Social Psychology: Social Psychology: Attitudes, Group Influences, Attitudes, Group Influences, Social Relations, Attraction, Social Relations, Attraction,

and Altruismand Altruism

Warm Up Warm Up

1. How do the fundamental and 1. How do the fundamental and situational attribution errors differ?situational attribution errors differ?

2.What was the significance of the 2.What was the significance of the Milgram study?Milgram study?

3. What types of situations cause ppl to 3. What types of situations cause ppl to follow orders the best ?follow orders the best ?

4. Describe the Zimbardo study?4. Describe the Zimbardo study?5. What is Deindividuation?5. What is Deindividuation?6. What is dehumanization?6. What is dehumanization?

Bump or Jump Illustrates:Bump or Jump Illustrates:

Social Trap:Social Trap: a situation in which a situation in which the conflicting parties, by each the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing their self-interest rationally pursuing their self-interest gets caught in gets caught in mutually mutually destructive behaviordestructive behavior..

Optimaloutcome

Probableoutcome

Person 1Choose A Choose B

Per

son

2C

ho

ose

B

Ch

oo

se A

Do Attitudes Guide Our Do Attitudes Guide Our Actions?Actions?Attitude:Attitude: beliefs and feelingsbeliefs and feelings

that predispose our reaction to that predispose our reaction to objects, people, and events.objects, people, and events.

Our behavior is affected by our Our behavior is affected by our innerinner attitudes as well as by attitudes as well as by externalexternal social influences:social influences:

Internalattitudes

Externalinfluences

Behavior

Attitudes are Likely to Attitudes are Likely to Affect Actions When:Affect Actions When:

1.1. Outside influences on what Outside influences on what we say and do are we say and do are minimalminimal..

2.2. The attitude is The attitude is specificallyspecifically relevant to the behavior.relevant to the behavior.

3.3. We are keenly aware of our We are keenly aware of our attitudesattitudes..

Do Our Actions Affect Our Do Our Actions Affect Our Attitude?Attitude?

Foot in the Door PhenomenonFoot in the Door Phenomenon: : tendency to comply with a tendency to comply with a larger larger requestrequest after agreeing to a small one. after agreeing to a small one.

Ex: P.O.W.’s in Korean WarEx: P.O.W.’s in Korean War

Cognitive DissonanceCognitive Dissonance: when our : when our awareness of our attitudes and our awareness of our attitudes and our actions clash, we can reduce the actions clash, we can reduce the discomfort (dissonance) by discomfort (dissonance) by changing changing our attitudesour attitudes. .

Group InfluencesGroup Influences

Reasons for Conformity:Reasons for Conformity:Normative Social Influence:Normative Social Influence:

influence from a person’s desire influence from a person’s desire to to gain approval or avoid gain approval or avoid disprovaldisproval..

Informational Social Influence:Informational Social Influence: influence resulting from one’s influence resulting from one’s willingness to acceptwillingness to accept others others opinions about reality.opinions about reality.

Conformity and Conformity and Informational InfluenceInformational Influence

Conformity Conformity with a with a group is a group is a highest highest when the when the task is task is difficult difficult and and importanimportantt..

Difficult judgments

Easy judgments

Conformity higheston important

judgments

Low HighImportance

50%

40

30

20

10

0

Percentage ofconformity toconfederates’

wrong answers

Group InfluencesGroup InfluencesSocial Facilitation:Social Facilitation: improved improved

performance of tasks in the performance of tasks in the presence of otherspresence of others. Occurs with . Occurs with simple or well-learned tasks but not simple or well-learned tasks but not with tasks that are difficult or not yet with tasks that are difficult or not yet mastered. mastered. Why? When others are around us Why? When others are around us

we become physiologically aroused.we become physiologically aroused.Arousal Arousal helps with easy taskshelps with easy tasks but but

not with difficult.not with difficult.EX: Running vs. New Math EX: Running vs. New Math ProblemProblem

Social Facilitation and Social Facilitation and Home Field AdvantageHome Field Advantage

Home Advantage in Major Team Sports

Home TeamGames Winning

Sport Studied Percentage

Baseball 23,034 53.3%

Football 2,592 57.3

Ice hockey 4,322 61.1

Basketball 13,596 64.4

Soccer 37,202 69.0

Group InfluencesGroup Influences

Social Loafing:Social Loafing: the tendency for the tendency for people in a group to people in a group to exert less exert less effort when pooling their effort when pooling their effortsefforts toward attaining a toward attaining a common goal than when common goal than when individually accountable.individually accountable.Especially common among men in Especially common among men in

individualistic culturesindividualistic cultures. . Leads to the “free-rider” problemLeads to the “free-rider” problem

Effects of Group InteractionEffects of Group Interaction Group Polarization:Group Polarization: the the

enhancement of a enhancement of a group’s prevailing group’s prevailing attitudesattitudes through discussion within the through discussion within the group.group.

Ex: non-racist vs. racist students meeting Ex: non-racist vs. racist students meeting to discuss issues. Each sides attitudes to discuss issues. Each sides attitudes will be amplified. will be amplified.

Groupthink:Groupthink: the mode of thinking that the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire occurs when the desire for harmonyfor harmony in in a decision making group overrides a a decision making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives.realistic appraisal of alternatives.

Power of IndividualsPower of Individuals

Self-Fulfilling ProphecySelf-Fulfilling Prophecy: : occurs when one person’s belief occurs when one person’s belief about others leads one to act in about others leads one to act in ways that induce the others to ways that induce the others to appear to appear to confirm the beliefconfirm the belief. . Man who believes woman is Man who believes woman is

attracted to him; women more attracted to him; women more likely to act that way or vice-likely to act that way or vice-versaversa..

Social InteractionsSocial Interactions Prejudice Prejudice

an an unjustifiableunjustifiable (and usually negative) (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its membersattitude toward a group and its members

involves involves stereotyped beliefsstereotyped beliefs, negative , negative feelings, and a predisposition to feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory actiondiscriminatory action

StereotypeStereotypea a generalizedgeneralized (often overgeneralized) (often overgeneralized)

belief about a group of peoplebelief about a group of people

Us vs. ThemUs vs. ThemIngroup:Ingroup: “Us”---people who one “Us”---people who one

shares a shares a common identitycommon identity..Outgroup:Outgroup: “Them”---those “Them”---those

perceived as different or apart of perceived as different or apart of one’s ingroupone’s ingroup..

Ingroup bias:Ingroup bias: the tendency to the tendency to favor one’s own group.favor one’s own group.

Scapegoat theory:Scapegoat theory: the theory the theory that prejudice an outlet for anger that prejudice an outlet for anger by providing by providing someone to blamesomeone to blameNazis scapegoat jews for economic Nazis scapegoat jews for economic

frustration. “If the Jews did not exist, frustration. “If the Jews did not exist, we should have to invent him.”we should have to invent him.”

Roots of PrejudiceRoots of PrejudiceCategorizationCategorizationVivid CasesVivid CasesJust World Just World

Phenomenon:Phenomenon: the the tendency of people to tendency of people to believe the world is believe the world is just and that people just and that people therefore get what therefore get what they deserve and they deserve and deserve what they deserve what they get.get.Example: Example: social social

darwinism…p.666darwinism…p.666

AggressionAggression Causes of Aggression:Causes of Aggression:

GenesGenesNeural Influences: stimulation to Neural Influences: stimulation to

certain neural regions can certain neural regions can increase or increase or decrease aggression.decrease aggression.

Biochemical Influences: Biochemical Influences: high high testosterone levelstestosterone levels correlate with correlate with aggressive behavior…2-way…aggressive behavior…2-way…testosterone boosts and is boosted by testosterone boosts and is boosted by aggressive behavior.aggressive behavior.

Alcohol: 4/10 Alcohol: 4/10 violent crimesviolent crimes…3/4 …3/4 spousal abusespousal abuse

Causes of AggressionCauses of AggressionFrustration-Aggression PrincipleFrustration-Aggression Principle: :

the principle that frustration---the the principle that frustration---the blocking of an attempt to achieve blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal---creates anger, which can some goal---creates anger, which can generate aggression.generate aggression.Aversive stimuli also increases Aversive stimuli also increases

aggression…ex: more spousal aggression…ex: more spousal abuse in hotter years and months.abuse in hotter years and months.

Murdersand rapesper day in

Houston, Texas

Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit

Media and AggressionMedia and Aggression Average child sees Average child sees 8000 murders8000 murders and and

100,000 acts of violence before finishing 100,000 acts of violence before finishing elementary school on TV…elementary school on TV…desensitization?desensitization?

In the U.S. and Canada, homicide rates In the U.S. and Canada, homicide rates doubled between 1957 and 1974, doubled between 1957 and 1974, coinciding with the coinciding with the introduction of introduction of televisiontelevision..

““Rape Myth”…pornography that portrays Rape Myth”…pornography that portrays sexual aggression as pleasurable for the sexual aggression as pleasurable for the victim victim increases acceptanceincreases acceptance of of coercion in sexual relations.coercion in sexual relations.

Psychology of AttractionPsychology of Attraction

Importance of Importance of ProximityProximity: can’t fall in : can’t fall in love with someone you’ve never met.love with someone you’ve never met.

Mere Exposure Effect: Mere Exposure Effect: the the phenomenon that repeated exposure to phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases the liking of novel stimuli increases the liking of them…them…mirror image vs. reversemirror image vs. reverse..

SimilaritySimilarity also is a strong determinant also is a strong determinant of attraction: of attraction: share common goalsshare common goals, , interests, and attitudes.interests, and attitudes.

LoveLovePassionate Love:Passionate Love: an aroused an aroused

state of intense positive state of intense positive absorption in another, usually absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a present at the beginning of a love relationshiplove relationship..

Companionate Love:Companionate Love: the deep the deep affectionate attachmentaffectionate attachment we we feel for those whom our lives are feel for those whom our lives are intertwined.intertwined.

Making Love LastMaking Love Last

Equity:Equity: a condition in which a condition in which people receive from a people receive from a relationship in proportion to what relationship in proportion to what they give to it…decision-making, they give to it…decision-making, bank accountsbank accounts, etc., etc.

Self DisclosureSelf Disclosure: revealing : revealing intimate aspectsintimate aspects of oneself to of oneself to others breeds liking.others breeds liking.

AltruismAltruismAltruism: Altruism: unselfish regardunselfish regard

for the welfare of others.for the welfare of others.Bystander Effect: Bystander Effect: less likely less likely

to give aid if others are to give aid if others are present..present..diffusion of diffusion of responsibilityresponsibility..

Noticesincident?

Interpretsincident as

emergency?

Assumesresponsibility?

Attemptsto help

Nohelp

Nohelp

Nohelp

Yes YesYes

No No No

Increasing Altruism & Increasing Altruism & CooperationCooperation

Social Exchange Theory: Social Exchange Theory: the theory the theory that our social behavior is an exchange that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize maximize benefits and minimize costscosts. Ex: volunteer at homeless . Ex: volunteer at homeless shelter if believe benefits (good feelings, shelter if believe benefits (good feelings, etc.) outweigh costs (time, effort, etc.)etc.) outweigh costs (time, effort, etc.)

Superordinate Goals:Superordinate Goals: shared goals shared goals that override differences among people that override differences among people and require their and require their cooperationcooperation. Ex: . Ex: Remember the TitansRemember the Titans