Transcript Social Psychology Chapter 15

Social Psychology
Objective
• I will be able to apply the
concepts of Social Psychology on
individual and group
assignments and tests
Essential Question
How, and to what extent,
is our behavior influenced by
our interactions with others?
*Social Psychology
Is concerned with the way
individuals’ thoughts, feelings,
and behaviors are influenced
by others
First, how do we form
impressions of others?
Forming Impressions
• We assign people to ready made categories
called schemata (*)
• What functions to schemata play?
Helps us to process and store information about
people
We have schemata for events (picnics, dates,
meetings, etc) and people (doctor, teacher,
whimp, etc..)
Forming Impressions-Schemata
Forming Impressions
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What label would you give him? Schema
What sport(s) does he play?
What are his hobbies?
What does he do in his free time?
Does he have any bad habits?
What kind of car does he have?
Forming Impressions
• What about her?
Forming Impressions-Schemas
• We add more information to our mental files
about people over time
**Primacy effect-our earlier impressions of
people influence us more then our later
experiences with them-first impressions are
powerful (we may refuse to believe new
evidence that a person is good)
*primacy effect can be weakened if people are
warned to be weary of first impressions
Forming Impressions
First impressions can lead to a
Self-fulfilling prophecy-when a person’s expectations
about another person causes behavior from the second
person that confirms the expectation-why does this
happen?
Behavioral confirmation The process by which people
behave in ways that elicit from others specific expected
reactions and then use those reactions to confirm their
beliefs(I believe you are a disrespectful because of the
way you dress; so, every time you walk in my class, I
find a reason to yell at you. You begin to respond back
in a disrespectful way)
Forming Impressions
Rosenthal and Jacobson Study (1968):
All children in a California elementary school given
a test at the start of the school year
Teachers given a list of “bloomers,” children who
would have significant intellectual growth in the
school year
Result: children in the “bloomers” group made
greater gains in test scores and were rated as
better students then the control group WHY???
Forming Impressions
Teachers expectations of students affect
students’ classroom performance-referred to
as the Pygmalion Effect
“Bloomers” –were given more positive feedback
and challenging work, teachers
warmer/friendlier towards them
Forming Impressions
• Some schemas we have of others may be
about their cultural background
*Stereotypes- set of characteristics believed to
be shared by all members of a particular
group (gender, age, occupation, ethnic groups,
etc…)
Typical New Jersey Italians
Forming Impressions
What are some of your
stereotypes?
Forming Impressions
Stereotypes, like schemas, can become the basis
for self-fulfilling prophecies
Stereotypes rationalize inequalities
I may treat someone according to my
stereotypical belief- German people are mean;
all _________students are “trouble makers”
Interpreting Behavior
You are walking to lunch and two students
are standing still talking, blocking the
hallway
Why are they doing this?
Interpreting Behavior
Internal attribute (depositional) =a personal
factor, such as being mean, inconsiderate or
lazy
External attribute (situational)=a situational
factor, such as there was an emergency, they
were thinking of ways to help a friend, there
was a traffic jam
We usually contribute someone’s behavior to
one or the other, but not to both at the same
time
Interpreting Behavior
Biases/errors in Attributions:
Fundamental attribution error-the tendency to
attribute the behavior of others, especially
strangers we observe in one situation, to causes
within themselves
Actor-observer bias-the tendency to explain the
behavior of others as the result of
internal/dispositional factors while attributing
our behavior to external/situational factors
East Asians tend to attribute their behaviors and
other’s behaviors to external factors
Interpreting Behavior
Biases/errors in attribution:
Defensive attribution-we are motivated to
present ourselves well to impress others and
to feel good about ourselves
Examples 1. self-serving bias-tendency to
attribute personal failures to external factors
and personal successes to internal factors (you
earn an A in my class because I am a good
teacher; you earn a D in my class because you
are a bad student)
Interpreting Behavior
• Biases/errors in attribution:
Defensive attribution 2. Just world hypothesisbad things happen to bad people, and good
things happen to good people-this gives us
the comforting illusion that the bad events
couldn’t happen to us
She was raped because of the way she dressedthat will not happen to me because I cover
myself up
Interpersonal Attraction
Why are you attracted to someone?
Personal Attraction-Opposites Attract?
Personal Attraction
Don’t opposites attract?
*No, people who compliment each other do.
 Shy woman/outgoing man
 Dominant woman/passive man
Usually these people have similar values/beliefs
They are not opposites
Personal Attraction
Social psychologists say that being attracted to and liking someone is linked to several
factors
1. Proximity is the most important factor-see more often, feel more comfortable
and safe with familiar people-relates to mere exposure effect (read about on
page 678)
2. Physical attractiveness-we associate this with good personality, intelligence,
happiness, kindness, healthier, more successful (attractiveness influences both
sexes for first impressions when speed dating)
Side notes: attractive people get the jobs more often and have more job success;
attractiveness not related to personal self-esteem and happiness, possible due to
the mere exposure effect-few people view themselves as unattractive; less
attractive more likely to view praise as sincerer than more attractive; men across
cultures view youthful women as more attractive; women attracted to healthy
looking men, esp. men who are mature, dominant and affluent
3. Similarity-more similar the stronger the attraction (birds of a feather do stay
together)
4. Exchange-the reward theory of attraction is based on this-we both give and get an
equal amount-give and take is balanced, called equity
5. Intimacy-through two-way self-disclosure/communication
Attitudes
Attitudes are your beliefs, feelings and behaviors
towards something or someone
Attitude is not the same as rudeness
 Do you like rap music?
 Do you agree with same sex marriages?
 What do you think about the student sitting next to
you?
Your answer will show me your attitude
Attitudes predict behavior for some people more than
others . It depends on the strength of your attitudehow strong you feel about something
How Attitudes are Formed
-Classical or Operant Conditioning (ex. Exposed to pairing negative words
with political party) and modeling
-Mere Exposure Effect=shaped by repeated exposure (ex. Advertising)
-Persuasive messages through
1. central route (what about this potato chip is so much better than the
others)-occurs mostly when people are analytical or involved in the issueor
2. peripheral route (other characteristics of the message-such as the
deliverer of the message-this is why athletes are used)
Central route is more lasting
What types of messages are effective?
-one sided message for uninformed audience
-acknowledge then refute opposing arguments for more sophisticated
audience
Attitudes
Self-monitoring- the tendency for a person to
observe the situation for cues about how to react
I won’t tell you how much I dislike one of your
friends who came out with us-I will override my
attitude so we can have a good time (high self
monitor) or
I will say it in front of everyone and ruin the night*
(low self- monitor-shows little regard for social
cues)
Coercive Persuasion
How do you think people are
brain washed?
Coercive Persuasion
Brain Washing=coercive persuasion: tactics that
try to force people to change their minds
For example getting POWs to denounce their
country or joining a cult
How does it happen
1. Person is under physical or emotional distress
2. Person’s problems are reduced to one simple
explanation
3. Leader offers unconditional love and acceptance
4. A new identity based on the group is created
5. Person is subjected to entrapment
6. Person’s access to information is seveley
controlled
Attitudes
What happens when your attitudes/beliefs/convictions
conflict with your behavior, when you act in a way that is
contrary to what you believe?
You strongly believe that a person should stay true to one
girlfriend. You are a one girl kind of guy.
You cheat on your girlfriend a few times with the same girl
Because of this, you feel conflict or tension inside
What do you do to resolve this?
Attitudes
Here is where a concept by Leon Festinger
(1957)comes in:
**Cognitive Dissonance
What is the meaning of dissonance?
disagreement, conflict, discord, controversy,
disharmony, inconsistency
Cognitive refers to thought processes
Attitudes
Cognitive Dissonance by Leon Festinger (1957):
-Discomfort that results when beliefs and
behaviors don’t match (as was the case with
the cheating boyfriend).
-We can’t live with the conflict-it causes tensionso we are more likely to rationalize/make
excuses to get rid of the conflict, than to
change the behavior
Attitudes-Cognitive Dissonance
How you rationalize:
I didn’t really cheat three times since we
didn’t kiss until the last time
But, that wasn’t really a kiss
I went out with this other girl more as a friend
She really needed me to drive her somewhere
I was just being the nice guy that I am
Cognitive Dissonance
Which of the following would result in cognitive
dissonance?
1. Dresses are girly-my boyfriend wears dresses
2. Smoking is bad-I stopped smoking five years ago
3. Jose and Kim oppose abortion-for money ($400
for Jose and $3 for Kim) they agree to write an
essay for a researcher that agrees with abortion
4. Orange juice is healthy-I drink OJ
5. Dresses are girly-Miley Cyrus wears dresses
6. Cheating on school work is bad-you give me one
of your homework answers
Prejudice (a negative attitude)
Prejudice-a positive or negative belief about a group of
people; refers to prejudging a person because he
belongs to a specific group
Prejudice beliefs are almost always stereotypes
Prejudice is associated with strong emotions such as
dislike, hatred or fear
• The frustration-aggression theory =discrimination and
prejudice result from displaced anger-blaming societies
problems, or your own problem, on the group-they are
the scapegoat (high crime rate because of them, no
jobs because of them)
Prejudice
Prejudice is linked to an authoritarian
personality-(follow rules, abide by tradition,
hostile towards those who go against norms,
respect authority, preoccupied with power
and toughness)
Discrimination (negative behavior)-act taken
toward one group that is unfair when
compared with behavior toward other groups
Discrimination
Racism
Belief that members of certain racial groups are born inferior
Social categorization: we categorize or put others and
ourselves into groups-is someone like me or not?
It is easy to show negative attitudes towards people who do
not belong to our group
In-group Out-group (we perceive out-group to be
homogenous-ex. All whites, or all Hispanics, are the same)
In-group bias=members see themselves as superior to the
out-group
Cubans verses Dominicans
Other Race Effect-recognition for own race faces (emerges
during infancy)
Reducing Prejudice
Muzafer Sherif’s-Robbers Cave Study:
22 Oklahoma City boys, ages 11-12
Placed in separate parts of the camp
Eagles and Rattlers
Introduced to each other through a set up
competitive activities
Boys became proud of their group and hostile
(flags burned, cabins ransacked) toward the other
group
Had to work together to restore water
Reducing Prejudice
*How to Reduce Racial Prejudice
 Increased personal, one on one, contact changes
people’s opinions-not just in the same place at the
same time
 Superordinate Goals (Cooperation -working on
shared goals) works best to reduce racial prejudice
 Competition is not effective
Conformity and Compliance
Social influence-the process by which others affect our
perceptions, attitudes and actions
chameleon effect-unconsciously mimicking others
expressions, tones, posture etc. helps us to feel what they
feel-why we feel happy around happy people, and sad
around sad (called mood linkage)-a part of empathy
Our culture (our shared way of life) has a large influence on
how we behave
-dress, what we eat, how we eat, our personal space, and
more
We may be influenced by our culture through
Instruction (parents tell us how to and not to behave) but
more often through
Modeling and imitation-a result of this is unquestioning
acceptance of cultural truisms
Conformity and Compliance
cultural truism=beliefs that most members of a society
accept as self-evidend /true
We are rewarded for doing what other citizens do in the
same situations (a little girl/boy)
To conform is to yield to social norms, or to a group
standard
Conformity is needed if society is to function effectively
A social norm is a shared idea about how to or not to
behave based on society’s expectations
What wouldn’t you do in a classroom?
Social Scripts-mental tapes, for how to act, provided by
our culture (media included, for dating, sex, etc..)
Conformity
Conformity is a response to pressure of norms,
usually unstated pressure
Solomon Asch did experiments on the effects of
group pressure on conformity:
Conformity
• 7 confederates-Confederates of the experiment
gave the same wrong answers
• Participants conformed and gave the wrong
answer 1/3 of the time
• Asch also found that the likelihood of conformity
increased with the group size until four
confederates were present-adding more did not
matter
Unanimity mattered- having an ally
Conformity, in general, is higher when a task or
situation is ambiguous because we don’t have
our own opinion so we go with the majority view
Conformity
• People from collectivist, agricultural cultures
(members rely on each other more for survival) are
most likely to conform to group norms
• In general, people conform more when their culture
encourages respect for social standards
Conformity
• Why do we laugh at a joke that others laugh at
but we don’t understand?
What’s the Cost of Ignoring a Social
Norm?
Conformity
• Normative social influence-conforming to the
group norms because the price we pay for
being different may be severe
• Informational social influence-accepting
other’s opinions about reality or truths; this is
positive-changing our minds when we need to
Compliance
• Compliance is a change in behavior due to a
specific request, many times unstated
What strategies influences compliance?
Foot in the door effect-getting a person to agree
to a small request to increase the chances that
they will agree to a big request
Can I have $75 for the prom ticket?
Can I have a few friends over?
With foot in the door, the person may feel
obligated to comply to the larger request
Compliance
Low ball procedure-getting someone to agree to an
attractive proposition before its hidden costs are
revealed
Car dealers
Driving a friend home
Door in the face technique-asking for a large
request first, knowing it will be turned down, and
following it with the smaller, true request
Mom, can I have $60? NO
Well, can I then have $20. YES
Compliance
Scarcity effect-people dislike feeling that they
can’t have something; people like to have
things that others can’t
I am more apt to buy an item or enjoy an item
that I think is scarce
“This is the last one I have”
You feel you’re missing a critical opportunity
Obedience
Obedience is compliance to a direct order,
usually from someone in authority-it is
compliance with a command
Obedience is social influence in its most direct
and powerful form
• Hitler
• Stanley Milgram’s experiment
Milgram’s Experiment
Obedience
Why did people go on and obey an authority
figure?
 Believed the experiment would be safe and
the experimenter was trustworthy-so they
perceived the situation incorrectly
 They saw themselves as agents of other
people’s wishes-so they are not responsible
 When responsibility was shared so that the
person was only one of many doing it,
obedience was greater
 The victim was depersonalized or at a distance
Obedience
*People are most likely to obey orders
when a great amount of power is vested
in the leader
Milgram concluded:
“ordinary people, simply doing their jobs,
and without any particular hostility on
their part, can become agents in terrible
destructive processes”
Zimbardo’s Prison Study
Obedience and The Power of The
Situation
Zimbardo’s Prison Study (1972 Stanford U)Agreed to two week stay
Either a guard or a prisoner
Given no instructions
Abusive guards were not reported
Humiliation by guards helped to end study
Lasted six days
Conclusion: situations and roles are powerful and
will influence behavior
Social Influence
• Combines:
The power of the situation (aka-social control)
And
The Power of the Individual (personal control)
We are not always sheep and can assert freedom
when feeling pressured
Minority Influence-power of one or two to sway
majority (Rosa Parks, Gandhi) by holing
consistently to a position
Organizational Behavior –
Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Hawthorne Experiment (Elton Mayo-1920s)-testing
to see if better lighting would increase worker
output in the Western Electric Hawthorne Plant
in Illinois
The findings: productivity increased with better, too
much and too little lighting
Hawthorne Effect: people will alter their behavior
because of researchers’ attention and not
necessarily because of any treatment condition
Hawthorne Effect in Action
Deindividuation-Group Behavior
Mob Behavior-why? Violent rallies
Loss of personal responsibility in a group, esp. in groups
subject to intense pressures and anxiety-people
respond not as individuals, but as anonymous part of a
larger group
Deindividuation-loss of the sense of being an individual,
but act as part of the crowd, only partly explains mob
behavior.
Snowball effect-in a mob, one dominant, persuasive
person can convince people to act by convincing a few
people, who then convinces others, resulting in an
unthinking mob
Helping Behavior
prosocial behaviors-behaviors that are carried
out with the goal of helping others
altruism-helping behavior that is not linked to
personal gain
reciprocal altruism-concept suggests that
people perform altruistic behaviors because
they feel that others will do the same for them
I will save you from drowning now, you will save
me from drowning in the future
“What goes around, comes around.”
What makes you decide to help
someone in need?
What would cause you not to help
someone in need?
Norms of Helping Behavior
• Social exchange theory=aim in helping behavior
is to maximize benefits (reduce guilt, increase
approval, feel good) and minimize cost (time,
discomfort, and anxiety)
• Reciprocity norm=we should help those who
help us (not hurt them); in relationships with
others we tend to give as much as we receive (in
favors, gifts, invitations, etc..)
• Social responsibility norm=we learn we should
help those who need our help even if we can’t
get back, or costs outweigh the benefits
Helping Behavior
What morally motivated rescuers of Jews during
WWII?
Intense anti-Nazi attitudes
Saw their behaviors as normal, not heroic
Religious beliefs were important
Bystander Effect
A person’s helpfulness in an emergency situation
decreases as the number of bystanders increases
Darley and Latane study-college students were more
likely to help a peer they overheard having a
seizure when they thought they were the only
ones
One reason may be **diffusion of responsibilityBelieving that others are intervening/responsible
because other are around-they also feel they will
not be held accountable for the same reason
Helping Behaviors Across Cultures
• There is no single personality trait that
determines who is helpful and who is not
• People from collectivist cultures are more likely
to help others when minor assistance is needed
and are equally likely to help others in extremely
urgent situations
• Most consistent finding in all psychology: happy
people are helpful people
Group Influence on Decisions
Do groups make better decision? Sometimes
groups arrive at riskier decisions.
Groupthink: In a close-knit group, the tendency
for all members to think alike and to suppress
disagreement for the sake of harmony
The problem-critical thinking is not used, risks
are not assessed, alternatives are not fully
explored
Groupthink
Examples:
Friends want to go to a wild party; you want to
go to a movie
Throughout history, groupthink has led to
disastrous decisions:
Kennedy’s Bay of Pigs
1986 NASA launches the Challenger-isolated
themselves from dissenting engineers
Group Influence on Decisions
Groupthink – WHY:
An illusion of invulnerability
Dissenters keep quite rather than make trouble,
offend friends, risk being ridiculed-you think that
maybe you are wrong and don’t go by your “gut”
Pressure on dissenters to conform (may tease or
humiliate them)
illusion of everyone agreeing-may deny
dissenters the chance to speak
Groupthink
Influences on Group Decisions
Group Polarization-tendency for individuals to
become more extreme (either more cautious
or more risky) in their attitudes a a result of
group discussion
The group talks itself into extreme positions;
they get so energized and focused that they
move faster than intended
EXAMPLE: You attend a PETA meeting
(People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)
Influences on Group Behavior
Social loafing-the tendency for people to exert less
effort on a task when working in a group than
when working alone (more comom with men
from individualist cultures)
This is worse in larger groups-the person does not
feel personally responsible
Examples:
-school group work -team sports
-carwash
Leadership
Every group has a leader-How do they come
forward?
**Great person theory—leaders are
extraordinary people who attain leadership
positions because of their great qualities;
*they were born leaders and would have lead
any nation at any time
Psychologists see this theory as naïve
One alternative theory is that it is the right
person, in the right place, at the right time
(Martin Luther King, Jr)
Other Stuff-Parenting Styles
1. Authoritarian-impose rules and expect unquestioned
obedience (“too hard”)-results: less social skills and selfesteem, poorer decision makers
2. Permissive-parents submit to their children’s desires, make
few demands, and use little punishment (“too soft”)-results:
more aggressive and immature
3. Authoritative-parents are both demanding and responsive,
set rules and enforce them but explain reasons for rules,
encourage open discussion, esp. with older children, and
allow some rule exceptions (“just right”)-result: highest selfesteem, self-reliance, social competence
There is a correlation. Correlation is not causation.
Other “Stuff”-Leadership Style
Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing
direction, implementing plans, and motivating people. Kurt
Lewin (1939) led a group of researchers to identify different
styles of leadership:
• Authoritarian or autocratic- “I want you to…. “
• Participative or democratic- Let’s work together to solve this.”
• Delegative or Free Reign- “You two take care of the problem
while I go. . .” This is also known as laissez faire (or lais·ser
faire), which is the noninterference in the affairs of others.
• Although good leaders use all three styles, with one of them
normally dominant, bad leaders tend to stick with one style.
Other “Stuff”-Sandra Bem/Gender Schema
-People develop gender schemas of masculine and
feminine very early on through social learning and
reinforcement.
-This is true even for children whose parents are not
stressing gender roles. For young children, “Gender
looms large.” This is due to our:
-Self-socialization of gender roles
people cognitively process and categorize new
information in their environment based on its
maleness or femaleness. “Girls have long hair; boys
have short hair. ” This is true because we continue to
figure this out on our own. We self-socialize.
Social Impairment Social Facilitation(especially when skilled, and
with a friendly audience)
Other Stuff (esp. true in conflict
situations)
• Mirror- image
perceptions=mutual
views held by each side
when people/groups have
conflict
• Social trap=conflicting
parties, when pursuing
their own self interest,
are caught in mutually
destructive behavior
(think of divorcing
couples)
• Self-fulfilling
prophecy=belief that
leads to its own
fulfillment (I think you are
rude, I ignore you, you act
rude; I think you are mad
at me, I ignore you, you
become mad at me)