Chapter 16: Social Behavior

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Chapter 16 Social Behavior
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What is Social Psychology? Some Definitions

• Social Psychology Scientific study of how
  individuals behave, think, and feel in social
  situations how people act in the presence
  (actual or implied) of others
• Culture Ongoing pattern of life that is passed
  from one generation to another

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Affiliation

• Need to Affiliate Desire to associate with other
  people appears to be a basic human trait
• Social Comparison Making judgments about
  ourselves by comparing us to others e.g.,
  comparing our feelings and abilities to those of
  other people

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Interpersonal Attraction

• Social attraction to another person
• Physical Proximity Physical nearness to another
  person in terms of housing, school, work, and so
  on
• Physical Attractiveness Persons degree of
  physical beauty as defined by his or her culture
• Halo Effect Tendency to generalize a favorable
  impression to unrelated personal characteristics

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Similarity

• Similarity Extent to which two people are alike
  in terms of age, education, attitudes, and so on
• Similar people are attracted to each other
• Homogamy Tendency to marry someone who is like
  us in almost every way

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Figure 16.2
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Self-Disclosure

• Process of revealing private thoughts, attitudes,
  feelings, and ones personal history to others
• Should be used cautiously and sparingly when you
  are the therapist performing therapy
• May lead to countertransference in therapy (When
  the therapist makes an unhealthy connection to
  the client)

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More on Self-Disclosure

• Reciprocity Return in kind reciprocal exchange
• Overdisclosure Self-disclosure that exceeds what
  is appropriate for a relationship or social
  situation

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Love and Attachment

• Romantic Love Marked by high levels of
  interpersonal attraction, sexual desire, and
  heightened arousal
• Liking Relationship based on intimacy and
  affection but lacking passion or deep commitment
• Mutual Absorption When two lovers almost always
  attend only to each other
• Evolutionary Psychology Study of the
  evolutionary origins of human behavior patterns

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Social Roles

• Patterns of behavior expected of people in
  various social positions (e.g., daughter, mother,
  teacher, President)
• Ascribed Role Assigned to a person or not under
  personal control
• Achieved Role Attained voluntarily or by special
  effort teacher, mayor, President
• Role Conflict When two or more roles make
  conflicting demands on behavior and on people
•  

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Groups

• Group Structure Network of roles, communication,
  pathways, and power in a group
• Group Cohesiveness Degree of attraction among
  group members or their commitment to remaining in
  the group
• Cohesive groups work better together
• What kind of groups did you see on Survivor,
  Road Rules, and Real World?

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Group Concepts

• In-Group A group with which one identifies
• Out-Group A group with which one does not
  identify
• Status Level of social power and importance
• Norm Widely accepted but usually unspoken
  standard of conduct for appropriate behavior

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Figure 16.3
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Attribution

• Process of making inferences about the causes of
  ones own behavior, and that of others

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Social Perception

• Attribution Theory Making inferences about the
  causes of ones own behavior and others
  behavior can attribute behavior to
• External Causes Ones that lie outside of a
  person
• Internal Causes Ones that lie within a person

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More on Social Perception

• Fundamental Attribution Error Tendency to
  attribute behavior of others to internal causes
  (personality, likes, and so on) we believe this
  even if they really have external causes!
• Actor-Observer Bias Tendency to attribute
  behavior of others to internal causes, while
  attributing the behavior of ourselves to external
  causes (situations and circumstances)

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Social Influence

• Changes in a persons behavior induced by the
  presence or actions of another person
• Someone else influences your decision husband,
  wife, mother, peer, etc.
• Peer pressure Rudy is swayed by Fanny to go see
  Star Wars III Revenge of the Sith when he
  really wanted to see War of the Worlds.

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Conformity

• Bringing ones behavior into agreement with norms
  or the behavior of others in a group

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Solomon Aschs Experiment on Conformity

• You must select (from a group of three) the line
  that most closely matches the standard line all
  lines are shown to a group of seven people
  (including you)
• Other six were accomplices and at times all would
  select the wrong line
• In 33 of the trials, the real subject conformed
  to group pressure even when the groups answers
  were obviously incorrect!

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Figure 16.4
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Group Factors in Conformity

• Groupthink Compulsion by decision makers to
  maintain each others approval, even at the cost
  of critical thinking
• Group Sanctions Rewards and punishments
  administered by groups to enforce conformity
• Unanimity Unanimous agreement

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Obedience (Milgram)

• Conformity to the demands of an authority
• Would you shock a man with a known heart
  condition who is screaming and asking to be
  released?
• Milgram studied this the man with a heart
  condition was an accomplice and the teacher was
  a real volunteer the goal was to teach the
  learner word pairs

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Milgrams Shocking Results

• 65 obeyed by going all the way to 450 volts on
  the shock machine even though the learner
  eventually could not answer any more questions
• The learner screamed and provided no further
  answers once 300 volts (Severe Shock) was
  reached
• Group support can reduce destructive obedience

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More on Obedience

• Distance between the teacher and the learner was
  important
• Distance from the authority also had an effect

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Figure 16.6
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Figure 16.7
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Compliance

• Bending to the requests of one person who has
  little or no authority or other form of social
  power

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Foot-in-the-Door Effect

• A person who has agreed to a small request is
  more likely later to agree to a larger demand
• Once you get a foot in the door, then a sale is
  almost a sure thing

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Door-in-the-Face Technique

• A person who has refused a major request will be
  more likely later on to comply with a smaller
  request
• After the door has been slammed in your face
  (major request refused), person may be more
  likely to agree to a smaller request

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Low-Ball Technique

• Commitment is gained first to reasonable or
  desirable terms, which are then made less
  reasonable or desirable
• Henry accepts the price he states for a new car
  then later Tillie the saleswoman tells Henry,
  The business would lose too much money on that
  price cant you take a bit less and add all
  these options?
• Passive Compliance Overtly bending to
  unreasonable demands or circumstances

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Assertiveness Training

• Instruction in how to be self-assertive
• Self-Assertion Standing up for your rights by
  speaking out on your behalf direct, honest
  expression of feelings and desires

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Aggression

• Hurting another person or achieving ones goals
  at the expense of another person
• Attempt to get ones way no matter what
• No regard for others feelings

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Broken Record

• Self-assertion technique that involves repeating
  a request until it is acknowledged
• Good way to be assertive without being aggressive

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Table 16.2
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Attitudes and Beliefs

• Attitude Mixture of belief and emotion that
  predisposes a person to respond to other people,
  objects, or institutions in a positive or
  negative way
• Summarize your evaluation of objects

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Attitude Components

• Belief Component What a person believes about an
  object or issue
• Emotional Component Feelings toward the
  attitudinal object
• Action Component Ones actions toward various
  people, objects, or institutions

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Figure 16.8
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Figure 16.9
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Attitude Formation

• Direct Contact Effects of direct experience with
  the object of the attitude
• Interaction with Others Influence of discussions
  with people holding a particular attitude
• Child Rearing Effects of parental values,
  beliefs, and practices

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More on Attitude Formation

• Group Membership Social influences from
  belonging to certain groups
• Mass Media All media that reach large audiences
  (magazines, television)
• Mean Worldview Viewing the world and other
  people as dangerous and threatening

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Attitude Measurement and Change

• Reference Group Any group a person identifies
  with and uses as a standard for social comparison
• Persuasion Deliberate attempt to change
  attitudes or beliefs with information and
  arguments
• Communicator Person presenting arguments or
  information
• Message Content of communicators arguments
• Audience Person or group to whom a persuasive
  message is directed

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Cognitive Dissonance (Festinger)

• Contradicting or clashing thoughts, beliefs,
  attitudes, or perceptions that cause discomfort
• We need to have consistency in our thoughts,
  perceptions, and images of ourselves
• Underlies attempts to convince ourselves we did
  the right thing
• Justification Degree to which ones actions are
  explained by rewards or other circumstances
•  

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Brainwashing

• Brainwashing Engineered or forced attitude
  change requiring a captive audience
• Generally three steps to brainwash someone
• Unfreezing Loosening of former values and
  convictions
• Change When the brainwashed person abandons
  former beliefs
• Refreezing Rewarding and solidifying new
  attitudes and beliefs

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Cults

• Authoritarian group in which the leaders
  personality is more important than the beliefs
  s/he preaches
• Group professes great devotion to a person or
  people and follows that person/people almost
  without question

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More About Cults

• Cult members usually victimized by the leader(s)
• Will try to recruit potential converts at a time
  of need, especially when a sense of belonging is
  most attractive to potential converts

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Some Final Words About Cults

• Look for college students and young adults
• Some examples of cults Peoples Temple and Jim
  Jones, Heavens Gate, Branch Davidians, Osama bin
  laden and Al Qaeda
• Where does Scientology fit?

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Prejudice

• Negative emotional attitude held toward members
  of a specific social group
• Discrimination Unequal treatment of people who
  should have the same rights as others
• Scapegoating Blaming a person or group for the
  actions of others or for conditions not of their
  making
•  

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More on Prejudice

• Personal Prejudice When members of another
  racial or ethnic group are perceived as a threat
  to ones own interests
• Group Prejudice Occurs when a person conforms to
  group norms

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Prejudiced Personality and Intergroup Conflict

• Authoritarian Personality Marked by rigidity,
  inhibition, prejudice, and oversimplification
  (black and white thinking)
• Ethnocentrism Placing ones group at the center,
  usually by rejecting all other groups
• Social Stereotypes Oversimplified images of
  people who belong to a particular social group

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Other Concepts Relating to Prejudice

• Symbolic Prejudice Prejudice thats expressed in
  disguised fashion
• Equal-status Contact Social interaction that
  occurs on equal level, without obvious
  differences in power or status
• Superordinate Goal Goal that exceeds or
  overrides all other goals, making other goals
  less important
• Mutual Interdependence When two or more people
  must depend on each other to meet each persons
  goals or needs

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Some More Concepts Relating to Prejudice

• Jigsaw Classroom Each student only gets a piece
  of information needed to complete a problem or
  prepare for a test in order to succeed and get
  all pieces, students must all work together
• Summary Prejudicial stereotypes tend to be very
  irrational

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Aggression

• Any action carried out with the intention of
  harming another person

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Ethologist

• Studies natural behavior patterns of animals
• Ethologists believe that aggression is innate in
  all animals, including humans
• Appears to be a relationship between aggression
  and hypoglycemia, allergy, and certain brain
  injuries and disorders
• Certain brain areas can trigger or end aggressive
  behavior

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Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis

• Frustration tends to lead to aggression
• Aggression Cues Signals that are associated with
  aggression

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Figure 16.11
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Figure 16.12
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Social Learning Theory (Bandura) and Television

• Social Learning Theory Combines learning
  principles with cognitive processes,
  socialization and modeling to explain behavior
• No instinctive (innate) desires for shooting
  guns, knife fights, and so on
• Aggression must be learned
• Weapons Effect Observation that weapons serve as
  strong cues for aggressive behavior

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Social Learning Theory (cont.)

• Disinhibition Removal of inhibition results in
  acting-out behavior that normally would be
  restrained
• Television seems to be able to cause
  desensitization to violence
• Desensitization Reduced emotional sensitivity

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Prosocial Behavior and Bystander Apathy

• Prosocial Behavior Behavior toward others that
  is helpful, constructive, or altruistic
• Bystander Apathy Unwillingness of bystanders to
  offer help during emergencies
• Related to number of people present
• More potential helpers present, lower the chances
  that help will be given

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Decision Points Reached Before Giving Help

• Noticing the person in trouble
• Defining an Emergency Until someone declares the
  situation an emergency, no one acts
• Taking Responsibility Assume responsibility to
  help
• Diffusion of Responsibility Spreading
  responsibility to act among several people

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Figure 16.14
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Empathy Concepts

• Empathic Arousal Emotional arousal that occurs
  when you feel some of the persons pain, fear, or
  anguish
• Empathy-Helping Relationship We are most likely
  to help person in need when we feel emotions such
  as empathy and compassion

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Multiculturalism

• Gives equal status to different ethnic, racial
  and cultural groups
• To break stereotypes
• Seek individuating information
• Information that helps us see a person as an
  individual and not as a member of a group
• Dont believe just-world beliefs
• Belief that people generally get what they
  deserve
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More Ways to Break Stereotypes

• Note self-fulfilling prophecies
• Expectation that prompts people to act in ways
  that make expectation come true
• Different does not mean inferior
• Social Competition Rivalry among groups, each of
  which regard itself as superior to others

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Some More Ways to Break Stereotypes

• Race is a Social Construction Race is an
  illusion based on superficial physical
  differences and learned ethnic identities
• Look for commonalities
• Set an example for others