The Social Animal

Elliot Aronson

Conformity• Connotation of words have a strong influence on our perception of

the wordsBoth conformity and nonconformity have advantages at time• Conformists seem to be more liked at the time, while nonconformists

seem to be more liked in retrospectNonconformists’ voices are often ignored, especially closer to a deadline• GroupthinkWhen, in a private, closed-off think, no dissenting opinion is ever offered• Conformity is the change in the behavior of a person based on

perceived pressures from outside influencesSoloman Ache experiment; four lines, which is closest to first oneWe underestimate how much we actually conform

Conformity• UnanimityGreatly increases conformityIf even one dissenter, conformity drops sharply• CommitmentMaking someone make a statement at first leads to them backing up their original statement to save faceConsistency is important to people• AccountabilityAccountability to a group increases conformityAccountability to truth decreases conformity• Social DynamicsPeople with low self-esteem conform more quicklyPeople who feel secure in a group are more likely to voice dissentPerception of the group can influence conformity (popularity, etc…)We conform more to individuals who are similar to usWe conform more to individuals with a position of authority/expertise

Conformity• When physical reality becomes uncertain, people rely more on social realityE.g. on how to act, etc…• William James stated that emotions have a feeling component and cognitive inputWe may manipulate our emotions based on the emotions of others• ComplianceConformity in hopes of avoiding punishment or gaining a reward; least permanentImportant trait is power• IdentificationConformity in hopes of being like the influencerImportant trait is attractiveness• InternalizationWhen a conformed belief becomes intrinsic; most permanentImportant trait is credibility

Conformity• ObedienceActs of compliance are short-lived; however they are important“Teacher-Learner” shock experimentPeople are taught to obey authority

The more legitimate the authority, the more obedient the subjectsThe further from the authority an individual is, the more likely he is to disobey a command he disagrees withPeople are less likely to cause pain to someone if they have to witness the pain they caused• The Bystander EffectKitty Genovese and Eleanor BradleyPeople are more likely to help if they know they can; less likely if they can’tPeople are more likely to help someone with mutuality, and if whether or not they will be held accountable at some future point; people will help people they identify withAmbiguity and help are inversely proportionalPersonal Cost influences help as well; the greater it is, the less likely the help is

Persuasion and Propaganda• Emotional ContagionWhen there is an outbreak of something (Say, Swine Flu), people panic and fake cases are reported in massive amountsSuicides follow en masse following a story about it• Even if we know about persuasion, we are not immune to it• With all else being equal, we opt for familiarity over the unknown• Facts don’t persuade well• Central PersuasionWeighing and considering the important facts before making a decision• Peripheral PersuasionAllowing yourself to be persuades through psychological means, more than just facts

Persuasion and Propaganda• Emotional appeals, in most cases, are far more powerful than logical

appealsRhymes are very powerful as well in persuasion on a mass scalePeople with low self-esteem are easily overwhelmed by too much fear and emotional conviction in an argument

By overwhelming someone with high self-esteem, you can make them behave like people with low self-esteemGiving instructions can motivate someone to act on their intentions, but won’t influence their opinions

Fear-arousal and specific instructions are very effective• When something gets in the way of what someone wants, they will

rationalize their behavior; it can’t happen to me, etc…For example, if someone wants to have sex, no matter how much you warn them about AIDS, they will refuse to associate sex and death

Persuasion and Propaganda• Real life, personal examples are more powerful than consensual statistics• The more educated an audience is, the more influential an argument that says both sides of

the argument will beAn argument is more persuasive, when arguing for the other side, if you state their position and arguments as well• Primacy Effect vs. Recency EffectPrimacy Effect (Stating your side first) is more powerful when there is little time between the speakersRecency Effect (Stating your side last) is more powerful when the audience must make up their mind their minds immediately after• Discrepancy between you and the target audienceCurvilinear

More extreme differing opinions are more powerful up to a point, where they become miniscule

Moderate difference is more powerful than extreme; it must remain in the targets latitude of acceptance

The higher the credibility of the speaker, the greater the discrepancy can be

Persuasion and Propaganda• Characteristics of the AudienceHigher self-esteem audiences are harder to influence• Experience of the AudienceBeing in a good mood, or doing something pleasant at the time of the argument, makes the argument more persuasiveForewarning an audience greatly decreases the influenceTheory of Reactance

When our sense of freedom is threatened, we attempt to restore itIMPORTANT; when people think we are trying to influence them (Say by gifts

or compliments), their guards are raisedWhen something is so blatant that we feel it threatening, we will go against itWhen challenging someone’s core beliefs, they will invent refutations on the

spot if they feel threatenedHowever, by distracting them while arguing, they will be more receptive

Persuasion and Propaganda• Inoculation TheoryIf exposed to a brief argument that they can easily refute, then people will become more immune to a full blown argument of the same thing• When someone is feeling less confident, they are less likely to

willingly defend their beliefsTo influence someone effectively, you must not make it seem like you’re influencing them• OpinionWhat someone believes is a factNonemotional opinions are easily changedEmotional opinions are not

Emotionally Charged opinions are called attitudes

Social Cognition

• Jeremy BenthamFelicific Calculus

We use happiness to determine what is good and bad• Harold KellyBelieves people behave like naïve scientists

We look for consistency (Do they always do this), Consensus (Do other people do this), and Distinctiveness (Is he the only one who does this)• Other people believe we are cognitive misersWe tend to conserve mental energy whenever possible

Social Cognition• Remember that all judgment is relativeContrast Effect• Social CognitionHow we interpret social events usually depends on what we’re currently thinking about, as well as our beliefs• PrimingFrequently encountered ideas and more recently encountered events greatly influence our perceptions

Word choice can hugely influence someone’s impressionsPositive words (Self-confident) generally are positive with someone,

negative words (Reckless) are negative“Mass media may not be good at telling people what to believe, but is very effective at telling them what to think about”

Social Cognition• FramingHow a decision or situation is presented to make it seem like something is being gained or lost***Remember it is more painful to lose something than to gain something***

It is worse to lose $20 than to gain $20• Primacy EffectThe things that come first form the strongest impression in peopleFirst impressions are very important• Dilution EffectIrrelevant and superfluous information can weaken our judgment• Judgmental HeuristicsMental shortcutsThree types; representative, availability, and attitude

Social Cognition• Representative HeuristicFocus on similarity of one object to another to determine its qualities

Expensive=Better, etc…• Availability HeuristicMake judgments about something based on how easy it is to bring specific examples to mind• Attitude HeuristicAssign something to either a positive category or a negative category

E.g. Stoners are bad, etc…Halo Effect

We will discredit the bad stuff something we like is associate with it, exaggerate the good stuffFalse-Consensus Effect

Tendency to believe more people agree with us than actually do

Social Cognition• When do we use HeuristicsWhen we don’t have time to make a decisionWhen we are overloaded with informationWhen the issues aren’t very importantWhen we don’t know much about our decision• CategorizationOnce we categorize something, we are limited to that category in the eyes of othersStereotypes

Expectations greatly influence the way we thinkSelf-Fulfilling Prophecy

When we act on our impressions of othersTeachers were told random students were gifted, students actual IQ

scores skyrocketed by the end of the year

Social Cognition• The Illusory CorrelationWhen people create a correlation when none exists

E.g. People believe lesbians have a higher rate of AIDS, because they are homosexual, when in fact they have a lower rate than both heterosexual humans and homosexual men• Ingrouping/OutgroupingWhen we take on an “us vs them” mentalityHomogeneity Effect

We tend to see members of the outgroup as more similar to each other than members in our groupsIngroup Favoritism

We look more favorably on people associated with usDoesn’t matter how irrelevant the association is

Social Cognition• We tend to do what we think would make us happiest and what avoids the most

painWe overestimate the intensity and durability of emotional reactions in both negative and positive events

We adjust to whatever situation we’re inWinning the lottery will make you happy for a few weeks or months, but

eventually the effects will linger and we will be back to the same state emotionally• Our memories are reconstructive, not infallibleWe recreate events as we perceived them to have been

Suggestive questioning can influence our memories“How fast were they going when they smashed into each other vs. how fast

were they going when they hit into each other”• Self-SchemasWe remember our past in coherent memories and feelings that recreate our opinions towards our personal history

Social Cognition• Recovered Memory Phenomenon“Recovering” false memories based on the subtle suggestions of others• Confirmation BiasWe look for evidence for what we initially support• Hindsight BiasWe believe we knew what was going to happen all along• Human cognition is conservativeWe try to preserve what’s already been established• Our attitudes barely effect our behaviorIn 1928, 128 people surveyed said that they wouldn’t give service to a Chinese man

However, only one establishment actually refused serviceOur attributes effect our behaviors much more than our attitudes

Social Cognition• Attitude Accessibility• If an attitude is more prominent, we will be more likely to use it in the decision making

process• The Fundamental Attribution ErrorPeople overestimate the importance of personality relative to situations• The Actor-Observer BiasWe stress the situational part• The Self-BiasesEgocentric Thoughts

We believe ourselves to be more central than we actually areBarnum Statement

A personality statement vague enough to be attributed to almost anyoneE.g. a horoscope

The Self-Serving BiasPeople’s tendency to blame negatives on situations, and attribute positives to their

qualities

Self-Justification• We try to justify our actions as logical, rational, and the best

decision given the circumstances, both to ourselves and to others• Cognitive Dissonance Occurs when an individual holds two ideas/beliefs/attitudes that are inconsistent

We need to convince ourselves our existence is not absurdWe try to make the two cognitions consistentE.g. suppose a smoker learns about the dangers of smoking

Will either quit smoking, or, more likely, convince himself that the studies we not conclusive/legitimate

May decide smoking is necessary for relaxationMay convince himself his smoking habit isn’t that bad

Self-Justification• Dissonance Reduction behavior is irrational behaviorHowever it does serve the purpose of maintaining the ego

Don’t take yourself seriously, and always be open-minded; your beliefs can be wrong upon further introspection• We experience dissonance after making a decisionWe try to remain consistent with our decisions

Foot in the door technique• Self-Justification manifests itself mainly with irrevocable decisions• Immorality and self-justificationSomeone moral who decides to cheat will eventually become more lenient regarding cheating

Deciding not to will lead to a hatred of cheatingHappens with everything that someone will consider immoral if they decide to do itPeople most likely to throw stones are the ones who were most tempted to do it***I disagree with his assessment on this matter; if you take things as they are, and nothing more nothing less, self-justification won’t be necessary and it won’t lead to more leniency/hatred regarding something; most people don’t do this though

Self-Justification• If you want someone to form positive attitudes towards an object, get them to

commit to it• If you want someone to soften their moral attitudes towards something, tempt

them so that they do itIf you want them to harden it, tempt them but not enough so that they do it• External JustificationJustification that is situation-dependentE.g. telling a friend his terrible painting is good• Internal JustificationChanging your attitudes to fit with your actions• Saying is believing paradigmWe believe our own lies, unless there is ample external justification

E.g. such as rewardsThe greater a reward for something, the less of a chance for a change in attitude

Self-Justification• Keep in mind the external justification principleIf a friend offered you fried grasshopper, and an enemy did, and you ate both, you’d like the second one more

People need to justify their actionsFor the friend, it’s a favor to the friend; for the enemy, there is no justification

Can this be the reason why girls loveeeeeee guys who treat them like shit?Quick Answer: Yes

• Dissonance is most powerful people feel responsible for their actions, and believe it will have an impact on others

• Justification of EffortIf we work hard for something, suffer for something, we will appreciate it more• Justification of CrueltyIf someone suffers adverse punishment as a direct result of us, we tend to blame them for itWhen someone is able to retaliate (Such as an opposing soldier), we don’t tend to blame them as much

Self-Justification• Inevitability makes the heart grow fonderKnowing we will have to do something makes us rationalize and hate it less; believing we have choice however makes us hate it moreWhen inevitable disaster seems immanent however, those worse off for it do less to prepare

By not thinking about it, they can cope with it• Cognitive Dissonance happens relatively slowly and unconsciously• People with the highest self-esteem experience the most dissonanceIf someone’s self-esteem takes a temporary hit, they are more likely to commit a misdeed

Narcissists tend to seek revenge on someone who inflicts damage on their self-esteem• If someone is hypocritical in beliefs, you would need to expose the

hypocrisy to see results

Human Aggression• Human Aggression is intentional behavior designed to cause physical or emotional

pain towards anotherDepends 100% on the intent• Hostile Aggression is aggression due to anger with the intent to harm someone• Instrumental Aggression is aggression with some goal other than inflicting pain

(Such as hitting in football)• Hydraulic TheoryIf we don’t have a vent for anger, it will build up until it explodes• Aggression doesn’t have to be learned, but it can be modified by experience• People may argue that aggression is necessary for survivalSurvival of the fittest

Elephant Seals; Alpha Seal can mate with up to 100% of femalesHowever, it’s shown cooperation is very beneficial for survival

Success doesn’t necessarily equate to victory

Human Aggression• AltruismUnselfishnessShown that many aggressive animals, such as a chimpanzee, have altruistic roots in them

Will give excess food to a begging chimpanzee, who has no food• CatharsisRelease of energyWith anger, numerous studies have proven that responding to anger with something such as physical activity just produces more aggression and anger• Following anger targeted at someone, it becomes easier to remain

consistent with the idea that we hate someone elseWe tend to retaliate, and our retaliations are often overkill

More severe than the initial insult or attack

Human Aggression• Aggression can be caused by chemicals such as testosteroneMen have higher levels of testosterone than women

Women however, are more likely to commit relational aggression (Not surprisingly)• Frustration is one of the major causes of aggressionRejection is also a major cause of aggression

Columbine High School is an example of this• People who aren’t accountable (Such as anonymous people) act

more aggressively• Video Games and TV can numb people to actions• As Aristotle said, most people cannot be curtailed by rational

reasoning

Prejudice

• All white people are evil

Attraction• We like people who provide us with maximum reward at the lowest costBeautiful people provide aesthetic value easilyPeople with similar belief systems provide us with validation• PraiseA negative evaluation raises our admiration for someone as long as they’re not criticizing us

A negative stance seems more sophisticatedPeople need to know what a reward is and what is required to get it

Besides thinking we are being manipulative, a person who receives excessive praise from another may be confused by the rewardWe like favors, even if accidental, if it doesn’t threaten our freedom

If we think there’s a string attached, we don’t like itGetting someone to do you a favor makes you more likable• Competence makes someone favorableA perfect person who makes a mistake is best, then perfect, then average, and worst is an average person who makes a mistake, when grading attractiveness of game show participants (Pratfall Effect)

Attraction• Pratfall EffectMost powerful when a sense of competition is implied• AttractivenessThe single most important character trait in likability• SimilarityThe lower our self-esteem, the more we like someone similar to us• Gain-Loss TheoryIncreases in positive, rewarding behavior is better than constantly rewarding behaviorChange of Heart must be made explicitGradual Change is BestAfter one becomes used to the gain, it basically declines relative to others

Always keep someone guessing, don’t reward too muchStudy: We give more to generous strangers and stingy friends, and take more from stingy strangers and generous friends

Attraction

• Self-Disclosure is important for long-term relationship help

• The best indicator of the health of a relationship is if someone can feel positive at their partners accomplishments

• After the initial thrill, authenticity is the most important thing for stability

• Honesty and communication when you reach that level of no bullshit