Chapter 14

Social PsychologySocial Psychology

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Situationism –

View that environmental conditions influence people’s behavior as much or more than their personal dispositions do

(Person vs. Situation)

How Does the Social Situation How Does the Social Situation Affect our Behavior?Affect our Behavior?

Social Standards of Behavior

Social roles –

socially defined patterns of behavior in a given setting or group

Scripts

The Prison Study

• Subjects were physically and mentally healthy young men who volunteered to participate for money.

• They were randomly assigned to be prisoners or guards.

• Those assigned the role of prisoner became distressed, helpless, and panicky.

• Those assigned the roles of guards became either nice, “tough but fair,” or tyrannical.

• Study had to be ended after 6 days.

Individuals in Groups

• Conformity.• Groupthink.• Obedience• Deindividuation

Conformity

The Asch studies

A 1 2 3

Standard line Comparison lines

Groupthink - polarization

• If a group is like-minded, discussion strengthens its prevailing opinions

High

Prejudice

Low

+4

+3

+2

+1

0

-1

-2

-3

-4Before discussion After discussion

Low-prejudicegroups

High-prejudicegroups

Groupthink

• Symptoms of groupthink include– Illusion of invincibility.– Self-censorship.– Pressure on dissenters to conform.– Illusion of unanimity.

• Groupthink can be counteracted by:– Creating conditions rewarding

dissent– Include “devil’s advocate”.

Why Do We Obey Authority?

Obedience

Milgram’s obedience experiment

• The shocking results…

Social Influence

• Milgram’s obedience experiment

XXX(435-450)

Percentageof subjects

who obeyedexperimenter

100908070605040302010

0

Slight(15-60)

Moderate(75-120) Strong

(135-180)

Verystrong

(195-240)Intense

(255-300)

Extremeintensity(315-360)

Dangersevere

(375-420)Shock levels in volts

The majority ofsubjects continued to obey to the end

The Bystander Problem

• The murder of Kitty Genovese

• Why didn’t people help?

Bystander Intervention in an Emergency

Deindividuation

• In groups or crowds, the loss of awareness of one’s own individuality.

• Factors influencing deindividuation.– Size of city, group.– Uniforms or masks.

• Deindividuation can influence unlawful as well as friendly behaviors.

The judgments we make about others depend not only on their behavior but on our interpretation of the

social situation

What Influences Our What Influences Our Judgments of Others?Judgments of Others?

Social Cognition

• How do people’s perceptions of themselves and others affects:– Their relationships, thoughts, beliefs and

values.• Attribution Theory

• Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE)

Social Thinking

Negative behavior

Situational attribution“Maybe that driver is ill.”

Dispositional attribution“Crazy driver!”

Tolerant reaction(proceed cautiously, allowdriver a wide berth)

Unfavorable reaction(speed up and race past theother driver, give a dirty look)

The Actor Observer Effect

• Consists of the observer attributing the action of the actor to the actor

• and his own actions to the situation

• Two explanations…

Attributions: more…

• Self-serving bias

• Just-world hypothesis

“Bad people are punished and good people are rewarded.”

Attitudes

A relatively stable opinion containing beliefs and emotional feelings about a topic.

• Affect (like – dislike)

• Belief (ideas about)

• Behavior (approach – avoid)

Changing attitudesPeripheral route & Central routePeripheral: Source of communication expertise, credibility, attractiveness, status, similarity Validity effect (a.k.a., mere exposure effect)Central: slow & difficultFace to face communication is thought to be more effective

Persuasion and Influencing Others:

• Social Reciprocity

• Other persuasive techniques:– “Foot-in-the-Door” – “Door-in-the-Face”

Factors Influencing Attitude Change

• Change in social environment• Change in behaviors.• Due to a need for consistency.

– Cognitive Dissonance

Classic Experiment on Cognitive Dissonance

(Festinger & Carlsmith)

Procedures1. boring tasks

2. lie to another student3. Paid either $1 or $204. Interviewed on feelings toward task

In the interview, one of these groups ($1 or $20) expressed a negative attitude toward the task (similar to the Control Group’s) while the

other group expressed a positive attitude.

?Question: According to the Theory of Cognitive Dissonance, which group should form a positive attitude, and why?

Answer: The $1 group should form positive attitude. They said something they didn’t believe with a minimum amount of justification.

Need for Cognitive Consistency

Stereotypes

• Summary impressions of a group, belief that members share a common trait or traits (positive, negative, or neutral).

• Allow us to quickly process new information and retrieve memories.

• Distort reality in 3 ways.– Exaggerates the differences between groups.– Produce selective perception.– Underestimates the similarities between groups.

Origins of Prejudice

• Psychological functions.

• Social and cultural functions.

• Economic functions.

Reducing Prejudice and Conflict

• Groups must have equal legal status, economic opportunities, and power.

• Authorities and community institutions must endorse egalitarian norms and provide moral support and legitimacy for both sides.

• Both sides must have opportunities to work and socialize together, formally and informally.

• Both sides must cooperate, working together for a common goal.