Social Psychology

Social Psychology•The study of how we think about,

influence, and relate to one another.

•3 Themes▫Social thinking

How we think about others.▫Social influence

How we are influenced by others.▫Social relations

How we relate to and interact with others.

Social ThinkingAttributionsAttitudes

Attribution Theory•Fritz Heider - 1958•We explain people’s behaviors by

crediting the person’s internal disposition OR the external situation▫A teacher notices that one of her students

is particularly hostile. Aggressive personality (internal attribution) Reaction to stress or abuse (external

attribution)

Examples•Mom yelled at me today.

▫Internal attribution Mom enjoys yelling at me.

▫External attribution Mom had a bad day at work.

•I bought mint chocolate chip ice cream today!▫Internal attribution

I realllllllllllllly like mint chocolate chip ice cream.▫External attribution

I was told mint chocolate chip ice cream is popular these days, therefore I should get it because it’s cool.

Attribution Theory and Politics•Poverty in America

▫Conservative perspective - internal attribution People live in poverty because they are lazy

and less motivated than others.

▫Liberal perspective - external attribution People live in poverty because their life

circumstances have resulted in an unfortunate situation.

Attribution Errors• Ourselves

▫We mostly attribute our behaviors mainly to external situational circumstances. Ex: I know I act different at school than I would with my

friends, or with my parents, or with my grandparents… or with my boyfriend’s grandparents.

• Others▫We mostly attribute other’s behaviors to internal

personality elements. Ex: When I observe strangers, I tend to think very shy

people are timid in all aspects of their lives because it seems to be their personality.

Attitudes•Feelings based on our beliefs that

influence our reactions and responses to people, objects, and events.▫Ex: If we believe someone is mean, we may

feel dislike for the person, and act unfriendly.

Behaviors

Attitudes

Attitudes Affecting Behaviors•Positive or negative attitudes affect our

behaviors in positive or negative ways…▫Sports teams - bonding and teamwork

Mutual liking and positive attitudes

Cooperative actions

Behaviors Affecting Attitudes• Foot-in-door phenomenon• Tendency to agree to a small request at first, then

to a larger request later• Start small and build• Doing becomes believing

• Communist brainwashing during Korean War• Consent to “safe driver” small sign then to large,

ugly sign later.• Signing a petition and later agreeing• Desegregation and diminished racial prejudice

Behaviors Affecting Attitudes•Role-playing

▫Tendency to strive to be the role that is assumed Behaviors feel phony at first,

but then real.

•Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment (6 days!), 1972

•Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq, 2004

Behaviors Affecting Attitudes• Cognitive dissonance

▫When behaviors and attitudes do not match, we change our attitudes to reflect our behaviors The more dissonance (tension/conflict) we feel, the

more motivated we are to change attitudes to justify the behavior.

• Change in reason behind Iraq War (WMD liberation)

• You don’t study for a test (behavior) because you believe the material is beneath you (attitude). You fail the test and blame it on the teacher, the test, the weather, etc (change in attitude)

Social InfluenceConformityObedience

Conformity• Adjusting behavior or

thinking to coincide with a group standard

• Behavior is contagious. ▫Chameleon effect –

mimicking others’ behaviors▫Mood linkage – mimicking

others’ emotions

• Copycat school violence, suicide clusters, etc

Conformity•Asch (1955) asked participants to judge

line lengths, when most would answer wrong, the participant would go along with it more than 1/3 of the time

Conformity – Why and When?• Why conform?

▫ Social and cultural norms Understood rules for accepted and

expected behavior▫ Gain approval▫ Avoid rejection/stigmas

• Conform when?▫ Feeling incompetent or insecure▫ Groups of 3+▫ Unanimous groups▫ Cultural stigmas (ex: That is

uncool/unaccepted)▫ Cultural norms (ex: This is cool/accepted)

Obedience• Complying to social

pressures and authority

•Milgram’s Obedience Experiments (1963,1974)▫Paired teachers and

learners and when the learner got it wrong, they got a “shock.” Shocks were stronger as they questions continued - 63% (of 40) completed it.

Obedience • Why continue to shock?

▫ Authority figures▫ Prestigious institutions▫ Depersonalization and distance of victims▫ No role models for defiance

Obedience• “The most fundamental lesson of our

study is that ordinary people, simply doing their jobs, and without any particular hostility on their part, can become agents in a terrible destructive process…” ▫Milgram

• “I was only following orders.”▫Adolf Eichmann, Director of Nazi

deportation of Jews to concentration camps

Obedience – Group InfluenceDefinition Example

Social facilitation

Stronger responses on tasks in the presence of others

Competing against the clock vs other people

Social loafing Tendency to slack off in a group setting when attaining a common goal

Tug of war, freeloaders

Deindividuation

Losing individual identity and thought when in a group

Riots/mobs

Group polarization

Strengthening a group’s ideas/thoughts/tendencies through discussion in the group

Political party conventions, internet chat rooms/blogs

Group think Think or make decisions as a group while overriding realistic alternatives

WMDs in Iraq,

The Power of the Individual•Minority influence – the power of 1 or 2

individuals to sway a majority▫Difficult but influential▫Must be consistent

Social RelationsPrejudiceAggressionAttraction

Prejudice•A negative, unjustifiable attitude toward a

group and its members. ▫Stereotyped beliefs▫Negative feelings/emotions▫Discriminatory actions

Prejudice, Racial Profiling, and Attribution Theory• After Hurricane Katrina, residents began to search for food and

supplies in abandoned stores and houses. The media attributed these actions to different reasons based on race and prejudices.

• African Americans – “looting,” attributed to racial stereotypes that were believed inherent in AAs

• Whites – “finding,” attributed to situational circumstances

Causes of Prejudice• Social inequities

▫ Have vs. have-nots ▫ Seeks to rationalize disparity▫ Ex: Occupy movement

• Social groups▫ US (ingroup) vs. THEM

(outgroup)▫ Ingroup bias▫ Ex: cliques in HS, nations at war,

sports fans, Blue vs. Brown Eyes• Scapegoating

▫ Blaming as an outlet for anger▫ Ex: Hitler and persecution of Jews

Aggression• Physical or verbal behavior

intended to hurt or destroy• Genetics (nature)

▫ Brain – amygdala▫ Hormones – testosterone▫ Males tend to be more

aggressive• Environment (nurture)

▫ Aversive events▫ Cultural/social

expectations▫ Observation (Bandura’s

bobo doll study)▫ Desensitization

Attraction• Interaction between people that can

result in friendship or a romantic relationship

•Proximity – geographic nearness/closeness increased interactions▫Familiarity breeds fondness.

Attraction•Physical

attractiveness▫Evolutionary

Masculine/dominant/mature men

Youthful/healthy women

▫Cultural “Beauty is in the

eye of the beholder”

Attraction•Similarity

▫Opposites do not attract.▫Similarity breeds content.