MotivationSocial Psychology

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MotivationSocial Psychology

• April 23, 2008

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Understanding and Belonging

• We can examine the desire to understand
• by looking at motivation
• Why we try to understand, what functions it
  serves
  
• We can also examine how we go about understanding
  
  
• how we come to particular conclusions
• Another organizing theme that can be useful for
  understanding social psychological phenomena
  
• The Motivation to Belong

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Attributions Understanding the Behavior of Others

• Kelleys (1965) Attribution Theory
• Person Dimension Consensus
• Situation Dimension Consistency
• Entity (Stimulus) Dimension Distinctiveness
• Fundamental Attribution Error
• A tendency to prefer person attributions over
  situational explanations
  
• An error compared to what attribution theory
  predicts
  
• Not always found in all cultures

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Estimate the Dots

• Write down the number of dots that you see on the
  next slide

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(No Transcript)
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Two Kinds of PeopleHigh and Low Estimators

• High estimators 100 or more
• Low estimators below 100

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Social Identity and Ingroup Favoritism Minimal
Group Identity

• High Estimators 100 or more
• Low Estimators below 100
• High estimators, given only another persons
  estimator status, like High Estimators more than
  Low Estimators
  
• Give more rewards to ingroup than to outgroup
  members (Ingroup Favoritism)
  
• Such effects get stronger
• as group identification increases
• and when self-esteem is threatened

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Underestimating Outgroup Variability Linville
Jones (1980)

• Outgroup Homogeneity Effect
• The tendency to assume that members of outgroups
  are more similar to one another than are members
  of the ingroup

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Outgroup Homogeneity, Self-Serving Bias, and the
Fundamental Attribution Error

• Outgroup Homogeneity Effect
• We are unique individuals, each responding
  differently and appropriately to changing
  situations
  
• We tend to treat the ingroup as we treat
  ourselves
  
• Ingroups are an important source of self
  identity
  
• They are all the same they do what they do
  because that is the way they are
  
• The Fundamental Attribution Error, strong version

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Social Categorization

• Social Categorization (perception and action
  based on group membership)
  
• Advantages
• Fast and efficient
• Organizes large amounts of information
  (understanding)
  
• Gives us a sense of predictability (and control)
• Disadvantages
• Overestimation of differences between categories
  
  
• Underestimation of differences within categories

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Ways of Thinking

• Levels of Awareness Dual Processes
• Controlled vs. automatic
• Explicit vs. implicit
• Conscious vs. non-conscious
• Degree of Effort
• Top down vs. bottom up
• Coneptually driven, data driven
• Central vs. peripheral
• Attitude change two routes to persuasion

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Stereotypes

• Ascribing similar characteristics to all members
  of a category is natural and easy (automatic,
  top-down)
  
• Stereotypes refer to the things we think are
  characteristic of members of a social category
  
• Stereotypes can be positive or negative

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THE IMPLICIT ASSOCIATION TEST
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IATs Available On Websitehttps//implicit.harvar
d.edu/implicit/demo/

• Age ('Young - Old' IAT)
• Gender - Science
• Race ('Black - White' IAT)
• Presidents ('Presidential Popularity' IAT)
• Sexuality ('Gay - Straight' IAT)
• Gender - Career
• Arab-Muslim ('Arab Muslim - Other People' IAT)
• Weight ('Fat - Thin' IAT)
• Religion ('Judaism - Other Religions' IAT)
• Disability ('Disabled - Abled' IAT)
• Native American ('Native - White American' IAT)
• Asian American ('Asian - European American' IAT)
  
  
• Weapons ('Weapons - Harmless Objects' IAT)
• Skin-tone ('Light Skin - Dark Skin' IAT)

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Stereotypes

• Ascribing similar characteristics to all members
  of a category is natural and easy
  
• Stereotypes refer to the things we think are
  characteristic of members of a social category
  
• Stereotypes can be positive or negative

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Stereotypes

• One way we can form impressions of another person
  is by using our applicable stereotypes
  
• we notice a person is female, ascribe to that
  person the characteristics contained in our
  stereotype of females
  
• Category-based judgments (top down automatic
  peripheral)
  
• Fast, easy, efficient, and probably not very
  accurate in many cases

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Stereotypes

• Alternatively, we can pay close attention to
  information coming from the individual
  
• we notice a person is female, but pay attention
  to and use only the actual characteristics of
  this person
  
• Person-based judgments (bottom up controlled
  systematic, central)
  
• Relatively effortful, time consuming, but has
  more potential to be accurate

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Forming ImpressionsTwo Routes

• Category-based
• Rely on information contained in stereotypes
• IAT
• Person-based
• Rely on information from and about the
  individual
  
• Using controlled and effortful processing is one
  way to counteract unwanted automatic tendencies