Download Social Psychology

the scientific study of how we
think about, influence, and relate
to one another
Primacy effect – opinions based on first
impressions
Recency effect – change in opinions on the basis of
interactions
How would you describe me? What
were your first impressions?
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Attribution theory – we
explain people’s behaviors as
an aspect of either an
internal disposition (inner
trait) or the situation
Fundamental attribution
error – attributing behaviors
to inner dispositions than to
situations
Who would you consider
“shy”?
Are YOU “shy” or
“outgoing”?
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Attitude – a belief or feeling that predisposes
you to respond in a particular way to people,
events, and objects
Foot-in-the-door phenomenon – tendency for
people who have 1st agreed to a small request
to comply later with a larger one
Role playing – “what we do, we eventually
become” (Zimbardo study)
Cognitive dissonance – we act to reduce the
discomfort we feel when our thoughts and
actions are inconsistent
HOW ATTITUDES DEVELOP
 Conditioning
 Observational Learning
 Cognitive Anchors
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The person next to you in class yawns. Then
the person in front of you yawns. Within
seconds, you are fighting the urge to follow
suit.
A group of students stand outside the front
door of a building. For no good reason, they
start to look up. As long as the five are out
there, almost everybody approaching the
building looks up as they enter, though there is
nothing special to see.
PERSUASION AFFECTS ATTITUDES
AND BEHAVIOR
There are two basic ways to persuade people:
 Central route – uses evidence and logical
arguments to persuade people
 Peripheral route – is indirect and attempts to
associate objects, people, or events with
positive or negative cues
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Conformity –
adjusting one’s
behavior or
thinking to
coincide with a
group idea or
standard
Asch study
Conformity increases when:
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You feel incompetent or
insecure
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You are in a group of 3 or
more
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The rest of the group is
unanimous
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You are impressed by the
status of the group
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You have made no prior
commitments to a response
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You are being observed by
others in the group
OBEDIENCE
 Going along with a direct command
SOME FACTORS RELATED TO OBEDIENCE
 Power of authority: people in positions of
authority have extraordinary power to elicit
obedience (Milgram- researcher)
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Modeling/imitation: seeing what other people
do in situations can impact obedience (Ex:
modeling social behavior at a party; dancing)
Distance: obedience is greater the farther you
are away from the intended victim (Ex., handto-hand combat vs. dropping a bomb from a
plane)
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Social facilitation – improved performance of
tasks in the presence of others
For tasks that are well-learned not difficult
tasks
Home team advantage?
Runners – what are your times at a race
compared to during practice?
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Social loafing – tendency for individuals in a
group to exert themselves less when trying to
reach a common goal than if they were
individually accountable
Deindividuation (risky shift) – loss of
awareness and self-restraint occurring in
anonymous, group situations (i.e., riots,
looting)
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Group polarization – our attitudes tend to
migrate toward extremes when with likeminded people
Groupthink – when the desire for harmony in a
decision-making group overrides a realistic
appraisal of alternatives
http://www.learner.org/series/discoveringps
ychology/19/e19expand.html
“Whether you think you can or can’t,
you’re right.”
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What is LOVE?
Why are we attracted to some people and not
to others?
Proximity – mere exposure effect
Physical attractiveness – “Love looks not with
the eyes, but with the mind.” – Shakespeare
was wrong…
Similarity – “Birds of a feather, flock together.”
Passionate love
Companionate love
- Equity
- Self-disclosure
Unselfish regard for the welfare of others
 Bystander effect – less likely to give aid if other
people are around
- Kitty Genovese case
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If we:
Are not in a hurry
Believe the victim deserves help
Are in a good mood
Believe the victim is similar to us
Are in a small town or rural area
Just saw someone else being helpful
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Prejudice – unjustifiable attitude toward a
group and its members
Stereotype – generalized beliefs about a group
Discrimination – action against a group
Scapegoat theory – prejudice provides an
outlet for anger by blaming someone else
What fosters prejudice?
Categorization –
simplifies
Just-world
phenomenon – …the
world is just and
therefore, people get
what they deserve
VIEWS ON AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR
 Biological View – brain and hormones appear to
be involved in aggression
 Psychoanalytic View – aggressive urges are
unavoidable reactions to the frustrations of
daily life
 Cognitive View – aggressive behavior is
maintained by people’s values, the ways in
which they perceive events, and the choices
they make
VIEWS ON AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR (continued)
 Learning Views – people learn to repeat
behaviors that are reinforced
 Sociocultural View – some cultures encourage
independence and competitiveness and this, in
turn, promotes aggression
Competition & isolation creates enemies
 Shared goals  cooperation
An “us” and “them” mentality turns into a “we”
state of mind.
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Sherif Study