Unit 9

• Social Psychology


  studies the impact of social influence on a person's individual behavior

  - The focus of the research in social psychology is on how the situation affects behavior.
• attribution theory


  we can explain behavior with two types of attribution
• attribution


  a conclusion we draw about the cause of a behavior
• situational

  attribute someone's behavior to external circumstances like environmental causes

  -Ex: Nate ate my leftovers...he was hungry
• dispositional


  to internal factors, like their personality.

  - Ex: Nate ate my leftovers...he is a selfish person
• fundamental attribution error


  the tendency to overemphasize dispositional attribution and underemphasize situational attribution.

  - Homeless people are just lazy and unmotivated
• culture

  - Individualist cultures (western) attribute behavior to people's personal traits.

  - Collectivist cultures (Asian) attribute the behavior to the situation.
• actor observer bias


  People attribute other people's behaviors to their dispositional factors while attributing their own actions to situational factors.
• attitude


  beliefs that affect how we feel about other people. Beliefs predispose us to respond in a particular way to people
• central route persuasion


  uses facts and information to persuade
• peripheral route persuasion


  uses positive association with cues such as beauty, fame, and positive emotions
• foot in the door phenomenon


  we are more likely to agree to a large request after agreeing to a small one
• door in the face

  influence behavior by making a very large initial request, which the recipient is sure to turn down, followed by a smaller request
• roles

  set of expectations about how we should behave in a social situation

  - When we play a role, we adopt the attitudes that go with the role and become the role.

  - Ex: Actors say they "lose themselves" in roles
• The Stanford Prison Experiment: Philip Zimbardo


  Created a realistic prison simulation:

  - ½ "guards"

  - ½ "prisoners"

  Participants became immersed in their role they developed cohesion as a group.

  - "guards" belittled, demeaned "prisoners."

  - "prisoners" rebellious, hatred of "guards."
• cognitive dissonance theory


  theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when our thoughts (cognitive) and behaviors are inconsistent.

  - Examples:

  1. Picking up after your dog

  2. Exercise

  3. Supporting fast fashion

  4. Drinking alcohol

  Results: guilt, anxiety, justification
• conformity


  refers to adjusting our behavior or thinking to fit in with a group standard.

  - Automatic mimicry, social norms, normative and informational social influence

  - Behavior is contagious = herd mentality

  - Influenced by social norms (rules for expected and accepted behaviors)
• Asch conformity studies


  What makes us likely to conform:

  - Not firmly committed to beliefs

  - Size of the group

  - Anonymous

  - You like the group

  - You are intimidated by the group

  - Collectivist cultures encourage respect for norms
• normative social influence


  conformity based on one's desire to fulfill others' expectations and gain acceptance.

  - Asch conformity studies
• informational social influence


  it occurs when we lack information about something and look to others for guidance.

  - Don't know where we are going but we follow others because we assume they know where they are going
• The Chameleon Effect


  (automatic mimicry of others) Like a chameleon we unconsciously take on the behavior of our surrounding.

  - Contagious behavior

  - Accents and vocabulary. Period.

  - Mood linkage
• Milgram's Obedience Study

  an authority figure tells participants to administer shocks to a "learner" (who was a confederate) when the learner gives the wrong answers.in.

  - Experts predicted that most would stop administering shocks when the "learner" expressed pain.

  - Reality - even when the learner complained of a heart condition, most people complied with the experimenter's directions: "please continue."
• The Zipper Merge


  drivers use both lanes of the highway until the point where one lane ends, and then take turns merging into the single lane - just like a zipper closing
• obedience factors


  When orders were given by:

  - Someone with legitimate authority

  - Someone associated with a prestigious institution

  - Someone standing close by

  - When the "learner"/victim is in another room.

  - When other participants obey (no role model for defiance)
• social facilitation


  people perform better when in the presence of others.- EX:Athlete is energized by the audience and performs better.

  
• social interference


  the presence of others decreases performance- EX:The pressure of the audience negatively affects performance.

  
• social loafing


  When people are part of a group, they tend to put forth less effort.- Without individual roles assigned, people feel less important.- Common in Individualistic cultures.Ex: tug of war, group projects

  
• group polarization

  Participation in a group amplifies existing beliefs, which leads to more extreme decisions.- Ex:Tensions between two political parties
• groupthink


  An Individuals desire to belong and keep harmony in the group overrides expressing different alternatives

  
• Deindividuation


  Loss of identity in a group leads to loss of self-awareness and self-restraint.- Ex: trick or treating in a group and taking more than one piece of candy from the bowl.
• prosocial behavior


  Kurt is normally reserved, but, during the pep rally, he chants the school song because he feels anonymous in a large group.
• antisocial behavior


  Kurt normally respects the law but may take part in destructive behavior, such as looting or rioting, when feeling anonymous in a large crowd.
• prejudice


  an emotional feeling toward a group
• stereotype

  A fixed way of thinking about a group. This information is applied to every member of the group.

  - "blondes are dingy"

  - "Asians are smart"
• discrimination


  negative behavior applied to members of a group
• explicit prejudice


  we are conscious of our attitude
• implicit prejudice


  we are unconscious of how our attitude is affecting our behavior

  -Automatic, subtle, and institutional prejudice still occurs even when people state that they have no prejudice
• ethnocentrism


  a belief that your group is better than others
• gender prejudice


  - women are treated unfairly

  - preference for male babies (infanticide)

  - blaming women for rape

  - assertiveness is considered abrasive in women

  - fathers viewed as more intelligent than mother
• ingroup


  "Us"—people with whom we identify with

  - sja student