Ch. 18 - Social Psychology
How does society affect our
thinking and actions?
How do people explain behavior?
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Fundamental attribution error
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Overestimating the influence of personality
Underestimating the influence of situation
How do our actions affect our
attitudes?
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The “foot-in-the-door” phenomenon
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People who agree to a small action, will comply
with a larger one later.
How does the role we play affect
our attitudes and actions?
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Philip Zimbardo’s prison study
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Students randomly assigned to be guards or prisoners
Guards acted like guards
Prisoners acted like prisoners
Study called off after only six days because participants
were endangered by their role playing.
Result: Roles call for certain behavior if we play that
role long enough we may become that type of person.
How do our actions affect our
attitudes?
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Cognitive dissonance theory
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Leon Festenger
Cognitive = thinking
Dissonance = Unresolved differences
When we act differently than we believe, we
experience cognitive dissonance.
Cognitive dissonance (cont.)
To reduce dissonance, we will change our
attitudes (or behavior) to produce
agreement.
 We change our attitudes to justify past
behavior.
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Cognitive dissonance (cont.)
How do we influence each other?
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Will you conform to group pressure?
Solomon Asch conformity study
Comparing lengths of lines
 People rejected what they could see, to
conform with the group
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Obedience Will you do what you are told
even if it would hurt someone?
Stanley Milgram’s shock
experiments
Teachers - gave shock (15 - 450 volts)
 Learners - received shock
 Results: The majority of “teachers” ordered
to shock the “learners” complied fully, and
gave the highest level of shock.
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Stanley Milgram’s shock
experiments (Cont.)
What causes prejudice?
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Scapegoat Theory
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Frustration & feeling disadvantaged creates
prejudice
“They caused my problems.”
The Cultural Theory of prejudice
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Emery Borgardus
People well adjusted to a “culture of prejudice”
become prejudiced.
What causes aggression?

Frustration - aggression hypothesis
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Frustration - anger - aggression
E.g. Hurting someone that frustrated you (not
always physical)
Situations that increase
aggression
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Hot days, pain, humiliation
How can social perception create
reality?
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The “Self fulfilling prophesy”
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1. You believe something is true (even if it is
not)
2. You act as if it is true
3. The other person (or country) reacts by
becoming the way you thought they were.
E.g. Bill thinks Sally is rejecting him
E.g. The “cold war” - Russia v.s. U.S.
Have you ever been “In love”?
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Passionate love
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Fully absorbed with the other
“Walking on clouds”
Companionate love
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A deep affectionate attachment to the other
Based on equity and self disclosure
Sternberg’s theory of love
Intimacy
 Passion
 Commitment
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Will you help someone in an
emergency?
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The bystander effect
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Kitty Genovese
Before helping, people must:
 Notice
the situation
 Interpret it as an emergency
 Assume responsibility
Bystander effect (cont.)

The more
people are
available to
help, the less
chance any one
person will
help.
Why do we help?
Self interest
 The “Social Exchange” theory
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Cost - benefit analysis
Will the cost (money, time, discomfort) be less
than the benefit (reduced guilt, social approval,
good feelings).