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Chapter 14
Social Psychology
Module 14.1
Perceiving Others
Module 14.1
Preview Questions
 What
are the major influences on first
impressions, and why do first impressions
often become lasting impressions?
 What
role do cognitive biases play in the
judgments we make about the causes of
behavior?
Module 14.1
Preview Questions (Cont’d)
 What
are attitudes, and how are they
acquired?
 How
are attitudes related to behavior?
 What
 How
is cognitive dissonance theory?
do persuasive appeals lead to
attitude change?
Social Psychology
 Studies
how our thoughts, feelings, and
behaviors are influenced by our social
interactions with others and the culture in
which we live
 Social
perception is the process by which
we come to form an understanding of our
social environment

Based on observations of others, personal
experiences, and information we receive
Impression Formation: Why
First Impressions Count So Much
 The
process by which we form an opinion
or impression of another person
 First



impressions:
Formed quickly
Tend to be long-lasting
Difficult to change
 Impressions
formed affect how we relate
to those people
Impression Formation (Cont’d)
 Influenced



by:
Personal disclosure
Social schemas
Stereotypes
 Impressions
prophecies
can become self-fulfilling
Attributions: Why the Pizza Guy is Late
 Personal
explanations about the causes of
behaviors or events
 Two


types of attributions:
Dispositional Causes: internal factors, such as
characteristics or traits of the person
Situational Causes: external or environmental
factors
Cognitive Biases in Attribution

Fundamental attribution error
 Tendency to attribute behavior to internal factors,
ignoring situational influences
 Cross-cultural differences

Actor-observer effect
 Attribute one’s own behavior to external causes
 Attribute others’ behavior to internal causes

Self-serving bias
 Attribute personal success to internal factors
 Attribute failure to external factors
Attitudes: How do you feel
about…
A
positive or negative evaluation of
persons, objects, or issues
 Conceptualized
as consisting of three
components:



Cognitions (set of beliefs)
Emotions (feelings)
Behaviors (inclinations to act)
Sources of Attitudes
 Our
social environment (e.g., parents,
teachers, peers, experiences, media)
 Heredity,



through its influence on our:
Intelligence
Temperament
Personality traits
Attitudes and Behavior: Not
as strong a link as you might expect
 Attitudes
are only modestly linked to
behavior
 Many
factors limit this relation, especially
situational constraints
Cognitive Dissonance Theory
 What
happens when actions deviate from
attitudes?
 Inconsistencies
between attitudes and
behavior leads to a state of dissonance or
emotional discomfort
 Dissonance
motivates one to change
attitude or behavior to make them
compatible
Module 14.2
Relating to Others
Module 14.2 Preview Questions






What are the major determinants of attraction?
What are the three components of love in
Sternberg’s model of love?
What factors are linked to helping behavior?
What is prejudice, and how does it develop?
What can be done to reduce prejudice?
What factors contribute to human aggression?
Social Standards of Behavior

Social roles- a socially defined pattern of
behavior that is expected of persons in a given
setting or group
 Scripts- knowledge about the sequence of
events and actions that are expected in a
particular setting
 Social norms- group’s expectations regarding
what is appropriate & acceptable for attitudes &
behavior of members
What Is Attraction?
 Feeling
of liking others
 Having
positive thoughts about them
 Inclination
 Includes
to act positively toward them
friendships and romantic
relationships
Determinants of Attraction
 Similarity
 Physical



attractiveness
“What is beautiful is good” stereotype
Affects how we are perceived by others
Matching hypothesis
 Proximity
 Reciprocity
Figure 14.5: Sternberg’s
Triangular Model of Love
Helping Behavior:
Lending a hand to others in need
 Tragedy

But how to explain the heroic efforts on 9/11?
 Helping

of Kitty Genovese (1964)
is a form of prosocial behavior
Behavior that is beneficial to others
 Two
types of motives underlie helping
behavior:


Altruistic motives
Self-centered motives
Influences on Helping
 Situational
ambiguity
 Perceived cost
 Diffusion of responsibility
 Similarity
 Empathy
 Facial features
 Mood and gender
 Attributions of the cause of need
 Social norms
Prejudice: Attitudes that harm
 Preconceived
attitude, formed without
critical thought or evaluation of the facts

Usually an unfavorable attitude
 Components:



Cognitive: biased beliefs about other groups
Emotions: dislike toward members of other
groups
Behavior: discrimination or biased/unfair
treatment of people based on group
membership
How Does Prejudice Develop?
 Outgrowth

Stereotypes are learned or acquired
 Direct
experience
 Cognitive



of negative stereotypes
biases
Out-group negativism
In-group favoritism
Out-group homogeneity
Prejudice: Individual Differences
 Learning
experiences
 Cognitive

style
Universalist orientation = less prejudiced
 Authoritarian

personality style
Rigidity, obedience, and respect for authority
Effects of Stereotyping and Prejudice
 Racism
is the negative bias held toward
members of other racial groups

Significant source of environmental stress for
many African Americans
 Negative



effects of stereotyping:
Lowered expectations
Beliefs can become internalized
Can become a self-fulfilling prophecy
Reducing Prejudice:
Allport’s Contact Hypothesis
 Reduce
prejudice by bringing groups into
close contact
 Facilitated




by:
Social and institutional support
Acquaintance potential
Equal status
Intergroup cooperation
Reducing Prejudice: Individual Efforts
 Avoid


stereotypical thinking
Reject negative thoughts
Rehearse positive images
 Taking
part in cooperative projects in
which we get to interact with people of
different backgrounds
 Diversity
education
Is Human Aggression
Instinctual?
 Fighting
instinct as basic survival
mechanism (Konrad Lorenz)
 Human
aggression may be too complex to
be based on instinct
Influences on Aggression
 Biological



Violent behavior and abnormal brain circuitry
Male sex hormone, testosterone
Inherited tendencies
 Learning


Influences
Influences
Observational learning, modeling, and
imitation
Reinforcement of aggression
Influences on Aggression (Cont’d)
 Sociocultural


Violence occurs within social contexts
Violence as a social influence tactic
 Alcohol



Influences
use
Strongly linked to aggressive behavior
Loosens inhibitions and restraints on
impulsive behaviors
Impairs cognitions, sensitivity, perception
Influences on Aggression (Cont’d)
 Emotional

States
Frustration and anger may trigger aggression
 Environmental

Influences
Higher temperatures, more aggression
Module 14.3
Group Influences on Individual Behavior
Module 14.3 Preview Questions
 What
is social identity?
 What was the significance of the Asch
study on conformity?
 Why were Milgram’s findings so disturbing,
and why were his methods so
controversial?
 How does the presence of others affect
individual performance?
 What is groupthink?
Our Social Selves: “Who are
We?”
 Personal
Identity: involves sense of
ourselves as unique individuals
 Social
Identity: involves sense of
ourselves as members of particular
groups


“Group identity”
More of a prominent part of one’s identity in
collectivistic cultures
Conformity: Bending
the “I” to Fit the “We”
 Tendency
to adjust one’s behavior to
actual or perceived social pressures
 What


pressures do we conform to?
General social norms
Group or peer norms
 Asch’s
classic study on conformity
Why Do People Conform?
 Assume
the majority must be correct
 Group
acceptance is more important
than being correct
 It
is easier to go along with the group
than to disagree
Influences on Conformity

Gender (women)

Culture (collectivist cultures)

Age (younger)

Personality (low self-esteem, shyness, desire
to be liked by the group)

Situational factors (public, size of the group,
dissent)
Why Do We Obey
Authority?
Milgram’s Obedience Studies
 “Teacher”
shocks “learner”
 Most
participants obeyed, delivering high
voltage shock
 Demonstrates
potential for ordinary
people to do harm by following authority
 Provoked
an ethical controversy
Why Do People Obey Immoral Commands?
 Legitimization

Taught at an early age to obey and not
question authority figures
 Social

of authority
validation or social comparison
What are others doing?
 Easier
to comply with extreme requests if
already complied with lesser requests
Social Facilitation
 Tendency
for people to work better or
harder when working in the presence of
others
 Exposure
to others induces energizing
arousal
 Increases
performance of dominant
responses

But not always the correct response
Social Loafing
 Tendency
for people to apply less effort
working as members of a group
 More
likely when performance is not being
evaluated
 Reduced



with:
More appealing tasks
Visibility of individual performance
Individual accountability
Groupthink: How can smart
people make dumb decisions?
 Tendency
for members of a group to lose
ability for critical evaluation

More concerned with reaching a consensus
 More



likely to occur when:
Members are strongly attached to group
An external threat is present
Group is directed by a strong-minded leader
Avoiding Groupthink
 Encourage
consideration of all
alternatives
 Group leader avoids stating preferences
 Seek outside opinions and analyses
 Encourage someone to play the role of
“devil’s advocate.”
 Subdivide into independent groups
 Have several meetings to reassess and
evaluate new information
Module 14.4
Compliance: Doing What
Others Want You to Do
Compliance
 Process
of acceding to the requests or
demands of others
 Factors



influencing compliance:
Authority
Social validation
Desire for consistency
Compliance Strategies
 Using



consistency to one’s advantage:
Low-ball technique
Bait-and-switch technique
Foot-in-the-door technique
 Taking

advantage of reciprocity:
Door-in-the-face technique