Social Psychology

Social Psychology

Overview of Social Psychology

  • Definition: Social Psychology is the study of how people think about, influence, and relate to other individuals.

  • Importance of Social Psychology:   - Stereotypes / Prejudice   - Aggression / Violence   - Self-attitudes   - Altruism   - Bystander Effect   - Group Influences   - Obedience and Conformity

Attribution Theory

  • Definition: Attribution Theory explains how individuals attribute behaviors and mental processes to themselves and others.

Types of Attributions:

  1. Dispositional Attributions:    - Relate to internal qualities such as intelligence or personality.

  2. Situational Attributions:    - Concern external circumstances affecting behavior.

Key Terms in Attribution Theory:

  1. Fundamental Attribution Error:    - Observers tend to blame a person's disposition without considering situational influences.

  2. Actor-Observer Bias:    - The tendency to attribute others' behavior to their disposition while attributing personal actions to situational factors.

  3. Self-serving Bias:    - The tendency to attribute personal successes to internal factors and failures to external circumstances.    - Clarifications:      - Fundamental Attribution Error: One person’s perceived disposition explaining others      - Actor-Observer Bias: Two people, contrasting attributions for oneself and others      - Self-serving Bias: One person’s self-assessment based on outcome quality

The Self as a Social Object

  • Activity: Rate self on various attributes including leadership ability, athletic ability, and intelligence using a defined scale (1 to 10).

Explanatory Style

  • Definition: Explanatory style describes how individuals explain good or bad events in their lives.   - Can be Optimistic or Pessimistic.

Locus of Control

  • Internal Locus of Control:   - The belief that one controls their own fate.

  • External Locus of Control:   - The belief that outside forces influence fate, potentially leading to learned helplessness.

Mere Exposure Effect

  • Definition: Repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases their attraction.   - Example: A rare white penguin accepted into a zoo after three weeks due to proximity.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

  • Definition: A belief that causes individuals to act in ways that lead to the belief's fulfillment.

Social Comparison Theory

  • Definition: Individuals evaluate themselves based on comparisons with others in society.

Types of Comparison:

  1. Upward Comparison:    - Comparing to someone perceived as better; aims to improve oneself.

  2. Downward Comparison:    - Comparing to someone worse off; aims to boost self-esteem.

  3. Relative Deprivation:    - Judging one's deprivation relative to others.

Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination

  • Stereotype: A generalized belief about a group.   - Helps reduce cognitive load in decision-making but can lead to biased perceptions.

  • Prejudice: Negative feelings toward a person or group without prior interaction.

  • Discrimination: Differential treatment of individuals versus others.

Implicit Attitudes

  • Definition: Attitudes individuals may hold unconsciously or without awareness.

  • Example: Implicit Association Test (IAT) can reveal biases.

Consequences of Implicit Attitudes:

  1. In-group Bias: Favoring members of one’s own group.

  2. Ethnocentrism: Preference for one's own ethnic group.

  3. Out-group Homogeneity Bias: Perception of out-group members as more similar to each other than in-group members.

  4. Just-World Phenomenon: Belief that people get what they deserve, contributing to cognitive biases.

Psychology of Social Situations

  • Social Norms: Define societal expectations for individual roles in both individual and group contexts.

Social Influence Theory

  • People’s thoughts and actions are influenced by the presence of others.

Types of Social Influence:

  1. Normative Social Influence:    - The desire to be accepted by a group (social acceptance).

  2. Informational Social Influence:    - Assumption that the group is correct (seeking correct information).

Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)

  • Central Route to Persuasion:   - Focuses on solid arguments and facts; leads to lasting changes (effective only when the audience is motivated).

  • Peripheral Route to Persuasion:   - Influenced by superficial cues like attractiveness; leads to temporary changes (targets less involved consumers).

The Halo Effect

  • Definition: A cognitive bias where an overall impression influences specific traits.

Examples of the Halo Effect:

  • Beauty Bias: Perceiving physically attractive individuals as more intelligent and kind, overlooking flaws.

  • Celebrity Doctor Phenomenon: Trusting attractive media figures over actual experts.

Persuasion Techniques

  1. Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon:    - Agreeing to a small request will lead to compliance with a larger request.      - Example: Initially agreeing to a small sign increases chances of agreeing to a larger sign later.

  2. Door-in-the-Face Phenomenon:    - Individuals agree to smaller requests after being presented with a large one.      - Example: After a large donation request, individuals are more likely to give a smaller amount.

Conformity vs. Obedience

  • Conformity: Changes in behaviors to align more closely with group standards.   - Influenced by social pressures and normative/informational influences.

  • Obedience: Compliance with an authority figure's request.

Milgram Study on Obedience

  • Experiment Context:   - Participants recruited for a study on memory were provided with varying compensation.

  • Outcomes of the Milgram Study:   - Displayed high levels of obedience across different shock levels administered to "learners."

Factors Increasing Obedience

  1. Proximity of authority figure.

  2. Legitimacy or prestige of authority figure.

  3. Distance from victims.

  4. Presence of role models for defiance.

Cultural Influences on Conformity and Obedience

  1. Collectivistic Culture:    - Emphasizes group ties increasing conformity and obedience.

  2. Individualistic Culture:    - Values individuality and uniqueness, decreasing conformity.

  3. Multiculturalism:    - Effects depend on specific culture.

Group Influences

  1. Group Polarization:    - Discussion strengthens group's existing opinions.

  2. Groupthink:    - Desire for harmony overrides realistic assessments, leading to poor decision-making.

  3. Bystander Effect/Diffusion of Responsibility:    - Individuals in groups feel less responsible for actions.

  4. Deindividuation:    - Loss of personal identity in groups can lead to unawareness of actions.

  5. Social Loafing:    - Individuals exert less effort in group tasks than when responsible for individual tasks.

  6. Social Facilitation:    - Presence of others enhances performance on simple tasks but hinders complex ones.

  7. False Consensus Effect:    - Overestimating the extent to which others share one's beliefs and behaviors.

  8. Superordinate Goals:    - Goals requiring cooperation among groups reduce stereotyping and breed collaboration.

Social Traps

  • Definition: Situations where individual needs conflict with the group’s needs leading to cooperation challenges.   - Tragedy of the Commons: Individually rational choices lead to collective irrationality.   - Game Theory: Framework for modeling situations where individuals' choices impact one another, revealing cooperation dynamics.

Industrial-Organizational Psychology (I/O Psychology)

  • Focus: Studies human behaviors in work settings, including optimal management practices and interpersonal relationships.

  • Concepts:   - Burnout: Emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion resulting from chronic stress; features include cynicism, feeling overwhelmed, and decreased performance.

Altruism in Social Psychology

  • Definition: A selfless interest in helping others without seeking personal benefits.

Rewards for Helping:

  1. Alleviates distress for the helper.

  2. Social reciprocity norm: Expectation that aid will be returned.

  3. Social responsibility norm: A moral obligation to assist the community.

  4. Social approval: Improved social image from helping behavior.

Conclusion

  • Milgram Experiment Notes:   - Ethical implications of psychological experiments.

  • Highlight the stories of Kenneth Clark and Mamie Phipps Clark, acknowledging their contributions to social psychology.