Social Psychology

Studying the way people relate to others.

A"tude' A(rac,on' Aggression'

Group'Behavior'

•  Tries to explain how people determine the cause of the behavior they observe.

It is either a…. •  Situational Attribution •  Dispositional

Attribution And •  Stable Attribution •  Unstable Attribution

Attribution Theory

Fundamental Attribution Error'•  When people

overestimate the role of dispositional factors.

False Consensus Effect When people assume that most

people think like them, sharing preferences, beleifs, opinions, values, and habits

How do you view your teacher�s behavior? You probably attribute it to his/her personality rather than the profession. But do you really know? '

When'you'start'a'romance,'you'assume'that'your'mate'agrees'with'your'world'views….honeymoon'period.'

Sample Exam Question The “Fundamental Attribution Error” phenomenon can best be seen in the following example:

a.  John blames his failure to get a job on his lack of appropriate skills and ill-preparedness.

b. Phyllis doesn’t get the lead in the school play and blames her drama teacher for this failure.

c.  Jane blames herself for forgetting that she has a term paper due in two days.

d. Bill doesn’t hire John because John was 30 minutes late for the interview and Bill believes that John’s lateness is a result of his laziness and lack of respect for the job. In reality, John was late because he got a flat tire on the way to the interview.

e. Karen understands that her friend is late because she was caught in rush-hour traffic.

#40. Self-Serving Bias The common human tendency to attribute one’s successes to personal characteristics, and one’s failures to factors beyond one’s control.

If'you'win'it'is'because'you'are'awesome…if'you'lose,'it'must'have'been'the'coach'or'weather'or….''

Attitudes •  Attitude = A set of

feelings based on beliefs. •  Advertising is ALL based

on attitude formation. •  #62 Mere Exposure

Effect (We prefer things that are familiar.)

•  Central Route to Persuasion (you choose to talk part in conversation about a topic) vs. Peripheral Route to Persuasion (you see your favorite celebrity endorse it, so your attitude starts to change.

Your'Own'Behaviors'Can'Lead'to'a'Change'in'Your'A"tudes.'

So'you'use'compliance*strategies*to'change'people’s'behaviors'and,'therefore,'their'a"tudes.'

Compliance Strategies •  Foot-in-the-door

phenomenon •  Door-in-the-face

phenomenon •  Norms of reciprocity

Sample Exam Question Which of the following illustrates the “foot in the door” technique?

a.  A professional fundraiser, needing to get a $10,000 donation, first requests four times that amount, expecting to be turned down so she can ask for the lesser amount next.

b.  A teenager, wanting to extend his curfew from 10PM to 12AM, first asks if it can be extended to 11PM for a special occasion; he plans to ask for a 12AM curfew later, pointing to his ability to handle the 11PM curfew as evidence that he can handle the 12AM curfew.

c.  A mother tells each of her twins separately that the other has agreed to do homework as soon as they get home from school.

d.  An interviewee always researches the type of dress expected at the company where he will interview and shows up wearing something appropriate.

e.  A teacher promises all her students that she will give them bonus points if they turn their work in on time.

Sample Exam Question Students watch a video of a study in conformity and laugh raucously at the conforming participants while calling them names and referring to them as ‘weak’ and ‘stupid.’ Their failure to consider the power of the situation in the study is an example of a. Stimulus variability b. Organismic variability c.  Fundamental attribution error d. Cognitive dissonance e. Pluralistic ignorance

Sample Exam Question A researcher wants to see if she can entice people to volunteer two hours a week working with recently released felons. She first asks potential volunteers if they believe in giving a helping hand to prisoners who’ve served their time on good behavior. Several weeks later, she returns to those who answered ‘yes’ to that survey question and asks if they are willing to work with the released felons. A large percentage agree to do so. The researcher has utilized a. The foot-in-the-door approach b. The door-in-the-face approach c.  The concept of reciprocity d. The norm of social responsibility e. Complicity techniques

Cognitive Dissonance Theory Festinger’s Cognitive

Dissonance Theory •  People want to have

consistent attitudes and behaviors….when they are not they experience dissonance (unpleasant tension).

•  Usually they will change their attitude so get some peace. You'have'a'belief'

that'chea,ng'on'tests'is'bad.'

But'you'cheat'on'a'test!!!'

The'teacher'was'really'bad'so'in'that'class'it'is'OK.'

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Suppose you had volunteered to participate in a psychology experiment on campus. Upon arrival, you were seated at a table and asked to undertake a series of dull, meaningless tasks for about an hour. Afterward, the experimenter convinced you to extol the virtues of the tasks you had performed by describing them to other potential participants as highly worthwhile, interesting, and educational. You were paid either $1 or $20 to do this. Suppose you were then asked to privately rate your enjoyment of the tasks on a questionnaire. After which amount do you believe your actual enjoyment rating of the tasks would be higher—$1 or $20?

Festinger and Carlsmith found that those receiving $1 rated the tasks as more enjoyable than those paid $20. Cognitive Dissonance can explain the findings. Those who received only $1 presumably had insufficient justification for their behavior, which led to dissonance, which, in turn, produced a change in attitude about the tasks.

Conformity Studies

•  Adjusting one�s behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.

Asch�s Study of Conformity

Asch�s Results

•  About 1/3 of the participants conformed.

•  70% conformed at least once.

To strengthen conformity: •  The group is unanimous •  The group contains at least three people. •  One admires the group�s status •  One had made no prior commitment

Milgram�s Study Of Obedience

Results of the Milgram Study

What'did'we'learn'from'Milgram?'

•  Ordinary people can do shocking things.

•  Ethical issues…. •  Would not have

received approval from today�s IRB (Internal Review Board).

Zimbardo�s Prison Study •  Showed how we deindividuate

AND become the roles that we are given.

•  Philip Zimbardo has students at Stanford U play the roles of prisoner and prison guards in the basement of psychology building.

•  They were given uniforms and numbers for each prisoner.

•  What do you think happened?

Culture'! Culture:'behaviors,'ideas,'a"tudes,'values'&'tradi,ons'shared'by'a'group'of'ppl'&'transmi(ed'to'the'next'genera,on.''

! Primates'have'primi,ve'culture'(local'tool'use,'grooming'rituals,'&'courtship)''

! According'to'David'Matsumoto,'culture'≠'na,onali,es'or'ethic'groups''

! Matsumoto'says'a'culture'is'made'of'people'with''

! Rela,ve'Affluence''! Popula,on'Density''

! Technology'Access''! Climate''

Social Control and Sanctions ! Sanctions are positive or negative reactions

to the ways that people follow or disobey norms, including rewards for conformity and punishments for norm violators.

! Sanctions help to establish social control, the formal and informal mechanisms used to increase conformity to values and norms and thus increase social cohesion.

Variations in Culture ! The dominant culture refers to the values, norms,

and practices of the group within society that is most powerful in terms of wealth, prestige, status, and influence.

! A subculture is a group within society that is differentiated by its distinctive values, norms, and lifestyle.

27

Culture ! Norms = rules for accepted & expected behavior !  (Asians use only right hand for eating. British people

stand in line.) ! Pace of Life – Japanese walk quickly & pay constant

attention to time. Indonesians are much less concerned with time.

! Personal Space – Scandinavians, Brits, and North Americans like more space than Latin Americans, Arabs, and French. (standoffish vs. intrusive)

Ways of looking at Cultures ! Ethnocentrism - the principle of using one�s

own culture as a standard by which to evaluate another group or individual, leading to the view that cultures other than ones own are abnormal.

Introduction to Sociology: Culture

31

Who wants a snack? Cicadas, grasshoppers, and other insects on skewers for sale in Donghaumen Night Market in Beijing, China.

Ways of looking at Cultures ! Cultural relativism - the principle of understanding

other cultures on their own terms, rather than judging according to one’s own culture.

! When studying any group, it is important to try to employ cultural relativism because it helps sociologists see others more objectively.

32

Big Ideas ! Culture is a lens through which we

view the world around us. ! It is also a filter that we are (mostly)

unaware modifies our perception of reality.

! Culture is bequeathed to us from our ancestors and we recreate it through interaction with other people.

Individualism and Collectivism ! Definitions

!  Individualist culture is a culture in which the goals of the individual take precedence over the goals of the group.

!  Collectivist culture is a culture in which the goals of the group take precedence over the goals of the individual.

! In other words… !  In an individualist culture, members are responsible for

themselves and, perhaps, their immediate families. !  In a collectivist culture, members are responsible for

the group as a whole.

Individualism and Collectivism ! In other words…

! In an individualist culture, success is measured by how far one stands out from the crowd. ! EX: self-made millionaires, employees of

the month, standing out… ! In a collectivist culture, success is

measured by one�s contributions to the group as a whole. ! EX: loyalty to company or country,

specialized skills, fitting in…

Social Psychology

! Risky shift phenomenon: you will risk as a group what you won’t risk as an individual

! Minority influence: a minority of people holding firmly to a conviction is more likely to sway a group than a minority that waffles.

Group Dynamics

Social'Facilita,on'/'Impairment'

•  In'front'of'a'group,'you'will''– Perform'be(er'on'tasks'you’re'good'at''

– Perform'worse'on'tasks'you'aren’t'good'at'

– (pool'players'71%']>'80%'and'36%']>'25%)''– 60%'of'games'are'won'by'home'team'

– Comedians'are'funnier'in'a'packed'house'

#Social Facilitation Theory •  If you are really good at

something….or it is an easy task…you will perform BETTER in front of a group.

•  If it is a difficult task or you are not very good at it…you will perform WORSE in front of a group (#26 social impairment).

–  (pool'players'71%']>'80%'and'36%']>'25%)''

–  60%'of'games'are'won'by'home'team'

–  Comedians'are'funnier'in'a'packed'house'

#27 Social Loafing'•  The tendency for people in a

group to exert less effort when pooling efforts toward a common goal than if they are individually accountable.

•  82% of max pull on tug-of-war

•  67% of max noise on clapping & shouting

•  Reasons… •  In a group you: •  Feel less accountable •  Feel dispensable

#28 Deindividuation •  People get swept up in a group

and lose sense of self. •  Feel anonymous and aroused. •  Explains rioting behaviors.

#29 Group Polarization •  Enhancement of a group’s prevailing tendencies •  Groups tend to make more extreme decisions

than the individual.

#29 Group Polarization •  Can'be'good:'self]help'groups,'spiritual'awareness,'low'prejudice''

•  Can'be'bad:'high'prejudice,'suicide'bombers'

•  Group members suppress their reservations about the ideas supported by the group so they can maintain group harmony.

•  More intense in highly cohesive groups.

•  Fed by overconfidence, conformity, self-justification, and group polarization.

•  Historical Cases: anticipating Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, escalation of Vietnam War, Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident, Challenger explosion.

#30 Groupthink

Groupthink'≠'Conformity''

•  Conformity'–'when'people'don’t'want'to'be'different.'They'aren’t'necessarily'self]censoring.''They’re'going'along'due'to'norma,ve'or'informa,onal'social'influence.'''

•  Groupthink'–'when'people'suppress'their'opinions'(aka'self]censor)'to'maintain'group'harmony.''–  Oien'happens'when'there’s'a'charisma,c'leader,'everyone'seems'to'be'going'along'with'the'leader,'and'it'becomes'difficult'to'speak'out''

Stereotypes, Prejudice and Discrimination

Prejudice: •  Undeserved (usually

negative) attitude towards a group of people. Ethnocentrism is an example of a prejudice.

Stereotype: •  Overgeneralized idea

about a group of people. Discrimination: •  An action based on a

prejudice.

•  Implicit'prejudice']'unconscious'stereotypic'a"tudes'(see'Harvard'website)''

•  Patronize']'to'behave'in'an'offensively'condescending'manner'toward'

•  Outgroup'Homogeneity'Bias''– We'perceive'that'members'outside'our'group'are'all'alike'and'the'ones'in'our'group'are'more'diverse.'

'

Is it just race?'

NO

•  Palestinians and Jews

•  Northerners and Southerners

•  Men and Women

With which person would you want to

have a long term relationship?'

Prejudices can often lead to a…. Self-Fulfilling

Prophecy •  A prediction that

causes itself to be true. •  Rosenthal and

Jacobson�s �Pygmalion in the Classroom� experiment.

How does prejudice occur? Just world Phenomenon •  Same'story,'different'ending…''•  With'both'endings,'both'

female'and'male'listeners'viewed'the'woman's'(iden,cal)'ac,ons'as'inevitably'leading'to'the'(very'different)'results.'

In-Group versus Out-Groups.

•  In-Group Bias

•  Scapegoat Theory

Combating Prejudice #79 Contact Theory •  Contact between hostile groups reduces animosity if

they are made to work towards a superordinate goal. •  Serif camp study – formation, conflict, resolution