Download Chapter Summary/Lecture Organizer I. OUR THOUGHTS ABOUT

Chapter Summary/Lecture Organizer
I.
OUR THOUGHTS ABOUT OTHERS
A. Attribution - Attributions are statements that are designed to explain why people behave as
they do. The basic question is whether their actions are due to internal dispositions (derived
from their own traits and motives) or external situations (derived from the environment or
situation).
Attribution is subject to several forms of error and bias. The fundamental attribution error
reflects our tendency to overestimate internal, personality influences and underestimate
external influences when judging the behavior of others. The saliency bias is the tendency to
focus on the most noticeable factors when explaining the causes of behavior. The self-serving
bias occurs when we attempt to find reasons for our own behavior, as we tend to take undue
credit for positive outcomes and attribute negative outcomes to external causes. The selfserving bias may be partially an artifact of western society due to the strong emphasis on the
self and individuality. More collectivist cultures (such as Asian and certain Native American
societies) do not define themselves as much in terms of individual traits.
B. Attitudes - Attitudes are learned pre-dispositions to respond cognitively, affectively, and
behaviorally to a particular object. The three components of all attitudes are the cognitive
response (thoughts and beliefs), affective response (feelings), and behavioral tendencies
(pre-dispositions to actions).
We sometimes change our attitudes because of cognitive dissonance, which is the state of
tension or anxiety we feel when there is a difference between two or more attitudes or when
our attitudes do not match our behaviors. This mismatch and tension motivate us to change
our attitude to restore balance which is essentially a drive-reduction theory.
Cognitive dissonance may reflect a particular way of evaluating the self that is distinctively
western. Bad decisions have strong negative effects on individual self-esteem and so motivate
attitude change. Collectivist cultures (such as Asians) are not as threatened by losses to
individual self-esteem, so this may not be as strong a motivator for attitude change.
II.
OUR FEELINGS ABOUT OTHERS
A. Prejudice and Discrimination - Prejudice is a generally negative attitude directed toward
people solely on the basis of their membership in a specific group. It contains all three
components of attitudes (cognitive, affective, and behavioral elements). Discrimination is not
the same as prejudice. It refers to the actual negative behavior directed at members of a
group. People do not always act on their prejudices.
The major sources of prejudice are learning (classical and operant, and social learning);
personal experience, mental short-cuts (in-group favoritism, out-group homogeneity effect);
economic and political competition; and displaced aggression (scape-goating).
B. Interpersonal Attraction - The degree of positive or negative feelings we have toward each
other account for a variety of social experiences including admiration, liking, friendship,
intimacy, lust, and love. There are three factors that influence interpersonal attraction –
physical attractiveness, proximity, and similarity.
Gender and Cultural Diversity: Is Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder? - Standards for
physical attractiveness vary across cultures and historically. Physical attractiveness is
generally more important to men than to women. Physical proximity increases one's
attractiveness. The nearer you live to or work with someone, the more likely it is you will
like that person. Although people commonly believe that “opposites attract,” research
shows that similarity is a much more important factor in attraction.
Applying Psychology to Relationships: The Art and Science of Flirting – Monica
Moore, a scientist from the University of Missouri, has observed and recorded many
scenes, of what she calls “nonverbal courtship signaling” – flirting. A scene between a
man and a woman at a singles bar demonstrates consequences of flirting behavior.
1. Physical Attractiveness - Physical attractiveness is very important to initial attraction.
Physically attractive people are often perceived as more intelligent, sociable, and
interesting than less attractive people.
2. Proximity - Proximity is also very important to initial attraction. People who are in the
same place at the same time are more likely to become friends just due to mere exposure.
3. Similarity - Similarity is the most important factor in holding together long-term
relationships over time. There are two ways in which this factor acts. One is need
compatibility, we need others who are like us to share
interests, attitudes, and so on. Another is by need complementarily, we also need others
who have very different qualities, and so each provides important resources for the other.
C. Loving Others – Romantic love is an intense feeling of attraction for another that is high in
the beginning and typically short-lived. Loving others is more of a mystery. Often love
relationships develop from initial feelings of liking, and it is not always clear when one gives
way to the other. Romantic love is highly valued in our society, but because it is based on
mystery and fantasy, it is hard to sustain in long-term relationships. Companionate love is
based on admiration and respect, combined with deep feelings of caring and usually increases
over time and is often long-lasting.
III.
OUR ACTIONS TOWARD OTHERS
A. Social Influence - Through the process of social influence, we are taught important cultural
values and behaviors that are essential to successful social living. Two of the most important
forms of social influence are conformity and obedience. Conformity refers to changes in
behavior in response to real or imagined pressure from others. Asch's classic study of
conformity demonstrated that people will often conform to group opinion even when the
group is clearly wrong. People conform for approval and acceptance (normative social
influence), out of a need for more information (informational social influence), and to match
the behavior of those they admire and feel similar to (their reference group). People also
conform because it is often adaptive to do so.
Obedience involves giving in to a command from another. Milgram's experiment with
obedience to authority demonstrated that a large number of people will follow orders even
when another human being is physically threatened. Assignment of responsibility, the
presence of disobedient models, the legitimacy and closeness of the authority figure, and the
remoteness of the victim are the four of most important factors in reducing destructive
forms of obedience (Concept Diagram 16.1).
B. Group Processes - Groups differ from mere collections of people if members share a
mutually recognized relationship with one another.
Group membership is the basic relationship members of a group immediately recognize and
share. As a member of a group we then play various roles. The importance of these roles in
determining and controlling behavior was dramatically demonstrated in Philip Zimbardo's
Stanford Prison Study. College students who were assigned to play the role of either a
prisoner or guard in a simulated prison became so completely and dangerously immersed in
acting out their roles that the experiment was prematurely ended.
Deindividuation occurs when one is less self-conscious and less inhibited, and less personally
responsible as a member of a group than when alone especially under conditions of
anonymity.
Group decision making is influenced by how group discussions affect individual opinions
(group polarization) and how group membership affects access to information (group-think).
Groups are often trusted with decisions because we believe their response will be more
conservative and "middle of the road" than the potentially extreme decisions of individuals.
Research shows, however, that groups are actually more extreme in their decisions. Sharing
ideas with "like-minded" others often reinforces the group's preexisting and dominant
tendencies, resulting in group polarization. Group-think is a dangerous type of thinking that
occurs when the group's desire for agreement overrules its tendency to critically evaluate
information. The decision to marry can be a form of group-think (Process Diagram 16.1).
C. Aggression - Aggression is any deliberate attempt to harm another living being who is
motivated to avoid such treatment. Research points to both internal and external factors
leading to aggression.
In the search for internal factors leading to aggression, some researchers have focused on
biological factors and the role of genetic pre-dispositions toward aggression. Others have
done research on specific parts of the brain. Substance and mental disorders are also
recognized as sources of aggression. Biological investigations have also explored the role of
hormones (elevated levels of testosterone) and neurotransmitters (lowered levels of serotonin
and GABA).
Psychosocial factors also play a role in aggression. Aversive stimuli, frustration (and
displaced aggression), social learning (observation of models in a culture who are rewarded
for aggression), and media violence may be the most important external factors.
Releasing aggressive feelings through violent acts or watching violence has not been shown
to be an effective way to reduce aggression. More effective ways are to produce incompatible
responses (such as humor), and to improve social and communication skills.
D. Altruism - Altruism refers to actions designed to help others with no obvious benefit to
oneself.
Why do we help? Evolutionary theorists believe altruism is innate and has survival value.
Psychological explanations for altruism emphasize the egoistic model, which suggests that
helping is motivated by anticipated gain, or the empathy-altruism hypothesis, which proposes
that helping is activated when the helper feels empathy for the victim.
Why don't we help? Whether or not someone helps depends on a series of interconnected
events, starting with noticing the problem and ending with a decision to help. Altruism is
inhibited by the fact that many emergency situations are ambiguous and the potential
respondent is unsure of what to do. Inhibition also comes from not taking personal
responsibility and assuming someone else will respond (the diffusion of responsibility
phenomenon).
To increase the chances of altruism, we should increase the rewards and decrease the costs.
We can also reduce ambiguity by giving clear directions to those who may be watching.
Critical Thinking/Active Learning: When and Why Do We Help? – Students are
given an opportunity to think about helping behavior in the context of a personal situation
and the backdrop of the Kitty Genovese murder.
IV.
APPLYING SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY TO SOCIAL PROBLEMS
A. Reducing Prejudice and Discrimination – Five major approaches to combat prejudice
are explored: cooperation and common goals, intergroup contact, cognitive retraining, and
cognitive dissonance.
D. Overcoming Destructive Obedience – Five areas are discussed that may explain and
perhaps reduce destructive obedience: socialization, power of the situation, groupthink, footin-the-door, and relaxed moral guard.