Social PsychologySocial PsychologyPGS 350PGS 350

Social PsychologySocial Psychology

Scientific study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

are influenced by the real or imagined presence of others

(Allport)

Scientific study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

are influenced by the real or imagined presence of others

(Allport)

RELATIONSHIPSRELATIONSHIPS

Why do we like some people and Why do we like some people and dislike others?dislike others?

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Is love found across cultures and Is love found across cultures and historical periods?historical periods?

What What causes causes the the feeling feeling of love?of love?

Is love unique to human beings?Is love unique to human beings?

Why are Why are family family bonds so bonds so powerful?powerful?

Which sex Which sex pushes for pushes for sexual sexual intimacy intimacy earlier in earlier in relationships?relationships?

Is this sex difference unique to Is this sex difference unique to our culture?our culture?

How important is How important is physical physical attractiveness in attractiveness in relationships?relationships?

Are there universal features Are there universal features that make someone that make someone beautiful or handsome?beautiful or handsome?

Or does it depend completely Or does it depend completely on culture?on culture?

What causes romantic What causes romantic relationships to break up?relationships to break up?

The reverse happens The reverse happens to closely related to closely related

damselfishes damselfishes ––>> Females later turn Females later turn into males.into males.

Does anything like this Does anything like this apply to humans?apply to humans?

When clownfish males When clownfish males grow up, they turn grow up, they turn

into females into females ––>>

Prosocial BehaviorProsocial Behavior•Is Altruism Is Altruism part of part of human human nature?nature?

•Why do we Why do we sometimes sometimes refuse to refuse to help others help others who need who need our help?our help?

Save The Children

Why are some people more Why are some people more altruistic than others?altruistic than others?

Osceola McCarty Washerwoman for 75 yrs

Saved her meager earnings

Donated $150,000 to Univ. of Southern Mississippi

Osceola McCarty Washerwoman for 75 yrs

Saved her meager earnings

Donated $150,000 to Univ. of Southern Mississippi

Osceola after winning Presidential Citizen’s Medal: "People tell me now that I am a hero...I am nobody special. I am a plain, common person...no better than anybody else...I don't want to be put up on a pedestal; I want to stay right here on the ground.”

Osceola after winning Presidential Citizen’s Medal: "People tell me now that I am a hero...I am nobody special. I am a plain, common person...no better than anybody else...I don't want to be put up on a pedestal; I want to stay right here on the ground.”

Venus after chiding Clinton: “What? I’m not really intimidated by anyone. Why should I be?”

Venus after chiding Clinton: “What? I’m not really intimidated by anyone. Why should I be?”

What is more important in What is more important in determining your social determining your social behavior:behavior:

• kind ofkind of PERSONPERSON you are?you are?• or youror your SITUATION? SITUATION?• or theor the INTERACTIONINTERACTION of of

the two?the two?

RACKETEERING INFLUENCED AND CORRUPTORGANIZATIONS (RICO) - MURDER (18COUNTS), CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MURDER,CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT EXTORTION,NARCOTICS DISTRIBUTION, CONSPIRACY TOCOMMIT MONEY LAUNDERING; EXTORTION;MONEY LAUNDERING

U. Mass. President

William Bulger

Former President of Massachusetts State

Senate

U. Mass. President

William Bulger

Former President of Massachusetts State

Senate

AGGRESSIONAGGRESSION

• What do these What do these mass mass murderers murderers have in have in common?common?

• Which sex is Which sex is more likely to more likely to kill their own kill their own small children?small children?

Oct. 5, 1789:Oct. 5, 1789: Thousands of armed women Thousands of armed women storm Versailles Palace, behead Marie storm Versailles Palace, behead Marie Antoinette’s bodyguardAntoinette’s bodyguard

• Is violence part of human Is violence part of human nature?nature?

• Does watching violent TV Does watching violent TV and movies make us more and movies make us more aggressive, or less so?aggressive, or less so?

Social Learning Social Learning view:view:

Your aggressiveness Your aggressiveness is a function of is a function of rewards and rewards and punishments from punishments from parents, teachers, parents, teachers, mediamedia

• Movies, TV, and Movies, TV, and song lyrics give us song lyrics give us information about information about the social value of the social value of aggressivenessaggressiveness

• Blame it on Blame it on MTVMTV

Evolutionary view:Evolutionary view:Evolutionary view:Evolutionary view:• Aggression based in Aggression based in

genetic dispositions genetic dispositions that helped our that helped our ancestors survive.ancestors survive.

• blame DNAblame DNA - not - not MTV.MTV.

Robert Sapolsky

“I joined the

baboon troop

during my

twenty-first

year. I had

never planned

to be a

savanna baboon

when I grew

up…”

Robert Sapolsky

“I joined the

baboon troop

during my

twenty-first

year. I had

never planned

to be a

savanna baboon

when I grew

up…”

PREJUDICEPREJUDICEBuford Furrow, 37, Buford Furrow, 37,

member of Aryan Nation member of Aryan Nation neo-Nazi group, walked neo-Nazi group, walked into a Jewish into a Jewish community center community center summer camp on Aug. 7, summer camp on Aug. 7, 1999, shot 3 children, 2 1999, shot 3 children, 2 adults, later killed a adults, later killed a Filipino postal worker. Filipino postal worker.

Does prejudice Does prejudice stem from stem from emotional emotional disorder or just disorder or just normal cognitive normal cognitive

processes?processes?

• What can be done to reduce prejudice?

• What can be done to reduce prejudice?

IMPRESSION FORMATIONIMPRESSION FORMATION

How accurate are How accurate are we in deciding we in deciding what friends or what friends or roommates or roommates or political political candidates are candidates are really like?really like?

SELF-PRESENTATIONSELF-PRESENTATION

Can you predict hairstyles, attitudes or auto Can you predict hairstyles, attitudes or auto choices from someone’s musical taste?choices from someone’s musical taste?

How effective are those tactics?How effective are those tactics?

What tactics do we use to What tactics do we use to make impressions on others?make impressions on others?

Cindy Jackson at high school

graduation, 1973.

Cindy Jackson at high school

graduation, 1973.

Cindy Jackson in 1993,

after 19 operations

Goal - to look like a living Barbie

doll

Cindy Jackson in 1993,

after 19 operations

Goal - to look like a living Barbie

doll

Judy Loveless, 49 yr. old flight attendant, died during outpatient laser surgery to reduce skin wrinkles.

Judy Loveless, 49 yr. old flight attendant, died during outpatient laser surgery to reduce skin wrinkles.

Women around world had 10.5 million Women around world had 10.5 million cosmetic procedures in 2006 -- about 10 cosmetic procedures in 2006 -- about 10 times more than men.times more than men.Why the sex difference?Why the sex difference?

SOCIAL COGNITIONSOCIAL COGNITIONDo your cognitive biases Do your cognitive biases

lead you to a lead you to a hopelessly distorted hopelessly distorted view of what you are view of what you are like? like?

Can your beliefs about Can your beliefs about yourself and about yourself and about other people actually other people actually change the social change the social world you live in?world you live in?

ATTITUDES & PERSUASIONATTITUDES & PERSUASION

• What tricks do What tricks do advertisers & advertisers & politicians & politicians & salespeople & salespeople & phone solicitors phone solicitors use on us?use on us?

ATTITUDES & PERSUASIONATTITUDES & PERSUASION

Any way to Any way to protect ourselves protect ourselves from these from these propagandists’ propagandists’ tricks?tricks?

ATTITUDES & PERSUASIONATTITUDES & PERSUASION

SOCIAL INFLUENCESOCIAL INFLUENCE

What factors lead us to obey What factors lead us to obey or disobey authority? or disobey authority?

• What factors lead us to go along What factors lead us to go along with crowd vs act independently?with crowd vs act independently?

David Koresh, David Koresh, Branch Branch Davidian Davidian leaderleader

• Could any Could any circumstances lead circumstances lead you to join a cult you to join a cult like the Branch like the Branch Davidians, & then Davidians, & then to sacrifice your to sacrifice your own life, and that own life, and that of your child, on of your child, on the leader’s the leader’s orders?orders?

GROUP GROUP DYNAMICSDYNAMICS

GROUP GROUP DYNAMICSDYNAMICS

Ever done Ever done something in something in a group a group you’d never you’d never do alone? do alone?

• Are you likely to do better or Are you likely to do better or worse work in a group setting?worse work in a group setting?

GROUP DYNAMICSGROUP DYNAMICS

What makes What makes some people some people good vs. bad good vs. bad leaders?leaders?

ENVIRONMENT & SOC. BEH.ENVIRONMENT & SOC. BEH.

How do How do environmental environmental factors affect:factors affect:

• Aggression? Aggression?

• Sexual behavior?Sexual behavior?

• Depression & Depression & Anxiety?Anxiety?

ENVIRONMENT & SOC. BEH.ENVIRONMENT & SOC. BEH.

1950 -1950 - World pop.- World pop.- 2,555,360,9722,555,360,972

Sunday, Aug. 22, 1999Sunday, Aug. 22, 1999

World pop. = 6,016,326,230World pop. = 6,016,326,230

• • 1st year to break 6 billion1st year to break 6 billion

Wed., Aug. 12, 2009Wed., Aug. 12, 2009

World pop. = World pop. = 6,777,234,0186,777,234,018

(increase in 10 yr. > 761 million(increase in 10 yr. > 761 million))

ENVIRONMENT & SOC. BEH.ENVIRONMENT & SOC. BEH.

U.S. pop.U.S. pop. 1900:1900: 76,094,00076,094,000

1948: 1948: 146,631,302146,631,302

August, 2009:August, 2009: 307,157,477 307,157,477

What influences What influences

people’s people’s environmentally environmentally relevant relevant decisions? decisions?

50

How is this course different from watching the evening news?

How is this course different from watching the evening news?

Experts interviewed on the news Experts interviewed on the news don’t always take a don’t always take a data-drivendata-driven scientific approach.scientific approach.

Broad theoriesBroad theories will be more will be more important than trivial details.important than trivial details.

You aren’t tested to see if you You aren’t tested to see if you learned anything from the news. learned anything from the news.

How can you learn most from course?How can you learn most from course?

Attend all classes, & take careful notes. Attend all classes, & take careful notes.

Type up the notes after each class.Type up the notes after each class.

Take good notes on the reading. Take good notes on the reading.

Join a study group. Keep disciplined.Join a study group. Keep disciplined.

Pay attention to book’s structure:Pay attention to book’s structure:

1. What are the 1. What are the motives?motives?

2. Person/Situation/2. Person/Situation/InteractionsInteractions..

Don’t cram. Start studying tonight.Don’t cram. Start studying tonight.

Social PsychologySocial Psychology