Social

QOTD

Aaron Stepanek

How affected are you by peer pressure in college compared to high school?

A. More

B. The Same

C. Less

Marie Jones

How important do you think other's opinions of you are?

A) Very important

B) Kind of important

C) I don't care what people think of me

Vincent Otterbein

Do you find that the "Spotlight Effect" impacts you in everyday life?

A. Often

B. Sometimes

C. Never

Connor Smith

Do you feel your CMC (Computer-mediated Communication) gives an accurate impression of yourself to others?

A) Yes Strongly

B) Yes, Somewhat

C) No, poorly

D) Not at all

E) I dont use CMC

Susan Filice

Do you think you've experienced groupthink before?

A) No I'm too smart for that

B) Maybe once or twice

C) Yes, definitely, it happens all the time

D) It probably happens to me but I dont realize it

Rachel Reiter

In what way do you try to conform to society and fit in most?

A) clothing

B) actions

C) activities

D) social groups

E) manner of speaking

Samantha Andersen

Do you feel like you compare yourself to others frequently?

A) yes, all the time

B) sometimes

C) not really

D) never

Reinhold Barchet

Do you believe you are a better driver than the average driver?

a) Yes

b) No

Robbin Jonsson

Have you ever been judged because of the the way you look? (race, the way you dress, etc)

A) Yes, almost every day

B) Happens every now and then

C) No

…

Have you ever judged others because of the the way they look? (race, the way they dress, etc)

A) Yes, almost every day

B) Happens every now and then

C) No

Christine Lambert

Have you ever taken an Implicit Association Test? Do you agree with the results?

A) Have taken one and agree with the results

B) Have taken one and do not agree with the results

C) Have not taken one

Alexandra Brown

Do you think you have become more accepting of others that are different than you since coming to college or less accepting of others?

A) More accepting

B) Less accepting

Nicola Cave

Most of my friends are . . .

a) the same ethnicity as me

b) a different ethnicity than me

c) a mixture

Palpasa Ghimire

Do you genuinley help people ?

A. Yes, I love helping people

B. No, I hate helping

C. Only when I get reward for it

D. Sometimes

Megan Rosa

If you saw a stranger on the street being assaulted, what would you do?

A. Call the police

B. Step in and try to stop it

C. Get another person to help you stop it

D. Walk the other way

The Big Questions / Issues

What is novel / counterintuitive about social? Spotlight effect? Situation vs. Disposition attributions? Cognitive dissonance (not really social!)? Baumeister’s ego depletion studies: mostly bogus!

Major recurring theme: you and your castle We have to protect ourselves in a harsh world!

Things we probably already knew

Self control is good (not social either) We care what other’s think, manage our

impressions, compare ourselves to others Downward social comparison makes you feel better

People can be conformists People can be evil, good, and in between People stereotype, have prejudices

Spotlight Effect

I think this is a huge effect – and hugely important for your own personal well-being

Don’t worry about what others think of you – they’re too busy worrying about themselves! Golden rule! Relax, be happy, etc. OTOH, if you’re weird, people will talk about you

and generally not want to socialize with you.

Attributions of behavior

How do we explain our own and other behavior?

2 factors: “personality” / disposition vs. situation

FAE: others -> disposition, self -> situation

What is the truth!? Are we more determined by internal vs. external factors??

- Situations can make us do crazy things

- But different people behave differently in same situation..

Cognitive Dissonance

Not really social. How do we explain discrepancies in behavior

relative to attitudes? Change behavior, attitudes, or beliefs about

discrepancy.