Social Psychology Attitude Attraction Aggression Group Behavior Studying the way people relate to others.
Attitudes A set of beliefs and feelings. Attitudes predispose our reactions to people, issues, or objects.
Attitudes Advertising is ALL based on attitude formation. Mere Exposure Effect people tend to develop a preference for things merely because they are familiar with them (Constant contact leads to appeal) Central Route v. Peripheral Route Central Route is when people focus on factual information, logical arguments, and a thoughtful analysis of pertinent details. Peripheral Route is when people focus on emotional appeals and incidental cues
Attitude and Behavior Do attitudes tell us about someone s behavior? LaPiere s Study Over two years LaPiere took several trips with a student and his wife, both of whom were charming and personable and were also of Chinese origin. Both spoke unaccented American English. On a 10,000 mile trip, they were received at 66 hotels and tourist homes and rejected only once; they were served in 184 restaurants and cafes, receiving good service in 72 of them. Overall, little discrimination was found. However, 6 months later a questionnaire was sent out to every one of the establishments visited, asking Will you accept members of the Chinese race as guests in your establishment?. Out of 251, 128 replied. 92% said no to the question (LaPiere, 1934).
Attitude and Behavior You have a belief that cheating on tests is bad. But you cheat on a test!!! The teacher was really bad so in that class it is OK. Cognitive Dissonance Theory First proposed by Leon Festinger at Stanford. People want to have consistent attitudes and behaviors.when they are not they experience dissonance (unpleasant tension). Usually they will change their attitude rather than change their behavior.
Compliance Strategies (aka Persuasion Strategies) Foot-in-the-door phenomenon Getting a person to agree to a modest first request as a set up for a later, much larger, request. Door-in-the-face phenomenon a large request is made knowing it will probably be refused so that the person will agree to a much smaller request Norms of reciprocity how positive actions bring about more positive actions while negative actions bring about more negative actions
Attribution Theory Tries to explain how people determine the cause of the behavior they observe. It is either a. Situational Attribution (social/situational influences) Dispositional Attribution (personality traits)
Fundamental Attribution Error How do you view your teacher s behavior? You probably attribute it to their personality rather than their profession. But do you really know? When you start a romance, you assume that they agree with your world views.honeymoon period. We tend to overestimate the role of dispositional factors. Causes Just-World Phenomenon Most people have a need to believe the world is just and fair. As a result, they believe that people generally get what they deserve. In other words, we tend to blame the victim rather tan to look at social causes. Saliency Bias Situational factors are less salient (noticeable). As a result, people focus on visible personality traits rather than less visible social context.
Self-Serving Bias Most people take credit for their successes while at the same time attributing their failures to external situations beyond their control. We are motivated by a need for self-esteem and a desire to save face. If you win it is because you are awesome if you lose, it must have been the coach or weather or.
Cultural and Attributional Biases Individualistic cultures, like the U.S. and Canada, emphasize independence and personal responsibility. People in these cultures are more likely to commit both the fundamental attribution error and self serving bias. Collectivist cultures, like Japan and China, emphasize interdependence and collective responsibility. People in these cultures are less likely to make the fundamental attribution error and more likely to be aware of how situations factors influence behavior.
How groups affect our behavior?
Social Facilitation Theory If you are really good at something.or it is an easy task you will perform BETTER in front of a group (social facilitation). If it is a difficult task or you are not very good at it you will perform WORSE in front of a group (social inhibition).
Social Loafing The tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling efforts toward a common goal than if they were individually accountable. People believe that their contribution to the collective effort is neither appreciated nor important. People believe they will get a free ride since it will be difficult to assess their contribution to the team or group.
Deindividuation The reduction of selfawareness and personal responsibility that can occur when a person is part of a group whose members feel anonymous. People get swept up in a group and lose sense of self. The growing sense of anonymity lowers personal accountability so that individuals no longer feel responsibility for their actions. Explains rioting behaviors.
Examples
Bystander Effect A phenomenon in which individuals are less likely to assist in an emergency situation when other people are present. As the size of a group present at the scene increases, the likelihood that anyone will help a person in need decreases. Since responsibility is not explicitly assigned, bystanders assume that someone else will act. Each individual bystander feels less responsible and thus fails to do anything.
The Case of Kitty Genovese Kitty Genovese was a 28-yearold woman who managed a latenight bar in Queens, New York. At 3:20 a.m. on March 13, 1964, a serial rapist and murderer attacked Ms. Genovese as she approached her apartment building. Although Ms. Genovese repeatedly screamed for help, none of the neighbors came to her aid. After 30 minutes, someone finally called the police. The police rushed to the scene only to find that Ms. Genovese had been fatally wounded.
The Case of Kitty Genovese Her tragic death focused public attention on the reasons why bystanders failed to come to her rescue. Initially, editorial writers blamed apathy and the depersonalization of life in the big cities. Led by Bibb Latane and John Darley, social psychologists conducted hundreds of investigations into the conditions under which bystanders will help. Researchers found that bystanders are more likely to help if they see others who are willing to help, if they know or are told how to provide assistance, and if the person in trouble asks a specific person to provide assistance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdpdubw8vbw
Group Polarization Groups tend to make more extreme decisions than the individual. Group polarization is an intensification of a group s prevailing opinion. In contrast, conformity occurs when an individual changes his or her attitude to become more like the group s attitude.
Myers and Bishop (1970) discovered that discussing racial issues decreased prejudice in a low prejudice group of high school students and increased it in a high prejudice group. Discussions among a stop smoking self help group increases the members resolve to quit smoking.
Groupthink The tendency for a cohesive decisionmaking group to ignore or dismiss reasonable alternatives. Group members suppress their reservations about the ideas supported by the group. They are more concerned with group harmony. Worse in highly cohesive groups.
Conformity Studies Adjusting one s behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.
Asch s Study of Conformity
Asch s Results About 1/3 of the participants conformed. 70% conformed at least once. To strengthen conformity: The group is unanimous The group is at least three people. One admires the group s status One had made no prior commitment
Milgram s Study Of Obedience
Results of the Milgram Study
What did we learn from Milgram? Ordinary people can do shocking things. Ethical issues. Would not have received approval from today s IRB (Internal Review Board).