Social Relationships & Individuals – Comprehensive Social Psychology Notes

Learning Objectives

  • 12.1 Conformity – factors that influence individuals or groups to align with others’ actions.
  • 12.2 Social Presence – ways behavior changes when others are present.
  • 12.3 Compliance Techniques – foot-in-the-door, door-in-the-face, low-ball.
  • 12.4 Obedience – variables that heighten likelihood of following authority.
  • 12.5 Attitude Components – affective, behavioral, cognitive; routes of formation.
  • 12.6 Attitude Change – persuasion, elaboration likelihood model (central vs peripheral).
  • 12.7 Cognitive Dissonance – reactions when attitudes clash with behavior.
  • 12.8 Impression Formation – first impressions, primacy, stereotypes.
  • 12.9 Attribution – explaining behavior of self & others (situational vs dispositional).
  • 12.10 Prejudice vs Discrimination.
  • 12.11 Learning & Reducing Prejudice.
  • 12.12 Interpersonal Attraction.
  • 12.13 Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love.
  • 12.14 Aggression – biological & learned roots.
  • 12.15 Prosocial Helping – factors influencing aid.
  • 12.16 Everyday Conformity & Group Identity Examples.

Core Domains of Social Psychology

  • Social Influence – conformity, group behavior, compliance, obedience.
  • Social Cognition – attitudes, cognitive dissonance, impression formation, attribution.
  • Social Interaction – prejudice/discrimination, attraction/love, aggression, prosocial behavior.

Part 1 – Social Influence

Conformity

  • Definition: aligning one’s behavior with a group.
  • Asch (1951) line-judgment studies:
    • Conformity ↑ with each additional confederate (peaks ≈ 4).
    • A single dissenting confederate ↓ conformity sharply.
  • Influencing variables:
    • Culture: collectivist > individualist.
    • Historical era: older generations conformed more.
    • Gender: women conform more in public settings (socialized to be agreeable).
  • Normative social influence – need for acceptance; follow group “norms.”
  • Informational social influence – look to others when situation ambiguous.

Group Behaviour Mechanisms

  • a) Groupthink (Janis, 1971)
    • Priority on cohesion over critical evaluation.
    • Preconditions: high cohesion, isolation from dissent, directive leader.
    • Symptoms: invulnerability, rationalization, lack of introspection, stereotyping, pressure, illusion of unanimity, self-deception, insularity.
    • Historical examples: Iraq invasion post-9/11; organizational failures.
  • b) Group Polarization
    • Post-discussion positions become more extreme/risk-seeking.
    • Less pronounced in well-established or cooperative groups.
  • c) Social Facilitation – presence of others ↑ performance on easy/well-practiced tasks.
  • d) Social Impairment – presence of others ↓ performance on difficult/unmastered tasks.
    • Social Loafing: reduced effort when contributions are pooled; linked to diffused responsibility & culture.
  • e) Deindividuation – anonymity in crowds ↓ self-awareness & responsibility; e.g., Stanford Prison Experiment.

Compliance (Persuasion without Authority)

  • Definition: behavior change upon request.
  • Foot-in-the-door: small request → larger request (consistency norm).
  • Door-in-the-face: large request refused → smaller request accepted (reciprocal concessions).
  • Low-ball: gain commitment at low cost, then raise cost (hidden fees, taxes).
  • Consumer psychology studies marketplace compliance.
  • Cult recruitment parallels compliance: love-bombing, isolation, foot-in-door commitments.

Obedience (Authority-Driven)

  • Differentiated from compliance: direct command by authority.
  • Milgram (1963)
    • “Teachers” administered shocks up to 450\,\text{V}.
    • 100 % reached 300\,\text{V}; 65 % reached maximum.
    • Replications confirm robustness; sparked ethics debate.

Part 2 – Social Cognition

Attitudes

  • Definition: learned tendency to evaluate with favor or disfavor.
  • Components:
    • Affective: feelings (e.g., “I hate public speaking”).
    • Behavioral: actions tendencies (avoid speeches).
    • Cognitive: beliefs/thoughts (“I’m bad at it”).
  • Formation paths: direct contact, direct instruction, interaction with attitudinal peers, vicarious conditioning.
  • Predictive power: weak unless attitude is specific, strong, or convenient to act upon.

Persuasion & Attitude Change

  • Key variables: Source, Message, Target Audience, Medium.
  • Elaboration Likelihood Model (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986)
    • Central Route – high elaboration; logic & evidence; attitudes stable & predictive.
    • Peripheral Route – low elaboration; cues such as attractiveness, length; attitudes weaker.

Cognitive Dissonance (Festinger)

  • Discomfort when behavior ≠ attitude.
  • Reduction strategies:
    1. Change behavior.
    2. Change cognition.
    3. Add new cognition to justify.

Impression Formation & Social Categorization

  • Stereotypes guide first impressions; primacy effect dominates.
  • Implicit personality theory: assumptions about traits cluster together.

Attribution Theory (Heider)

  • Situational causes – external circumstances (traffic, other people).
  • Dispositional causes – internal traits (personality, character).
  • Fundamental Attribution Error – over-attribute others’ behavior to disposition.
  • Actor-Observer Bias – attribute own behavior to situation.
  • Moderators: culture, age, motives.

Part 3 – Social Interaction

Prejudice & Discrimination

  • Prejudice: negative attitude toward group.
  • Discrimination: unequal treatment stemming from prejudice.
  • Categories: ageism, sexism, racism, weight bias, etc.
  • In-groups (“us”) vs Out-groups (“them”); in-group bias boosts self-esteem.
  • Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner)
    1. Categorization → 2. Identification → 3. Comparison → 4. Self-esteem rise.
  • Scapegoating: displacing frustration on powerless out-group.

Origins of Prejudice

  • Social Cognitive Theory: learned via instruction, modeling.
  • Realistic Conflict Theory: competition for scarce resources escalates prejudice.
  • Stereotype Vulnerability: awareness of stereotype affects behavior.
    • Self-fulfilling prophecy & Stereotype Threat (performance anxiety).

Reducing Prejudice

  • Education & Intergroup Contact.
  • Equal-status contact (Robbers Cave study).
  • Jigsaw Classroom – cooperative learning with interdependence.

Interpersonal Attraction

  • Factors: physical attractiveness, proximity, similarity, complementary qualities, reciprocity of liking.

Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love

  • Components: Intimacy, Passion, Commitment.
  • Eight possible love types:
    1. Non-love (none)
    2. Liking (intimacy)
    3. Infatuation (passion)
    4. Empty love (commitment)
    5. Romantic love (intimacy + passion)
    6. Companionate love (intimacy + commitment)
    7. Fatuous love (passion + commitment)
    8. Consummate love (all three) – ideal but fluctuating.
  • Dynamic interplay: components can foster one another; relationships shift across types over time.

Aggression

  • Intentional harm (verbal/physical).
  • Roots:
    • Biological: genetics, amygdala activation, hormones (testosterone), substances (alcohol).
    • Learned influences: social learning, social roles (Stanford Prison), identification (SIT), media violence.

Prosocial & Altruistic Behavior

  • Prosocial behavior: actions benefiting others.
  • Altruism: helping with no expectation of reward, sometimes with personal risk.
  • Bystander Effect (Latané & Darley)
    • Presence of others → help less likely (Diffusion of Responsibility).
    • 5-Step Decision Model: Notice → Interpret → Assume Responsibility → Plan → Act; each step influenced by situational & personal factors.
  • Helper variables: mood, victim attributes (gender, attractiveness), perceived “just rewards,” cultural/ethnic similarity.

Everyday Examples of Conformity & Group Identity

  • Wearing business attire in corporate office.
  • Standing on right side of escalator; queueing behaviors.
  • Chanting team slogans at sporting events.
  • Social media “likes” influencing post content.
  • Community volunteer days reinforcing local identity.