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What do social psychologists do?
Use scientific methods to study how people think about, influence, and relate to one another. They study the social influences that explain why the same person will act differently in different situations
Fritz Heider
proposed the attribution theory
attribution theory
the theory that we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition
Dispositional attribution
attributing behavior to the person's stable, enduring traits
Situational attribution
attributing behavior to the environment
Fundamental attribution error
the tendency for observers, when analyzing others' behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition.
What can affect attributions?
Culture, self-serving bias, and personal sensitivity
Two exceptions to our usual view of our own actions include...
our deliberate and admirable actions we often attribute to our own good reasons, not to the situation
attitudes
feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, the predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events. Our attitudes affect our actions, and our actions affect our attitudes
Elaboration likelihood model
theory identifying two ways to persuade: a central route and a peripheral route
peripheral route persuasion
occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker's attractiveness
Central route persuasion
occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts
attitudes-follow-behavior principle
we cannot control all our feelings, but we can influence them by altering our behavior
foot-in-the-door phenomenon
the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request
Role
a set of expectations about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave. When you adapt to a new role, you strike to follow the social prescriptions
Phillip Zimbardo Stanford Prison Experiment
college students were randomly assigned to roles of prisoners or guards in a study that looked at how social situations influence behavior. It was very controversial.
What does the Stanford Prison Experiment show?
peoples' behavior depends to a large extent on the roles they are asked to play
Cognitive dissonance theory
the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent. For example, when we become aware that our attitudes and our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes
The more dissonance we feel...
the more motivated we are to find and project consistency, such as changing our attitudes to help justify the act
we can act ourselves into a way of thinking about as easily as what?
as we can think ourselves into a way of thinking
behavior is...
contagious
Is social contagion confined to behavior?
no
Mimicry-type of social contagion
Can also be called the chameleon effect, likening it to the chameleon lizards' ability to take on the color of their surroundings. For example, just hearing someone reading a neutral text in a happy or sad voice creates mood contagion in the reader
Natural mimicry enables us to do what?
empathize and explain why we feel happier around happy people. This also translates to mood linkage
positive herding
when positive ratings generate more positive ratings. Social networks are contagious pathways for moods.
Conformity
adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard
Solomon Asch's conformity experiment
Asch conducted a study where a participant had to identify which of the 3 lines presented was identical to the line next to the 3. This pressured students into giving certain answers to the questions asked.
Solomon Asch's conclusions
More than 1/3 of time time, "intelligent" college students were "willing to call white black" by going along with the group
We are more likely to conform when...
we are made to feel incompetent or insecure, are in a group with at least three people, are in a group in which everyone else agrees, admire the group's status and attractiveness, have not made a prior commitment to any response, know that others in the group will observe our behavior, and are from a culture than strongly encourages for social standards
Normative social influence
influence resulting from a person's desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval
Informational social influence
influence resulting from one's willingness to accept others' opinions about reality
Stanley Milgram Experiment
a study that involved the role of a "teacher" who shocked a "learner". every single person administered some shock to the learner, and about two-thirds of the participants, of all ages and from all walks of life, obeyed to the fullest extent. gender, age, and ethnicity had no effect on the likelihood of obeying
What did Stanley Milgram's experiment demonstrate?
Strong social influences can make ordinary people conform to falsehoods or give in to cruelty
Obedience (in Milgram's experiment) was highest when what?
the person giving orders was nearby and was perceived as the legitimate authority figure, the research was supported by a prestigious institution, the victim was depersonalized or at a distance and there was no role models for defiance
A small minority that consistently expresses its views may do what?
sway the majority, as may even a single committed individual
Social facilitation
improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others. When you do well, you are likely to do it even better in front of an audience, especially a friendly audience. What you normally find difficult may seem all but impossible when you are being watched
Social loafing
the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable
When people act as part of a group, they may feel less accountable and therefore...
worry less about what others think, view their individual contributions as dispensable, overestimate their own contributions, downplaying others' actions, and slack off if they share equally in the benefits, regardless of how much they contribute. Unless highly motivated and strongly identified with the group, people may "free ride" on others' efforts
Deindividuation
the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity. It can thrive in many different settings
Group polarization
the enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group. It can be beneficial or toxic. Like minds polarize.
Groupthink
the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal or alternatives
Culture
the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next. Humans differ across cultures but also have a great capacity for it
Are all cultures the same?
No. Cultures differ across time and space and can impact people in different ways.
How do psychologists study implicit prejudice?
testing for unconscious group associations, considering unconscious patronization, and monitoring reflexive bodily response
Prejudice
an unjustifiable (and usually negative attitude) toward a group and its members
Three components of prejudice
beliefs (often stereotypes), emotions, and predispositions to action (discimination)
Explicit and Implicit prejudice in North America
Explicit prejudice in North America has decreased over time, but implicit prejudice continutes
implicit prejudice
an unthinking knee-jerk response operating below conscious awareness
explicit prejudice
prejudicial attitudes that are consciously held, even if they are not publicly expressed
Prejudice involves both explicit and implicit negative attitudes toward what?
people of a particular racial or ethnic group, gender, sexual orientation, or belief system
Prejudice springs from what?
A culture's divisions, the heart's passions, and the mind's natural workings
just-world phenomenon
the tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get.
Victims of discrimination may react with....
self blame or anger, and either can feed each others' prejudice through the classic blame-the-victim dynamic
We define our social identity partly in terms of...
groups. We think of "us" and "them"
ingroup
"us"-people with whom we share a common identity
outgroup
"them"-those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup
ingroup bias
tendency to favor our own group
humans naturally have a need to...
belong, to live and love in groups
Do negative emotions nourish prejudice?
Yes
Scapegoat theory
the theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame.
Outgroup homogeneity
uniformity of outgroup attitudes, personality, and appearance
Other-race effect
the tendency to recall faces of one's own race more accurately than faces of other races
The cognitive roots of prejudice grow from what?
Our natural ways of processing information: forming categories, remembering vivid cases, and believing that the world is just
Monitoring our feelings and actions, as well as developing new friendships, can help us do what?
Free ourselves from prejudice
What genes influence aggression?
The Y chromosome and MAOA gene (MAOA breaks down neurotransmitters, and low levels of it can cause aggression)
How do neural traits influence aggression?
There can be activity in given key brain areas. Brains have neural systems that, given provocation, will either inhibit or facilitate aggression
How do biochemicals influence aggression?
Excess testosterone in the bloodstream, alcohol in the bloodstream
Aggression
any act intended to harm someone physically or emotionally
Aggression results from what?
the interaction of biology and experience
Frustration-aggression principle
the principle that frustration-the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal-creates anger, which can generate aggression
What can alter natural aggressive reactions?
Learning via reinforcement. IN situations where experience has taught us that aggression pays, we are likely to act aggressively again
Media portrayals of violence provide what?
social scripts that children learn to follow
Viewing sexual violence contributes to what?
greater aggression toward women
Playing violent video games increases what?
aggressive thoughts, emotions, and behaviors
How can people like each other (romance)
Proximity, attractiveness, and similarity
How does proximity breed the most liking?
The mere exposure effect
Mere exposure effect
the phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them
Online/Speed dating relationship strengths
Online matchmaking is slightly more likely to last longer than other relationships. Speed dating pushes the search for romance into high gear.
People who fear rejection often do what?
elicit rejections
given more options for love, people make more (realistic/superficial) choices
superficial
Who is choosier with their speed dates? Men or women?
Women
Physical attractiveness increases what?
social opportunities and improves the way we are perceived
True or false: we like those who like us
True
If love endures, what happens to temporary passionate love?
It will mellow into a lingering companionate love
Passionate love
an aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a romantic relationship
Two-factor theory of emotion
Emotions have two ingredients (physical arousal and cognitive appraisal) and arousal from any source can enhance one emotion or another, depending on how we interpret and label the arousal
Sexual desire + a growing attachment =
passionate love
Companionate love
the deep attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined
Equity
a condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give it. When equity exists, two partners' chances for sustained and satisfying companionate love have been good
Self-disclosure
the act of revealing intimate aspects of ourselves to others, and it is a part of sharing between partners
Self-disclosing intimacy + mutually supportive equity =
enduring companionate love
Altruism
an unselfish regard for the welfare of others
John Darley and Bibb Latane's findings
Attributed their inaction to an important situational factor-the presence of others. Given certain circumstances, most of us behave similarly. We will help only if the situation enables us to first notice the incident, then interpret it as an emergency, and finally assume the responsibility for helping
bystander effect
the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present
The odds of helping are highest when...
the person appears to be in need and deserve help, the person is in some way similar to us, the person is a woman, we have just observed someone else being helpful, we are not in a hurry, we are in a small town, we are feeling guilty, we are focused on others and not preoccupied, and we are in a good mood
happiness breeds...
helpfulness
Social exchange theory
the theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs
Reciprocity norm
an expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who helped them
Social-responsibility norm
an expectation that people will help those needing their help
conflict
a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas
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