Lecture 9:- Social Psychology 2: Group Dynamics

Positive illusions

Are false beliefs that have beneficial consequences.

People with strong Postive Illusions are characterized by:

-Uncritically positive views of themselves.

-Illusions of control (E.G they tend to attribute their success to their own efforts and skills)

-Unrealtic optimism about their future prospects.

The self-serving bias:

Is a tendency to make errors in judgement about ourslefs that are typically in our own favor.

Examples:

– We overestimate our own contributions
– We attribute our successes to our own efforts
or personal characteristics, and our failures to
circumstances, bad luck, or to other people
– We overestimate our positive attributes
relative to other people, usually always viewing
ourselves as ‘above average’

Cognitive Dissonance

We sometimes behave in ways that are contrary to who we believe we are (our ought to be as a person)

What are the two different attribution theory:

Situational Attributions and Dispositional Attributions.

Situational Attributions

Explanations based on factors that are outside or independent of the person.

Dispositional attributions

Explanations based on the person’s assumed traits, personality, abilities, etc

A ‘Dual System’ of Thinking: System 1

Effortless and automatic

-Our default system!

-Often used for “quick” “decisions” and judgments.

A ‘Dual System’ of Thinking: System 2

-Effort and deliberate

-Demands concentration and attention

-Physiologically arousing (e.g increased heart rate, blood pressure, pupil dilation, etc)

Fundamental Attribution Error:

-Is the tendency to attribute other peoples behavior to their (internal) dispositions while ignoring situational (external) factors.

-Information about possible situational influences is often invisible to the observer.

-If an immediate attribution is required, it is easier to attribute someone else behavior to dispositional (internal) causes.

The Actor Observer Bias

-In social situational, we are either an ‘actor’ or an ‘observer’

-If we are an actor, we attribute our good behavior to dispositional causes and our bad behavior to situational causes.

The Asch Experiment: Solomon Asch

-Over 12 trails, 75% of participants conformed at least once

-On average, 32% of participants conformed every time.

Condition of Conformity

Experimental Condition:

1) The task is made more difficult (E.g., more ambitious)

2) At least one other person is present who shares our opinion)

3) At least one other person is present who shares our opinion

4) We are allowed to state our opinion privately (E.g., write it down)

Types of Conformity: Informational Conformity

We sometimes conform to the group’s opinion because we genuinely believe the group’s opinion must be right.

Types of Conformity: Normative Conformity:

We sometimes conform to the groups opinion because we think the group will disapprove of us having different secretary.

The Bystander Effect: Diffusion of Responsibility

As group increases, individual group members are less likely to feel responsible for helping!

Obedience of Authority

When otherwise Good people do bad things)

Milligram’s Finding

65% of the “teachers” continued to the highest level of 450 volts (XXX)

Conditions of Obedience:

The proximity of both the ‘experimenter’ and the ‘learner’ make a huge difference.

Autonomy

People take their own actions and responsibly for the actions.

Agency

-People allow others to direct their actions and pass of the reasonability for the consequences to the person “giving the others”

Stereotypes:

Beliefs about a group, applied and generalized to every member of that group.

In-Group Bias:

The tendency to favor and extend loyalty to members of one’s own group (the in-group) over the other people (who belong out -group)

-Exists universally of all societies.

-Can be created artificially by randomly assigning to people to two atribary groups. (E.g., Groups A and B)

-Appears spontaneously as soon as the group identity is created (E.g., The Stanford Prison Experiment)

The “Ultimate Attribution Error”

Is a variety of actor observer bias, but applied to groups).

-When good things happen to the group’s positive distortional qualities.

-If bad things happen to our group, we attribute those things to situational factors

-When bad things happen to another group (the ‘group-out’), we attribute to physical factors.

Availability Heuristic:

Is easily applied to an out-group, but less easily in our group.

Just-world fallacy

Is a belief that the world is inherently ‘fair’ and ‘just’

-Good things happen by definition, to “good people”

-If bad things happen to some people, then by definition, those people must be “bad” in some way.

Prejudice

Consists of unjustified (usually negative) beliefs and attbuties toward a specify group and its members.

Discrimination

Involves unjustified behavior selectively applied to members of group.

Multiple Cognitive Biases:

Stereotypes are built on vivid cases rather than statistics!

The Just- World Fallacy:

They had it coming!

The Conformation Bias

We don’t look for (or don’t notice) counterexamples to challenge our stereotypes!

‘Implicit Predjuce’

-In general, people are very unlikely to admit (or even be conscious of) predjuce.

Stertypes

Beliefs about a group, applied and generalized to every member of that group.

In Group Bias:

The Tendency to favor and extend loyalty to members of one’s own group (the in-group) over other people (who belong to group out-in)

-Exists universally in all societies.

-Can be created artificially by randomly assigning people to two artribary groups. (E.g., Group A and B)

The ‘Ultimate Attribution Error): The Availably Heuristic

Is easily applied to an out-group, but less easily to our group in.

Just-World Fallacy:

Is a belief that the world is inherently, ‘fair’ and ‘just’

-Good things happen, by definition, to “good people”

-If bad things happen to some people, then, by definition, those people must be “bad” in some way.

Prejudice:

Consists of unjustified (usually negative) beliefs and attributes toward a specify group and its members.

Discrimination

Involves unjustified behavior selectively applied to members of a group.

The avalibity Heuristic:

Stertypes are built on vivid cases rather than statistics.

‘Implicit’ Predjuice:

-In general, people are very unlikely admit (or even be conscious notes) prejudice.

Implicit Predjuice:

Is automatic, uncousious bias against a group.

-Example of ‘fast thinking’

‘Ultimate Attribution Error”:

Is a variation of the actor-observer bias, but applied to groups.

The Availability Heuristic:

-We focus on and remember things (Including people and people’s physical features) that are associated with vivid, attention-grabbing or emotionally- arousing consequences.

Availability Heuristic:

Is easily applied to an out- group but less easily to our group.

The ‘Just-World’ Hypothesis:

-Is a belief that the world is inherently 'fair' and 'just'.

-"Good things happen, by definition, to “good people”

-If bad things happen to some people must be, “bad” in some ways.

Predjuice and Discrimination:

Consits of unjustified (usually negative) beliefs and attitudes toward a spefic group and it’s members.

Discrimination:

Involves unjustified behavior selectively applied to members of a group.

The Availability Heuristic

Stereotypes are built on vivid cases rather than statistics!

The Confaramation Bias:

We don’t look for (or don’t notice) counterexamples to challenge our stereotypes to challenge our stereotypes.

Implicit Predjuice:

Is automatic, unconscious bias against a group
– Example of ‘fast thinking’!

Equal Status

Thee should be equal status between the two groups in setting in which contacts occurs.

Common Goals

Contact should occur conditions characterized by common goals between groups.

Intergroup Cooperation

Common goals should be attained through intergroup cooperation.