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Rathus_PSYCH_7e_PPT_CH14

Chapter 14: Social Psychology

Icebreaker: Discussion Prompt

  • Is it possible to change someone’s attitude or behavior if that attitude or behavior is based on a firmly held belief? Discuss the reasons for your viewpoint.

Chapter Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

  • Define attitude and discuss factors that shape attitudes.

  • Discuss prejudice and discrimination.

  • Discuss factors contributing to interpersonal attraction and love.

  • Define social perception and describe influencing factors.

  • Explain why people obey authority figures and conform to social pressure.

  • Discuss factors contributing to aggression.

  • Describe differences in behavior as individuals versus as group members.

Section 14-1: Attitudes

Understanding Attitudes

  • Social Psychology: The study of behavior and mental processes in social settings.

  • Attitudes: Enduring behavioral and cognitive tendencies expressed by evaluating people, places, or things with favor or disfavor.

    • Formed mostly through learning, with some innate predispositions.

Predicting Behavior from Attitudes

  • Cognitive Anchors: We evaluate new ideas based on existing attitudes.

  • The A-B Problem: Weak to moderate link between attitudes (A) and behaviors (B).

  • Factors influencing prediction of behavior from attitudes:

    • Specificity of attitude

    • Strength of attitude

    • Vested interest

    • Accessibility of the attitude.

Changing Attitudes Through Persuasion

Modes of Persuasion

  • Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM): Describes how people respond to persuasive messages through two routes:

    • Central Route: Engages thoughtful consideration of evidence and arguments.

    • Peripheral Route: Associates objects with positive or negative cues.

Key Aspects of Persuasion

  • Familiarity breeds content: Familiar items are generally more persuasive.

  • Fear Appeals: More persuasive than presenting facts alone.

  • Persuasive Communicators: Characteristics include expertise, trustworthiness, attractiveness, and similarity to the audience.

  • Selective Attention: Attention can be diverted from inconsistent information.

Contextual Influences

  • Agreement and praise enhance persuasion.

  • Individuals high in self-esteem and low in social anxiety resist social pressures more effectively.

Cognitive Dissonance in Attitude Change

Cognitive-Dissonance Theory

  • Motivates individuals to reduce inconsistency between attitudes and behavior.

    • Attitude-Discrepant Behavior: Behavior inconsistent with an attitude can modify that attitude.

    • Effort Justification: Individuals seek justification for strenuous efforts made.

Section 14-2: Prejudice and Discrimination

Understanding Prejudice

  • Prejudice: Negative attitudes towards a group that influence judgments of its members.

    • Cognitive level: Expectations of negative behavior.

    • Emotional level: Involves negative feelings.

  • Leads to behavior that causes discrimination and aggression.

Stereotyping

  • Misguided assumptions about group traits can be both negative or positive.

    • Example: Attractive individuals are treated more favorably.

Sources and Combating Prejudice

  • Sources of Prejudice: Dissimilarity, social conflict, social learning, information processing, and social categorization.

  • Combating Prejudice:

    • Encourage intergroup contact and cooperation.

    • Combat discriminatory behavior.

    • Promote discussion and introspection on personal beliefs.

Section 14-3: Attraction and Love

Factors of Attraction

  • Physical appearance, similarity, and reciprocity drive attraction.

  • Standards of beauty have cross-cultural consistency.

Gender Differences in Partner Selection

  • Females value professional status, kindness, and dependability.

  • Males emphasize physical appearance, thrift, and cooking ability.

The Attraction-Similarity Hypothesis

  • People prefer partners who share similar traits, including attractiveness and background.

  • Propinquity: We tend to live near similar others.

  • Reciprocity: Interaction dynamics are influenced by perceived mutual interest.

Sternberg’s Triangular Model of Love

  • Defined by three components: intimacy, passion, and commitment.

  • Consummate Love: Ideal interaction of all three components.

Section 14-4: Social Perception

Understanding Social Perception

  • Examines impression formation and modification.

  • Influenced by:

    • Primacy Effect: First impressions are crucial.

    • Recency Effect: Most recent experiences significantly affect evaluations.

    • Attribution: Assessing behavior’s context and reasons.

Attribution Theory

  • Differentiates between dispositional (internal) and situational (external) attributions.

  • Fundamental Attribution Error: Tendency to attribute behavior to personality traits rather than situational contexts.

  • Self-Serving Bias: Attribute personal successes to internal factors and failures to external causes.

Section 14-5: Social Influence

Forms of Social Influence

  • Examines how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of others are altered.

    • Can lead to either conformity or deviant behavior.

Obedience to Authority

  • Milgram Studies: Majority of participants complied with harmful commands from authority figures.

    • Insights into socialization, perception of authority, and the mechanisms of conformity.

Conformity Factors

  • Influenced by cultural background, self-esteem, group size, and situational context.

Section 14-6: Aggression

Understanding Aggression

  • Influences include genetic factors, brain chemistry, societal norms, and psychological perspectives.

    • Different theories (Freud’s instinctive view, cognitive perspectives, etc.) explain aggression variably.

Section 14-7: Group Behavior

Social Facilitation and Its Effects

  • Performance can be enhanced or impaired in groups due to social presence.

Group Decision-Making Dynamics

  • Various schemes (majority-wins, truth-wins, etc.) govern how groups make decisions.

  • Groupthink: Dangerous consensus seeking in cohesive groups leading to poor decisions.

Altruism and Bystander Effect

  • Altruism: Selfless concern for others.

  • Bystander Effect: Hesitation to help in emergencies due to the assumption that others will intervene.

Summary

  • Social perception involves impression management influenced by primacy and recency effects, attribution biases, and group dynamics.

  • Understanding factors behind conformity and aggression can guide personal and societal behaviors.