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MODULE 53 PREVIEW
Social psychology is the scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another.
In thinking about others’ behavior and its possible causes, we tend to underestimate the influence of
the situation, thus committing the fundamental attribution error. Our attitudes predict behavior when
other influences are minimized, when the attitude is specifically relevant to the behavior, and when we
are aware of our attitudes. Our actions can also modify our attitudes, especially when we feel
responsible for those actions.
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES
1. To introduce attribution theory.
2. To present research on the relationship between attitudes and action.
MODULE GUIDE
Introductory Exercise: Fact or Falsehood?
Attributing Behavior to Persons or to Situations
1. Describe the importance of attribution in social behavior and the dangers of the fundamental attribution
error.
Attribution theory states that we tend to give a causal explanation for someone’s behavior. Our
attributions—either to the person or to the situation—play an important role in shaping our social
attitudes. Underestimating situational influences (the fundamental attribution error) can lead us to
unwarranted conclusions about others’ personality traits. For example, we may blame the poor and the
unemployed for their own misfortune.
Lecture: Attribution and Models of Helping
Exercises: Fact or Falsehood?; The Fundamental Attribution Error; Students’ Perceptions of You
Project: Social Psychology Web Sites
Film/Videos: Discovering Psychology: The Power of the Situation; Discovering Psychology: Constructing Social Reality;
Invitation to Social Psychology
Transparency: 176 Attributions and Attitudes
2. Identify the conditions under which attitudes have a strong impact on actions.
Attitudes have a strong impact on actions when (1) outside influences on what we say and do are
minimal, (2) the attitude is specifically relevant to the behavior, and (3) we are keenly aware of our
attitudes.
Lectures: The Looking Glass Effect; The Theory of Reasoned Action; Actions Influence Attitudes
Video: Quiet Rage—The Stanford Prison Experiment
Attitudes and Actions
3. Explain the foot-in-the-door phenomenon and the effect of role playing on attitudes in terms of cognitive
dissonance theory.
The foot-in-the-door phenomenon is the tendency for people who agree to a small request to comply
later with a larger one. Although the behaviors associated with a new role may initially feel artificial,
they soon seem to reflect our true self. Both the foot-in-the-door phenomenon and role playing show
how actions can modify attitudes.
Cognitive dissonance theory argues that people feel discomfort when their actions conflict with their
feelings and beliefs; they reduce the discomfort by bringing their attitudes more in line with their
actions.
Lecture: The Justification of Effort
Exercise: Introducing Cognitive Dissonance Theory
Project: The Zimbardo Prison Experiment
Transparency: 177 Cognitive Dissonance Theory