Module 43
Social Psychology:
Social Thinking
• How do we explain other peoples’ behavior?
• How do we form our beliefs and attitudes”
• What is the relationship between what we think
and how we behave?
Module 43, 44 and 45 1
Module 43 & 44a 2
Social Thinking – how we form impressions of
other people
Attributions Judgments about Why others act
like they do?
Module 43 & 44a 3
Is it them (dispositional) or the situation
(situational)?
• Consensus - did others act like this?
• Consistency- does he/she do this all the time?
• Distinctiveness - in all situations?
Module 43 & 44a 4
Heuristics (short cuts)
Fundamental Attribution Error.
Other people - due to dispositional factors.
• more common in western than East Asian
cultures.
• Less with people we know well.
• More when the behavior is bad.
Module 43 & 44a 5
Self-serving Bias
When judging our own actions. . . .
Own Successes have internal causes.
Own failures have external causes.
Module 43 & 44a 6
Changing the
perspective of video
presentation can
change peoples
attributions. Situational
Attributions were more likely when seen
from the actor’s perspective.
Module 43 & 44a 7
Looking back on our past selves, we are
more likely to attribute past behaviors to
dispositional factors (traits).
Political perspective also effect attributions!
Conservative vs. Liberal Point of View.
Module 43 & 44a 8
Blaming the Victim
When bad things happen to other people we tend
to see it as their own fault.
Just World Hypothesis
The world is a just (fair) place.
If something bad happens to someone, they
must deserve it.
- I’m a good person, so it can’t happen to me.
Module 43 & 44a 9
Attitudes and Actions
Attitudes – feelings and beliefs that
predispose our reactions (behaviors)
BehaviorsAttitudes
Module 43 & 44a 10
Changing Attitudes Can Change
Behaviors
Peripheral Route Persuasion - gut level
- appeal to feelings rather than reason.
Central Route Persuasion – logic driven
Appeals to reason and evidence
c14(1) 11
Changing Behaviors Can Change Attitudes
Cognitive Dissonance - people feel uncomfortable
when their behavior and attitudes are not consistent
- change behavior and attitudes may follow.
- people change their attitudes when they can’t
find a reason to justify their behavior.
- I did this, so I must feel that way.
c14(1) 12
Cognitive Dissonance
Lowball Sales Techniques
Module 43 & 44a 13
Changing Behaviors Can Change
Attitudes
Foot-in-the-door Phenomenon - you ask
for a small request first, and people are
more likely to agree to a bigger one
afterwards.
Module 43 & 44a 14
Role Playing Can Change Attitudes
Zimbardo Prison Experiment.
- Normal, healthy college students
- randomly assigned to be guards or prisoners
in a role playing exercise.
Soon became them against us.
Module 44
Social Influence
• Conformity
• Obedience
• Group Behaviors
Module 43 & 44a 15
Conformity: Behavior is ContagiousElevator
Chameleon effect – allows us to blend in with
others.
How to start a movement!
Module 43 & 44a 16
Module 43 & 44a 17
Asch Study
- Line Judgment Task
Module 43 & 44a 18
Results:
Overall, subjects conformed to wrong answer on 37% of
target trials
75% of subjects conformed on at least one trial
50% of subjects conformed on more than half of the trials
Factors that increase conformity
- status of others
- number of others
- unanimous agreement
- responses made public
Module 43 & 44a 19
Obedience: Responding to Direct Orders
Milgram Study
Original study: 63% shocked innocent
“learner” to maximum level!
Video
Module 43 & 44a 20
Factors that Increase Obedience
• status of the experimenter
• distance between teacher and learner
• responsibility
• sequential nature of the task
• no role models for defiance
Module 43 & 44a 21
“The ordinary person who shocked the
victim did so out of a sense of obligation --
an impression of his duties as a subject -- and
not from any peculiarly aggressive
tendencies.” (Milgram, 1974)
Group BehaviorSocial Facilitation
• Crowding Effect
Social Loafing
• Tug-of-war studies.
Deindividuation
• Why are internet trolls so mean?
• Group Polarization
• Myers and Bishop study on group polarization and prejudice.
Groupthink
• Overconfidence, conformity, self-
justification and group polarization.
• When are two heads better than one? –
when there are a diversity of opinions and
open communication.
The power of the Individual
Module 46 Prosocial
Relationships
Attraction
Proximity
• Mere exposure effect
• Bailenson study on preference for political
candidates and facial feature similarity
Physical Attractiveness
Speed dating studies
Uof Minnesota Welcome Week dance study
Gaze time studies of Babies and physical attractiveness.
Diener’s studies on attractiveness, self-esteem and happiness.
What type of features do people find attractive?
Similarity
Altruism: Unselfish regard for
the welfare of others.
Kitty Genovese (1964)
38 witnesses and none helped
or called the police.
Bystander Effect
Diffusion of Responsibility
c14(1) 27
Does number of people matter?
Subways StudiesAlone - 80% helpedOthers - 30% helped
- took longer to respond
Factors that effect HelpingPerson appears to need and deserve help.
Similarity to self
Being female
Having just observed someone else being helpful
Not in a hurry
Less in large cities
Feeling guilty
Focused on others (not self absorbed)
Good Mood
Norms for HelpingSocial Exchange Theory – cost-benefit analysis
- if rewards exceed costs you will help.
Reciprocity Norm – expectation that we should help not harm others who have helped us.
When other is on equal status - equate giving and receiving.
Social-responsibility NormWe should help those in need, even if the costs outweigh the benefits.
Wesley Autrey was waiting
on a subway station in NY
with his 2 daughters. He saw a
man fall onto the tracks after
having a seizure. Autrey jumped down onto the tracks to try to get Hallopeter back up before the oncoming train arrived.
He realized it would be too late and, instead of
jumping to safety, he lay Hallopeter down
between the tracks, placing himself on top as
protection from the train. The train came to a
stop over the top of them after five carriages had
passed over. Neither were harmed by the train –
Autrey’s hat simply had some grease on it.
In an interview with the New York Time, Autrey
said, “I don’t feel like I did something
spectacular; I just saw someone who needed
help. I did what I felt was right.”
Characteristics of Helpers
• - higher in belief in “just World”
• - Internal locus of control
• - sense of social responsibility
Other Factors
• Do you know what to do?
• Being told what to do?