Social Psychology 2e Lecture Notes

CHAPTER 12: SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

PROFESSOR DETAILS

  • Name: Alex Sarabia, M.A., LPC, LCDC, CART, CLYL

  • Source: Psychology 2e by OpenStax

CHAPTER OUTLINE

12.1 What Is Social Psychology?
12.2 Self-presentation
12.3 Attitudes and Persuasion
12.4 Conformity, Compliance, and Obedience
12.5 Prejudice and Discrimination
12.6 Aggression
12.7 Prosocial Behavior

REFLECTION: SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

  1. Question: Would you like to know how other people view you? Why or why not?

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

  • The case of Trayvon Martin highlights the influence of social psychology, raising questions about the impact of people on individual behavior in socially charged situations.

  • The presence of others can significantly affect how individuals behave, whether they are in a confrontational scenario or one involving cooperation.

WHAT IS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY?

  • Definition: Social psychology studies interactions among people, focusing on how social situations influence thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

  • Topics Covered:
      - Intrapersonal Topics: Emotions, attitudes, self, social cognition.
      - Interpersonal Topics: Helping behavior, aggression, prejudice and discrimination, attraction and relationships, group processes, and intergroup relations.

SITUATIONAL & DISPOSITIONAL INFLUENCES ON BEHAVIOR

  • Situationism:
      - Definition: Behavior determined by immediate environment and surroundings.
      - Example: A reserved person might be talkative at a party but shy in a formal meeting.

  • Dispositionism:
      - Definition: Behavior determined by internal factors such as personality traits.
      - Example: A driver blamed for road rage due to their aggressive personality while ignoring situational stressors.
      - Social psychologists now consider both situational and internal influences.

FUNDAMENTAL ATTRIBUTION ERROR

  • Definition: Overemphasis of internal factors as explanations for others’ behavior while underestimating situational influences.

  • Example: Judging a partner as disrespectful for using a phone during a movie without considering an urgent situation.

  • Study: Quizmaster Study demonstrated the error, showing participants underestimated the questioners' advantage.

IS THE FUNDAMENTAL ATTRIBUTION ERROR A UNIVERSAL PHENOMENON?

  • Research indicates that individuals from Individualistic Cultures are more likely to commit this error than those from Collectivistic Cultures, who account for relational and situational influences.

  • Examples of group activities that combat individualistic tendencies include cooking, socializing, and playing games.

ACTOR-OBSERVER BIAS

  • Definition: A tendency to explain others’ behaviors with internal factors and one’s own behaviors with situational factors.

  • Example: Attributing a classmate’s failure to laziness, but one’s own failure to personal issues.

  • A study found differences in reasons given for personal feelings versus those attributed to others, illustrating the bias.

SELF-SERVING BIAS

  • Definition: Takes credit for positive outcomes through internal attributions while attributing negative outcomes to situational factors.

  • Examples:
      - An employee takes credit for a successful project while blaming others for failures.
      - Drivers attribute timely arrivals to skill but blame traffic for delays.

ATTRIBUTION

  • Definition: A belief about the cause of a result.

  • Dimensions of Attribution:
      1. Locus of Control: Internal vs external.
      2. Stability: Changeability of circumstances.
      3. Controllability: Control over the circumstances.

  • Example: Attributing team success to talent (internal) when winning, but external circumstances when losing.

JUST WORLD HYPOTHESIS

  • Definition: Belief that people receive outcomes they deserve, reinforcing a sense of fairness in the world.

  • Tendency to blame individuals, like those in poverty, for their conditions.

SOCIAL ROLES

  • Definition: Expected behavior patterns in specific settings or groups.

  • Example: Students in a classroom engage in studious behavior based on the social role assigned to them.

SOCIAL NORMS & SCRIPTS

  • Social Norm: Expectations about acceptable behaviors in a group.

  • Script: Knowledge of sequences expected in settings, which can vary by culture (e.g., restaurant etiquette).

PHILIP ZIMBARDO AND THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT

  • Overview: Conducted in 1971, this experiment demonstrated the impact of social roles and norms.

  • Participants assigned roles as guards or prisoners exhibited extreme behaviors consistent with those roles, resulting in psychological distress.

  • The experiment was terminated after only six days due to ethical concerns and the extreme effects observed.

ATTITUDE

  • Definition: Evaluative judgment about people, ideas, or objects.

  • Components:
      1. Affective Component: Feelings.
      2. Behavioral Component: Effect on behavior.
      3. Cognitive Component: Knowledge and beliefs.

  • Attitudes can range from favorable to unfavorable, influencing various life aspects.

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE

  • Definition: Psychological discomfort from inconsistent attitudes or behaviors.

  • Example: Knowing smoking is unhealthy but choosing to smoke can lead to dissonance.

  • Ways to Reduce Dissonance:
      - Changing behavior (quitting smoking).
      - Rationalizing or denying dissonance (e.g., believing smoking has benefits).
      - Adding new beliefs to alleviate discomfort.

THE EFFECT OF INITIATION

  • Justification of Effort: Greater effort leads to increased value of goals and groups.

  • Experiment: Aronson and Mills (1959) showed that difficult initiation increased group appreciation among participants.

PERSUASION

  • Definition: Process of changing attitudes based on communication.

  • Persuasion permeates through everyday interactions, beyond formal advertising.

ELABORATION LIKELIHOOD MODEL (PETTY & CACIOPPO, 1986)

  • Defines two paths of persuasion:
      1. Central Route:
         - Logic-driven, using data and facts for well-formed arguments.
         - Works best with analytical and engaged audiences.
      2. Peripheral Route:
         - Indirect, relying on cues like emotions or endorsements.
         - This route leads to less durable attitude change.

  • Examples:
      - Central Route: Emphasizing safety features in car advertisements.
      - Peripheral Route: Using celebrity endorsements to attract consumers.

FOOT-IN-THE-DOOR TECHNIQUE

  • Definition: A persuader encourages agreement to a small request that leads to compliance with a larger request later.

  • The technique works on the principle of maintaining consistency in actions.

CONFORMITY (SOLOMON ASCH)

  • Definition: Change in behavior to align with group norms, irrespective of personal disagreement.

  • Asch’s Experiment: Illustrated the effect of group pressure where 76% of participants conformed at least once to give incorrect answers.

  • Factors Influencing Conformity:
      - Size of majority, presence of dissenters, public vs private responses.

MOTIVATION TO CONFORM

  • Normative Social Influence: Desire to fit in and be accepted.

  • Informational Social Influence: Conforming when one believes the group possesses accurate information, especially in ambiguous situations.

OBEDIENCE (STANLEY MILGRAM)

  • Definition: A change of behavior in response to authority demands.

  • Milgram's Experiment (1963): Revealed high obedience rates, with 65% of participants administering potentially lethal shocks due to authority command.

GROUPTHINK

  • Definition: Modification of individual opinions to align with perceived group consensus, potentially leading to poor decision-making.

  • Examples: Individuals altering their opinions under group pressure.

GROUP POLARIZATION

  • Definition: Strengthening of an original attitude among group members after discussion.

  • Examples: Students becoming more extreme in their views on gun control after deliberation.

SOCIAL FACILITATION

  • Definition: Improved performance on tasks in the presence of an audience.

  • Examples: Athletes perform better in groups; musicians play better when performing live.

SOCIAL LOAFING

  • Definition: Reduced effort by individuals in group settings, especially when individual contributions are not evaluated.

  • Examples: Group projects where some members contribute less, thinking others will carry the load.

PREJUDICE & DISCRIMINATION

  • Occurs globally, exemplified by historical signs of segregation and present-day instances of religious and racial discrimination.

UNDERSTANDING PREJUDICE & DISCRIMINATION

  • Prejudice: Negative beliefs or feelings towards individuals based on social group.

  • Stereotype: Assumptions about individuals rooted in social group membership.

  • Discrimination: Negative actions against individuals due to their group membership.

  • Existence Factors: Social learning and conformity to norms.

TYPES OF PREJUDICE & DISCRIMINATION

  • Racism: Prejudice based on race.
      - Dual Attitudes Model: Distinguishes between explicit (conscious) and implicit (unconscious) biases.

SEXISM

  • Prejudice based on gender, affecting opportunities and societal roles.

AGEISM

  • Discrimination based on age, often targeting older adults.

HOMOPHOBIA

  • Discrimination based on sexual orientation, pervasive in societal structures.

SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY & CONFIRMATION BIAS

  • Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Expectations that alter behavior to make them true.
      - Example: Stereotypes lead to behaviors that reinforce the stereotype.

  • Confirmation Bias: Tendency to seek and interpret information that aligns with existing beliefs and biases.

IN-GROUPS & OUT-GROUPS

  • In-Groups: Groups we identify with.

  • Out-Groups: Groups perceived as fundamentally different.

  • In-Group Bias: Favoritism towards one’s own group.
      - Example: Scapegoating out-groups to deflect negative feelings.

AGGRESSION

  • Definition: Intention to cause harm.

  • Hostile Aggression: Anger-driven behavior aimed at causing pain.

  • Instrumental Aggression: Goal-oriented aggression, often without intent to harm.

EVOLUTIONARY THEORY OF AGGRESSION

  • Overview: Aggression has an evolutionary function for males, displaying dominance and ensuring reproductive success.

BULLYING

  • Definition: Continuous negative behavior directed towards an individual.

  • Forms: Can be physical, verbal, or psychological.

  • Differences by Gender: Boys tend to use direct aggression, while girls may engage in social aggression.

  • Cyberbullying: Online harassment, more prevalent among girls, often stemming from prior victimization.

THE BYSTANDER EFFECT

  • Definition: Reluctance to help victims in groups, often attributed to diffusion of responsibility.

  • Kitty Genovese Case (1964): Highlighted the bystander effect when numerous witnesses failed to assist during her attack.

PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND ALTRUISM

  • Prosocial Behavior: Voluntary behaviors aimed at assisting others.

  • Altruism: Selfless helping behavior, often despite potential personal costs.

  • Theories on Motivation to Help:
      1. Empathy: Understanding and feeling another’s perspective.
      2. Self-Interest: Individuals may also engage in helping behavior for personal satisfaction or social recognition.

FORMING RELATIONSHIPS

  • Influences on relationship dynamics include proximity (contact frequency), similarity, and homophily (tendency to connect with similar individuals).

  • Important Components:
      - Reciprocity: Mutual exchange in relationships.
      - Self-Disclosure: Sharing personal information fosters intimacy.

ATTRACTION

  • Attractiveness Traits: Universally appealing features in men and women often relate to physical appearance and social traits.

  • Matching Hypothesis: People often partner with those they perceive as having similar attractiveness.

STERNBERG’S TRIANGULAR THEORY OF LOVE

  • Components of Love:
      1. Intimacy: Emotional closeness and sharing.
      2. Passion: Physical attraction.
      3. Commitment: Decision to maintain the relationship.

  • Consummate Love: Achieved when all three components are present, leading to a healthy relationship.

SOCIAL EXCHANGE THEORY

  • Definition: Analyzes relationships in terms of costs and benefits, suggesting relationship maintenance occurs when benefits exceed costs.

  • Example: Evaluating the companionship versus boredom risks in long-term relationships.