MODULE 1:CHAPTER 11

Social Psychology

Social Psychology Social Psychology involves the study of

social interactions, stereotypes, prejudices, attitudes, conformity, group behaviors, and aggression.

Goal of this field of study is to understand and explain how our thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and behaviors are influenced by the presence of, or interaction with, others.

Social Perception Social Perception: The way in which we

perceive, evaluate, categorize and make judgments about the qualities of others. Primacy Effect: the first information we

receive about a person tends to have the greatest influence on our perception of that person.

Implicit Personality Theory: assuming that traits occur together in others’ personalities Shy & quiet lack assertiveness, less

intelligent Halo Effect: The tendency to infer other

positive (or negative) traits from our perception of one trait in another person More attractive women more intelligent &

socially gifted Thinner men more attractive, enthusiastic &

successful

Diffusion of Responsibility The tendency for an individual

to feel a diminished sense of responsibility to assist in an emergency when other bystanders are present.

Feel less personal responsibility and are less likely to take action in a situation where help is required.

Study by Darley & Latane and the Kitty Genovese case (page 365)

Attribution Theory Attribution theory: The theory

that we attempt to make sense out of other people’s behavior by attributing it to either dispositional (internal) causes of situational (external) causes.

Internal: events caused by the person’s temperament, tendency, or inclination. (part of the person)

External: the circumstance or situation in which the person is.

Attribution Errors The Fundamental Attribution

Error: is the tendency to overestimate dispositional (internal) causes and to underestimate situational (external) causes of behavior.Are you more likely to blame the

abused woman if you didn’t know the system had failed her?

Would you claim that she could have left if she really wanted to?

False Consensus Bias The False Consensus Bias: is

an attribution bias caused by the assumption that most people share our own attitudes and behaviors.Belief that our beliefs and

attitudes are more common than they really are, or at least more prevalent than beliefs held by others that are inconsistent with our own.

Illusion of Control The Illusion of Control is an

attributional bias caused by the belief that we control events in our own lives that are really beyond our control.Promotion given to person who

has been with company longer than you (of which you have no control), so we make ourselves feel better by pretending we had some control (we don’t like a lack of control) by saying that we should have done something to better our chances.

Attitudes Any learned, relatively enduring

dispositions to respond in consistently favorable or unfavorable ways to certain people, groups, ideas, or situations.

Attitudes are shaped by experience Behavioral Observations (others &

ourselves) Classical Conditioning (associating two

things together) Operant Conditioning (punishment &

reward) Direct Experience

Attitudes Favorite Music? What attributes do you find

attractive or sexy? Food preferences? Gender Roles? Racism? Sexism? Ageism?

Prejudice Prejudice: Negative, unjustifiable,

and inflexible attitude toward a group and its members.

Discrimination: the behavioral consequences of prejudice in which one group is treated differently from another group.

Causes of Prejudice Ingroup: In social psychology, the

group in which people include themselves when they divide the world into “us” and “them.”

Ingroup Bias: The tendency to see one’s own group in a favorable light.

Social Influences on Behavior

Conformity: the tendency to change or modify behaviors so that they are consistent with those of other people.Any behavior you perform

because of group pressure, even though that pressure might not involve direct requests

Wear clothes that are in style, use common slang phrases, buying the latest and most popular products.

Social Influences on Behavior Informational Social Influence:

one basis for conformity, in which we accept a group’s beliefs or behaviors as providing accurate information about reality.We might use the reactions of

others to judge the meaning of a situation.

The bum sleeping on the street must be ok, because no one is stopping to help him.

Social Influences on Behavior Normative Social Influence: one

basis for conformity, in which we conform not because of an actual change in our beliefs, but because we think we will benefit in some way (such as gaining approval)Volunteering to get a raise or

promotionGuy agreeing to go see a chick flick

with girlfriend or wife

Social Influences on Behavior

Compliance: a kind of conformity in which we give in to social pressure in our public responses but do not change our private beliefs.

We alter our behavior in response to direct requests from others

Usually involves a degree of coercionEx you might comply with your

instructors suggestion to re-write a paper, even though you do not agree with it.

Social Influences on Behavior

Obedience: Social influence in which we alter our behavior in response to commands or orders from people perceived as having some power or authority over us.I have to file my taxes, because if I don’t…the IRS will find me!

Milgram’s Obedience Study

Stanley Milgram (1963) wanted to determine if subjects would inflict considerable pain on others merely because an authority figure instructed them to do so.

Teacher and students (actors) 65% used the highest voltage (continued

even beyond the point they thought was dangerous)

Psychiatrists predicted less than 1% would be obedient

Milgram’s Obedience Study

When the subjects (teachers) were given orders over the phone, they were more likely to disobey (disobedience)

Results indicate that the majority of people will obey orders that they know are unreasonable.