Download Scientific American PSYCHOLOGY

Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
LO 1 Define social psychology and identify how
it is different from sociology.
LO 2 Describe social cognition and how we use
attributions to explain behavior.
LO 3 Explain how attributions lead to mistakes
about the causes of behaviors.
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
LO 4 Describe social influence and recognize
the factors associated with persuasion.
LO 5 Define compliance and explain some of
the techniques used to gain it.
LO 6 Evaluate conformity and identify the
factors that influence the likelihood of someone
conforming.
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
LO 7 Describe obedience and explain how
Stanley Milgram studied it.
LO 8 Recognize the circumstances that
influence the occurrence of the bystander
effect.
LO 9 Demonstrate an understanding of
aggression and identify some of its causes.
LO 10 Recognize how group affiliation
influences the development of stereotypes.
LO 11 Compare prosocial behavior and
altruism.
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
LO 12 Identify the three major factors
contributing to interpersonal attraction.
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
An Introduction to Social Psychology
WHAT IS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY?
Social psychology
• Study of human cognition, emotion, and behavior in
relation to others, including how people behave in
social settings
Sociology
• Sociologists would more likely investigate religious
practices, rituals, and organizations.
Most obvious differences lie in the methods used to
conduct research.
Meet Joe Maggio
Loving Dad
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Joseph Maggio
Before joining Match.com,
Joe Maggio was a single
father to daughter Kristina.
Dating was a challenge, as
most of the women Joe met
lacked the qualities he
desired.
Then, with a few clicks and
keystrokes, along came
Susanne…
An Introduction to Social Psychology
WHAT IS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY?
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Research methods
•
Same general research methods as other
psychologists, but often with deception
•
Often involves confederates who play part of
experimental manipulation
•
Debriefing often occurs
•
Approval by IRB
Stanley & Alexandra Milgram/Alexander Street Press
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE
A research confederate in Stanley Milgram’s classic experiment is strapped to a
table and hooked up to electrodes.
Participants in this study were led to believe they were administering electrical
shocks to the confederate when in reality the confederate was just pretending
to be shocked.
This allowed the researchers to study how far the participants would go
applying the shocks—without anyone actually being hurt.
1. _____ studies individuals in relation to others
and groups, whereas _____ studies the groups
themselves, including cultures and societies.
a. Sociology; social psychology
b. Social psychology; sociology
c. Sociology; a confederate
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
d. A confederate; social psychology
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
2. When a participant has completed his
involvement in a research project, generally the
researcher will _____ him by discussing aspects of
the study and making sure he was not upset or
harmed by his involvement.
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
3. Social psychology research occasionally
involves some form of deception that includes a
confederate. How is this type of deception different
from the use of double-blind studies?
Social Cognition
ATTRIBUTIONS
Beliefs one develops to explain human behaviors
and characteristics, as well as situations
Dimensions
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
• Psychologists often describe three dimensions.
•
Controllable-uncontrollable
•
Stable-unstable
•
Internal-external
Let’s take a look at each of these dimensions.
Social Cognition
ATTRIBUTIONS
Attributional dimensions
• Controllable-uncontrollable dimensions
• Stable-unstable dimensions
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
• Internal-external dimensions
BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Left to Die
Esther Grant holds a painting
of Brian Sinclair, the man who
died of a treatable urinary tract
infection after waiting in a
Winnipeg emergency room for
34 hours.
Why was Sinclair ignored,
even after various people in
the emergency room
approached hospital staff to
voice their concern? (Kubinec,
2013, September 5)
ATTRIBUTIONS
Fundamental
attribution error
• Tendency to
overestimate the
degree to which
the characteristics
of an individual
are the cause of
an event, and to
underestimate the
involvement of
situational factors
Credits: Waiter silos, © Slobelix/Agefotostock; Glass jars filled with dollar bills, Mike Kemp/Getty
Images; Silhouettes of people, Leontura/Getty Images
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Social Cognition
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
ATTRIBUTIONS
Just-world
hypothesis
• Tendency to
believe the world
is a fair place and
individuals
generally get what
they deserve
Credits: Waiter silos, © Slobelix/Agefotostock; Glass jars filled with dollar bills, Mike Kemp/Getty
Images; Silhouettes of people, Leontura/Getty Images
Social Cognition
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
ATTRIBUTIONS
Self-serving bias
• Tendency to
attribute
successes to
personal
characteristics
and failures to
environmental
factors
Credits: Waiter silos, © Slobelix/Agefotostock; Glass jars filled with dollar bills, Mike Kemp/Getty
Images; Silhouettes of people, Leontura/Getty Images
Social Cognition
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
ATTRIBUTIONS
False consensus
effect
• Tendency to
overestimate the
degree to which
others think or act
like we do
Credits: Waiter silos, © Slobelix/Agefotostock; Glass jars filled with dollar bills, Mike Kemp/Getty
Images; Silhouettes of people, Leontura/Getty Images
Social Cognition
Social Cognition
ATTITUDES
Definition
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
• Attitudes are relatively stable thoughts,
feelings, and responses one has toward people,
situations, ideas, and things.
Social Cognition
ATTITUDES.
Sources
•
Psychologists suggest that attitudes are composed of
cognitive (beliefs about object, person, or situation), affective
(mood or emotion, emotional evaluation), and behavioral
(feelings and beliefs guide behavior) components.
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Nurture
•
Nature seemingly appears to dominate: attitudes.
•
Attitudes develop through experiences and interactions with
the people in our lives, and even through exposure to media
(via classical conditioning and observational learning).
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
ATTITUDES
• Attitudes are composed of cognitive, affective,
and behavioral components.
• Cognitive and affective components usually
guide the behavioral aspect of an attitude.
Nature and Nurture
WHY THE ATTITUDE?
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
A study of several hundred pairs of twins
concluded that most of the attitude variation
among participants resulted from non-shared
environmental factors, or distinct life experiences.
Genes probably exert their effects indirectly,
through personality traits and other genetically
determined characteristics.
More recent research suggests that political
attitudes are influenced by genes.
All in the Family?
Tony Savino / Corbis / AP Images
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Children and parents
frequently have the same
attitudes about politics and
social issues.
To a certain degree, these
similarities trace to common
personality traits, which are
partly inherited.
Attitudes are more strongly
influenced by life
experiences.
DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING
SOMETHING DOESN’T FEEL RIGHT
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
In the classic Festinger and Carlsmith study, why
were higher paid students less inclined to change
their attitudes to match their claim?
1. _____ are beliefs about the causes used to
explain events, situations, and characteristics.
a. Attributions
b. Confederates
c. Dispositions
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
d. Attitudes
2. Because of the fundamental attribution error, we
tend to be more likely to attribute causes of
behaviors to the _____.
a. characteristics of the situation.
b. factors involved in the event.
c. length of the activity.
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
d. disposition of the person.
3. What three elements comprise an attitude?
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
4. The just-world hypothesis is held by people who
believe the world is a fair place; therefore, if
someone is suffering, he or she must have done
something to deserve it.
What are some examples of the just-world
hypothesis playing out in current popular stories or
the media?
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Social Influence
POWER OF OTHERS
Social influence
• Refers to how a person is affected by others as
evidenced in behaviors, emotions, and cognition
• Can be obvious or barely noticeable
Expectations
• Are a form of social influence
• Other people’s behavior is partly derived from how
we view them, just as our behavior is partly derived
from how others view us.
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Home in Uganda
A group of women sit together in Awake, Uganda, the village
where Julius Achon was born and raised.
Day-to-day life was difficult, and young Julius dreamed of leaving
the village and pursuing a better life in the city. Inspired by the
accomplishments of Uganda’s Olympic hurdler John Akii-Bua, he
decided to start running.
Social Influence
PERSUASION AND COMPLIANCE
Persuasion
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
• Intentionally trying to make people change their
attitudes and beliefs, which may lead to
changes in their behaviors
Social Influence
PERSUASION AND COMPLIANCE
The source
•
Credibility dependent on perceived expertise and trustworthiness
•
Attractiveness
The message
•
Logical and to the point
•
Amount of fear-inducing
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
The audience
•
Children more likely than middle age adults to be persuaded
•
Emotional state
•
Focus
Fast and Free
Image of Sport Photos/Newscom.
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Julius wins the 1500 meters
at the 2005 Payton Jordan
U.S. Open at Stanford
University.
With two Olympics under his
belt, the young runner had
enjoyed an extremely
successful athletic career,
but his focus was beginning
to shift onto something
bigger—the task of
providing for 11 orphans
back home in Uganda.
Social Influence
PERSUASION
Elaboration likelihood model
• Proposes that persuasion hinges on the way
people think about an argument,
Can occur via one of two pathways
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
• Central route
• Peripheral route
Social Influence
COMPLIANCE
Compliance
• Changes in behavior at the request or direction
of another person or group, who in general
does not have any true authority
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Techniques
Door-in-the-face technique
• Compliance technique that involves making a
large request first, followed by a smaller request
AP Images for Human Rights Campaign
Foot in the Door
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Reverend James Ishmael Ford goes door-to-door in Providence, Rhode Island,
talking to residents about marriage equality.
If Rev. Ford can just get his “foot in the door,” the resident might be willing to
talk to him.
With the foot-in-the-door technique, the person makes a small request (“May I
have just one minute of your time?”) followed by a larger request.
(“Would you sign this petition?”).
Social Influence
Door-in-the-face technique
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Compliance technique that involves making a large
request first, followed by a smaller request
Social Influence
CONFORMITY
• Tendency to modify behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, and
opinions to match those of others
Following the crowd
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
• Tendency to conform to the norms or standards of the
social environment; often occurs because people feel
compelled to fit in and belong
Try This
The next time you are outside in a fairly crowded
area, look up and keep your eyes toward the sky.
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
You will find that some people change their gazes
to match yours, even though there is no other
indication that something is happening above.
photo by William E. Asch, Opinions and Social Pressure, Scientific
American, Nov 1955, Vol 193, No.5, 31-35
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Studying conformity: Asch’s Conformity Experiment
Participants in this experiment were asked to look at the lines on two
cards, announcing which of the comparison lines was closest in length
to the standard line.
Social Influence
CONFORMITY
Why conform?
Three major reasons for conformity
• Normative social influence
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
• Informational social influence
• Reference group
Social Influence
CONFORMITY
Certain conditions increase likelihood of
conforming:
1. The group includes at least three other people who
are unanimous.
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
2. You have to report your decision in front of others
and give your reasons.
3. The task seems difficult to you.
4. You are unsure of your ability to perform the task.
Social Influence
CONFORMITY
Certain conditions decrease the likelihood of
conforming:
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
1. At least one other person is going against the
group with you. (Asch, 1955)
2. Group members come from individualist, or “mecentered” cultures, meaning they are less likely to
conform than centered cultures.
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Concepts of Social Influence: Quick Review
Social Influence
OBEDIENCE
Obedience
• Changing behavior because we have been
ordered to do so by an authority figure
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
• Milgram’s study
AFP/Getty Images
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
BOY SOLDIER
A young boy wields a Kalshnikov rifle near Kampala, Uganda.
He is among the tens of thousands of children who have been
exploited by military groups in Uganda.
Julius was just 12 years old when he was abducted by the Lord’s
Resistance Army and forced to fight and plunder on the group’s
behalf.
Social Influence
OBEDIENCE
Changing behavior because we have been
ordered to do so by an authority figure
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
• In some cases, the person in charge demands
obedience for the good of those less powerful.
• Other times, the person wielding power
demands obedience for own benefit.
Stanley & Alexandra Milgram/Alexander Street Press
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
OBEDIENCE: TROUBLING DISCOVERIES
Milgram’s research illuminated the dangers of human
obedience. Feeling pressure from authority figures,
participants in Milgram’s studies were willing to administer
what they believed to be painful and life-threatening electric
shocks to other human beings. (Milgram, 1963)
Social Influence
OBEDIENCE
Replicating Milgram’s study
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
• This type of research has been replicated in the
United States and in other countries.
• Findings have remained fairly consistent, with
61–66 percent the of participants continuing to
the highest level of shock.
1. _____ occurs when we change our behavior, or
act in a way we might not normally, because we
have been ordered to do so by an authority figure.
a. Persuasion
b. Compliance
c. Conformity
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
d. Obedience
2. Asch’s experiments with conformity show how
difficult it is to resist the urge to conform to the
behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, and opinions of
others. At the same time, many of his participants
did not cave in to so-called peer pressure.
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Can you think of an everyday example in which
somebody successfully resisted the urge to
conform?
Groups and Relationships
WHEN TWO HEADS ARE NOT BETTER THAN ONE
Social facilitation
•
Tendency for the presence of others to improve personal
performance when the task or event is fairly uncomplicated
and a person is adequately prepared
Social loafing
•
Tendency for people to make less than their best effort when
individual contributions are too complicated to measure
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Diffusion of responsibility
•
Sharing of duties and responsibilities among all group
members that can lead to feelings of decreased
accountability and motivation
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Groups and Relationships
WHEN TWO HEADS ARE NOT BETTER THAN ONE
Deindividuation
• Diminished sense of personal responsibility, inhibition,
or adherence to social norms that occurs when group
members are not treated as individuals
Risky shift
• Tendency for groups to recommend uncertain and risky
options
Group polarization
• Tendency for a group to take a more extreme stance
than originally held after deliberations and discussion
Groups and Relationships
WHEN TWO HEADS ARE NOT BETTER THAN
ONE
Bystander effect
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
• Tendency for people to avoid getting involved in
an emergency they witness because they
assume someone else will help
Christopher Sadowski/Splash News/Newscom
NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
CASUALTIES OF THE BYSTANDER EFFECT
Kitty Genovese (left) and Hugo Tale-Yax (right) lived in
different eras, but both were victims of brutal assaults and
the cold indifference of bystanders in New York City.
Genovese and Tale-Yax might have been saved if the
passersby who saw them in distress had called for help.
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
1. ________, or the tendency for people to put
forth less than their best effort, might occur when
individual contributions to the group are difficult to
measure.
a. Cognitive dissonance
b. Social facilitation
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
c. Deindividuation
d. Social loafing
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
2. In an experiment studying _____, trick-ortreating children were more likely to take extra
candy and/or money if they were anonymous
members of a group.
3. _____ is the tendency for people to not react in
an emergency, often thinking that someone else
will step in to help.
a. Group polarization
b. The risky shift
c. The bystander effect
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
d. Deindividuation
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
4. Group polarization is the tendency for a group to
take a more extreme stance after deliberations and
discussion. If you were in a group making an
important decision, what would you tell the other
group members about group polarization and how
to guard against it?
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Aggression
DEFINING AGGRESSION
Aggression
• Intimidating or threatening behavior or attitudes
intended to hurt someone
• Twin studies reveal that identical twins are more likely
than fraternal twins to share aggressive traits.
Frustration-aggression hypothesis
• Suggests that aggression may occur in response to
frustration
•
Male = more direct aggression
•
Females = more relational aggression
Aggression
STEREOTYPES
Steretoypes
•
Conclusions or inferences we make about people who are
different from us based on their group membership, such as
race, religion, age, or gender
In-group
•
Group to which we belong.
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Out-group
•
People outside the group to which we belong
Social identity
•
How we view ourselves within our social group
Aggression
DISCRIMINATION
Ethnocentrism
•
To see the world only from the perspective of one’s
own group involves showing favoritism or hostility to
others because of their affiliation with a group
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Scapegoat
•
Target of negative emotions, beliefs, and behaviors;
typically, a member of the out-group who receives
blame for an upsetting social situation
Following the Crowd
CHANGING YOUR MIND TO FIT IN MAY NOT BE
A CONSCIOUS CHOICE.
• Men judge a woman as more attractive when
they believe their peers find that woman
attractive—suggesting groupthink is more
complex than once thought.
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
• Functional MRI scans showed that the men
were not simply lying to fit in.
• Activity in their brain’s pleasure centers
indicated that their opinions of the women’s
beauty really did change.
Aggression
STEREOTYPES AND DISCRIMINATION
Prejudice
• Holding hostile or negative attitudes toward an
individual or group
Stereotype threat
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
•
A “situational threat” in which individuals are
aware of others’ negative expectations, which
leads to their fear that they will be judged and/or
treated as inferior
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Rudeness on the Internet
MEAN COMMENTS ARISE FROM A LACK OF
EYE CONTACT MORE THAN FROM
ANONYMITY.
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Psychologists have largely blamed this
disinhibition on anonymity and invisibility:
• In a study conducted by Israeli students, far
more than anonymity or invisibility, whether or
not the subjects had to look into their partner’s
eyes predicted how mean they were.
Melinda Wenner Moyer. Reproduced with permission. Copyright © 2012 Scientific
American, a division of Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved.
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Aggression
PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR
Prosocial behavior
• Behavior aimed at benefiting others
Altruism
• Desire or motivation to help others with no
expectation of anything in return
Empathy
• Ability to understand and recognize another’s
emotional point of view, is a major component of
altruism.
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Aggression
ON THE UP SIDE
Altruism and toddlers
• Many 18-month-old children demonstrate helping
behavior.
• Areas of brain (medial prefrontal cortex) show
increased activity in association with feelings of
empathy and helping behavior.
Stress reduction and increased happiness
• Helping others reduces stress and increases
happiness.
1. According to research, which plays a role in
aggressive behavior?
a. low social identity
b. low levels of the hormone testosterone
c. low levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
d. low levels of ethnocentrism
2. Julius Achon sent money home every month to
help cover the cost of food, clothing, and schooling
for his 11 adopted children.
This is a good example of:
a. the just-world hypothesis.
b. deindividuation.
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
c. individualistic behavior.
d. prosocial behavior.
3. Name and describe the different displays of
aggression exhibited by males and females.
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
4. Students often have difficulty identifying how the
concepts of stereotypes, discrimination, and
prejudice are related. If you were sitting at a table
with a sixth-grade student, how would you explain
their similarities and differences?
Attraction and Love
INTERPERSONAL ATTRACTION
Important attraction factors
• Proximity
• Mere-exposure effect
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
• Similarity
• Physical attractiveness
Social Media and Psychology
RELATIONSHIPS ONLINE
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Advantages
•
Dating pool broadened.
•
Around 20 percent of couples who met online had
formed lasting relationships.
•
Enhancement of established relationships
Drawbacks
• Profiles and other details many be superficial.
Attraction and Love
THE EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE
Evolutionary explanation
Beauty perks
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
• Beauty is sign of health, greater potential for
longevity, and successful breeding.
• Women may choose more attractive-looking
men even when it is not in their best interest to
do so.
What Is Love?
WHAT IS LOVE?
Sternberg’s Triangular
Model of Love
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Sternberg proposed that there
are different kinds of love
resulting from combinations of
three elements: passion,
intimacy, and commitment.
The ideal form, consummate
love, combines all three
elements.
The Honeymoon
Continues
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
Joseph Maggio
After several years of
marriage and three new
children, the love between
Joe and Susanne Maggio is
stronger than ever.
They have what you might
call consummate love, a
type of love characterized
by intimacy, commitment,
and passion.
1. What are the three major factors that play a role
in interpersonal attraction?
a. social influence, obedience, physical
attractiveness
b. proximity, similarity, physical attractiveness
c. obedience, proximity, social influence
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
d. proximity, love, social influence
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
2. Research has shown that most people prefer
looking at pictures of their own faces when
reversed, but friends prefer normal, non-reversed
photos. This finding supports the _____,
suggesting repeated viewing of one’s face in the
mirror makes it more attractive.
Courtesy Dr. Julie Gralow
3. We described how the investment model of
commitment can be used to predict the long-term
stability of a romantic relationship. How can you
use this same model to predict the long-term
stability of friendships, positions at work, or loyalty
to institutions?