1

DeindividuationLoss of individual identity in presence of group• Occurs in large groups

– e.g., looting, rioting

• Physical anonymity– e.g., Would KKK members burn crosses if they weren’t wearing

hoods?

• Diminished self-awareness

“Jump bitch jump”

Kitty Genovese• New York City, 1964• Kitty Genovese was raped

and murdered while at least 38 neighbors looked on

• nobody phoned the police until after the attacker left the scene

• When asked why they didn’t act, bystanders said things like, “I just don’t know,” or “I just didn’t want to get involved.”

Bystander Apathy• field studies (Harold Takooshian)

– New York City– bicycle theft– wallet pickpocketing– man put unconscious woman in car trunk

• 20 replications, no intervention– why car alarms suck

• 95-99% false alarms• few people stop thieves (1- 5%)

– field study (Takooshian)» 8% intervened» 15% helped thief break in

• many people complain (60%) and some damage car out of aggravation

• doesn’t deter real thieves• waste of police resources

Bystander Apathy• Experiment (Latane and Darley, 1970)

– subjects heard student in adjacent room having an epileptic seizure and gasping for help

– likelihood and speed of intervention depended on how many others subject though were present

Why Don’t People Help?• ambiguity• risks to self• anonymity• diffusion of responsibility

2

Diffusion of Responsibility“I used to ask myself, ‘Why doesn’t somebody do something?!’ Then I realized I am somebody.”

-- Jane Wagner

Practice What You Preach• Experiment (Darley & Batson,

1973)• Princeton Theology Seminary

students were on their way to give a sermon about “The Good Samaritan”– Good Samaritan: New Testament

figure who takes time to help injured man at a roadside

• Subjects were deliberately made to be early, on-time, or late

• On their way through an alley, the seminary students found a man slumped in a doorway, coughing and groaning

• What do you think they did?

Persuasion• Robert Cialdini , social psychologist who

trained with the best• reciprocity

– Hare Krishnas’ flower power: “Please, it is a gift for you.”

– preys on reciprocal altruism

• lowballing– “Would you be a subject in an experiment at

7:00 a.m.?”• 24% yes

– “Would you be a subject in an experiment? Yes? By the way, it’s at 7:00 a.m.”

• 56% yes, 95% of them showed up– “I’ll give the car to you for $7,000. I need to

discuss this with my manager. The manager says you can have it for only $7,300.”

• door-in-the face technique• foot-in-the-door technique

Social Impact Theory

Convergence of social forces Diffusion of social impact

Personality Test Scores• How would you rate the accuracy of your

personality test score (available on the main course web page)?

0 = very poor, no relation to my personality1 = poor, not very close2 = more wrong than right3 = more right than wrong4 = pretty close5 = describes me almost perfectly

3

Sigmund’s Greatest Hits

1. Psychoanalysis2. Id, Ego, Superego3. Psychosexual stages of

Development4. Freudian slip5. Oedipal Complex (and Electra

Complex)6. Defense Mechanisms7. Interpretation of Dreams8. Penis Envy9. Influence on later psychologists10. Cocaine

See text, Ch. 15, FQ 26-32

1. Psychoanalysis• hysterical women in Vienna• the “talking cure”• catharsis = explosive release of pent up emotions• hypnosis• free association• Anna O.

Superego IdEgo

2. Id, Ego, Superego

• unconscious• driven by libido• pleasure principle

• conscience • reality principle

3. Psychosexual Stages of Development

oral anal phallic

latent genital

Fixation

• Example: Anal retentiveness

4

4. Freudian slip– subconscious, often sexual, thoughts lead to misspeaking

5. Oedipal (Electra) complex– boys (girls) are in love with their mothers (fathers)

6. Defense Mechanisms – e.g., repression

7. Interpretation of Dreams – latent vs. manifest content

8. Penis envy9. Later psychologists

– Carl Jung, Erik Erikson, Anna Freud, Karen Horney10. Cocaine

Sigmund’s Greatest Hits

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)• the earth is not the centre of the universe

Three Revolutions in Human Thought(… according to Freud himself)

Charles Darwin (1809-1882)• humans are not special, they are just a species

like any other animals

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)• humans are not motivated only by their

conscious thoughts but largely by unconscious (and often unpleasant) motives

Praise for Freud• most influential psychologist ever• psychoanalysis has been very popular• huge impact on pop culture• recognized importance of unconscious influences

on behavior• recognized importance of early development on

adult behavior

Critiques of Freud• real theories make testable predictions and can be

disproved– subjective, unverified analyses– experiments have not supported theories

• theories of development were not based on observing children

• hysterical women in Vienna are not representative• some argue he was misogynistic