal variable  Dependent = result/consequence variable

13. Criteria for a Cause-and-Effect Relationship  When any one is not met, a cause-and-effect relationship does not exist:  Time order: A cause must occur before its effect.  Correlation: Changes in the cause must produce changes in the proposed effect.  Nonspuriousness: Two variables must actually have a cause-and-effect relationship –Sexual behavior and heart attacks causally related?

14. Two Research Methods  Experimental research – good at establishing cause and effect relationships  Non-Experimental – not so good…. – “Field Research”

15. Non-Experimental  Smoking and cancer - what do you do? –Look at association (correlation) – do people with lung cancer smoke more? –3 conditions of cause met?  Spanking and Antisocial behavior – what do you do –Kids who are spanked more likely to engage in antisocial behavior –3 conditions of cause met?

16. Experimental Design  2 fundamental features 1.Manipulate the independent variable 2.Random assignment  Most desirable method because easier to establish cause and effect relationships…. Why?  Manipulation of I.V. solves time order problem  Randomization solves spurious problem (everything essentially held constant)  E.g., Drug Education Programs

17.  What is a correlation coefficient?  What is statistical significance?  Why introduced to Asch and Lofland/Stark studies here? –Asch is experiment (Independent variable = solidarity) –Lofland/Stark non-experimental field research