Social Problems

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Social Problems
A. Social Dilemmas B. Social Traps 1. Why
people dont see traps 2. Why people seek
immediate gratification C. Solutions to Social
Dilemmas Traps
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Social Dilemma

• Defined A situation in which the behavior that
  is in the best interest of the individual is
  disastrous for the group if everyone behaves
  similarly.
• Example Prisoners Dilemma

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Your options
Your outcome
Dont Squeal
Small Fine
Small Fine
Dont Squeal
Prisoner Bs Options
Bs outcome
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Your options
Dont Squeal
Prisoner Bs Options
Go Free
5 yrs
Squeal
Bs outcome
Your outcome
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Your options
Bs outcome
Squeal
Your outcome
5 yrs
Go free
Dont Squeal
Prisoner Bs Options
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Your options
Squeal
Your outcome
Prisoner Bs Options
2 yrs
2 yrs
Squeal
Bs outcome
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Social Dilemma

• Types of Social Dilemmas
• Commons Dilemma

The Commons
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Social Dilemma

• Types of Social Dilemmas
• Commons Dilemma

The Commons
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Social Dilemma

• Driving to work

If only you drive to work, there is no traffic
congestion and you arrive to work quickly.
But, if everyone drives to work, there is much
congestion and it takes longer to get to work.
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Social Dilemma

• Types of Social Dilemmas
• Commons Dilemma
• Maintaining a finite but replenishing resource

• Public Good Dilemma
• Maintaining a publicly used entity

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Social Dilemma

• Types of Social Dilemmas
• Commons Dilemma
• Public Good Dilemma

• Social Loafing

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Social Dilemma

• Problems Common to Social Dilemmas
• Free Riding
• Withholding effort because you perceive your
  efforts as dispensable.
• Sucker Effect
• Withholding effort because you dont want to be
  exploited by the free riding of others.

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Social Traps

• Defined A situation in which the behavior that
  is most rewarding in the short-run has long-term
  negative consequences.

Example Saving for retirement.
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Social Traps

• Example Paying for street repairs.

Pay 5,000,000 in 2005 vs.
20,000,000 in 2010
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Social Traps

• Why dont people see the traps?
• Differences between short-term and long-term
  consequences

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Social Traps

• Why dont people see the traps?
• Short term costs and benefits loom large

• Ignorance of long-term consequences

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Social Traps

• Why dont people see the traps?
• Differences between short-term and long-term
  consequences
• Ignorance of long-term consequences

• Sliding Reinforcers
• A stimulus that brings rewards in small
  doses, but which change to punishment when used
  in large doses.

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Examples of Sliding Reinforcers

• Owning an SUV

If only you own an SUV, then the effect of extra
pollution on the environment is negligible.
But, if many people own SUVs, then the
environ-mental damage is huge.
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Social Traps

• Why do people seek immediate gratification over
  long-term benefits?

• Personality
• Egoistic (self-centered) vs. Prosocial and
  cooperative.

• Egoistic People
• More likely to act in their self-interest.
• Seek immediate gratification.

• Prosocial People
• Focus on what benefits the group.
• Can delay gratification.

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Social Traps

• Why do people seek immediate gratification over
  long-term benefits?

• Situations
• Large immediate benefits (e.g., tax
  benefits for driving SUVs)

Perception that the resource will soon be
exhausted.
In business, opting for long-term benefits can
make you less competitive.
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Solutions

• 1. Moving the future to the present
• Debt Clocks

http//www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home
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Solutions
1. Moving the future to the present

• 2. Shifting the Focus from Us to We
• Provide/Appeal to a Superordinate Goal
• Ex Robbers Cave Study
• Two groups of boys had to work together to
  solve mutual problems.
• Appealing to a Superordinate Identity
• Ex Shift from French vs. German to Europeans
  vs. Americans

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Solutions

• 3. Activate Social Norms
• Descriptive Norms
• Doing what everyone else does

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Solutions

• 3. Activate Social Norms
• Descriptive Norms
• Doing what everyone else does

Litter Studies If the ground is covered with
litter, people are more likely to litter
themselves.
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Solutions

• 3. Activate Social Norms
• Descriptive Norms
• Doing what everyone else does

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Solutions

• 3. Activate Social Norms
• Descriptive Norms

• Injunctive Norms
• Doing what is right

WWJD
Religions, parents, teachers and the media
provide guidance on what is right.
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Solutions

• 3. Activate Social Norms
• Descriptive Norms

• Injunctive Norms
• Doing what is right

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Solutions

• 3. Activate Social Norms

• Pros
• Recognizes that people chafe under regulations
  and with others telling them what to do.
• Shifts the burden of a maintaining a public good
  (such as museums) to the people who value it most.

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Solutions

• 3. Activate Social Norms

• Cons
• Ignores that too many people will free-ride.
• Ignores that individuals and large corporations
  pay attention to self-interest.

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Solutions

• 4. Mandates Government interventions or laws
• Increase the cost of unwanted behaviors

• Denmark no oil and no automobile industry.
• The government makes driving prohibitively
  expensive.

Copenhagen, Denmark
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Solutions

• 4. Mandates Government interventions or laws
• Increase the cost of unwanted behaviors

• Garbage in Belgium the cost you pay depends on
  the type of garbage.
• Brown bags -- non-recycle
• Blue bags -- plastic, cans
• Green bags -- food waste

Brussels
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Solutions

• 4. Mandates Government interventions or laws
• Increase the cost of unwanted behaviors

• Other Examples
• Sin taxes (taxes on tobacco alcohol)
• In France, taxes on high energy consuming
  vehicles
• Fines for speeding, polluting, traveling
  illegally on the metro

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Solutions

• 4. Mandates Government interventions or laws
• Increase the cost of unwanted behaviors

• Support wanted behaviors and desired public goods

Government support of the arts.
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Solutions

• 4. Mandates Government interventions or laws
• Increase the cost of unwanted behaviors

• Support wanted behaviors and desired public goods

Tax rebates for purchasing energy efficient
appliances and fuel-efficient automobiles.
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Solutions
4. Mandates

• Pros
• Spreads the cost of maintaining public goods to
  everyone.
• Cons
• Unless punishment for defecting is quick and
  certain, people will defect.
• People may display reactance in response to being
  told what to do.

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Conclusions

• Social Dilemmas Social Traps are challenging
  because they appeal to self-interests.
• However, there are solutions!

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5 Lessons of Social Psychology

• 1. Beware the power of the situation.
• Examples of the power (and our failure to
  recognize it)
• Persuasion in advertising
• Obedience and conformity
• Bystander non-intervention
• Social facilitation, social loafing,
  deindividuation
• Self-fulfilling prophecies
• The fundamental attribution error

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5 Lessons of Social Psychology
1. Beware the power of the situation.

• 2. People view themselves favorably.
• Self-serving bias
• Better-than-average effect
• Ingroup favoritism

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5 Lessons of Social Psychology
1. Beware the power of the situation. 2. People
view themselves favorably.

• 3. Thought tends to be more rationalizing than
  rational.
• What People Rationalize
• Their own behavior Cognitive dissonance
• The status quo Just world beliefs
• Status advantages Social dominance orientation
• Their Expectations beliefs Confirmatory bias

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5 Lessons of Social Psychology
1. Beware the power of the situation. 2. People
view themselves favorably. 3. Thought tends to be
more rationalizing than rational.

• 4. People are self-serving.
• Ingroup favoritism inequitable distribution of
  resources
• Helping
• Social dilemmas and social traps

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5 Lessons of Social Psychology
1. Beware the power of the situation. 2. People
view themselves favorably. 3. Thought tends to be
more rationalizing than rational. 4. People are
self-serving.

• 5. Love is NOT a mysterious thing.
• Proximity
• Similarity
• Reciprocity
• Attractiveness