copyright © 2004 by allyn & bacon chapter 14 social psychology

Copyright © 2004 by Allyn & Bacon

Chapter 14

Social Psychology


Social Psychology

The area of study that attempts to explain how the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others influences the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individuals.


Attributions

Situational attributions: the person attributes behavior to some external cause or factor operating with the situation.

Dispositional attributions: the person attributes the behavior to some internal cause or personal trait.

Actor-Observer Bias: the tendency to attribute our own shortcomings primarily to situational factors and those of others to internal or dispositional factors.


Factors Influencing Attraction

Proximity or geographic closeness

Reciprocity or reciprocal liking

Similarity

Physical AttractivenessMatching hypothesis


Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love

Components of Love Intimacy Passion Commitment

Liking (Intimacy only) Infatuated love (Passion only) Empty Love (Commitment

only) Romantic Love (Intimacy and

passion) Fatuous Love (Passion and

commitment) Companionate Love (Intimacy

and commitment) Consummate Love (Intimacy,

passion & commitment)


Social Influence

Conformity (Solomon Asch study)

Asch’s Conformity Experiment

Obedience (Stanley Milgram study)


Asch’s Conformity Experiment

Social Influence


Compliance

Foot-in-the door technique: first make a small request and follow it with a larger request.

Door-in-the-face technique: first make a large unreasonable request and follow it with a small request.

Low-ball technique: get person to agree to attractive terms and then the terms are changed to be less favorable.


Group Influence

Social facilitation: refers to any effect on performance, whether positive or negative, that can be attributed to the presence of others.

Social loafing: the tendency to exert less effort when working with others than when working alone.

Group polarization: group discussion often causes persons to shift to more extreme positions.

Groupthink: tight-knit groups often make poor decisions because they are more interested in maintaining group cohesion than getting the right answer.


Components of Attitudes

Cognitive component – Thoughts and beliefs about attitudinal object

Emotional component – Feelings toward attitudinal object

Behavioral component – Predisposition to act toward attitudinal object


Cognitive Dissonance

Dissonance is what we feel when there is incompatibility between our belief and our actions or attitudes. We generally reduce dissonance by changing the behavior or attitude or by somehow explaining away the inconsistency or reducing its importance.

Methods of Reducing Cognitive Dissonance


Methods of Reducing Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive Dissonance

Explain Away Inconsistency“Ill quit before it can hurt me.”

“I really don’t smoke that much.”

Change Behavior

Quit Smoking

Source of Cognitive DissonanceBehavior: “I smoke”

Attitude: “Smoking Causes Cancer.”

Change Attitude

Smoking isn’t that dangerous

Reduce Importance of Inconsistency“I have good gene, my family lives to ripe old age.”

“I exercise and have a better diet than most people.”


Elements of Persuasion

Source of the CommunicationAudienceMessageMedium


The Bystander Effect

Bystander Effect: as the number of bystanders at an emergency increases, the probability that the victim will receive help from them decreases.

Diffusion of responsibility: the tendency to feel less responsible in the presence of other people.


Aggression

Biological Factors in Aggression Genetics Level of arousal Testosterone

Frustration-aggression hypothesis Aggression in response to pain Aggression resulting from invasion of personal space Aggression resulting from crowding Social Learning Theory of Aggression The Media and Aggression


Prejudice and Discrimination

Realistic conflict theoryIn-group/out-group conflictSocial cognitionStereotypesDiscrimination in the workplace


Figure 19.2 Typical spatial zones (in feet) for face-to-face interactions in North America. Often, we must stand within intimate distance of others in crowds, buses, subways, elevators, and other public places. At such times, privacy is maintained by avoiding eye contact, by standing shoulder to shoulder or back to back, and by positioning a purse, bag, package, or coat as a barrier to spatial intrusions.


Figure 19.7 Results of Milgram’s obedience experiment. Only a minority of subjects refused to provide shocks, even at the most extreme intensities. The first substantial drop in obedience occurred at the 300-volt level (Milgram, 1963).


Figure 19.8 Physical distance from the “learner” had a significant effect on the percentage of subjects obeying orders.


Activity

Assess the Violence in Children’s Cartoons Violent Act Tally Name of Cartoon:

____________________________________ Length: ____________

Characters: ________________________ ________________________

________________________ ________________________ Implicit Acts Explicit Acts Total: ____________ Total: ____________ Acts Per Minute: ____________ Acts Per Minute:

____________


THE END…

You made it! You still have your last test to take.

I hope you gained personal insight…and an appreciation of your fellow humans.

I had fun teaching this class…I hope you had fun learning from all of the resources…including each other!

copyright © 2004 by allyn & bacon chapter 14 social psychology

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