Introductory Psychology Concepts

© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Instructor nameClass Title, Term/Semester, YearInstitution

Social Psychology

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Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology

Social Psychology: The Study of Thoughts, Feelings, and Behavior Influenced By the Real, or Implied Presence of OthersSocial Psychology studies how we think about our social world, how other people influence our behavior, and how we relate toward other people.

“He’s been under a lot of stress lately.” “He only thinks about himself. What a jerk!” Depending on which attribution she makes for her husband’s outburst, this woman may respond with understanding or anger.

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Compliance: Solomon AschCompliance, or conformity—the adjustment of individual behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs to a group standard.

In Asch’s classic (1956) conformity experiments, students were asked to judge which of three comparison lines was the same length as the standard line.

Upon hearing other group members say that line 1 was the correct match, participants wondered whether their own judgments were correct.

A 21 3

Comparison linesStandard line

Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology

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Obedience: Stanley MilgramThe Dilemma of Obedience: When Conscience Confronts Malevolent Authority

• Stanley Milgram (1974) asked a disturbing question:

• Would ordinary citizens obey the orders of an authority figure if those orders meant physically harming an innocent person?

• He conducted 18 studies between 1960 and 1963 to answer this question and to identify factors that increased or decreased obedience to authority.

Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology

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Obedience: Stanley MilgramThe Dilemma of Obedience: When Conscience Confronts Malevolent Authority

Milgram’s Method:• Participants: 40 men, 20-50 years old, “teachers”.• Each participant was introduced to a “learner” (confederate).• Participants were told that the experiment studied the effects of

punishment on memory.• Each time the learner made an error, the teacher was

instructed to administer an electric shock, beginning with 15 volts and increasing to 450 volts.

Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology

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Obedience: Stanley MilgramMilgram’s Results:

This graph shows the percentage of male participants who continued to shock the learner through various voltage levels. SOURCE: Based on Milgram, 1974.

Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology

100

80

60

40

20

0

Slight15 volts

Strong135 volts

Intense255 volts

Danger:SevereShock

375 volts

Moderate75 volts

Ver strong195 volts

Extremeintensity315 volts

XXX435-450

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AttitudesAn attitude is a positive or negative evaluative reaction toward a stimulus, such as a person, action, object, or concept (Tesser & Shaffer, 1990).

Attitudes represent an important form of social thinking. They help define who we are, and they affect the way people judge one another.

Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology

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Attitude FormationPersuasion is the process of changing attitudes.

Social psychologists have discovered two primary information-processing routes to persuasion:

• Central route processingRecipient carefully considers the issues involved in persuasion.

• Peripheral route processingMore likely used by uninvolved, inattentive targets, less enduring.

Message Target

+ Highly Involved+ Motivated+ Attentive

Central route

processing

+ Uninvolved+ Unmotivated+ Inattentive

Peripheral route

processing

Stronger, lasting attitude

change

Weaker, less persistent

attitude change

Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology

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AttributionAttribution theory seeks to explain how we decide, on the basis of samples of an individual’s behavior, what the specific causes of that person’s behavior are.

Noticing an event

Interpreting the event

Is time available?Are cognitive

resources available?

Is there motivation to change the

initial explanation?

Forming an initial

explanationYes

Formulate and

resolve problem

Is the explanation satisfactory?

Event explained; process

stops

No

Yes No

Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology

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AggressionThe intentional injury of, or harm to, another person.

Types of aggression include:• Instinct Approach:

Aggression is an innate, or inborn, reaction due to our natural fight and survival instinct.

• Frustration-Aggression Approach: Feelings of frustration lead to anger which can then lead to a readiness to act aggressively.

• Observational Learning Approach: Social and environmental conditions can teach individuals to be aggressive.

Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology

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Prejudice and Discrimination• Prejudices are the negative (or positive) evaluation of a

particular group and its members.• Discrimination is the actual behavior directed toward

individuals based on one’s prejudices.

Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology

Like father, like son.

Social learning approaches to stereotyping and prejudice suggest that attitudes and behaviors toward members of minority groups are learned through the observation of parents and other individuals.

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Liking and Loving: forms of interpersonal attraction and close relationships that stem from positive feelings for others.Research has given us a good deal of knowledge about the factors that initially attract two people to each other (Harvey & Weber, 2002).

Important factors considered by social psychologists include:• Proximity• Mere exposure• Similarity• Physical Attractiveness

Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology

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Liking and LovingPsychologist Robert Sternberg suggests that love consists of three parts: • Decision/commitment• Intimacy• Passion

Liking (intimacy)

Infatuation (passion)

Empty love(decision/commitment)

Romantic love(intimacy + passion)

Companionate love(intimacy +

decision/commitment)

Fatuous love(passion +

decision/commitment)

Consummate love

(intimacy + passion + decision/commitment)

Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology

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Prosocial BehaviorAltruism: helping behavior that is clearly beneficial to others, but often includes self-sacrifice.

The Basic Steps of Helping

Noticing a person, event, or situation that may require help

Interpreting the event as one that requires help

Assuming responsibility for helping

Deciding on and implementing the form of helping

Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology