Myers’ PSYCHOLOGY (7th Ed)

1. Myers’ PSYCHOLOGY (7th Ed) Chapter 18 Social Psychology James A. McCubbin, PhD Clemson University Worth Publishers

2. Ch. 18: Social PsychologySocial Thinking • Social Psychology: scientific study of how we think about,influence, & relate to one another • Attribution Theory: How we “attribute” something to someone…to us…or to others… • tendency to give a causal explanation for someone’s behavior, often by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition… situational vs. dispositional factors • Fundamental Attribution Error • tendency for observers, when analyzing others’ behaviors, to underestimate how much of the situation is to blame…& to overestimate the impact of personal disposition • Attitude • belief & feeling that influences us to respond in a particular way to objects, people & events

3. Tolerant reaction (proceed cautiously, allow driver a wide berth) Situational attribution “Maybe that driver is ill.” Negative behavior Unfavorable reaction (speed up and race past the other driver, give a dirty look) Dispositional attribution “Crazy driver!” Social Thinking • How we explain someone else’s behavior affects how we react to it … “It’s because…..”

4. Internal attitudes External social influences Behavior Social Thinking NOW….Relates to Biopsychosocial • Our behavior is affected by our inner attitudes as well as by external social influences: Internal attitudes + External attitudes = Behavior effects

5. Social Thinking • Attitudesfollow behavior… which follow attitudes… which follow behavior...etc.. • Cooperative actions feed mutual liking… ...encouraging us to like another… So...Smile at someone! 

6. Social Thinking • Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon • If you ask ppl 1st agreed for a small request…then later make a larger request = more compliance (going along..) • Role(aka “social roles”):set of expectations about a social position • how ppl in a particular position should behave • Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment: Looked at social roles in his “prisoner/guard” study using college students (p. b-700) D-M video

7. Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment

8. Cognitive Dissonance Theory: Leon Festinger We try to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent EX: When we become aware that our attitudes & our actions clash, we reduce resulting dissonance

9. Dilbert Cartoon: “Dogbert” strikes again...this time using Cognitive Dissonance! • changing our attitudes…Clemson/Carolina???

10. Cognitive Dissonance: Another Ex:

11. Social Influence: Effects of others on us… Be sure you can differentiate! • Obedience: following orders from someone in a position of authority over us • Compliance: going along w/ a request from someone who is NOT in a position of authority…you just choose to do so • Conformity: adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard…there’s no request…you just choose to • Normative Social Influence: influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval

12. Social Influence: Asch’s experiment on conformity… • Informational Social Influence: Conforming: • influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality • Participant shows confusion RE: his answer vs. others answers…

13. Milgram’s Obedience Study: Yale University

14. Social Influence • Milgram’s follow-up obedience experiment

15. Social Influence • Some individual resist social coercion (force). Student stands up to tank in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China(translates literally to Gate of Heavenly Peace)

16. Individualistic cultures vs. Collectivist in Social Psy: Discovering Psy Video: Prg. 26: Cultural Psych

17. Social Facilitation vs. Social Loafing: • Social Facilitation: improved performance of tasks in the presence of others… -We do better around others…if ppl we know are watching • occurs with simple or well-learned tasks but not with tasks that are difficult or not yet mastered • Social Loafing:tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable… do worse around others

18. Social Facilitation: When others are working hard, we don’t wanna’ be the “slacker” so we work harder, too!

19. Social Loafing: aka “Water cooler effect:” Others can influence us to goof off in order to be “one o’ the gang...”

20. Social Facilitation ALSO relates to: What we do well, we do better in front of an audience …especially a friendly audience: Home court advantage!!

21. 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 Number of times Participant Participant rubs face shakes foot Confederate rubs face Confederate shakes foot Social Influence • The chameleon effect: Human see, human do… • If 1 shakes foot, etc., others around will copy (Yawning??) • Moods & chameleon effect: we also “catch” others’ moods

22. Deindividuation Loss of self-awareness & self-restraint in group situations that foster arousal & anonymity (mob behavior..Halloween?) • Can lose individual idea of responsibility…& feel no one will know it was you…”It was ALL of us…” “But EVERYbody was doing it!” “Nobody knows me here... “ • Group Polarization: “Twelve Angry Men” • enhancement of a group’s prevailing attitudes through discussion within the group • Tend to pull toward the group attitudes • What can pull them over? If 1 will communicate w/ others & hold fast to convictions, others may “change poles”

23. Groupthink: mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides realistic appraisal of alternatives • Leaders & “Yes-men”: big problem w/ powerful people who only want those who agree w/ them

25. Social Influence p. 711)If we can just DISCUSS an issue, maybe we can get good ideas?? • Group Polarization: If a group is like-minded, discussion makes those ideas stronger… • ”See we’re right!!” • Low-prejudice groups tend to lessen prejudice…but hi-prejudice ones tend to increase prejudice…

26. Social Relations • Discrimination:actual acts against people of a particular group b/c they are a part of that group • Prejudice • an unjustifiable (& usually negative) attitude toward a group & its members • involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, & a predisposition to discriminatory action • Stereotype • a generalized (sometimes accurate, but often over-generalized) belief about a group of people • In-group • “Us”- people with whom one shares a common identity • Out-group • “Them”- those perceived as different or apart from one’s in-group

27. Stereotypes USA??  IN vs. OUT Group

28. Power of the individual vs. minority influence:When the few control ideas/actions of the many... • A few committed ppl can have tremendous influence on others...and can be for good—or not so good.. (See Margaret Mead quote...) • Gandhi, Jesus, Dr. ML King, Hitler, K. Marx—and then over-throw of czar in 1917...THEN down-fall of of communist USSR in 1989. ---Can also be Jim Jones...David Koresh...& other cult leaders (BTW: “cult” means to care strongly about something) Committed ppl can convince others—and bring great changes Group think: how we pull to majority— Minority influence: How some begin in small Charismatic? Can equal very strong leadership ability

29. Central route to persuasion: persuasion that occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts. Peripheral route to persuasion: persuasion that occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker's attractiveness.

30. Prejudice:KNOW Brown-eyes/Blue-eyes studyJane Elliot below, Left

31. Social Relations • Does perception change with race? • If you think not, readBlack like Me…

32. Social Relations Americans today express much less racial & gender prejudice …voting for women OR keeping minorities OUT… But subtle prejudicecontinues… • ?: Do you think it is better to express it if you feel it…or to know it should not be stated?

33. Social Relations • In-group Bias • tendency people have to favor one’s own group • Scapegoat Theory • theory that prejudice provides an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame

34. Just-World Phenomenon • Tendency of people to believe the world is just • Do you believe ppl get what they deserve... & deserve what they get? • “If ppl are poor, it is their own fault b/c they COULD fix it…there are no excuses!” • BUT...if bad happens to me/mine, it is out of my control! (situationalvs. dispositional again??) This can involve many aspects… If someone is successful, it is due to his/her being a deserving person Think about Donald Trump…He deserves the success he has, right?

35. ‘Course it didn’t hurt that he was a kid of a wealthy NYC real estate developer who supported his early business efforts and left him a bunch of $$ Do you think he had an early belief in his ability to succeed? Do you think this belief was supported and encouraged? Would these ppl have the same chance for success in the USA? A kid raised in a small mountain town with poor schools and an abusive parent? A kid in a high crime area of a large city w/ a single parent who is hooked on drugs? Do you believe these kids ever think they have a chance at a “regular, successful” life? How might that be true?

36. Just-world-phenomenon is not just about the possibility of success— It also addresses the idea that if bad things happen to you, you did something to bring it on yourself (EX: The Biblical Job—neighbors said he must have made God angry) If a young woman is wearing revealing clothing and is flirtatious, is it her own fault if someone rapes her? If someone is laid off of their job and loses their house and ends up homeless, is it his/her own fault? (Ever hear that most ppl are about “1 paycheck away from homeless?”)

37. Social Relations • IF you get on a plane and you see 2 men who look “Muslim, ” would you get nervous? • Vivid cases (9/11 terrorists) feed stereotypes

38. Violence and Aggression: Environmental effects on aggression in society:

39. Social Relations and sexual violence: pp.723-725 • Men who view porn are less likely to see a rape victim AS a victim • But does porn cause rape to increase? • Most studies do not directly support that idea

40. Aggression: physical or verbal behavior that’s intended to hurt or to destroy Video games and violence (pp. 725-6) Parallels betw. smoking/cancer & media violence/aggression (top-726) Evidence has been increasing media violence and violent behaviors in children and adolescents Paul Boxer, ass’t prof. of psy., Rutgers University , Newark, involved since 2004 in research funded by the CDC into media violence & its relation to serious youth violence & criminal behavior: “Even in conjunction with other factors, our research shows that media violence does enhance violent behavior,” Boxer states. “On average, adolescents who were not exposed to violent media are not as prone to violent behavior.” http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/11/20/media-violence-linked-to-aggression/3379.html

41. Frustration-Aggression Principle: idea that frustration (the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal) creates anger, which can generate aggression --NOT supported strongly by evidence: causes SOME...but NOT all

42. Aggression notes: • Genetics/biology: Aggression “markers” (like genetic traits) have been found on Y the chromosome: • Affects temperament…autonomic (NS??) reactions… • Environment: family? friends? Temperature? • Aversive events: Frustration (frus./aggr. prin.) • Sexual violence: War? Pornography? Group factors? • Catharsis Hypothesis? Remember this one? • Media? What type (s) of learning could be involved? Bobo… • Group effects? De-individuation: Kitty Genovese: By-stander effect? How did the Kitty Genovese story and the study of those events lead to the study of WHY altruism comes about in other events?

43. Doing good ...for goodness sake: Altruism:unselfish regard for the welfare of others • doing things for others… even if it puts us at risk… EX’s: ?? Kitty Genovese: What happened? • Bystander Effect (p. 735) • 1964: Kitty Genovese situation led psy to study this phenomenon • tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present

44. Kitty Genovese & the places she was attacked…repeatedly.

45. Social Relations • People were horrified & tried to blame it on “the city”…but it can be seen anywhere • So what should you do to keep this from happening?

46. Diffusion of responsibility: Fact that when others are present, we feel less responsibility for others & for our own behavior • The decision-making process for bystander intervention… How to avoid the bystander effect: BE WILLING TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY…

47. Person 1 Choose A Choose B Optimal outcome Person 2 Choose B Choose A Probable outcome Social Relations: Social trap & game matrix:p. 727 Conflict: perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas Social Trap • a situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing their self-interest, become caught in mutually destructive behavior In Social traps... • by pursuing our own self-interest & not trusting others, we can ALL end up losers

48. Social Trap Win-Win: Everyone wins! Win-Lose: One winner, other loses Lose-Lose: Both end up losing If you try to get yourself more, you may end up with lose-lose

49. Extra Credit Opportunity!! I will give you an index card Do not speak to anyone else or let them see what you are writing. Write your name onto it. You will write one of the following things on your card— IF the whole class writes "10" everyone gets 10 extra credit points If one-to-three people write "15" ONLY THOSE PPL. GET extra credit - the rest of class gets NONE If FOUR or more people write "15" and get selfish: NO ONE IN THE CLASS GETS POINTS

50. *IF the whole class writes "10" everyone gets 10 extra credit points-WIN WIN FOR ALL!*If one-to-three people write "15" ONLY THOSE PPL. GET extra credit - the rest of class gets NONE!  These students also have incentive of 15 points, not just 10!  this is a WIN for the "15ers" and LOSE for those who wrote 10*If FOUR or more people write "15" and get selfish: NO ONE IN THE CLASS GETS POINTS (Lose-lose situation)