Chapter 18: Social

Psychology
We cannot live for ourselves
alone. Our lives are connected by
a thousand invisible threads.

Social Psychology

the scientific study of how we think about,

influence , and relate to one another.

First Impressions

First impressions

We make quick assessments of others by

focusing on a subset of traits and
behaviours

Often less than a minute

Speed dating some research shows that after

three minutes of observation, people have
accurately predicted their compatibility with a
potential partner

We size up who people are and why they

behave the way they do

Social Thinking

Attributing Behavior to Persons (dispositional) or to

Situations (situational)
Attribution

Theory- the theory that we tend to

give a causal explanation for someones behavior,
often by crediting either the situation or the
persons disposition.
Attribution Theory Example: A car swerves
(negative behavior) in front of you while driving,
they are assumed to be either ill (situational
attribution) or a bad driver (dispositional
attribution); You then proceed with caution
(tolerant action) or speed past (unfavorable
reaction) with a dirty look.

Fundamental Attribution Error

the

tendency for observers, when analyzing

anothers behavior, to underestimate the impact of
the situation and to overestimate the impact of
personal disposition.
For

example: On the first day of school Mr. Morphett comes

into class late and frustrated. We underestimate the situation
by attributing his behavior to his personal disposition (who he
is); not realizing that traffic that morning was rough and that
his dog had chewed up the amazing first day t-shirt. His
behavior is due to situational attributions.

For

example: On the first

day of school Mrs. Chung
comes into class late and
frustrated. We
underestimate the
situation by attributing her
behavior to her personal
disposition (who she is);
not realizing that traffic
that morning was rough
and that her dog had
chewed up the amazing
first day t-shirt she was
going to wear (it would
have put Mr. Morphetts
shirts to shame!). Her
behavior is due to
situational attributions.

Social Thinking

Do our Attitudes Guide our Actions?

Attitude- a belief and feeling that predisposes one to

respond in a particular way to objects, people, and

events.
Attitude-action/action-attitude
One

spiral

feeds the other-this phenomenon can be

dangerous if escalated quickly in a bad situation.

Social Psychology
Foot-in-the-door-phenomenon-

the tendency
for those who have first agreed to a smaller
request to comply later with larger request.
Start small and build.

Foot-in-Door example:
sales person getting

you to try a sample

Note: evil acts shape the self.

But so do acts of good will.
Act as if you like someone and you soon will.
Commit to happy acts and you will be happier.

Social Thinking

Do our Actions Affect our Attitudes?

Cognitive Dissonance Theory- the theory that we act to

reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two
of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent.

For Example: when our awareness of our attitudes and

of our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting
dissonance by changing our attitudes.

Fake it until you make it AA saying

Social Thinking

Do our Attitudes Affect our Actions?

How our attitudes can be changed:

Peripheral Route Persuasion our attitudes can change

based on a snap judgment or incidental cues. e.g. we
dont like a certain type of cell phone but we see a
picture of a celebrity using that phone and we want
it.

Central Route Persuasion relies on evidence, logic

and reasoned arguments to change our minds e.g. we
start liking a cell phone because we read statistics
that indicate it offers better options and performance

Cognitive dissonanceif only I had

known!

Social Influence

Conformity and Obedience

Behavior

is contagious

Giggles,

coughs, yawns, laughter, and sickness

are all contagious

Conformity- adjusting ones behavior or thinking

to coincide with a group standard.

Social Influence

Conformity and Obedience

Normative Social Influence- influence resulting from a
persons desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval.
Informational Social Influence- influence resulting from
ones willingness to accept others opinions about
reality.
Conditions that strengthen obedience:
-one is made to feel insecure
-the group has at least three people
-one admires the groups status and attractiveness
-ones culture strongly encourages respect for social
standards

Social Influence

Conformity and Obedience

Obedience- Professor Stanley Milgram
Two people draw slips from one hat, one says teacher, the
other learner. The learner is led to an adjoining room and
strapped into a chair that is wired through the wall to an electric
shock machine. You are the teacher and are equipped with the
machine; on it are switches that have voltage ratings ranging from
mild to strong, to very strong. Your task is to teach and then test
the learner on a list of word pairs. You are to punish the learner
for every wrong answer by delivering a quick shock through the
machine, beginning with a switch labeled 15 volts-slight shock.
You begin, after each level you hear the learner grunt at the
shocks, but at the 8th level the learner shouts that the shocks are
painful. The experimenter urges you forward, each shock more
powerful than the last. You reach 330 Volts, they shriek in agony
when you shock them. The Experimenter orders you to continue
shouting at you when you pause to punish the learner for making a
mistake; the only switch left is the unbearably torturous 450-volt
switch
Ask yourself: How far would YOU go in this experiment?

Social Influence

Conformity and Obedience Milgram Expt.

Results: Out of men aged 20-50
-63% complied fully
-Women responded similarly
Obedience was highest when
-the person giving the orders was close at hand
and was perceived to be a legitimate
authority figure
-the authority figure was supported by a
prestigious institution

Why is the Milgram experiment important?

Demonstrated the impact that the

situation can have on our behaviour

Demonstrated the impact that social roles

can have on our behaviour

Highlighted the ethical issues for

conducting psychological experiments

Social Influence

Group Influence

Social Facilitation- improved performance of

tasks in the presence of others; occurs with
simple or well learned tasks, but not yet with
tasks which are difficult or not yet mastered.

Note: What you do well, you are likely to do

even better when in front of an audience,
especially a friendly audience; what you
normally find difficult may seem all but
impossible in front of an audience.

Social Influence

Group Influence
Social Loafing - the tendency for people in a group
to exert less effort when pooling their efforts
toward attaining a common goal than when
individually accountable.
Deindividuation - the loss of self-awareness and
self-restraint occurring in group situations that
foster arousal and anonymity.
-For example: tribal warriors who depersonalize
themselves with face paints or masks are more
likely than those with exposed faces to kill, torture,
or mutilate captured enemies.

Social
Psychology
Polarization the enhancement of a

Group

groups prevailing attitudes through

discussion within the group.
- For example: it can amplify a sought-after
spiritual awareness or strengthens the resolve
of those in a self-help group.

Womens March on versailles

Social Influence

Group Influence

Group think- the mode of thinking that occurs

when the desire for harmony in a decision-making
group overrides a realistic appraisal of
alternatives.

Social Relations

Prejudice- Prejudgment

Prejudice- an unjustifiable (and usually negative)

attitude toward a group and its members.
Prejudice generally involves stereotyped beliefs,
negative feelings, and a predisposition to
discriminatory action.

- For example: In socially intimate settings

(dancing, dating, marrying), many people admit
they would feel uncomfortable with someone of
another race

Social Psychology

Stereotype- a generalized (sometimes

somewhat accurate) belief about a group of
people.

- For example: A belief that all black people

exclaim loudly during church ceremonies:
AMEN! and HALLELUIAH!

Crash course!! Woot Woot!

Social Relations

Prejudice: FUN terms to know

-Ingroup Us-people with whom one shares a
common identity.
-Out group- Them-those perceived as different or
apart from ones ingroup.
-Ingroup bias- the tendency to favor ones own group
-Scapegoat Theory-the theory that prejudice offers
an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame
usually those in the out group

Robbers Cave Experiment

Boys

were randomly
separated into two groups

Rattlers

and Eagles

Competitions

fostered
hostility between the
groups
Experimenters contrived
situations requiring
cooperation for success
Cross-group friendships
increased

Social Psychology
Aggression
Just-World

Phenomenon- the

tendency of people to believe the

world is just and that people
therefore deserve what they get
and get what they deserve.
Frustration

Aggression

Principle- the principle that

In Canada and the United States

alone ,since 1978, some three
dozen deaths have been caused by
shaken machines falling down and
crushing frustrated people.

frustration-the blocking of an
attempt to achieve some goalcreates anger, which can
generate aggression.

Social Psychology
Social

Trap- a situation in which the conflicting

parties, by each rationally pursuing their self-interest,

become caught in mutually destructive behavior.
Example- Whalers whaling to extinction.
Mere

Exposure Effect- the phenomenon that

repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of

them.

Social Psychology

Romantic

Love

Passionate

Love- An aroused state of

intense positive absorption in another,
usually present at the beginning of a
love relationship.

Companionate

Love- The deep

affectionate attachment we feel for
those with whom our lives are
intertwined.

Social Psychology
Equity-

A condition in which people receive

from a relationship in proportion to what they
give it.

Self-Disclosure-

Revealing intimate details

about oneself to others.

Altruism-

Unselfish regard for the welfare of

others. Example: during the 9/11 attack while
people fled down, firefighters surged upwards
to save lives.

Social Psychology

Bystander Effect- The tendency for any given

bystander to be less likely to give aid if other
bystanders are present.

Social Exchange Theory- The theory that our

social behavior is an exchange process, the
aim of which is to maximize benefits and
minimize costs. Example: when thinking about
donating blood, You ponder the cost of doing
so (time, discomfort, and anxiety) against the
benefits (reduced guilt, social approval, good
feelings)

Dr Zimbardo again man hes

so awesome!

Social Psychology

Peacemaking- Cooperation, communication and

conciliation

Superordinate Goals- shared goals that override

differences among people and require their
cooperation.

GRIT- Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in

Tension-Reduction-a strategy designed to
decrease international tensions.