Social Psychology Part 1

What is social psychology

• Is the study of how people influence other behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes

• Humans are social species - We crave strong, stable social relationships and have a fundamental need to belong

• Emphasizes a role for the social and cultural context in shaping out behavior 

Attribution

How we understand the causes of behavior

Situational

External forces shape the behavior

Dispositional

The behavior perceived to be due to a person's traits or personality

Fundamental attribution error

• A tendency to over attribute other behaviors to dispositional causes and minimize the importance of situational causes

• Common in Western cultures

• Not how we tend to view our own behavior

Actor-observer bias

We only fall prey to the fundamental attribution error when explaining other’s behaviors, but not when explaining our own

Attitude

• An attitude is an evaluation of people, objects, or behavior 

• People stove for consistency between their attitudes and their behaviors 

• When they don’t match -> experience cognitive dissonance

Cognitive dissonance

• Mental conflict that occurs when a person hold two or more conflicting thought (or cognitions)

• We are motivated to reduce or eliminate that discomfort 

• We often alter our attitudes because of the unpleasant state of tension

Famous study about cognitive dissonance

participants get paid to tell another participant that a study was fun

Foot-in-the-door technique

Involves making a small request before making a bigger one

Door-in-the-face technique

Involves making an unreasonable large request before making the small request we’re hoping to have granted 

Conformity

• Change in a person's behavior to go along with the group 

• Can be helpful in unfamiliar situations

• Can satisfy our own need to belong 

Famous study about conformity

asking participants to compare the lengths of lines

Obedience

• Adherence to instructions from those of a higher authority

• In many instances, obedience is very useful (laws that keep society running smoothly)

• But, blind obedience can be bad (acting against own judgments) 

Famous study about obedience

participants asked to deliver a shock to another participant when an incorrect response is given