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.