Module 34: Social thinking and Social Influence

Attribution Theory

people tend to explain the behavior of others as an aspect of either an internal disposition or the situation, our behavior is situational, result of the situation, other people's behavior is disposition, reflection of their personality 

Fundamental Attribution Error

 the tendency to attribute the behavior of others to inner dispositions rather than situation

Attitude

a belief and feeling that predisposes someone to respond in a particular way 

Factors that Increase likelihood that Attitudes will predict Behavior

outside influences are minimal and we are strongly aware of our attitudes 

Foot in the Door Phenomenon

 tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request- escalating actions fuel the attitudes

Door in the Face Phenomenon

 first make large unreasonable request that will be refuses, then make a smaller more reasonable request

Role

 when you take on a new role at first you feel like you are “acting” soon you will actually feel and become the role

Stanford Prison Experiment

 true identities disappeared, roles took over- normal people can do terrible things in certain situations

Cognitive Dissonance

when feel discomfort (dissonance) when our thoughts (cognitions) and actions are inconsistent 

Ways to Reduce Dissonance

change perception of action- then change the belief

Conformity

 adjusting behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard

Asch Study

1955 conducted conformity studies where 75& conformed at least once, and overall participants conformed 33% of the time 

Informational Influence

- an attempt to reach the correct answer

Normative Influence

 an attempt to be accepted and liked by the group 

Factors that Influence Conformity-

 social support= single ally will decrease conformity- incompetent/insecure feelings increase conformity- attraction/commitment to the group increase conformity- size of the group increases up to 6-7 then decreases 

Obedience

 tendency to comply with orders, implied or real, from someone perceived as authority 

Milgram Study

 you are told shocks may cause extreme pain- 30 switches with increasing voltage, no one stopped before 300 volts, 66% obeyed and flipped all 30 switches 

Implications of Milgram Study

ordinary people can be corrupted by an evil situation- situational factors such as the presence of an authority figure have tremendous impact on behavior