Chapter 12 (Reupload with Enhanced Audio): Social Psychology

Introduction to Social Psychology

• Social psychology studies interactions between people, encompassing various forms of connection, such as collaboration and confrontation.

• Key focus: How environment and social situations influence individual thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Breakdown of Social Psychology Topics

Intrapersonal vs. Interpersonal

• Intrapersonal Topics: Involve self-related concepts including emotions, attitudes, and social cognition.

• Interpersonal Topics: Deal with interactions between individuals, covering concepts like helping behavior, aggression, prejudice, attraction, and group processes.

Situationism vs. Dispositionism

• Situationism: Behavior is influenced by immediate environment; favored by social psychologists.

• Dispositionism: Behavior is determined by internal factors (personality traits); favored by personality psychologists.

Fundamental Attribution Error

• Definition: The tendency to overemphasize internal factors for others' behaviors while underestimating situational influences.

• Example: Misinterpreting erratic driving as a sign of a person's character instead of their circumstances (e.g., rushing to a hospital).

Self-Serving Bias

• Definition: Tendency to take credit for positive outcomes (internal attributions) while blaming external factors for negative ones.

• Example: An athlete attributes their win to their skills but blames the field conditions for their loss.

Just World Hypothesis

• Definition: The belief that individuals get what they deserve—good actions lead to good outcomes, bad actions lead to bad outcomes.

• Prompts reflection on the fairness of life events.

Self-Presentation: Roles and Scripts

Social Roles

• Definition: Expected behaviors in specific social settings; e.g., a student, teacher, or parent has distinct expectations.

Social Norms

• Definition: Group expectations for appropriate behavior among members.

• Conformity to these norms varies based on the group context.

Scripts

• Definition: Knowledge of expected events or behaviors in specific settings (e.g., fast food vs. fine dining).

• Scripts help navigate social interactions appropriately.

Stanford Prison Experiment

• Conducted by Philip Zimbardo in 1971.

• Participants assigned roles as guards or prisoners; quickly devolved into abusive dynamics.

• Terminated after six days due to ethical concerns and psychological harm.

• Highlights impact of social roles and norms on behavior.

Attitudes and Persuasion

Cognitive Dissonance

• Definition: Psychological discomfort from conflicting beliefs or behaviors.

• Methods to resolve:

  • Change behavior (e.g., quit smoking)

  • Change belief (e.g., minimize smoking risks).

Persuasion Techniques

• Definition: Process of changing attitudes through communication.

• Foot-in-the-Door Technique: Gaining compliance through small initial requests leading to larger ones, relying on a sense of consistency in human behavior.

Conformity, Compliance, and Obedience

Solomon Asch's Conformity Study

• Demonstrated how individuals conform to group decisions even if incorrect.

• Motivated by normative social influence (desire to fit in) or informational social influence (belief in group's correctness).

Milgram's Obedience Experiment

• Showed people are likely to obey authority even when it conflicts with personal morals.

• Highlighted psychological tendencies to follow authority instructions despite potential harm to others.

Social Facilitation and Social Loafing

Social Facilitation

• Occurs when an audience enhances individual performance on tasks.

• Example: Athletes may perform better in front of fans.

Social Loafing

• Definition: Tendency to exert less effort when working in a group vs. individually.

In-Groups and Out-Groups

• In-Groups: Groups we identify with; may show bias towards out-groups.

• Out-Groups: Groups seen as different; prejudice and discrimination often stem from perceived differences.

Bystander Effect

• Definition: Tendency for individuals to refrain from helping a victim when others are present due to diffusion of responsibility.

Pro-Social Behavior

• Definition: Voluntary behavior intended to help others.

• Altruism: Helping without expecting any reward.

• Importance of empathy in motivating pro-social behavior (understanding others' feelings).

Forming Relationships

• Influenced by proximity and similarity.

• Reciprocity and Self-Disclosure: Essential for deepening relationships; involves mutual sharing and acknowledgment of personal information.

• Attraction criteria include physical, emotional, and social factors.

Conclusion

• Highlights the complexity of social interactions and their psychological underpinnings.

• Encourages reflection on personal experiences and behaviors in social contexts.