Social Psychology

1. Social Psychology Let’s get this party started!

2. Self-concept vs. Self-esteem • Concept - how you think about yourself • Esteem - how worthy you think you are • Creating appraisals of yourself • Temporal comparison - based on previous performance • Social comparison - based on other people • Reference groups - category to which you feel you belong • Relative deprivation - comparing what you have to your reference group. Social Comparison

3. In-group bias • Out-group homogeneity • Self-fulfilling prophecy • An initial impression of someone can lead that person to behave according to that impression Social Identity

4. Attribution theory - examines how we explain the behaviors of ourselves and others • People involved in any situation: • Actors - those involved in a situation • Observers - those watching a situation Social Understanding

5. When attributions are biased: • Fundamental attribution error • Believing internal (dispositional) factors are more influential than external (situational) factors. • Actor-observer bias • Actors tend to make external (situational) attributions • Observers tend to make internal (dispositional) attributions • Self-serving bias • Personal successes are due to internal factors. • Personal failures are due to external factors. Social Understanding

6. The Effects of Attribution

7. The effect of biased attributions: • Blaming the victim • Explaining a victim’s plight or behavior as internal rather than situational. • Just-world hypothesis • Belief that the world is fair and just, so people get what they deserve. • Scapegoating • When you place blame for a personal problem on another person or group Social Understanding

8. Beliefs or feelings that predispose our reactions • Attitudes guide our behaviors if: • Outside influences are minimal. • The attitude is relevant to the behavior. • We are aware of our attitudes. Attitudes

9. Actions guide attitudes when: • We agree to small requests and then large requests • Foot-in-the-door phenomenon • We adopt roles to play. • Zimbardo prison study example • Attitudes conflict with actions. • Cognitive dissonance theory Attitudes

10. Attitudes: Cognitive Dissonance

11. Prejudice

12. Prejudice vs. stereotypes vs. discrimination • Prejudice involves stereotypes and discrimination, but not necessarily • Prejudice is often negative, but not necessarily • Stereotypes are overgeneralized • Discrimination is an action, not a belief or view Defining Prejudice

13. Where does prejudice come from? • Social inequities • In-group bias (and out-group antagonism) • Scapegoating • Just-world hypothesis • Categorization – people have a natural tendency to create categories for things • Vivid cases The Roots of Prejudice

14. How is prejudice demonstrated? • Overt • Discrimination • Stated negative attitudes • Implicit • Racial associations – people often associate negative words with groups against which they have prejudice and positive words with their own group • Unconscious patronization – people often expect less from those against whom they are prejudiced than for their own group • Lower standards = lower opinion of ability The Roots of Prejudice

15. Prejudice vs. Privilege • Minority groups (regardless of location) will experience prejudice from the majority • Majority groups experience privilege they do not necessarily recognize The Roots of Prejudice

16. Contact hypothesis • Coming into social contact with those for whom you hold a prejudice can reduce stereotyped thinking and discrimination • This works when: • The groups are similar socioeconomically • Leaders promote cooperation and interdependence • Contact occurs more individually than in groups • Superordinate goals • Promoting peace by introducing a shared goal between competing/hostile groups Overcoming Prejudice in Groups

17. Recognize that prejudiced thoughts are wrong. • Internalize new ways of thinking about the group. • Deliberately replace discriminatory behavior with more tolerant behavior. Overcoming Prejudice Individually

18. Culture

19. System of subtle and obvious rules established by a group to ensure its survival • David Matsumoto (1999) • Factors that influence culture: • Population density • Climate • Resources (access to) • Technology Defining Culture

20. Individualism vs. Collectivism • Individualism – places emphasis on personal goals and needs • EX: Most Western cultures • Collectivism – places emphasis on group goals and needs • EX: Most non-Western cultures • Ethnocentrism • Applying your own cultural rules to others Categories of Cultural Perspective

21. Social Influence

22. Norms • How norms influence behavior: • Normative social influence • Driven by desire for approval and acceptance • Informational social influence • Driven by desire to be correct Factors of Influence

23. Solomon Asch • Factors that influenced conformity: • Social support – you need only one person to break conformity • Attraction & commitment to the group • Size of the group – 5-7 people elicit the strongest conformity • Unclear standards of behavior – more conformity occurs when you are unsure of how to behave Conformity

24. Conformity

25. Conformity Conformity for important decisions is greater than for unimportant decisions.

26. Stanley Milgram • Factors that influence obedience: • Mental framework that assumes obedience • Perception of the goals of the situation • Desire to avoid social rejection • Gradual, repetitive escalation of the task • The behavior of the authority figure • More polite usually equals more compliance • Physical and psychological separation from the “learner” Obedience

27. Obedience

28. When obedience fails: • Level of compliance with variations of study: • Original study – 65% • Office building setting – 48% • Teacher/learner in same room – 40% • Physical contact – 30% • Phoned-in orders – 23% • Ordinary man giving orders – 20% • Observing rebels – 10% • Free choice of shock level – 3% Obedience

29. Social loafing • Social facilitation • Deindividuation • Group polarization • Groupthink • Social traps Other Social Influences

30. Altruism vs. Prosocial behavior • Altruism - helping others with no expectation for personal gain • Prosocial – helping regardless of motive (selfish or not) Helping Behavior

31. Bystander effect – Darley & Latane • Motivated by the Kitty Genovese murder • Factors that decrease helping: • Presence of others – leads to diffusion of responsibility • Being in a big city or a very small town • Vague or ambiguous situations • When personal costs outweigh perceived benefits Helping Behavior

32. Bystander effect – Darley & Latane • Factors that increase helping: • “Feel-good, do-good” effect • Feeling guilty • Seeing others willing to help • Believing the person is worthy of help • Knowing how to help • Having a personalized relationship with the victim Helping Behavior

33. Mere exposure effect • Proximity • Similarity • Symmetry • Self-disclosure • Equity Love & Attraction

34. Sternberg’s Theory of Love