Social Psychology - In-Depth Notes

Objectives

• Define dimensions on which attitudes vary.
• Describe components of persuasion.
• Distinguish between cognitive dissonance and self-perception.
• Describe social-cognitive processes people use to understand themselves and the world.
• Explain factors that attract people to each other.
• Distinguish theories of altruism.
• Describe theoretical approaches to understanding aggression.
• Describe influence of others on individual behavior.

What is Social Psychology?

• Definition: Social Psychology studies the influence of social processes on individuals’ thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
• Key Components:
  • Thoughts (Cognition)
  • Feelings (Emotions)
  • Behaviour (Actions)

Attitudes

• Definition: An attitude is an association between an act or object and an evaluation.
• Involves:
  • Cognitive Component: Thoughts about the object (e.g., 'Exams assess knowledge').
  • Evaluative (Emotional) Component: Feelings about the object (e.g., 'Exams are stressful').
  • Behavioural Component: Actions associated with the object (e.g., 'I studied hard for my exam').

Dimensions of Attitudes

• Attitudes can vary along various dimensions:
  • Strength: Durability and impact of the attitude.
  • Importance: Personal relevance of the attitude.
  • Accessibility: Ease of activation of the attitude.
  • Implicit: Unconscious or automatic attitudes.
  • Complexity: Specific vs. general attitudes.
  • Ambivalence: Presence of both positive and negative feelings.
  • Coherence: Internal consistency of attitudes.

Predicting Behaviour from Attitudes

• When attitudes predict behaviour:
  • When the attitude and behaviour are specific.
  • When environmental reinforcement matches the attitude.
  • When important others share the same attitude.
  • When attitudes are implicit or strong.
  • When attitudes have developed from personal experience.

Persuasion

• Definition: Deliberate attempt to change an attitude held by another.
• Components of Effective Persuasion:
  • Credibility, attractiveness, likability, power, and similarity of the source.
  • Messages must match the recipient’s consideration level.
  • Delivery methods (e.g., face-to-face) are important.
  • Context: Timing and location are critical for persuasive messages.

Processes of Persuasion

• Elaboration Likelihood Model:
  • Central route: Induces careful consideration of arguments.
  • Peripheral route: Appeals to emotions.
• Methods:
  • Classical conditioning of an object with an emotional response.
  • Simple repetition of a message can alter attitude change.

Cognitive Dissonance

• Definition: A perceived discrepancy between an attitude and a behaviour that results in psychological tension.
• Motivation to Reduce Tension:
  • Change the behaviour.
  • Change the attitude.
  • Change perception of inconsistent information.

Self-Perception Theory

• Attitudes change in dissonance experiments due to individuals observing their own behavior.

Social Cognition

• Definition: Processes by which individuals make sense of themselves, others, and social interactions.

First Impressions

• Halo Effect: Assumption that positive traits cluster together.
• Schemas, Stereotypes, and Prejudice: Frameworks that influence perceptions of others.

Stereotypes and Prejudice

• Schemas: Cognitive frameworks that guide interpretations in new situations.
• Stereotypes: Characteristics assigned based on group memberships.
• Prejudice: Judgments based on stereotypes.
• Discrimination: Negative actions towards individuals based on prejudice.

Racism

• Components:
  • Stereotype: Cognitive
  • Prejudice: Emotional
  • Discrimination: Behavioral

Implicit Racism

• Explicit Racism: Conscious use of stereotypes and expression of prejudice.
• Implicit Racism: Unconscious influence of stereotypes in behavior.

Inter-Group Hostility

• In-group vs. Outgroup: Perception differences towards one's group versus others.
• Negative Attribution: Positive outgroup actions explained away while negatives are attributed to internal causes.
• Reducing Hostility: Requires contact and cooperation among group members towards superordinate goals.

Attribution

• Definition: Inferring causes of mental states and behaviors.
• Attribution Types:
  • External Attributions: Behavior due to the situation.
  • Internal Attributions: Behavior reflects the individual's character.

Issues in Attribution

• Factors affecting internal vs. external attribution:
  • Consensus
  • Consistency
  • Distinctiveness

Errors of Attributions

• Fundamental Attribution Error: Underestimating external factors and overestimating internal ones in others’ behaviors.
• Self-serving Bias: Attributing successes to internal factors and failures to external.

Faulty Cognition

• Causes:
  • Cognitive biases (e.g., heuristics)
  • Motivational biases
  • Interaction between cognition and motivation (e.g., confirmation bias)

The Self

• Definition: The person including mental processes, body, and personality characteristics.
• Self-Concept: Schema guiding thinking and memory related to self.
• Self-Esteem: Evaluation of self-worth.

Approaches to Understanding the Self

• Psychodynamic: Self-representations as key to personality.
• Cognitive: Self-schemas influence thinking and self-related memory.

Self-Presentation

• Actual Self: Current view of oneself.
• Ideal Self: Perceived best version of oneself.
• Ought Self: Defines duties and expectations for how one should be.