Ch 12 Social Psychology Day 3

Chapter Overview

• Title: Discovering Psychology, 10th Edition

• Authors: Sandra E. Hockenbury, Susan Nolan

• Focus: Social Psychology

Content Structure

• What Is Social Psychology?: Introduction to the field.

• Person Perception: How we form impressions of others.

• Attribution: Mechanisms of explaining behavior.

• The Social Psychology of Attitudes: Examination of attitudes and their impacts.

• Understanding Prejudice: Insights into prejudicial behaviors.

• Conformity: Social influence and its dynamics.

• Obedience: Following orders from authority figures.

• Altruism and Aggression: Dynamics of helpful and harmful behaviors.

• Influence of Groups: How groups affect individual behavior.

Milgram's Studies on Obedience

• Definition of Obedience: Behavior in response to authority orders.

• Milgram's Controversial Studies: Investigated if individuals can be coerced into immoral actions.

  • Example: Teachers commanded to administer shocks to learners for wrong answers.

  • Voltage levels reached up to 450 volts.

Results and Observations from Milgram's Experiment

• Pre-Study Predictions: Experts believed few would reach maximum shock levels.

• Actual Findings:

  • 2/3 (26 out of 40) participants administered the maximum shock.

  • No participant refused before reaching 300 volts.

  • Study has been replicated across various cultures.

• Ethical Concerns:

  • Participants experienced significant stress.

  • Delayed debriefing caused distress for many.

  • Methodological issues with adherence to protocol.

Influencing Factors on Obedience

• Situational Dynamics: Context shapes obedience levels.

• Mental Frameworks: Pre-established obedience mindset leads to compliance.

• Incremental Task Escalation: Gradual increase in task severity builds compliance.

• Experimenter Influence: Authority figure's behavior can enhance compliance.

• Separation from Learner: Physical and psychological distance reduces empathy.

Conditions Reducing Obedience

• Influence of Peer Actions: Witnessing others disobey increases personal defiance.

• Personal Authority: Allowing teachers to set their own shock levels resulted in 95% choosing not to exceed 150 volts.

Real-World Implications

• Effects of Obedience and Prejudice: Historical context of obedience seen in atrocities, such as during WWII.

• Moral Responsibility: Importance of individual capacity to resist unethical commands.

Resisting Unacceptable Orders

• Self-Assessment: Gauge personal comfort with commands.

• Express Discomfort: Articulate unease about actions to avoid further escalation.

• Take Initiative: Validate discomfort and seek allies in dissent.

• Challenge Authority: Question the legitimacy of commands.

• Group Dynamics: Leverage collective dissent when in group scenarios.

Altruism and Aggression

• Definitions:

  • Prosocial Behavior: Any action that benefits another; can be motivated by self-interest or genuine concern.

  • Altruism: An act of helping without expectation of reward.

  • Aggression: Intentional harm against others, requiring belief in its harmful nature.

Factors Influencing Helping Behavior

• Positive Influences:

  • Empathetic disposition.

  • Feel-good factor when happy or fortunate.

  • Guilt can prompt altruistic actions.

  • Role models: witnessing others help increases likelihood of helping.

  • Prior relationship with those in need.

  • Emergency situations compel assistance.

Bystander Effect and Its Dynamics

• Definition: Greater number of bystanders correlates with lower likelihood of individual assistance.

• Reasons:

  • Diffusion of Responsibility: Individuals believe others will take action.

  • Social Influence: People follow the actions (or inactions) of those around them.

Biological and Psychological Influences on Aggression

• Biological Theories: Genetic and biochemical factors influence aggressive behavior.

• Psychological Factors: Observational learning leads to mimicry of aggression (e.g., Bobo Doll Study).

• Situational Factors: External triggers such as heat or stress that can escalate aggression.

Gender and Culture Effects on Aggression

• Gender Differences: Males tend to engage in more direct, physical aggression; females in indirect aggression.

• Cultural Influences: Social norms and expectations surrounding masculinity can affect aggressive behaviors; honor cultures lead to higher aggression rates.

Group Behavior Influences

• Social Loafing: Tendency to exert less effort in a group setting.

  • Mitigating factors include personal relationships and task significance.

• Social Facilitation: Presence of others can optimize or hinder performance based on task familiarity.

• Deindividuation: Loss of self-awareness in groups can lead to behavior that individuals would typically avoid.

Persuasion Techniques in Compliance

• Reciprocity Principle: The return of favors as a persuasion technique.

• Door-in-the-Face Technique: Using a large request followed by a smaller one to gain compliance.

• Foot-in-the-Door Technique: Securing agreement on a small request to eventually promote compliance on a larger request.

• That’s-Not-All Technique: Adding benefits to increase persuasive power of an offer.

Exam Preparation Notes

• Exam Date: Second exam focused on topics such as:

  • Psychoanalytic theory (excluding developmental stages)

  • Trait perspective models

  • Conformity and social influence

  • Prosocial behavior

  • Group behavior influence

• Review Session: Scheduled before the exam to clarify concepts and strategies.