Social Psychology

• The study of how individuals think, feel, and behave in social contexts.

• Key concepts include conformity, group dynamics, and social influence.

-Behavior is a product of both the situation & of the person

Situational & Dispositional Influences on Behavior

-Situationism is the view that our behavior/actions are determined by our immediate environment and surroundings

-Dispositionism holds that our behavior is determined by internal factors(attributes of a person; personality traits, temperament)

-Social psychologists tend to take the situational perspective, while psychologists promote the dispositional perspective

Fundamental Attribution Error

-A cognitive bias where observers tend to attribute the actions of others to their personality, rather than the situation or external factors.

-The halo effect refers to the tendency to let the overall impression of an individual color the way in which we feel about their character.

-The fundamental attribution error is considered a powerful influence in how we explain the behaviors of others.

Is the fundamental attribution error a universal phenomenon?

• People from an individualistic culture have the greatest tendency to commit the F.A.E

• People from a collective culture are less likely to commit the F.A.E

Actor-Observer Bias

- The phenomenon of attributing other people’s behavior to internal factors, while attributing our own factors to situational forces

-As actors of behavior, we have more information availiable to explain ourselves

-As observers of behavior, we have less information available, therefore we tend to default to a dispositonal perspective.

Characteristics of Individualistic/Collectivistic Cultures:

Individualistic:

• Achievement Oriented

• Focus on Autonomy

• Dispositional Perspective

• Independent

• Analytic thinking Style

Collectivistic:

• Relationship Oriented

• Focus on group harmony

• Situational perspective

• Interdependent

• Holistic thinking style

Self Serving Bias

-Self serving biases are attributions that enabe us to see ourselves in a favorable light

-AKA the tendency to explain our successes due to internal (dispositional) characteristics, but our failures to external (situational) factors.

-This bias serves to protect self-esteem.

Just-World Hypothesis

-The belief that people get the outcomes they deserve

Self Presentation

Social Roles

-A pattern of behavior that is expected of a person in a given setting/group

-Defined by culturally shared knowledge

-Social roles can vary across different settings, and influence and often dictate our behavior to the extent that identity/personality can vary w/ context

Social Norms

-A group’s expectation of what is appropriate/acceptable behavior for its members.

-Social norms are everywhere, in families, gangs, and even social media.

Scripts

-A person’s knowledge about the sequence of events expected in a specific setting.

-Important sources of information to guide behavior in given situations.

Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment

-An advertisement was placed in California newspaper asking for male volunteers to participate in a study about the psychological effects of prison life.

- More than 70 men volunteered, and underwent psychological testing to eliminate candidates w/ underlying psyche/medical/substance abuse/crime issues

-Each student was paid 15$ per day, and randomly assigned the role of a prisoner/guard in the study.

-Mock prison in the basement of the college was built, and ‘prisoners’ were “arrested” by ‘police officers’.

-Both ‘prisoners’ and ‘guards’ assumed their roles with zeal

-On the 2nd day of the experiment, ‘guards’ forced ‘prisoners’ to strip, took their beds, and isolated ringleaders to solitary confinement.

-In a short time, guards harrased the prisoners in an increasingly sadistic manner

-This experiment has been used as a memorable demonstration of the incredible power that social roles, norms, and scripts have in affecting human behavior.

Attitudes and Persuasion

-Attitude is our evaluation of a person, idea, or object.

-Humans have attitudes for many things, ranging from supermarket products to political policies.

-Attitudes are often favorable or unfavorable (positive/negative)

-Attitudes have 3 components: the affective component (feelings), the behavioral component (effect of attitude on behavior), and the cognitive component (belief/knowledge)

-Attitudes and beliefs are influenced by external and internal forces/influences.

What is cognitive dissonance?

• Psychological discomfort arising from holding two or more inconsistent attitudes, behaviors, or cognitions (thoughts/beliefs/opinions)

• Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance states that when we experience a conflict in our behaviors/attitudes/beliefs that run counter to our positive self-perceptions, we experience dissonance.

• Dissonance is not only psychologically uncomfortable, but can also cause physiological arousal.

• When we experience cognitive dissonance, we are motivated to decrease it because it is psychologically, physically, and mentally uncomfortable.

• We can reduce cognitive dissonance by:

1. Changing discrepant behavior

2. Changing cognition via rationalization/denial

3. Adding a new cognition

The effect of Initiation

-Justification of effor suggests that we value goals and achievements that we put a lot of effort into.

-According to this theory, if something is difficult for us to achieve, we believe it is more worthwhile.

Persuasion

-The process of changing our attitude toward something based on some kind of communication.

-Much of the persuasion we experience comes from outside forces.

Elaborate Likelihood Models

-A popular model that describes the dynamics of persuasion

-Considers the variable of the attitude change approach

• Explains how individuals process persuasive messages through two distinct routes: the central route, which involves careful and thoughtful consideration of the arguments presented, and the peripheral route, which relies on superficial cues and heuristics.

-The central route is logic driven, and uses data/facts to convince people of an argument’s worthiness.

-The peripheral route is an indirect route that uses peripheral cues to associate positivity with the message.

Conformity, Compliance, and Obedience

Conformity

• A confederate is a person who is aware of the experiment and works for the reasearcher.

• Confederates are used to manipulate social situations

• Conformity is the change in a person’s behavior to go along with a group, even if he does not agree with the group.

• The Asch effect refers to the influence of the group majority on an individual’s judgement.

• Factors that make a person more likely to yield to group pressure:

1. Size of the majority

2. Presence of another dissenter

3. Public/Private nature of the responses

• Compliance is going along with a request/demand, even if you do not agree with the request.

• There are two categories for motivation to conform: Normative Social Influence, and Informational Social Influence

• In Normative Social Influence, people conform to the group norm to fit in, to feel good, and to be accepted by the group

• In Informational Social Influence, people confrom because they believe the group is competent and has the correct info.

Stanley Milgram’s Experiment

-Another form of social influence is obedience to authority.

-Obedience is the change of an individual’s behavior to comply with a demand by an authority figure.

-Stanley Milgram was influenced by the trial of Adolf Eichmann. (Nazi war criminal)

-Milgram tested the validity of this defense, by conducting a series of experiments that revealed how ordinary people can commit atrocious acts when instructed by an authority figure. His findings raised important ethical questions about the limits of obedience and the responsibility of individuals in the face of authority.

Groupthink

Groupthink is a phenomenon where individuals in a group modify their opinions to align with perceived group consensus, potentially leading to extreme decisions and hindering diverse viewpoints. Causes of groupthink include high cohesiveness, directive leadership, and isolation from alternative perspectives. Symptoms of groupthink include self-censorship, perceived invulnerability, moral superiority, and an illusion of unanimity. Strategies to avoid groupthink involve seeking outside opinions, voting privately, and thoroughly evaluating options.

Group Polarization

Group polarization, another group-related phenomenon, refers to the strengthening of initial group attitudes following discussion, often leading to more extreme positions. Social traps arise when individuals or groups make decisions that serve their immediate interests but are detrimental in the long term, as seen in the nuclear arms race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

Social Loafing

Social loafing occurs when individuals reduce their effort in group tasks due to a lack of evaluation of individual contributions, often increased in larger groups. It can be mitigated by assigning individual responsibilities. The opposite effect can occur in difficult tasks where individuals feel that their contributions are necessary for success.

Deindividuation

Deindividuation involves a reduction in self-accountability and sense of self in group settings, often leading to impulsive behaviors, such as during riots. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for effective group decision-making and behavior management.

Prejudice & Discrimination

Understanding Prejudice & Discrimination

-Prejudice is a negative attitude/feeling based solely on one’s membership in a particular social group

-Prejudice is common against people who are members of an unfamiliar cultural group, thus, certain types of education, contact, interactions, and building relationships with members of different cultural groups can reduce the tendency toward prejudice.

-Prejudice begins in the form of a stereotype ( a specific belief/assumption about individuals based solely on their membership in a group, regardless of their individual characteristics.)

-Stereotypes become overgeneralized & applied to all members of a group.

-Discrimination is a negative action toward an individual as a result of one’s membership in a particular group.

Connecting Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination

-We automatically process 3 pieces of information about strangers when meeting them for the first time: Race, Gender, and Age.

-The social categories of race, gender, and age provide information about an individual. This info, however, is often based on stereotypes.

Racism

-Prejudice and discrimination against an individual based solely on one’s membership in a specific racial group.

-One reason modern forms of racism/prejudice are hard to detect is related to the dual attitudes model.

-Humans have two forms of attitudes: explicit (conscious and controllable), and implicit (unconscious and uncontrollable)

Sexism

-Prejudice and discrimination toward individuals based on their sex.

-Typically takes the form of men holding biases against women.

-Common forms include gender role expectations, behavior, and stereotypes that dictate appropriate conduct for men and women.

-Sexism can exist on a societal level such as in hiring, employment, and education.

Ageism

-Prejudice and discrimination toward individuals based solely on their age.

Homophobia/Transphobia

-Prejudice and discrimination based solely on sexual orientation.

Why do prejudice and discrimination exist?

-Prejudice and discrimination persist in society due to societal learning and conformity to social norms.

-Children learn prejudice from society through various influences such as family teachings, peer interactions, and media representations, which shape their attitudes and beliefs toward different social groups.

Agression

-Human feeling of wanting to cause harm/pain to another person.

-Takes two froms depending on motive: Hostile, motivated by feelings of anger w/ intent to cause pain, and Instrumental, motivated by achieving a goal and does not necessarily involve intent to cause pain.

-Some researchers argue that agression serves as an evolutionary function.

Bullying

-A form of agression

-Repeated negative treatment of another person over time.

-Can include physical,verbal, or psychological.

-Involves 3 parties: the bully, the victim, and the witnesses/bystanders

-The act of bullying involves the imbalance of power with the bully holding more power.

Cyberbullying

-Repeated behavior intended to cause psychological/emotional harm to another person via covert, anonymous means.

The Bystander Effect

-A phenomenon in which a witness/bystander does not volunteer to help a victim or person in distress.

-Social psychologists claim that diffusion of responsibility is the main explanation behind this phenomenon.

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