Social Thinking and Influence

Social Psychology

Study of how individuals feel, behave and think in social settings.

Social network strongly influences our behaviours.

Social Groups

We all belong to social groups based on identifying characteristics and categories.

In-groups: A group in which a person identifies belonging to.

Out-groups: A group in which a person doesn’t belong.

Group Characteristics

Group structure: Network of roles, communication, pathways, and power in a group.

Group cohesiveness: Degree of attraction among group members, or their commitment to remaining in the group.

Norms: Widely accepted standard for accepted behavior.

Individual Characteristics (In Group)

Social role: Patterns of behavior expected of people in various social positions.

Ascribed role: Assigned to a person, not under personal control.

Achieved role: Attained voluntarily by special effort.

Role conflict: When two or more roles make conflicting demands on a person.

Social Status in Power

Social status: Degree to which group members respect and admire another person.

Social power: Degree to which a person possesses the capacity to control the behavior of other members.

Social Cognition: The process of thinking about ourselves and others in a social context.

Social comparison: Process of comparing your own actions, feelings, opinions, or abilities to those of others.

Terms in Social Status

Downward & Upward comparison: Comparing yourself with a person who ranks lower or higher on some dimension.

Bystander Effect: The presence of others discourages an individual from intervening in a situation..

Diffusion of Responsibility: Spreading responsibility to act among several people; decreases likelihood that help will be given.

Attitudes

Belief that predisposes a person to respond to other people or groups in a positive or negative way.

Belief component: What a person believes about the object of an attitude.

Emotional component: Feelings toward the object of an attitude.

Action component: One’s actions toward various people or objects.

Attitude Formation

Direct contact: Personal experience with the object of the attitude Attitude Formation.

Interaction with others: Influence of discussions with people holding a particular attitude.

Group membership: Social influences from belonging to certain groups.

Child-rearing: Effects of parental values, beliefs, and practices.

Mass media: All media that reach large audiences

Attitude Change

Persuasion: Any attempt to change attitudes or beliefs through information and arguments.

Cognitive Dissonance: When attitudes contradict one another or are inconsistent.

Social Influence

Change in one’s behavior induced by the presence or action of others.

Terms in Social Influence

Social Facilitation: Tendency to perform better in the presence of others.

Social Loafing: Tendency to work less hard when is part of a group vs. when solely responsible.

Conformity: Matching behavior and appearance to perceived social norms.

Compliance: Situations in which a person bends to the requests of another person who has little or no authority.