Download Psychology

Thinking About Psychology:
The Science of Mind and
Behavior
Charles T. Blair-Broeker
Randal M. Ernst
Chapter 14
Sociocultural
Dimensions of
Behavior
Module 32
Social Thinking and
Social Influence
Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence
Introduction
Social Psychology
• The scientific study of how people think
about, influence, and relate to one
another
– Why do people act differently in the same
situations? Ex. Stop and help a person pick
papers up and others walk by.
– Why one person may act differently in different
situations? Ex. Give money to Salvation Army
“red kettle” but not give money to a homeless
person.
Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence
Social Thinking
Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence
Social Thinking:
Attributing Behavior
to Personal
Disposition or the
Situation
Attribution Theory
• People tend to give a causal explanation
for someone’s behavior, often by
crediting either the situation or the
person’s disposition
Situational Disposition
• Attributing someone’s actions to the
various factors in the situation
• Ex. Stop and help a person pick papers up and
others walk by.
• Situational reason: “I was late for a doctor’s
appointment and I did not have time to stop.”
Dispositional Attribution
• Attributing someone’s actions to the
person’s disposition, i.e. their thoughts,
feelings, personality characteristics, etc.
• Ex. Stop and help a person pick papers up and
others walk by.
• Dispositional reason: “Jamie is just selfcentered and didn’t stop to help pick up
the papers. What did you expect?”
Fundamental Attribution Error
• The tendency for observers, when
analyzing another’s behavior, to
underestimate the impact of the situation
and overestimate the impact of personal
disposition
• People tend to blame or credit the person
more than the situation
• Ex. “That person just cut that car off! What a
jerk!” Did not consider that person is in the
middle of an asthma attack. (situational)
Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence
Social Thinking:
Attitudes and Actions
Attitude
• A belief and feeling that predisposes a
person to respond in a particular way to
objects, people, and events
• Ex. Think cheating is wrong – less
likely to cheat
Attitudes Affecting Actions
• Many studies suggest a person’s
attitudes do not match their actions
• Attitudes can predict behavior if:
– Outside influences are minimal (smoking is bad:
many friends smoke: you will probably smoke)
– People are aware of their attitudes (grandpa died
of lung cancer: you will NOT smoke)
– Attitude is relevant to behavior (know exercise is
good for you, but don’t like to sweat: won’t
exercise)
Actions Affecting Attitudes
• Under some circumstances one’s actions
can influence attitudes. They include:
– Foot-in-the-door phenomenon
– Role playing
– Cognitive dissonance
Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon
• The tendency for people who have first
agreed to a small request to comply later
with a larger request
• Ex. People who put a political bumper
sticker on car are more likely to put a
sign in their lawn
Role Playing
• Playing a role can influence or change
one’s attitude
• Zimbardo’s Prison Study
– College students played the role of
guard or prisoner in a simulated
prison.
– The study was ended when the guards
became too aggressive and cruel.
Cognitive Dissonance
• The theory that people act to reduce the
discomfort (dissonance) they feel when
their thoughts are inconsistent with their
actions
• When our attitudes are inconsistent with our
actions, we change our attitudes to reduce the
dissonance.
• Ex. You dislike soccer. You start to date a girl from
Brazil. You start to watch soccer b/c she loves it.
You are uncomfortable b/c you are a committed
football fan. Soon, you start to find little things to
like about soccer.
Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence
Social Influence
Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence
Social Influence:
Conformity and
Obedience
Conformity
• Adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to
coincide with (comply/agree with) a
group standard
• Ex. My son will not play “Dora Dance”
on the X-Box because it is a “girl
game”.
• Ex. Even though it is freezing middle
school boys will only wear a hoodie, not
a jacket.
Solomon Asch (1907-1996)
• Social psychologist who researched the
circumstances under which people
conform
Asch’s Conformity Study
Asch’s Conformity Study
Factors Increasing Conformity
•
•
•
•
The person feels incompetent or insecure.
The group has three or more people.
The rest of the group is unanimous.
The person is impressed by the status of
the group.
• No prior commitments were made.
• The group is observing the person respond.
• One’s culture encourages conformity.
Stanley Milgram (1933-1984)
• Social psychologist who researched
obedience to authority
Obedience
• The tendency to comply with orders,
implied or real, from someone perceived
as an authority
Milgram’s Obedience to Authority
Milgram’s Obedience to Authority
Milgram’s Obedience to Authority
(Data from Milgram, 1974)
Milgram’s Obedience to Authority
Obedience increases when
• Victim cannot be seen
• Authority figure giving orders was close at
hand
• Authority figure linked to a prestigious
organization
Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence
Social Influence:
Group Influence
Social Facilitation
• Improved performance of tasks in the
presence of others (sing, play
basketball)
• Occurs with simple or well learned tasks
but not with tasks that are difficult or
not yet learned
• Who wants to come up here and solve a
random math problem on the board?
• How about the date and letter day?
Social Loafing
• The tendency for people in a group to
exert less effort when pooling their
efforts toward attaining a common goal
than when individually accountable
• People may be less accountable in a
group, or they may think their efforts
aren’t needed.
• Ex. Companies have a charity drive &
individual employees contribute more $
when …?
Deindividuation
• The loss of self-awareness and selfrestraint occurring in group situations
that foster arousal and anonymity
• People lose their sense of responsibility
when in a group.
• Ex. Say something mean about someone
on a blog, anonymously, but not to…
Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence
Social Influence:
Group Interaction
Effects
Group Polarization
• The enhancement of a group’s
prevailing attitudes through discussion
within the group
• Ex. You attend a lecture/meeting about
the benefits of Democratic policies.
You leave even more committed to the
democratic party. You think that “they”
the Republicans, are 100% wrong.
Groupthink
• The mode of thinking that occurs when
the desire for harmony in a decisionmaking group overrides a realistic
appraisal of the alternatives
• Ex. Most of the weather forecasts call for 6 inches
of snow starting at 6am. Most of the schools in your
area have cancelled school. Your superintendent
believes two forecasts that say the snow won’t start
until 4pm and that it will only be 2 inches of snow.
But, he decides to cancelled school anyway. Why?
Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence
Social Influence:
Our Power as
Individuals
Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
• Occurs when belief about others (or
ourselves) leads one to act in ways that
confirm the belief
• Ex. If someone describe you as
“helpful” and you didn’t think you were,
you’d be MORE helpful around that
person or in general. Why?
The End