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Chapter 14
Social Psychology
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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2006
Social Psychology
Social psychology –
The branch of psychology that studies the
effects of social variables and cognitions on
individual behavior and social interactions
Social context –
The combination of
(a) People
(b) The activities and interactions among people
(c) The setting in which behavior occurs, and
(d) The expectations and social norms governing
behavior in that setting
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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2006
How Does the
Social Situation
Affect our Behavior?
We usually adapt our
behavior to the demands of
the social situation, and in
ambiguous situations we
take our cues from the
behavior of others in that
setting
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How Does the
Social Situation
Affect our Behavior?
Situationism –
The view that environmental conditions
influence people’s behavior as much or
more than their personal dispositions do
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Social Standards of Behavior
Social role –
One of several socially defined patterns
of behavior that are expected of persons
in a given setting or group
Script –
Knowledge about the sequence
of events and actions that is
expected in a particular setting
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Social Standards of Behavior
Social norms –
A group’s expectations regarding what is
appropriate and acceptable for its
members’ attitudes and behavior
Social norms influence students’
political views
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Conformity:
The Asch studies
Which line matches the line on the left?
A
Standard line
1
2
3
Comparison lines
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Conformity:
The Asch studies
What would you say if you were in a room
full of people who all picked line number
three?
A
Standard line
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2
3
Comparison lines
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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2006
Conformity
Correct estimated (percent)
No opposition (control)
100
With partner
80
60
Alone against majority
40
20
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Critical trials
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9
10
11
12
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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2006
Group Characteristics That Produce
Conformity
Ashe identifies three factors that influence
whether a person will yield to pressure:
The size of the majority
The presence of a partner who dissented from
the majority
The size of the discrepancy between the
correct answer and the majority position
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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2006
Groupthink
In “groupthink,” members of the group
attempt to conform their opinions to what
each believes to be the consensus of the
group
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Conditions Likely to Promote
Groupthink
Conditions likely to promote groupthink
include:
Isolation of the group
High group cohesiveness
Directive leadership
Lack of norms requiring methodical
procedures
Homogeneity of members’ social background
and ideology
High stress from external threats with low
hope of a better solution than that of the
group leader
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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2006
Obedience to Authority
Imagine if an experimenter studying “the
effects of punishment on memory” asked
you to deliver painful electric shocks to a
a middle-aged man who had been
treated for a heart condition
Each time the man missed
an answer, you would be
instructed to deliver an
increasingly powerful shock
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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2006
Milgram’s Shock
Generator
Shock Generator
Caution
On
Amp Meter
Amps
Slight
Shock
Moderate
Shock
Intensity
Strong
Shock
Resistance
Very
Strong
Shock
Intense
Shock
Extreme
Shock
Danger
XXX
Would you deliver a “Moderate Shock?”
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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2006
Milgram’s Shock
Generator
Shock Generator
Caution
On
Amp Meter
Amps
Slight
Shock
Moderate
Shock
Intensity
Strong
Shock
Resistance
Very
Strong
Shock
Intense
Shock
Extreme
Shock
Danger
XXX
Would you refuse the experimenter’s instruction
to deliver an “Extreme Shock?”
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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2006
Milgram’s Shock
Generator
Shock Generator
Caution
On
Amp Meter
Amps
Slight
Shock
Moderate
Shock
Intensity
Strong
Shock
Resistance
Very
Strong
Shock
Intense
Shock
Extreme
Shock
Danger
XXX
What if the victim was screaming in agony?
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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2006
Milgram’s Shock
Generator
Shock Generator
Caution
On
Amp Meter
Amps
Slight
Shock
Moderate
Shock
Intensity
Strong
Shock
Resistance
Very
Strong
Shock
Intense
Shock
Extreme
Shock
Danger
XXX
Two thirds of participants delivered the maximum
450 volts to the learner
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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2006
Obedience to Authority
In Milgram’s experiment
The victim was an actor
The victim receive no actual shocks
Nevertheless, this controversial experiment
demonstrated how powerful effects of
obedience to authority
Situational factors, and not personality
variables, appeared to effect people’s
levels of obedience
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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2006
Obedience in Milgram’s
Experiments
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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2006
Ten Steps Toward EvilGetting Good People to Harm Others
Provide people with an ideology to justify beliefs
for actions
Make people take a small first step toward a
harmful act with a minor, trivial action and then
gradually increase those small actions
Make those in charge seem like a “just authority”
Slowly transform a once compassionate leader
into a dictatorial figure
Provide people with vague and ever changing
rules
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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2006
Ten Steps Toward EvilGetting Good People to Harm Others
Relabel the situation’s actors and their
actions to legitimize the ideology
Provide people with social models of
compliance
Allow verbal dissent but only if people
continue to comply behaviorally with
orders
Encourage dehumanizing the victim
Make exiting the situation difficult
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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2006
The Bystander Problem
Diffusion of responsibility –
Dilution or weakening of
each group member’s
obligation to act when
responsibility is
perceived to be shared
with all group members
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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2006
The Bystander Problem
In one experiment, a student was led to
believe that the he or she was taking part
in an experiment with between one and
five other students (over an intercom)
The student then heard what sounded like
another student having a seizure and
gasping for help
The researchers timed how long it would
take the students to ask for help
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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2006
Bystander Intervention in an Emergency
100
2-person groups
Percentage helping
80
3-person groups
60
6-person groups
40
20
0
20
80
120
160
200
240
280
Seconds from beginning of emergency
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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2006
Constructing Social Reality:
What Influences Our
Judgments of Others?
The judgments we make
about others depend not only
on their behavior but also on
our interpretation of their
actions within a social
context
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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2006
Constructing Social Reality:
What Influences Our
Judgments of Others?
Social reality –
An individual’s subjective
interpretation of other people
and of relationships with them
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Interpersonal Attraction
Reward theory of attraction –
A social learning view that says we
like best those who give us maximum
rewards at minimum cost
Proximity
Similarity
Self-Disclosure
Physical
Attractiveness
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Expectations and the
Influence of Self-Esteem
Matching hypothesis –
Prediction that most people will find
friends and mates that are about their
same level of attractiveness
Expectancy-value theory –
Theory that people decide whether or not
to pursue a relationship by weighing the
potential value of the relationship against
their expectations of success in
establishing the relationship
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Attraction and Self-Justification
Cognitive dissonance –
A highly motivating state in which people
have conflicting cognitions, especially
when their voluntary actions conflict with
their attitudes
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Making Cognitive
Attributions
Fundamental attribution error –
Tendency to emphasize internal causes
and ignore external pressures
Self-serving bias –
Attributional pattern in which one takes
credit for success but denies
responsibility for failure
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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2006
Prejudice and Discrimination
Prejudice –
A negative attitude toward an
individual based solely on his or
her membership in a particular
group
Discrimination –
A negative action taken against an
individual as a result of his or her
group membership
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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2006
Prejudice and Discrimination
In-group –
The group with which an individual
identifies
Out-group –
Those outside the group with which
an individual identifies
Social distance –
The perceived difference or
similarity between oneself and
another person
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Causes of Prejudice
Dissimilarity and Social Distance
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Causes of Prejudice
Dissimilarity and Social Distance
Economic Competition
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Causes of Prejudice
Dissimilarity and Social Distance
Economic Competition
Scapegoating
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Causes of Prejudice
Dissimilarity and Social Distance
Economic Competition
Scapegoating
Conformity to Social Norms
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Causes of Prejudice
Dissimilarity and Social Distance
Economic Competition
Scapegoating
Conformity to Social Norms
Media Stereotypes
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Combating Prejudice
Research suggests that the possible tools
for combating prejudice include:
New role models
Equal status contact
Legislation
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Loving Relationships
Romantic love –
A temporary and highly emotional
condition based on infatuation and sexual
desire
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Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love
Passion
Intimacy
Commitment
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What Are the Roots of
Violence and Terrorism?
The power of the situation can
help us understand violence
and terrorism, but the broader
understanding requires
multiple perspectives that go
beyond the boundaries of
traditional psychology
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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2006
The Robbers’ Cave:
An Experiment in Conflict
In the Robber’s Cave experiment, conflict
between groups arose from an intensely
competitive situation
Cooperation, however, replaced conflict
when the experimenters contrived
situations that fostered mutual
interdependence and common goals for
the groups
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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2006
The Robbers’ Cave:
An Experiment in Conflict
Violence and aggression –
Terms that refer to behavior that is
intended to cause harm
Cohesiveness –
Solidarity, loyalty, and a sense of group
membership
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The Robbers’ Cave:
An Experiment in Conflict
Mutual interdependence –
Shared sense that individuals or groups
need each other in order to achieve
common goals
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Terrorism
Terrorism –
The use of violent, unpredictable acts by
a small group against a larger group for
political, economic, or religious goals
Taking multiple perspectives can provide
important insights on the problems of
aggression, violence, and terrorism
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End of Chapter 14
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