psych

• Social Psychology


  Study of how people influence others' behavior, beliefs, and attitudes
• Social exclusion hurts us as much as physical pain
• Asking strangers to commit a small act of vandalism


  • “Hi, I’m trying to play a prank on someone, but they know my handwriting. Will you just quickly write the word ‘pickle’ on this page of this library book?”
• Fundamental Attribution Error


  Entail assigning causes to behavior, distinguishing between dispositional (internal) and situational (external) influences
• Types of social comparison

  • Upward (superiors) comparison: comparing ourselves to those who seem superior to us
  • Downward (inferiors) comparison: comparing ourselves to someone who is inferior
• Japanese and Chinese individuals are less likely to commit the Fundamental Attribution Error
• Deindividuation triggers


  • Wearing masks and concealing identity
• Abu Ghraib Prison complex was used for violations including arranging detainees in sexually explicit positions, forcing nudity, and other abuses
• Across three classic experiments, the percentage of helping when in groups was lower than when alone
• Social Comparison Theory

  We seek to evaluate our abilities and beliefs by comparing them with those of others
• Humans as a Social Species


  We have a biologically based need for interpersonal connections
• People tend to underestimate the amount of influence they have over other people
• Prosocial Behavior and Altruism


  Situational influences can impact (increase) helping behavior
• Bystander Nonintervention is influenced by pluralistic ignorance and diffusion of responsibility
• The Stanford Prison Study had to be stopped after only 6 days due to nervous breakdowns by prisoners
• When looking at others' behavior, people tend to overestimate the impact of dispositional influences and underestimate the impact of situational influences
• Deindividuation is the tendency of people to engage in atypical behavior when stripped of their usual identity
• Both upward and downward comparisons can boost our self-concept
• Situational influences impacting helping


  • When you can't escape the situation
  • Helping someone on a bus vs. on the sidewalk
  • Characteristics of the victim
  • More similar to you
  • Time
• Attitudes and Behavior

  Attitudes only moderately correlate (.38) with actual behaviors
• Across three classic experiments, the percentage helping when in groups was lower than the percentage helping when alone
• Enlightenment Effect: Learning about bystander nonintervention increases intervention
• Attitude Change

  Cognitive dissonance is an unpleasant state of tension between two opposing thoughts
• Routes to Persuasion

  Dual processes model: Central route focuses on informational content, Peripheral route focuses on surface aspects
• Reverse Endorsement


  • Abercrombie and Fitch offering payment to Mr. Sorrentino to wear an alternate brand
• Study on Cognitive Dissonance by Leon Festinger


  • Participants who received less money reported enjoying the task more, presumably to justify their lies
• Prosocial Behavior and Altruism


  Situational influences can impact (increase) helping
• Prejudicial behaviors study by LaPiere

  • Over 90% of participants said they were unwilling to serve Chinese people, but follow-up showed that 99% had served them
• Feelings of personality responsibility in the presence of others: '“It’s not my fault, because the others also…”'
• Study on enlightenment effect

  • 43% helped a person slumped over on a park bench after receiving a lecture on bystander nonintervention compared to 25% who did not
• Characteristics of the Messenger

  • Impact of attractiveness, credibility, similarity to receiver, and ingroup bias
• Persuasion Techniques

  • Foot-in-the-door, Door-in-the-face, Low-ball
• Study on Seminary students

  • Students on their way to deliver a sermon on the Good Samaritan story
  • 10% offered to help if they thought they were running late compared to 63% if they were not
• Obedience


  1. Stanley Milgram designed experiment to test the influence of obedience and authority on normal people

  2. Wanted to know how the Holocaust could have occurred
• Conformity


  The tendency of people to alter their behavior as a result of group pressure
• Stereotypes
• Why Do People Conform?

  • Normative social influence: To fit in, feel good, and be accepted by the group
  • Informational social influence: Believe the group is competent and has the correct information
• Group Think


  • An emphasis on group unanimity at the expense of critical thinking
  • Reducing Group Think: Can be treated by encouraging dissent, Appointing a "devil's advocate" or engage in a “kill the company” exercise, Having an independent expert evaluate decisions, Holding follow-up meetings, Brainstorming groups generate 16 percent more ideas when the members are encouraged to criticize one another (Nemeth et al. 2014)
• Social Loafing


  • People's tendency to slack off in groups
  • The whole is less than the sum of its parts
  • Due to diffusion of responsibility
  • Influenced by cultural factors: People in individualistic (vs. collectivistic) countries are more prone to social loafing
  • Remedy: Ensure that each person in the group is identifiable
• Persuasion Techniques

  1. Door-in-the-face starts big then backs off (works just as well as foot-in-the-door)

  2. Low-ball starts with a low price, then "adds-on" all the desirable options

  3. "But you are free" asks someone to perform a favor for us by telling them that they are free not to do it