Unit 5
SOCIAL
PSYCHOLOGY
How individuals
affect others
and others
affect them
Prison
• Write down 5 words that you associate with
prison, prisoners and the justice system
Stanford Prison Experiment
• Philip Zimbardo
• 1971
• Simulated prison
environment
• Random assignment
of guard or prisoner
role
• Insight into human
nature – how people
will easily be cruel
to others they see as
inferior to
themselves
After the documentary
• Move to different tables for discussion
questions
• 5 min table talk per station
• Share out- discuss
• Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_LKzEql
Pto
1-3
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Nia, Madison, Andrea, Breanna, Josh
Jennifer, Andrew, Erich, Alonso, Maya
Yulissa, Rigo, Christian, Isabel Silva
Priscilla, Desiree, Jose, Vanessa, Jenae
Hannah, Alyssa, Mario, Daniella, Travis
Jonathan, Brandon, Isabel Lopez, Diego
6-8
1. Alejandro, Paulina, Faith, Talia
2. Luisa, Leen, Aidan, Amairany,
3. Cora, Jissell, Cymone, Ricky,
4. Oscar, Makenna, Amanda, Paice
5. Joe, Mariaun, Tristan, Cameron
6. Taylor, Yasmeen, Susan, LaRell
10-12
1. Dayo, Jannet, Andy, Joseph, Morgan
2. Layla, Lanz, Jocelyne, Tatiana, Minna, Vanessa
3. Alex, Daniel E., Giselle, Michael, Anthony
4. Daniel C., Diego, Jasmine, Leslie, Rebecca
5. Arianna, Ricardo, Daniel M, Nelson, Chelsea
6. Julia, Daniel F., Maddie, Judah, Hannah, Milo
Protocol
• Join your group at one of the 6 sections in the
class.
• Together, read the 2 prompt questions.
• Discuss your answers.
– Take turns.
– Allow everyone an opportunity to speak.
– It is ok to politely agree to disagree.
Reflection
• Think back on the documentary and the
discussions.
• Write a reflection about what you have
learned today.
– Perhaps you want to write down your response
one of the prompt questions!
What is Social Psychology?
• Social psychology studies individuals in the
social context.
• It is the study of how and why people think,
feel, and do the things they do depending
upon the situation they are in and who else is
involved.
Sociology vs Social Psychology
• Sociology focuses on group factors such as
race and socioeconomic class
• Whereas social psych focuses on the
individual (within those groups)
Group role plays- Social Psych Key
Concepts
• In your groups, look up your assigned research or
phenomenon
– Act it out
– Then, clearly define the concept
– Thoroughly cover any key aspects of this phenomenon
• 6 groups –
–
–
–
–
–
Conformity
Obedience
Bystander effect
Deindividualization
Persuasion – 2 groups
Protocol
• Get into 6 different groups
• Review assigned social psych phenomenon
• Research the key terms, famous examples,
and definitions
– Write these down (will be turned in)
• Create a skit that acts out the phenomenon &
plan to explain/teach the terms after
• Presentations include:
– Skit (act it out!)
– Teach keywords and definitions related to your
topic
Fundamental Attribution Error
The tendency to overestimate the impact of
personal disposition and underestimate the impact
of the situation in analyzing the behaviors of others
leads to the
fundamental attribution error.
We tend to see ourselves as affected by the situation
and other people by their personalities.
This is a very strong tendency in our culture –
watch out for it!
14
Effects of Attribution
How we explain someone’s behavior affects
how we react to it.
15
16
Routes to Persuasion
• Central route to persuasion: people focus on the
validity of the arguments.
• Peripheral route to persuasion: people are
influenced by incidental cues, such as a
speaker’s attractiveness.
Small Request – Large Request
Not only do people stand for what they believe
in, they start believing in what they stand for.
Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon: The tendency
for people who have first agreed to a small
request to comply later with a larger request.
18
Small Request – Large Request
In the Korean War, Chinese communists solicited
cooperation from US army prisoners by asking
them to carry out small errands.
By complying to small errands they were likely
to comply to larger ones.
Ultimately, they often adjusted their beliefs to be
consistent with their actions (cognitive
dissonance).
19
Cognitive Dissonance
Why do actions affect attitudes? One explanation is
that when our attitudes and actions are opposed, we
experience tension. Leon Festinger called this
cognitive dissonance.
We act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we
feel when two of our thoughts (cognition) are
inconsistent.
To relieve ourselves of this tension we change our
attitudes to bring them closer to our actions.
If I chose to do it, I must believe it.
20
Role Playing Affects Attitudes
Zimbardo (1972) assigned the roles of guards and prisoners to
random students and found that guards and prisoners
developed role- appropriate attitudes. The experiment had to be
stopped to ensure the physical and psychological health of the
participants who had taken their roles to an extreme.
22
Social Influence
The greatest contribution of social
psychology is its study of attitudes,
beliefs, decisions, and actions and the
way they are molded by social influence.
NON SEQUITER © 2000 Wiley. Dist. by Universal
Press Syndicate Reprinted with Permission
23
Conformity & Obedience
Behavior is contagious. We follow behavior of others
to conform. Other behaviors may be an expression of
compliance (obedience) toward authority.
Conformity
 adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to
coincide with a group standard
25
Group Pressure & Suggestibility
Suggestibility is a subtle type of conformity,
adjusting our behavior or thinking toward
some group standard.
Conformity
experiments
– Asch (1955).
26
Group Pressure & Conformity
An influence resulting from one’s willingness to
accept others’ opinions about reality .
It is more likely to occur when:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
you feel incompetent or insecure,
the group has at least 3 people,
the group is unanimous,
you admire the group,
you have not committed yourself to another answer,
everyone is watching you,
your culture respects social standards.
27
Reasons for Conformity
Normative Social Influence: Influence resulting from a
person’s desire to gain approval or avoid rejection.
Ignoring the group may have unpleasant consequences.
Informative Social Influence: Influence resulting from
a person's willingness to accept the group's view of
reality. The group may provide valuable information.
28
Obedience
Stanley Milgram
designed a study that
investigates the effects of
authority on obedience.
Courtesy of CUNY Graduate School and University Center
People comply to social
pressures. How would
they respond to outright
command?
Stanley Milgram
(1933-1984)
29
Both Photos: © 1965 By Stanley Miligram, from the
film Obedience, dist. by Penn State, Media Sales
Milgram’s Study
Milgram basically conducted an electric shock
experiment with a “teacher” and a “learner”.
30
Milgram’s Study: Results
31
Individual Resistance
A third of the individuals in Milgram’s
study resisted social coercion.
An unarmed individual single-handedly challenged a line of
tanks at Tiananmen Square. Think also of Gandhi, Rosa Parks,
industrial whistle-blowers…
32
Group Influence
How do groups affect our behavior? Social
psychologists study various groups:
1.
2.
3.
4.
One person affecting another
Families
Teams
Committees
33
Social Loafing
The tendency of an individual in a group to exert
less effort toward attaining a common goal than
when tested individually (Latané, 1981).
34
Deindividuation
The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in group
situations that foster arousal and anonymity.
Mob behavior
Ku Klux Klan
35
The Bystander Effect
Tendency of any given
bystander to be less
likely to give aid if other
bystanders are present.
36
Friday – watch Mean Girls!
• Watch the first 40 minutes of this awesome
movie to see social psych concepts in action!
• Stanford University has a summer class that
analyzes this movie for it’s social psychology
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–
–
–
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Groups
Conformity
Persuasion/influence
Obedience
Norms
• Answer Q’s on worksheet provided