Psychology 2

Social Psychology

Social Psychology

Scientific study of how individuals behave, think, and feel in social situations in the presence, actual, or implied of others (Baron, Byrne & Branscombe, 2007)

Culture

Ongoing pattern of life that is passed from one generation to the next.

Socialization process

Process by which individuals acquire knowledge, skills, and dispositions that enable them to participate as members of groups or societies.

Individual acquires

Make them competent to deal effectively with the environment with others

Society or cultures transmits

Standards, values and norms, to ensure continuity

Types of Attachment

Secure, Avoidant, Ambivalent

Social roles

Patterns of behavior expected of persons in various social positions

Ascribed roles

Assigned, not under control

Achieved roles

Voluntarily attained by special effort

Group structure

Network of roles, communication pathways, and power in a group

Group cohesiveness

Degree of attraction among group members, desire to stay in the group

In-group membership helps?

Define who we are socially

Status

A person's social position. Higher bestows special privileges and respect

Norm

Widely accepted (but often unspoken) standard for appropriate behavior

Social influence

One person's behavior is changed by the actions of others

Attitude

A mixture of belief and emotion that predisposes a person to respond to something - or +

Belief

What you believe about a particular object or issue

Emotions

Feelings towards the attitudinal object

Actions

Actions toward various elements.

Attitude by Direct contact

Personal experience

Attitude by Chance conditioning

Learning that takes place by chance or conditioning

Attitude by Interaction w others

Through discussion with people holding a particular attitude

Attitude by Child rearing

Effects of parental values, beliefs, and practices

Attitude by Media

Newspapers, TV, and the internet

Conviction

Evokes strong feelings, think about it and discuss it often, knowledgeable about it

Cognitive dissonance

Contradicting or clashing thoughts cause discomfort

Cognitions

Thoughts

Dissonance

Clashing

Cognitive dissonance theory

We reject new info that contradicts ideas we already hold; attempts to convince ourselves that we've done the right thing

Justification

Degree to which a person's actions are explained by rewards or other circumstances

Strategies to reduce cognitive dissonance

• Change your attitude

• Add consonant thoughts

• Change the importance of the dissonant thoughts

• Reduce the amount of perceived choice

• Change your behavior

Attitude scales

Consists of statements expressing various possible views on an issue

Reference groups

Any group an individual uses as a standard for social comparison

Attitude change

May be though to reference groups, depends on whom you identify with or whose attitudes and values you care about

Persuasion

Any deliberate attempt to change attitudes or beliefs through information and arguments

Social influence

Changes in behavior induced by the actions of others

Mere presence

Changing behavior just because other people are nearby

Forms of social influence

1. Mere presence

2. Compliance

3. Obedience

4. Coercion

Conformity

Change our behavior to bring it into agreement with others

Compliance

When we change our behavior in response to another person who has little or no social power, or authority

Obedience

When we change our behavior in direct response to the demands of an authority

Coercion

Changing behavior because you are forced to

Attribution theory

When we are sensitive to how consistent and distinctive a person's behavior is

Consistent behavior

If it changes very little when we observe it on many different occasions

Distinctiveness

Behavior occurs only under specific circumstances

Deduce causes

Taking into account the behavior of the actor, the object of the person's action is directed toward, and the setting in which it occurs

Consensus

When many people act alike, implies their behavior is externally caused

Attributions make us

sensitive

Situational demands

Pressures to behave in certain ways in particular settings or situations

Fundamental attribution error

Think the actions of others have internal causes, even if they are caused by external circumstances

Aggression

Refers to any action carried out with the intention of harming another person

Prejudice

Negative emotional attitude held toward members of a specific social groups

Aggression potential causes

• Instincts

• Biology

• Frustrations

• Social Learning

• Aggressive Models

Racism

Racial prejudice that has become institutionalized and enforced by the existing social power structure

Sexism

Institutionalized prejudice against members of either sex, based solely on their gender

Ageism

Institutionalized tendency to discrimante on the basis of age

Heterosexism

The belief that heterosexuality is better or more natural than homosexuality

Scapegoating

Blaming a person or a group for the actions of others or for conditions not of their making

Stereotypes

Over-simplified images of people in various groups, include a mixture of positive and negative qualities

Common triggers for hostility between groups

Shared beliefs concerning superiority, injustice, vulnerability, and distrust

Multiculturalism

Recognition and acceptance of human diversity; it gives equal status to different ethnic, racial, and cultural groups

Power is

always social

Social power

The capacity to control, alter, or influence the behavior of another person

Reward power

Lies in the ability to reward a person for complying with desired behavior

Coercive power

Lies in the ability to punish for failure to comply

Legitimate power

Accepting a person as an agent of an established social order

Referent power

Based on respect for or identification with a person or a group; responsible for conformity

Expert power

Based on recognition that another person has knowledge necessary for achieving a goal

Social Facilitation

Tendency to perform better when in the presence of others

Social loafing

Work less hard when part of a group than when solely responsible

Gaining compliance

1. Small to big request

2. Major request that won't be turned down and then a smaller requested

3. Make a request and change the requirements

Brainwashing steps

1. Unfreezing

2. Changing

3. Refreezing attitudes and beliefs

Characteristics of a cult

1. Charismatic leader, authority, god-like figure

2. Indoctrination program

3. Exploitation of the members

Elements of indoctrination

1. Crossroads (transition, vulnerability)

2. Soft Sell

3. Creation of a new reality

4. Dear Leader #1 Priority

5. Leader creates an external enemy

6. Peer Pressure

7. Serve a sociopathic narcissist

Steps to leave a cult

1. Infallible leader falls down

2. Moral guide

3. New Reality Cracks