Social Psychology

Social Psychology“We cannot live for ourselves

alone… our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threats”

Questions that Social Psychology aims to answer:O What causes a group of people to

perform a genocide?O What drives terrorists to commit acts

of hatred?O What factors influence the decision

making of public leaders?O How do we form our attitudes about

people and situations?

IntroductionO Social Psych studies…

O How we think about one anotherO How we influence one anotherO How we relate to one another

Do we attribute behavior to people or situations?

O Is he absent because he is sick or lazy?

O Does her smile signify romantic interest or does she smile at everyone?

O Is he “snapping” because he is a short-tempered person or because he has had a stressful week?

Attribution TheoryO Fritz Heider (1958)O The Theory that we explain someone’s

behavior by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition

O Many times our attributions are correctO Fundamental Attribution Error- At times

we overestimate the influence of personality and underestimate the influence of situationsO Example?

Fundamental Attribution Error

O Happens more so in Western CulturesO We attribute behavior of ourselves and people we

know to situation more than we do with “strangers”O We are better at understanding the situation when

we see the perspective of the “actor”; We can understand our own disposition when we see things from the “observer’s” perspective

Example: Napolitan and Goethals (1979)

O Experiment: Group of subjects spoke to an actress

O Actress acted warm and friendly to some students, critical to the others

O *half were told that her behavior was situational (i.e. that she was told to act that way)

O Regardless, the students attributed this behavior to her disposition, not the situation

Why is this so important?O Juries have to decide whether behavior

was situational or the product of a person’s disposition

O InterviewsO Bosses and ManagersO Couples

O Why are you such a negative person? vs. You must be stressed at work

O Politics: Liberals (situation) vs. Conservatives (disposition)

Attitudes and ActionsO What we do affects what we do?

Vs.O What we think affects what we think?

O Attitudes are feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events.

O If we believe like someone is malicious, we may act unfriendly and feel dislike

Attitudes Affect ActionsO Central Route Persuasion

O When interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts

O Happens when people are naturally analytical or involved in the issue

O More durableO Peripheral Route Persuasion

O When people respond to incidental cues, such as attractiveness or familiarity with a face (celebrity endorsements)

Actions affect AttitudesO Foot-in-the-door phenomenon

O A person who complies to perform a small action will later agree to a larger one

O i.e. do a small favor for someone today and you’re more likely to do a larger favor for them in the future

O To get someone to do something for you, “start small and build”

O Doing a favor for someone you dislike may actually cause you to feel more positive about them

EvidenceO 17% of people agreed to put a large,

hideous “drive carefully” sign in their front yard

O When other homeowners were approached with a 3-inch sign first, 76% later consented to the large, ugly sign

Food for ThoughtO You are driving on Rt. 17 South towards the

Garden State Plaza to pick up some sweet kicks to wear this Saturday. The car behind you is flying at approximately 85 miles per hour. He is practically kissing your bumper when he maneuvers around you and swiftly passes you, only to get off the Ridgewood exit on two wheels less than a mile down the road. You think to yourself “what an impatient *&*#*@#”.

O What error are you committing??? What could be the “situation”?

Role-playing affects attitudes

O When adopting a new role, a person strives to meet the expectations or social prescriptions of that role

O Role will feel false until it “becomes” you.O “Fake it until you make it.”- AAO Zimbardo and the Stanford Prison

Experiment (1972)O What we do, we gradually become.O Stanford Prison Experiment full video

Cognitive DissonanceO We experience tension our attitudes and

actions do not coincideO According to the cognitive dissonance

theory, we tend to bring our attitudes into line with our actions

O Was there ever something that you did that you weren’t 100% okay with but “convinced” yourself that it was the right thing or what you wanted?

O Defense mechanism?

Why does behavior or talk therapy work???

O Attitude-follows-behavior explains why therapies that emphasize talking in a more positive way may change the way people think and feel about themselves and situations

Social InfluenceO ConformityO ComplianceO Group Behavior

Social PhenomenaO We are chameleons who seek to blend

with what’s natural around usO We follow dress codes, yawn together,

laugh when others laugh, etc.O Mood linkage- we feel happier around

other happy peopleO Empathetic people mimic more and are

liked more- prone to unconscious mimicryO Copycat violenceO Clusters of bomb threats, suicides, etc.

Group Pressure and Conformity

O Adjusting our behavior or thinking toward some group standard

O Asch experimentO More than 1/3 of the time, college

participants went along with the group

O Individualistic countries have lower conformity rates during social experiments

Conditions that Strengthen Conformity

O One is made to feel incompetent or insecure

O The group has at least three people

O Group is unanimousO One admires the

group’s status and attractiveness

O One has made no

prior commitment to any response

O Others in the group observe one’s behavior

O One’s culture strongly encourages respect for social standards

Why do we conform?O Normative Social Influence

O Influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval

O Informational Social InfluenceO Influence resulting from one’s willingness to

accept others’ opinions about realityO “Those who never retract their opinions love

themselves more than they love truth”- JoubertO Sometimes we need to assume others are right

Baron et alO When our decisions are important

and are difficult, we are more likely to conform than if the task is easy

ObedienceO Milgram’s Obedience Experiment

O 63% complied fully to deliver the final voltageO Even when told that the learned had a heart

condition and displayed more agony, 65% complied

O Obedience highest when:O Person given orders was close and was legitimateO The authority figure was supported by a prestigious

institutionO Victim was depersonalized or at a distance (another

room)O There were no role models for defiance against

experimenter

Group InfluenceO Social facilitation

O People swim faster when they compete than when they are alone (time trials)

O Drivers will accelerate faster at a green light when there is someone next to them

O Definition: Stronger responses are seen on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others

O However, when the task is difficult, people perform less well when observers or others are watching

O Conclusion: This phenomenon predicts that when around others, the most likely response will be facilitated (right on easy task, wrong on difficult)

Group InfluenceO Social Loafing

O The tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable

O Group case reading quizzes?!?!O Especially common in individualistic

cultures

Social InfluenceO Deindividuation

O Abandoning normal restraints and self-awareness occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity

O i.e. food fights, senior cut day, flash mob

O People are less self-conscious ad restrained when in a group situation

Social InfluenceO Broken Window Theory

O Broken windows (perceived destruction) open the door for further graffiti, crime, etc.

O Zero tolerance would produce lower crime rates?

O Northern Highlands Policies?

Group InteractionO Group Polarization

O Enhancement of a group’s prevailing tendencies

O If a group is like-minded, discussion strengthens pre-existing opinions

O Is this positive or negative?

Group InteractionO Groupthink

O When the desire for harmony and “good feelings” trumps realistic dissent among members of a group

O No one steps in to give the reality check

O i.e. The Perfect StormO Fueled by overconfidence, conformity,

self-justification, and group-polarization

Can an individual or minority shape the majority?

O Although people often follow the majority publicly, they may privately develop sympathy for the minority view

O Powers of the committed individual can sway the majority if the position is held unswervinglyO Popularity vs. influence

Social RelationsO Prejudice

O ‘Prejudgment”O An unjustifiable (and usually negative)

attitude toward a group and its membersO Usually involves stereotyped beliefs,

negative feelings, and predisposition to discriminatory action

O May be blatant or subtle (saying you’re not racist but being uncomfortable dating someone of the other race)

PrejudiceO Black motorists are often the majority of those

pulled over, even in states where they are the minority

O 1115 landlords received letters of interest from would-be tenants (fake)O Tyrell Jackson- 56%O Said Al-Rahman- 66%O Patrick McDougall- 89%

O If you believe your father is more intelligent than your mother (without evidence), you have a gender prejudice!!

O More people express wanting male babies, but “prefer” traits of women

“Automatic Prejudice”Researchers believe that most of our prejudices are implicit and automaticO Implicit racial associationsO Unconscious patronization

O Lower standardsO Race-influence perceptions

O More likely to perceive a wallet as a gun in a simulated crime scene when person was black

O “Seeing black”O The more stereotypical the features, the more

“criminal” blacks areO Reflexive bodily responses in amygdala and facial

muscles when exposed to a black face

Social Roots of Prejudice

O Social inequalitiesO Stereotypes rationalize inequalities (i.e.

slavery)O Blame-the-victim dynamic

O Poverty may increase crime level, which provides new grounds for prejudice

O Ingroup and OutgroupO We often reserve intense dislike for

outgroup rivals who are most like us (Portuguese and Spanish…. Highlands and ?)

Emotional Roots of PrejudiceO Implies “us” and “them”, breeding ingroup

bias, or favoring one’s own groupO Scapegoat Theory

O Finding someone to blame when things go wrong

O Our society’s scapegoat? History’s scapegoat?

O Temporary frustration, failure, or insecurities intensify prejudice (need to boost self-esteem)

Cognitive Roots of PrejudiceO Categorization

O We overestimate the similarity of those within other groups

O Other race-effect, or own-race biasO We can better recognize our own faces and tend to

think other ethnicities act and look more alike than they do

O Vivid CasesO More intense crimes lead us to remember them, so

if we have been exposed to one race committing more violent crimes we tend to over exaggerate the number of them in our minds

O Example?

Cognitive Roots of PrejudiceO Just-World Phenomenon

O “People get what they deserve”O The good are rewarded and the bad

are punished?O Victims should be blamed (i.e. AIDS)

O AggressionO GeneticO NeuralO Biochemical

Aggression: InfluencesO Genetic

O Identical twins are similar in levels of aggressionO Animals are bred to be aggressive (pitbulls)O Y chromosome

O NeuralO Amygdala facilitates aggression, frontal lobe inhibits

O BiochemicalO Hormones (i.e. testosterone), alcoholO Activities can enhance testosterone (handling gun)

O Frustration-aggression principleO Frustration creates anger, which generates aggression

O Pain, insults, foul odors, hot temperatures, smokeO RejectionO Video Games?

AttractionO We do we befriend or fall in love with some

people but not others?O Proximity- “familiarity breeds content”

O Mere-Exposure Effect- repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them

O We like computer-generated faces that are morphed with our own

O Physical Attractiveness- rated as happier, healthier, sensitive, successful, socially skilled (not honest or compassionate, though)O Women spend more $ on cometics than educationO “love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind”-

people w/ good qualities become more attractive

Attraction (cont.)O Similarity

O More likely to marry someone w/ similar sounding name

O Opposites retractO “Lovers should love many things

together, not merely each other”O Reward Theory of Attraction

O We will like those whose behavior is rewarding to us and less costly (i.e. long distance, etc.)

Romantic LoveO Passionate vs. companionate loveO Passionate

O Aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a love relationship

O Two-factor theory of emotion?O Adrenaline makes the heart grow fonder

O CompanionateO Deep, affectionate attachment we feel for

those with whom our lives are intertwined

Key to RelationshipsO Equity

O Both partners receive in proportion to what they give

O Self-disclosureO Revealing intimate details about

ourselves

AltruismO Unselfish regard for the welfare of othersO Bystander Effect

O Diffusion of responsibilityO The more people that are around, the less willing we are to

helpO We are more likely to help if:

O Person appears to need and deserve helpO Person is similar to usO We have observed someone being helpfulO We aren’t in a hurryO We are in a small town or rural areaO We are feeling guiltyO We are focused on others and not preoccupiedO We are in a good mood

Norms for HelpingO Social Exchange Theory

O Our social behavior is an exchange process in which we maximize benefits and minimize costs

O Reciprocity NormO We should return help, not harm, to those

who helped usO Social Responsibility Norm

O We should help those who need our help (elderly, children, ill)

O Subway incident?

Social Traps: Prisoner’s Dilemma

O Two men are arrested, but the police do not possess enough information for a conviction. Following the separation of the two men, the police offer both a similar deal—if one testifies against his partner (defects/betrays), and the other remains silent (cooperates/assists), the betrayer goes free and the cooperator receives the full one-year sentence. If both remain silent, both are sentenced to only one month in jail for a minor charge. If each 'rats out' the other, each receives a three-month sentence. Each prisoner must choose either to betray or remain silent; the decision of each is kept quiet. What should they do?

Conflict and PeacemakingO Conflict

O perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas

O Social TrapsO Situation in which the conflicting

parties become caught in mutually destructive behavior

$5

$10-$5

-$5$10

$0$0

$5

Optio

n 2

Option 1

Option 2

Option 1 Op

tion

1

Real life examples of the social traps?

O i.e. costs more money to “go green” and buy a fuel efficient car

O Collective cost = everyone suffers from greenhouse gasses

O Solve these problems with regulations, communication, and awareness

Enemy PerceptionsO Mirror-image perceptions

O Mutual views held by conflicting people, when each side sees itself and ethical and peace and views the other as evil and aggressive

O Examples?

Peace-buildingO Contact

O Work closely with other races, sexual orientations, and you will develop acceptance and reduce prejudice

O CooperationO Superordinate goals

O Shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation

O Remember the Titans?O Communication

O Mediators replace win-lose mentality with win-winO Conciliation

O GRIT- Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-ReductionO Arms race: “I reduce, you reduce”