PSYC 104 Chapter 11- Social Psychology

1. Social Thinking

  • Social Thinking: Involves analyzing why people behave the way they do, especially in unexpected situations.

Attribution Theory

  • Attribution Theory (Fritz Heider, 1958): Explains how we determine the causes behind people's actions, either by:

    • Dispositional Attribution: Attributing behavior to personality traits.

    • Situational Attribution: Attributing behavior to external factors.

  • Example: A teacher may wonder if a child’s hostility is due to a personal trait (dispositional) or stress (situational).

Fundamental Attribution Error

  • The Fundamental Attribution Error: Tendency to overestimate personal traits and underestimate situational factors in others' behavior.

Effects of Attribution

  • Our explanations for behavior shape our reactions toward others.

2. Attitudes and Actions

  • Attitudes: Feelings and beliefs that predispose us to respond in certain ways.

  • Interaction: Attitudes and actions influence each other.

Attitudes Affect Actions

  • While attitudes can predict behavior, they do so imperfectly due to situational influences.

Actions Affect Attitudes

  • Cognitive Dissonance (Festinger, 1957): When actions and beliefs conflict, causing tension, leading us to adjust our attitudes to align with our actions.

Role Playing

  • Zimbardo’s Prison Experiment: Demonstrated that individuals assume role-appropriate attitudes (e.g., guards and prisoners developing respective mindsets).

3. Social Influence

  • Social psychology examines how social influences shape our attitudes, beliefs, and actions.

Conformity and Obedience

  • Conformity: Changing behavior to align with a group standard.

  • Obedience: Compliance with authority.

The Chameleon Effect

  • Conformity: Adjusting thoughts or behaviors to align with group norms, demonstrated in the Elevator Experiment.

Group Pressure & Conformity

  • Asch’s Experiment: Explored how group pressure can lead to conformity.

Reasons for Conforming

  • Normative Social Influence: Desire for approval or avoidance of rejection.

  • Informational Social Influence: Accepting others' opinions as valid.

Obedience Studies

  • Milgram’s Study: Examined obedience to authority, finding that many would follow orders even when causing harm to others.

Lessons from Conformity and Obedience Studies

  • Individuals often feel conflict between personal morals and social pressure or authority.

4. Group Influence

  • Examines how various groups, like families or teams, influence individual behavior.

Individual Behavior in Groups

  • Social Facilitation: Improved performance on tasks in the presence of others.

  • Social Loafing: Tendency to put in less effort when working in a group.

  • Deindividuation: Loss of self-awareness in groups, often leading to impulsive actions.

Key Concepts Summarized

  1. Attribution Theory: Understanding behavior as situational or dispositional.

  2. Fundamental Attribution Error: Tendency to misattribute behavior to personality.

  3. Cognitive Dissonance: Conflict between actions and beliefs, leading to attitude change.

  4. Conformity and Obedience: Influences of groups and authority on behavior.

  5. Group Influence: Effects of group dynamics on individual actions.