Welcome to Psychology 102

Psychology 102:
Social processes, society, and culture

Dr James NeillCentre for Applied PsychologyUniversity of Canberra2009

Image source: UnknownDescription: The aim of this lecture is to introduce and discuss social psychology and more particularly, social processes, society, and culture. The lecture is targeted at first year undergraduate psychology students.Image source: UnknownAcknowledgements: This lecture is based on previous lectures on social psychology I have given, and partly also on the instructor slides and material provided by Pearson Education for Chapter 11 from Gerrig et al. (2008) Psychology and life (Australian edition).

Reading

Gerrig et al. (Chapter 17):
Social processes, society, and culture

Image source: Cover of Gerrig et al. (2008)

NOTE: A related previous Psy101 chapter reading (not covered here)

Gerrig et al. (Chapter 16):
Social cognition & relationships

Constructing social reality

Social cognition

Attitudes

Persuasion / Social influence

Prejudice & Stereotypes

Relationships & Attraction

Social cognition e.g., attribution, self-serving bias, self-fulfilling prophecies

Overview

About social psychology

Power of the situation
(social influence)

Conformity

Obedience

Group influence

Group polarisation

Aggression

Prosocial behaviour & altruism

Conflict & peace

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What is social psychology?

Influence of social processes on the way people:Think (cognition)

Feel (emotions)

Behave (actions)

Westen, D., Burton, L., & Kowalski, R. (2006). Psychology. Australian and New Zealand Edition. Queensland: Wiley.

Also note: Allport's Classic DefinitionThe scientific study of how the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of people are influenced by the real, imagined, or implied presence of others (Allport)

Person to Person

Image source: Unknowne.g., love (thoughts, feelings, and behavior)

Group to Person
Person to Group

Image source: Unknowne.g., conformity; leadership

Group to Group

Image source: Unknowne.g., racism

Why is Social Psychology Important?

Why does social psychology matter? we need to get along or we'll conflict

Why does social psychology mater? For one thing, there are many more people living more and more closely together with increasingly complex social environments to navigate.Image: World Population: Toward the Next Century, 1994, Population Reference Bureau.

Topic matching activity

PrejudiceAggressionGroup dynamicsCrowd behaviourSocial exclusion

Allocate one of these topics to each of the following sets of slides...

EnvironmentalRelationshipsProsocial behaviourConformityLeadership

Activity: Topic Matching (10 mins)Activity: In pairs, discuss and agree on a topic match for each of the sets of displayed images.

Discussion: Go through the image sets and ask for suggestions lecturer explains and highlights some key terms for each image.

1Image sources:http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Protest_0086.JPGLicense: Public domain

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Image: Created by James Neill, 15/10/2007 by editing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Soc-psy_diagram.jpg.

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Image: Created by James Neill, 15/10/2007 by cropping http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Soc-psy_diagram.jpg.

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Power of the situation
(Social influence)

Image: Created by James Neill, 15/10/2007 by cropping http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Soc-psy_diagram.jpg.

Social influence questions

How do we influence each other?

How are we affected by pressures to conform and obey?

How are we affected by group interaction?

How do groups affect our behaviour?

Social influence

The most significant contribution of social psychology is its study of how our attitudes, beliefs, decisions, and actions are moulded by social influence.

Video: The Power of the Situation

Annenberg (1989). The Power of the Situation (Program 19). [27 min video] Annenberg: Santa Barbara, CA.

Image soruce: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Video_icon.svgLicense: Public domain19. The Power of the SituationThis program examines how our beliefs and behavior can be influenced and manipulated by other people and subtle situational forces, and how social psychologists study human behavior within its broader social context. With Dr. Ellen Langer of Harvard University and Dr. Philip Zimbardo of Stanford University.

The power of the situation

Social roleSocial-defined pattern
of behaviour

RulesBehavioural guidelines

Can be explicit or implicit

Social normsExpectation a group has for its members

Conformity

When a person adopts a social role, follows a rule, or bends to a social norm, then s/he is, to some extent, conforming to social expectations.

Conformity

Tendency for people to adopt behaviours, attitudes, and values of other members of a group.

Adjusting ones behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.

Conformity:
Informational influence

Wanting to be correct and to behave in the right way in a given situation

Why?Group may provide valuable information.

When the task is difficult or you are unsure, it makes sense to listen to others.

e.g., Sherifs autokinetic effect

Conformity:
Normative influence

Desire to be liked, accepted, and approved of / not rejected by others

Why? Price may be severe if not normative behaviour is not followed.

Also known as the Asch effect

Aschs
conformity
studies
(1950's)

Aschs conformity studies (1950s)

Subjects asked to judge line lengths while working in a group.

7 subjects; the 6th was real, rest were confederates.

Confederates consistently gave obviously wrong answers.

The subject often conformed and gave the same wrong answer.

On average, 37% of participants conformed.

Some never caved.

Conformity

Conformity in everyday life

Minority influence and nonconformitySerge Moscovici

Conditions that conformity

Feelings of incompetence, insecurity, low self-esteem.

Group size > 2

Group is unanimous (lack of dissension).

Group status desirable & attractiveness.

Conditions that conformity

Group observes ones behaviour.

No prior commitment to response.

Culture strongly encourages respect for social standard.

Obedience

People comply with social pressures. But what about outright command?

Milgram designed a study that investigated the effects of authority on obedience.

Stanley Milgram(1933-1984)

Milgrams obedience studies

Obedience is a form of compliance that occurs when people follow direct commands, usually from someone in a position of authority. Stanley Milgram, like many people, was troubled over the Nazi war criminal defense I was just following orders. He designed a landmark experiment to determine how often ordinary people will obey an authority figure, even if it means hurting another person. His experiment consisted of 40 men from the local community recruited to participate in a psychology experiment, supposedly on the effects of punishment on learning. The men were given the role of teacher in the experiment, while a confederate was given the role of learner. The teacher was seated before an apparatus that had 30 switches ranging from 15 to 450 volts, with labels of slight shock, danger: severe shock, and XXX etc. Although the apparatus looked and sounded real, it was fake. The learner was never shocked. Person is asked to deliver shocks to a learner when the learner makes mistakes in a test The learner is a confederate of the experimenter (e.g. part of the experiment and not really shocked)Shocks range from 15-450 volts The learner stops responding after
300 volts 66% of subjects went to 450 volts ... Milgram found that 65% of the men administered all 30 levels of the shock, even though they displayed considerable distress at shocking the learner. Factors that Influence Obedience Proximity of the learner: subjects were less likely to use high levels of shock when the learner was in the same room Proximity to the experimenter: subjects were more likely to disobey when the experimenter was remote When other subjects dissented to give shock, subjects were more likely to refuse to shock the learner Milgrams experiments were extremely controversial, as his method involved considerable deception and emotional distress on the part of subjects. Can you think of an example where you go along with what youre told to do even though it might cause you distress?

Milgrams Study

Milgrams obedience studies

63% complied with administration of shocks

Depending on subtle changes in conditions, however, compliance varied between 0 & 93%

Degree of obedience influenced by:Physical proximity of authority figure

Status of authority figure

Depersonalisation of victim

Lack of defiant role models

Zimbardos prison study (1970s)

Subjects played either prisoners or guards.

Prisoners were arrested, fingerprinted, dressed, and referred to by number.

Guards were dressed and given control over prisoners.

Subjects became their roles in action, thought and feeling.

Resistance

~a third of individuals resisted social coercion (Milgram).

One dissenter can have a disproportionate effect on reducing the compliance of others. (e.g., Asch)

The power of social influence is enormous but so is the power of the individual.Non-violent fasts and appeals by Gandhi led to the independence of India from the British

The tendency of groups to make decisions that are more extreme then the decisions that would be make by the members acting alone

Two underlying processInformation-influence

Social comparison

Group decision-making:
Group polarisation

Group decision-making:
Groupthink (Irving Janis)

Tendency of group to filter out the undesirable input so that a consensus may be reached

Factors leading GroupthinkHigh level of group cohesiveness

Isolation of group from outside information or influences

Dynamic, influential leader

High stress from external threats

Aggression, prosocial behaviour, altruism, conflict, and peace

Aggression

Prosocial behaviour

Altruism

Conflict & cooperation

Peace

Activity: Topic Matching (10 mins)

Physical or verbal behaviour that causes (or is intended to cause) harm.

Emerges from the interaction of: BiologyGenetic

Neural

Biochemical

Experience Aversive events e.g., misery, temp, frustrate

Operant conditioning

Social learning

Scripts

Aggression

Genetic Influences: Animals have been bred for aggressiveness for sport and at times for research. Twin studies show aggression may be genetic. In men, aggression is possibly linked to Y chromosome.Neural Influences: Some centers in the brain, especially the limbic system (amygdala) and the frontal lobe are intimately involved with aggression. Aggression can be evoked by electrical stimulation of the hypothalamus and the amygdala. Lesions of the amygdala produce a tame animal.Animals with diminished amounts of testosterone (castration) become docile, and if injected with testosterone aggression increases. Prenatal exposure to testosterone also increases aggression in female hyenas.Aversive events: Studies in which animals and humans experience unpleasant events reveal that those made miserable often make others miserable. Even environmental temperature can lead to aggressive acts. Murders and rapes increased with temperature in Houston.A principle in which frustration (caused by blocking to achieve some goal) creates anger, which can generate aggression.Operant conditioning: When aggression leads to desired outcomes, one learns to be aggressive. This is shown in animals and humans alike.Social learning: Cultures that favor violence breed violence. Scotch-Irish settlers in the South had more violent tendencies than their Quaker, Dutch counterparts in the Northeast of the US.Social scripts: The media portrays social scripts and generates mental tapes in the minds of the viewers. When confronted with new situations individuals may rely on such social scripts. If social scripts are violent in nature, people may act them out.

Aggression

Figure 18.12 Biopsychosocial understanding of aggression
Myers: Psychology, Eighth Edition
Copyright 2007 by Worth Publishers

Aggression

Individual differencesImpulsive aggression

Instrumental aggression

Situational influencesFrustration-aggression hypothesis

Temperature and aggression

Direct provocation and escalation

Cultural constraintsConstruals of the self and aggressive behaviourRichard Nisbett

Norms of aggressive behaviour

Aggression

Unselfish, intentional behavior that is intended to benefit welfare of others.Behaviours which have no obvious gain for the provider

Behaviours which have obvious costs for the provider (e.g. time, resources)

Altruism

Recommended website: http://www.altruists.org

Is there really altruism? Altruism is often for self-benefit e.g., power, status, reward, psychological gain.

What matters in judging the act is the actor's intended outcomes.

Altruism

Recommended website: http://www.altruists.org

Equity / ReciprocityGive to relationships in proportion to what we receive (Social Exchange Theory)

Social responsibility norm

Reciprocal altruismNatural selection favors animals that are altruistic if the benefit to each is greater than the cost of altruism

Altruism

Reciprocity Norm: The expectation that we should return help not harm to those who have helped us.SocialResponsibility Norm: Largely learnt, a norm that tells us to help others when they need us even though they may not repay us in kind.Social Exchange Theory: Our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs.

Bystander intervention

Bystander interventionBib Latan and John Darley

Willingness to assist a person in need

75% help when alone vs. 53% in presence of others

Diminished sense of personal responsibility to act because others are seen as equally responsible.

Bystanders are less likely to help in presence of more people (e.g. part of a large crowd)

"Diffusion of responsibility": The larger the number of bystanders, the less responsibility any one bystander feels to help

Bystander effect

The bystander effect (BE) is a well studied, phenomenon (Darley and Latane and colleagues) BE is that people are less likely to provide needed help when they are in groups than when they are alone. Reviews of studies on over 6,000 subjects in a variety of helping situations indicate that subjects who are alone help about 75% of the time, while subjects in the presence of others help about 53% of the time. The bystander effect is believed to occur because of diffusion of responsibility when the responsibility is divided among many, everyone thinks that someone else will help.

Bystander intervention

Bystander must notice the emergency

Bystander must label events as an emergency

Bystander must feel responsibility

Prosocial behaviour

Carried out with the goal of helping people

Altruism

Pro-social behaviours without consideration for self safety or interests

Reciprocal altruism

Altruism & prosocial behaviour

Motives for prosocial behaviour

C. Daniel Batsons forces that prompt people to act for the public good:Altruism

Egoism

Collectivism

Principlism

Superordinate goals

Communication

Graduated & Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-Reduction (GRIT)

Peacemaking

Superordinate Goals are shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation.Communication and understanding is developed through talking to one another. Sometimes mediated with a third party. Graduated & Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-Reduction (GRIT) A strategy designed to decrease international tensions. One side recognizes mutual interests and initiates a small conciliatory act that opens the door for reciprocation by the other party.

Genocide: Systematic destruction of other groups - Ervin Straub

Concepts and images of the enemy

Peace psychology: Interdisciplinary approach to conflict prevention & peace maintenance

Psychology of genocide,
war & peace

The 8 stages of genocide
(Stanton, 1998)

Classification

Symbolisation

Dehumanisation

Organisation

Polarisation

Preparation

Extermination

Denial

Peace psychology

Analysing forms of leadership and GovernmentKurt Lewin

Group dynamics

Fostering contact to facilitate
conflict resolution

ReconciliationMabo

Sorry

Herbert Kelman

Perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas.

Conflicting parties, each rationally pursuing their self-interest, become caught in mutually destructive behavior Social Trap: Win-Lose

Lose-Win, or

Lose-lose.

Game theory

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Game theory

Image: Retrieved October 16, 2007 from http://www.synearth.net/Order/UCS2-Science-Order04.html

Gerrig, R. J., Zimbardo, P. G., Campbell, A. J., Cumming, S. R., & Wilkes, F. J. (2008). Psychology and life (Australian edition). Sydney: Pearson Education Australia.

Myers, D. G. (2001). Social Psychology (Ch. 18). In D. G. Myers (2001). Psychology (6th ed.) (pp. 643-688). New York: Worth.

Myers, D. G. (2007). Social Psychology (Ch. 18). In D. G. Myers (2007). Psychology (8th ed.) (pp. 723-771). New York: Worth.

References