Social Psychology

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Social Psychology
Attitude
Attraction
Group Behavior
Aggression

• The study of how we think about, influence, and
  relate to one another

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What do you think?

• A very good friend gets angry with you. How do
  you explain his/her behavior?
• The same friend does something nice for you. How
  do you explain his/her behavior?
• Someone you have recently gotten to know walks by
  you in the hall but doesnt say hello (even as
  you try to say hi to them) what would you think?
  Why?
• That good friend (above) walks by you in the hall
  but doesnt say hello (even as you try to say hi
  to him/her). What do you think? Why?

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Attribution Theory

• The theory that we explain someones behavior
  crediting either the situation or the persons
  disposition
• It is either a.
• Situational Attribution
• Dispositional Attribution

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Fundamental Attribution Error

• We tend to overestimate the role of dispositional
  factors underestimate the impact of the
  situation
• Individualistic (disposition) vs. Collectivistic
  Cultures (situation)
• Remember Our attributions have consequences-make
  them carefully

How do you view your teachers behavior? You
probably attribute it to their personality rather
than their profession. But do you really know?
Self-Serving Bias If you win it is because you
are awesomeif you lose, it must have been the
coach or weather or.
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FAE in Everyday Life

• We struggle to explain others actions
• Happily married couples attributes a sassy remark
  to situation (He had a bad day at work)
• Unhappily married couples attribute that remark
  to mean disposition (Why did I marry such a mean
  husband?)

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Attitudes

• Attitude feelings that predispose us to respond
  in certain ways to people, events, objects
• Persuasion when your attitude or opinion toward
  something changes
• Central Route Persuasion attitude change path
  where interested people focus on the arguments
  respond w/ favorable thoughts
• The issues are at the heart (center)
• Peripheral Route Persuasion attitude change path
  where people are influenced by cues
• Ex endorsers attractiveness
• Advertising is ALL based on attitude formation

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Attitude and Behavior

• Do attitudes tell us about someones behavior?
• Cognitive Dissonance Theory
• People want to have consistent thoughts.when
  they are not they experience dissonance
  (unpleasant tension)
• When we are aware of this, we act to reduce the
  discomfort
• Usually they will change their attitude
• We dont want to be hypocrites, do we?

The teacher was really bad so in that class it is
OK.
You have a belief that cheating on tests is bad.
But you cheat on a test!!!
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Cognitive Dissonance Example

• Elizabeth thinks that financial security is
  important but is dating a guy who is financially
  irresponsible.
• -to relieve the tension, she can either leave
  the relationship or reduce the importance of
  financial security
• Create 2 of your own examples

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Compliance Strategies

• Foot-in-the-door phenomenon people who have
  agreed to a small request are more likely to
  agree to a larger one
• Start small build
• Behaviors escalate
• What are some examples?
• Door-in-the-face phenomenon excessive request
  followed by a more reasonable one
• What are some examples?

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Conformity

• Adjusting ones behavior or thinking to coincide
  with a group standard
• Behavior is contagious!

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Aschs Conformity Results

• About 1/3 of the participants conformed
• 70 conformed at least once
• To strengthen conformity
• The group is unanimous (the dissent of just one
  other person greatly increases social courage)
• The group is at least three people
• One admires the groups status/attractiveness
• You are made to feel incompetent
• Others in the group observe your behavior

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Reasons for Conforming

• Normative Social Influence
• Influence resulting from a persons desire to
  gain approval or avoid disapproval
• We want to avoid rejection so we conform to
  social norms
• Ex you really love country music but pretend to
  hate it when your lunch group is bashing it

• Informational Social Influence
• When we dont know how to behave, we copy others
• when we look to others for information about
  reality
• Ex you watch others to find out what fork to use
  at a fancy restaurant

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Milgrams Study
Of Obedience
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Results of the Milgram Study
Ordinary people can do shocking things!
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How groups affect our behavior?
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Social Facilitation Theory

• If you are really good at something.or it is an
  easy taskyou will perform BETTER in front of a
  group
• What yo do well, you are likely to do better in
  from of an audience
• What you find difficult may seem impossible when
  you are being watched
• If it is a difficult task or you are not very
  good at ityou will perform WORSE in front of a
  group (social impairment).

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Situation Tug-of-War

• You are in Animal House playing the Nacho Cheese
  Tug-of-War. Are you putting forth more or less
  effort than if you were playing by yourself?

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Social Loafing

• The tendency for people in a group to exert less
  effort when pooling efforts toward a common goal
  than if they were individually accountable.

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Questions?

1. Should teachers stop using group projects? Why or
   why not?
2. Does having group members evaluate each other
   minimize social loafing? Why or why not?
3. Does assigning roles help minimize social
   loafing? Why or why not?
4. How can group members motivate each other to work
   their hardest during group work?

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Deindividuation

• People get swept up in a group and lose sense of
  self
• Feel anonymous and aroused
• Explains rioting behaviors

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Deindividuation

1. What types of actions does the crowd engage in
   that are considered illegal?
2. Does alcohol use during sporting events increase
   the effects of deindividuation?
3. Does dressing up or painting ones face increase
   or decrease the likelihood of deindividuation?

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Group Polarization

• A phenomenon where the decisions and opinions of
  people in a group setting become more extreme
  than their actual, privately held beliefs
• Groups tend to make more extreme decisions than
  the individual.

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Groupthink

• Group members suppress their reservations about
  the ideas supported by the group
• They are more concerned with group harmony

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Stereotypes, Prejudice and Discrimination
Click here to find out about an interesting
experiment

• Prejudice
• unjustifiable (usually negative) attitude towards
  a group of people
• Involves stereotypes, negative feelings,
  discrimination
• Stereotype overgeneralized belief about a group
  of people
• Discrimination
• Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group
  and its members
• Ethnocentrism belief that your own
  culture/ethnic group is superior to others
• Judge others based on your own culture

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Roots of Prejudice

• Social inequalities the haves develop
  attitudes that justify things as they are
• We oversimplify other groups similarities (they
  all look and act alike)
• Other-race effect we can recall faces of our own
  race more accurately than faces of other races
• The more experience, the better we are at
  identifying
• Us vs. Them we need to belong to a group (blame
  our ancestors)
• Ingroup us people we share a common identity
  with
• Ingroup bias the tendency to favor our own group
• Outgroup them those seen as different from
  us
• We most intensely dislike outgroups rivals that
  are most like us

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How does prejudice occur?

• Just world Phenomenon people tend to believe
  that the world is just and people get what they
  deserve
• Good is rewarded and evil is punishedright?
• Scapegoat Theory prejudice offers an outlet for
  anger by providing someone to blame
• Ex Germany 1930s, post 9/11 Arab-Americans

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Combating Prejudice

• Superordinate Goals
• Contact between hostile groups will reduce
  animosity if they are made to work towards a
  superordinate goal
• Shared goal requiring cooperation of everyone
• Serif Robbers Cave study

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Aggression

• Aggression any verbal or physical behavior meant
  to hurt or destroy
• Biology experience influence
• Frustration-aggression principle when achieving
  a goal is blocked it creates anger which can
  create aggression
• When people think they are being prevented from
  achieving a goal, their frustration is likely to
  turn to aggression
• The closer you get to a goal, the greater the
  excitement and expectation of the pleasure. Thus
  the closer you are, the more frustrated you get
  by being held back.
• Ex crowd becomes aggressive when team is losing
• Your example?

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Attraction
5 Factors of Attraction
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Proximity

• Geographic nearness
• We are more likely to like/marry someone from the
  same neighborhood, work, school
• Mere exposure effect
• The more we see something the more we like it!
• Taiwanese Letterspoor guy

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Physical Attractiveness

• Physically attractiveness predicts dating
  frequency (they date more)
• They are perceived as healthier, happier, more
  honest and successful than less attractive
  counterparts
• Culture beauty

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Are these cultures really that different?
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Similarity

• Opposites do NOT attract
• Birds of the same feather do flock together
• Couples are likely to share common attitudes,
  beliefs, interests
• We also like people who like us

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Altruism

• Altruism unselfish regard for the welfare of
  others
• Bystander Effect
• The tendency for a bystander to be less likely to
  help if other bystanders are present
• Kitty Genovese story
• People are much more likely to help if they are
  the only one around/hear screams, etcmuch less
  likely if others are around/think other
  hearbecause
• Diffusion of Responsibility
• Social Exchange Theory behavior is an exchange
  process
• If benefits outweigh costs, we go for it
• If costs outweigh benefits, we terminate
• Ex any relationship!

• Reciprocity Norm
• People will help (not hurt) those that helped
  them
• Social Responsibility Norm
• Expectation that people help those who need it
• Ex people who help w/ natural disasters

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Which person would you want to have a long term
relationship with?
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Zimbardos Prison Study

• Showed how we deindividuate AND become the roles
  we are given.
• Philip Zimbardo has students at Stanford U play
  the roles of prisoner and prison guards in the
  basement of psychology building.
• They were given uniforms and numbers for each
  prisoner.
• What do you think happened?