Thinking About Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behavior

1. Thinking About Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behavior Charles T. Blair-Broeker Randal M. Ernst

2. Sociocultural Dimensions of Behavior Chapter 14

3. Social Thinking and Social Influence Module 32

4. Introduction Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence

5. Social Psychology • The scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another • Why do people act differently in the same situations? Ex. Stop and help a person pick papers up and others walk by. • Why one person may act differently in different situations? Ex. Give money to Salvation Army “red kettle” but not give money to a homeless person.

6. Social Thinking Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence

7. Social Thinking: Attributing Behavior to Personal Disposition or the Situation Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence

8. Attribution Theory • People tend to give a causal explanation for someone’s behavior, often by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition

9. Situational Disposition • Attributing someone’s actions to the various factors in the situation • Ex. Stop and help a person pick papers up and others walk by. • Situational reason: “I was late for a doctor’s appointment and I did not have time to stop.”

10. Dispositional Attribution • Attributing someone’s actions to the person’s disposition, i.e. their thoughts, feelings, personality characteristics, etc. • Ex. Stop and help a person pick papers up and others walk by. • Dispositional reason: “Jamie is just self-centered and didn’t stop to help pick up the papers. What did you expect?”

11. Fundamental Attribution Error • The tendency for observers, when analyzing another’s behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and overestimate the impact of personal disposition • People tend to blame or credit the person more than the situation • Ex. “That person just cut that car off! What a jerk!” Did not consider that person is in the middle of an asthma attack. (situational)

12. Social Thinking: Attitudes and Actions Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence

13. Attitude • A belief and feeling that predisposes a person to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events • Ex. Think cheating is wrong – less likely to cheat

14. Attitudes Affecting Actions • Many studies suggest a person’s attitudes do not match their actions • Attitudes can predict behavior if: • Outside influences are minimal(smoking is bad: many friends smoke: you will probably smoke) • People are aware of their attitudes (grandpa died of lung cancer: you will NOT smoke) • Attitude is relevant to behavior (know exercise is good for you, but don’t like to sweat: won’t exercise)

15. Actions Affecting Attitudes • Under some circumstances one’s actions can influence attitudes. They include: • Foot-in-the-door phenomenon • Role playing • Cognitive dissonance

16. Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon • The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request • Ex. People who put a political bumper sticker on car are more likely to put a sign in their lawn

17. Role Playing • Playing a role can influence or change one’s attitude • Zimbardo’sPrison Study • College students played the role of guard or prisoner in a simulated prison. • The study was ended when the guards became too aggressive and cruel.

18. Cognitive Dissonance • The theory that people act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) they feel when their thoughts are inconsistent with their actions • When our attitudes are inconsistent with our actions, we change our attitudes to reduce the dissonance. • Ex. You dislike soccer. You start to date a girl from Brazil. You start to watch soccer b/c she loves it. You are uncomfortable b/c you are a committed football fan. Soon, you start to find little things to like about soccer.

19. Social Influence Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence

20. Social Influence: Conformity and Obedience Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence

21. Conformity • Adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to coincide with (comply/agree with) a group standard • Ex. My son will not play “Dora Dance” on the X-Box because it is a “girl game”. • Ex. Even though it is freezing middle school boys will only wear a hoodie, not a jacket.

22. Solomon Asch (1907-1996) • Social psychologist who researched the circumstances under which people conform

23. Asch’s Conformity Study

24. Asch’s Conformity Study

25. Factors Increasing Conformity • The person feels incompetent or insecure. • The group has three or more people. • The rest of the group is unanimous. • The person is impressed by the status of the group. • No prior commitments were made. • The group is observing the person respond. • One’s culture encourages conformity.

26. Stanley Milgram (1933-1984) • Social psychologist who researched obedience to authority

27. Obedience • The tendency to comply with orders, implied or real, from someone perceived as an authority

28. Milgram’s Obedience to Authority

29. Milgram’s Obedience to Authority

30. Milgram’s Obedience to Authority(Data from Milgram, 1974)

31. Milgram’s Obedience to Authority

32. Obedience increases when • Victim cannot be seen • Authority figure giving orders was close at hand • Authority figure linked to a prestigious organization

33. Social Influence:Group Influence Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence

34. Social Facilitation • Improved performance of tasks in the presence of others (sing, play basketball) • Occurs with simple or well learned tasks but not with tasks that are difficult or not yet learned • Who wants to come up here and solve a random math problem on the board? • How about the date and letter day?

35. Social Loafing • The tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable • People may be less accountable in a group, or they may think their efforts aren’t needed. • Ex. Companies have a charity drive & individual employees contribute more $ when …?

36. Deindividuation • The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity • People lose their sense of responsibility when in a group. • Ex. Say something mean about someone on a blog, anonymously, but not to…

37. Social Influence:Group Interaction Effects Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence

38. Group Polarization • The enhancement of a group’s prevailing attitudes through discussion within the group • Ex. You attend a lecture/meeting about the benefits of Democratic policies. You leave even more committed to the democratic party. You think that “they” the Republicans, are 100% wrong.

39. Groupthink • The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision- making group overrides a realistic appraisal of the alternatives • Ex. Most of the weather forecasts call for 6 inches of snow starting at 6am. Most of the schools in your area have cancelled school. Your superintendent believes two forecasts that say the snow won’t start until 4pm and that it will only be 2 inches of snow. But, he decides to cancelled school anyway. Why?

40. Social Influence:Our Power as Individuals Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence

41. Self-Fulfilling Prophecies • Occurs when belief about others (or ourselves) leads one to act in ways that confirm the belief • Ex. If someone describe you as “helpful” and you didn’t think you were, you’d be MORE helpful around that person or in general. Why?

42. The End