Psychology 100: Social Psychology

Psychology 100 defines Social Psychology as a field predicated on the idea that almost all psychology is social psychology.
Fundamental Premise: Human behavior is almost always influenced by social surroundings and is typically directed toward other human beings.

Social psychologists investigate the nature of human interaction and self-perception through several core questions:

Who are we? This explores the concept of the self and whether the "we" exists independently of others.
How do we think about our own behavior?
How do we think about other people’s behavior?
How do other people influence our thinking?
What makes us attracted to certain people?
How is our behavior influenced when we are in a group setting?
What specific conditions create conflict between groups?
How can we promote harmony between different groups?

Social thinking, or social cognition, focuses heavily on the concept of the "Self."
Key internal questions regarding the self include: * What sort of person am I? * What do I believe? * What are my individual strengths and weaknesses? * What do others expect of me? * What do I truly want for myself? * To which specific groups do I belong? * How do I compare with others?
The concept of social comparison is at the absolute core of social thinking.

The self is constantly engaged in self-evaluations, frequently asking questions such as "How do I compare?"
Humans are fundamentally driven to maintain a sense of self-worth, also referred to as self-esteem.
To manage this, the self must be able to defend against its own negative judgments or avoid them entirely.
This defense is achieved through the implementation of cognitive biases.

Positive illusions are defined as false beliefs that result in beneficial consequences.
These cognitive strategies are positively correlated with psychological well-being.
Characteristics of individuals with strong positive illusions include: * Maintaining uncritically positive views of themselves. * Experiencing illusions of control, characterized by the tendency to attribute successes to one's own efforts or skills. * Possessing unrealistic optimism regarding their future prospects.

Definition: The self-serving bias is the tendency to make errors in judgment regarding ourselves that are typically in our own favor.
Mechanisms of the Self-Serving Bias: * Individuals overestimate their own contributions to collective tasks. * Successes are attributed to internal factors such as personal efforts or personal characteristics. * Failures are attributed to external factors such as circumstances, bad luck, or other people. * Individuals overestimate their positive attributes relative to others, often viewing themselves as "above average."
Logical Paradox: By definition, it is impossible for everyone to be "above average."

Studies on self-perception and driving skills illustrate the self-serving bias with the following statistics:

Self-rating of driving safety compared to the average driver: * Above Average: $65.8\%$ of respondents answered "Yes" to being safer than the average driver. * Average/Below Average: $34.2\%$.
Self-rating of parking skills: * $77.4\%$ answered "Yes" that their parking skills are better than the average driver. * $22.6\%$ answered "No."
Leadership skills self-rating relative to peers: * Above Average: $70\%$ * Average: $28\%$ * Below Average: $2\%$

Cognitive dissonance occurs when we behave in ways that are contrary to who we believe we are, or who we believe we ought to be as a person.
Leon Festinger (1957) developed "A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance" to explain how individuals manage this tension.
Cognitive Acrobatics (Methods of dealing with dissonance): 1. Change our behavior or cognition: For example, deciding "I will not eat any more of this doughnut!" 2. Justify behavior or cognition by changing the conflicting cognition: For example, "I'm allowed to cheat on my diet every once in a while!" 3. Justify behavior or cognition by adding new cognitions: For example, "I'll spend $30$ extra minutes at the gym this week to work this doughnut off!" 4. Ignore or deny information that conflicts with existing beliefs: For example, "This doughnut is not really that high in fat!"

Definition: An attribution is a judgment or explanation regarding the cause of an observed behavior, event, or thing.
Attribution Theory posits that we explain other people's behavior in one of two ways: * Situational Attributions: Explanations based on factors that are outside or independent of the person. * Dispositional Attributions: Explanations based on the person’s assumed internal traits, personality, abilities, etc.
Attributions are typically made very quickly and serve as an example of "fast thinking."

System 1: * Characteristics: Fast, effortless, and automatic. * Role: It is our default system, often used for quick judgments and decisions.
System 2: * Characteristics: Slow, effortful, and deliberate. * Role: Demands active concentration and attention. * Physiological Symptoms: Increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, and pupil dilation.

The Fundamental Attribution Error is the tendency to attribute other people's behavior to their internal, dispositional factors while ignoring external, situational factors.
Reasoning for FAE: * Information regarding situational influences is often invisible to the external observer. * If an immediate attribution is required, it is easier (via System 1) to attribute behavior to dispositional causes. * Examining situational factors, if they are not immediately apparent, requires the effort of System 2 "slow thinking."

In social situations, a person is categorized as either the "actor" or the "observer."
Bias Framework: * If you are the Actor (observing yourself): * Good Behavior: Explained via Dispositional Attribution (Positive explanation). * Bad Behavior: Explained via Situational Attribution. * If you are the Observer (observing another person): * Good Behavior: Explained via Situational Attribution. * Bad Behavior: Explained via Dispositional Attribution (Negative explanation).
Universal Reality: There are usually always situational causes present for both our own behavior and the behavior of others, yet we fail to recognize them equally.