SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY - PSYC002

Intrapersonal topics

• emotions

• attitudes

• self

• social cognition

Interpersonal topics

• helping behavior

• agression

• prejudice

• discrimination

• attraction

• close relationships

• group processes

• intergroup relationships

Situationism

• view that our behavior and actions are determined by our immediate environment and surroundings

Dispositionism

• view that out behavior is determined by internal factors such as personality traits and temperament

Quizmaster study

Participants randomly assigned to role
of either the questioner or participant.
• Questioners developed difficult
questions to which they knew the
answers.
• Participants answered questions
correctly 4/10 times.
• Participants tended to disregard the
influence of the situation and wrongly
concluded that a questioner’s
knowledge was greater than their own.

Fundamental Attribution Error

• tendency to overemphasize internal factors as explanations for the behavior of other people and underestimate the power of the situation

• HOW WE JUDGE OTHERS

Fundamental Attribution Error Differences

• people form an individualistic culture more likely to commit the fundamental attribution error

• people from collectivistic cultures are more likely to emphasize relationships with others

• provides broader perspective including both situation and cultural influences

Actor-Observer Bias

• tendency of attributing behaviors of others to internal factors BUT our own to situational forces

Attribution

Belief about the cause of a result

1. Locus of control - internal vs external

2. Stability - extent to which the circumstances are changeable

3. Controllability - extent to which the circumstances can be controlled

Our team wins : its talented (internal), works hard (stable), and used effective strategies (controllable)

Our team loses : the other team has more experienced players (external), played at home (unstable), and the weather affected our teams performance (uncontrollable)

Self-Serving Bias

tendency of an individual to take credit by making dispositional or internal attributions for positive outcomes but situational or external attributions for negative outcomes.

• protects self-esteem-allows people to feel good about their accomplishments

Just World Hypothesis

belief that people get the outcomes they deserve

• the world is a fair place, therefore good people experience positive outcomes, and bad people experience negative outcomes

Social Roles

pattern of behavior that is expected of a person in a given setting or group

• defined by culturally shared knowledge

• expected behavior varies across situations

Social Norm

• group expectation of what is appropriate and acceptable behavior for its members

Script

• a persons knowledge about the sequence pf events expected in a specific setting

Obedience

behavior change to comply with demand by an authority figure

• Milgram obedience study

• participants told to shock “learners” for giving wrong answer

• 65% continued to administer shocks to an unresponsive learner

The Stanford Prison Experiment (Philip Zimbardo) 1971

• mock prison was constructed and male college students were randomly assigned to play the role of prisoners or guards

• the two week study had to be ended after six days

• guards became increasingly sadistic

• prisoners began showing signs of severe anxiety and hopelessness

Attitude

our evaluation of a person, idea, object

• can be positive or negative

Affective Component

• feelings

Behavioral Component

• effect on behavior

Cognitive Component

• belief and knowledge

Cognitive Dissonance

psychological discomfort arising from holding two or more inconsistent attitudes, behaviors, or cognitions

• to reduce cognitive dissonance, individuals can…

• change behavior

• change beliefs through rationalization/denial

• add new cognition

The Effect of Initiation

A difficult initiation into a group influences us to like the group more.

Arson and Mills Experiment (1959)

• college students volunteered to join a group that would meet regularly to discuss the psychology of sex

• 3 conditions - no initiation, easy initiation, difficult initiation

• students in the difficult initiation condition liked the group more than students in other conditions due to the justification of effort.

Persuasion

process of changing attitudes toward something based on some kind of communication

• we encounter attempts at persuasion attempts everywhere. Persuasion is not limited to formal advertising; we are confronted with it throughout our everyday world

Elaboration Likelihood Model

Petty & Cacioppo 1986

• persuasion can take one one of two paths, and the durability of the end result depends on the path

Central Route

• logic driven

• date and facts

• direct route to persuasion focusing on the quality of information

• works best when audience is analytical and willing to engage in processing of the information

Peripheral Route

• indirect route

• uses peripheral cues to associate positivity with the message

• uses characteristics such as positive emotion or celebrity endorsement

• results in less permanent attitude change

Foot-in-the-Door Technique

get someone to agree to small favors only to request a larger favor

Door-in-the-Face Technique

Make a larger request that you know will not be accepted then follow with a more moderate request

Conformity

change in persons behavior to go along with the group, even if they do not agree with the group

Asch Effect

• 76% of participants conformed to group pressure at least once

Motivation to Conform

Normative social influence

• conform to group norm to fit in, feel goof, and be accepted

Informational social influence

• conform because they believe the group is competent and has the correct information

• The greater the majority the more an individual will conform

• Presence of another dissenter causes conformity rates to drop to near zero

• Public responses cause more conformity than private

Effects of Conformity on Groups

Groupthink

• modification of the opinions of members of a group to align with what they believe is the group consensus

• groups often take action that individuals would not perform outside the group setting because groups make more extreme decisions than individuals do

Group Polarization

• strengthening of an attitude after discussion of views within a group

Social Facilitation

An individual performs better when an audience is watching than when the individual performs the behavior alone

• occurs when performing a task for which they are skilled or an easy task

• when nervous or less skilled an audience may hinder rather than help

Social Loafing

exertion of less effort by a person working together with a group

• occurs when individual performance cannot be evaluated separately from the group

Group performance declines on easy tasks

• when task is difficult ppl feel more motivated and believe that their group needs their input to do well on a challenging project

Prejudice & Discrimination

Prejudice

• negative attitude and feeling toward an individual based on their group member ship

Stereotype

• specific belief or assumption about individuals based on their group membership

Discrimination

• negative action toward an individual based on their group membership

Examples: Racism, Ageism, Homophobia, Sexism

Dual Attitudes Model

Explicit

• conscious and controllable

Implicit

• unconscious and uncontrollable

Confirmation Bias

tendency to seek out information that supports our beliefs and ignore information that is inconsistent with our beliefs

Self-fulfilling Prophecy

• an expectation held by a person that alters his or her behavior sin a way that tends to make it true

The Pygmalion Effect

Rosenthal & Jacobson (1968)

• disadvantaged students with teachers that expected them to perform well had higher grades than those with teachers who expected them to do poorly

Group Dynamics

In-groups

• a group that we identify with or see ourselves as belonging to

Out-groups

• a group that we view as fundamentally different from us

In-group bias

• prejudice & discrimination because the out-group is perceived as different and less preferred than out in-group

Scapegoating

• act of blaming an out-group when the in-group experiences frustration or is blocked from obtaining a goal

Forces that promote reconciliation between groups

• expression of empath

• acknowledgment of past suffering on both sides

• halt of destructive behaviors

Agression

Behavior intended to cause pain or harm to others

Hormones and Aggressive Behavior

Male aggressive behavior heavily depends on testosterone

• young men = high rates of aggressive behaviors & violent crimes

• testosterone levels are higher for men convicted of murder or rape than for burglary or drug offenses

Testosterone

increasing testosterone in women

• increased time looking at angry faces

• more arguing during collaborative tasks

Intermale aggression

• observed in most vertebrates, including humans

• adaptive for gaining access to food and mates

• seasonal fluctuations

Serotonin Levels and Aggression

• normally inhibits aggression

• lower levels in more aggressive monkeys

Testosterone, Serotonin, Cortisol

growing consensus that aggressive behavior does not correlate strongly with any one chemical because it depends on a combination

• testosterone = aggressive, assertive, dominant behavior

• Serotonin = impulsive behaviors

• Cortisol = aggression

Aggressive behavoirs dépends on ratio of testerons to cortisol

Bullying

Attempt to inflict harm, injury, humiliation

Gender differences…

Boys

• direct, physical aggression

Girls

• indirect, social forms of aggression

Victim:

• decreased mental health + anxiety & depression

The Bystander Effect

Latane & Darley Phenomenon in which a witness/bystander does not volunteer to help a victim or person in distress

• diffusion of responsibility - tendency for no one in a group to help because the responsibility to help is spread throughout the group

Kitty Genovese - attacked and killed outside her apartment building

• residents heard her screams for help numbers times but did nothing (bystander effect)

Cooperation

• Cooperation and Fairness (monkeys trying to work together to get nuts)

• Criminal Behavior (Penguin stealing rocks from other penguins nests in order to make his own)

• Game theory: study of strategic decision making (focused on whether a rational player should cooperate)

• Prisoners Dilemma (cooperate to betray partner in crime for jail release)

Numbers- Ultimatum (Game Theory)

• decide how much money is distributed between two individuals with the receiver being able to accept or reject money leaving them with something or nothing (Giver $8 → Receiver $2)

Prosocial Behavior

voluntary behavior with the intent to help other people

Altruism

• peoples desires to help others even if the cost outweighs the benefits of helping

Motivation to Help

Empathy

• Capacity to underwent another persons perspectives

• empathetic ppl make emotional connections with others and feel compelled to help

Altruism

• form of selfless helping (not motivated by benefits)

• feeling good after helping is a consequence not a cause

Helping is SELF SERVING because our EGOS are involved and we receive benefits

Forming Relationships

Proximity

• the people with whom you have the most contact

Similarity

• people who are similar to us in background, attitudes, lifestyles

Homophily

• tendency for ppl to form social networks with others who are similar

Reciprocity

• give and take in relationships

Self-disclosure

• sharing of personal information

• leads to intimate connections

Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love

Seven types of love described from combinations of three components:

1. Intimacy - sharing details and intimate thoughts and emotions

2. Passion - physical attraction

3. Commitment - standing by the person

Social Exchange Theory

• people may keep track of the costs and benefits of forming and maintaining a relationship

• typically only those relationships in which the benefits outweigh the costs will be maintained