1. Psy 301 Chase1 The funny things we do... Some lessons from social psych Kate Niederhoffer Social and Personality Psychology University of Texas at Austin 11/04/04

2. Psy 301 Chase2 Introduction Classic Rocks in Social psychology

3. Psy 301 Chase3 Repeat Offender Study n = 6-8 “Mood & Math”  Introductions  Place of origin  Embarrassing moments Rating self vs. others questionnaire (appearance, intelligence) MATH TEST

4. Psy 301 Chase4 The very next day… ***Same group***  Favorite childhood moment  Favorite food and why Self vs. others “Someone in this room…”  Who is it?  How many people will guess right?

5. Psy 301 Chase5 The Spotlight Effect “People tend to believe the social spotlight shines more brightly on them than it actually does” Bad hair days Embarrassing t-shirts Absenteeism

6. Psy 301 Chase6 Wegner: On being a bat… On seeing life from the perspective of an animal that can't see "We're all in that position with regard to other minds, generally -- we don't really know what it's like to be other people. Much of what social psychology is about is being able to think and talk about experience in a way that helps us bridge the gap from one mind to another.”

7. Psy 301 Chase7 Enough about me… Compared to other students at the University, rate yourself on the following attributes…  Leadership  Creativity  Energy Level  Sincerity  Athleticism…

8. Psy 301 Chase8 Above Average Effect Ability% ppl “above average” Getting along with others 89% Written expression 64% Spoken expression 63% Leadership70% Athletics60%

9. Psy 301 Chase9 How You Rank Ability% Chase students “above average” Leadership91% Athletic Ability70% Energy Level71% Creativity90% Sincerity89% Intelligence79% Trustworthiness93%

10. Psy 301 Chase10 1. Need to feel good about ourselves  Seeing ourselves and anything connected to us in positive light. Lessons from social psych:

11. Psy 301 Chase11 Lessons from social psych: 1. Need to feel good about ourselves 2. Motive to seek connectedness  Create and maintain feelings of mutual support, liking and acceptance.

12. Psy 301 Chase12 On fitting in: Video

13. Imagine...

14. Psy 301 Chase14 Asch, 1955 Which of the comparison lines is the same as the standard line?

15. Psy 301 Chase15 76% went along with the clearly incorrect majority at least once In all, P’s conformed 37% of the time However, 24% NEVER conformed What did participants do?

16. Psy 301 Chase16 Going along with the majority…

17. Psy 301 Chase17 All in the name of connectedness We want to be seen as likable (AA) To fit in (Elevator) To gain approval (Picketing)  Conform to others preferences Affiliation, friendship, intimacy…

18. Psy 301 Chase18 Scenic Attractions on Creativity: Dutton & Aron (1973) Capilano Canyon Suspension bridge 5 feet wide, 450 feet long Wooden boards attached to wire cables -spanning a height of 250 feet

19. Psy 301 Chase19 The effects of “scenic attractions on creativity” Vs.

20. Psy 301 Chase20 Misattribution of Arousal (Dutton & Aron, 1973)

21. Psy 301 Chase21 Real World vs. Road Rules

22. Psy 301 Chase22 Lessons from social psych 1. Need to feel good about ourselves 2. Motive to seek connectedness 3. Don’t underestimate the power of the situation

23. Psy 301 Chase23 “Punishment on Learning”

24. 1 teacher, 1 learner  Learn word pairs; if wrong, punished Set-up learner  Chair, electrode on wrist  “condition” Shock generator  Slight, moderate, strong, very strong, intense, extreme intensity, danger: severe, XXX Sample- 45V **Something you should know…

25. Psy 301 Chase25 Script 75 volts: grunt 120 volts: complains loudly; 150: demands to be released from experiment. As voltage increases: protests become more vehement and emotional. 285 volts: agonized scream. Soon thereafter: no sound at all.

26. Psy 301 Chase26 What would you do? Pre-test estimates: All would refuse to obey Most won’t go beyond 150v Psychiatrists estimated 1/1000 would go all the way  4% would reach 300v

27. Psy 301 Chase27 Results Avg. max shock delivered:360v 65% went all the way to 450v 80% continued giving shocks after learner w/ heart condition complained ** short#4 ** short#4

28. Psy 301 Chase28 Implications: Obedience to Authority An experimenter influenced ordinary ppl to commit immoral acts on an innocent bystander… Could the Holocaust have been an act of ordinary ppl exposed to extraordinary social conditions ?  What about more recent events?

29. Many of the people were in some sense against what they did to the learner, and many protested even while they obeyed. Some were totally convinced of the wrongness of their actions but could not bring themselves to make an open break with authority. They often derived satisfaction from their thoughts and felt that -- within themselves, at least -- they had been on the side of the angels. They tried to reduce strain by obeying the experimenter but "only slightly," encouraging the learner, touching the generator switches gingerly. When interviewed, such a subject would stress that he "asserted my humanity" by administering the briefest shock possible. Handling the conflict in this manner was easier than defiance.

30. Psy 301 Chase30 Social Psychology The scientific study of how people’s thoughts feelings and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of others  The power of the situation