Social Psychology: Seeks to explain how our
thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and behaviors are
influenced by interactions with others
Social Cognition: Focuses on how we
perceive, store and retrieve information
about social interactions
*What is your first impression of the woman in this
photo? The man?
*What do you think he/she does for a living?
What if SHE….
Looked like THIS…
or like THIS…
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Primacy Effect - form lasting
opinion of someone based on initial
impression
• Physical Appearance
• Nonverbal Cues
• Associations with Others
• Eye Contact
SCHEMAS
Set of assumptions we develop
about any person or event
We develop a schema for every
person we know
Schemas include behaviors we
expect in certain situations
Explain and predict behaviors of
others
FUNDAMENTAL ATTRIBUTION
ERROR
Attribute other people’s behavior
personal characteristics rather than
external factors
Ex. Traffic Light and Honking
ACTOR-OBSERVER BIAS
Actor when explaining own
behavior, observer when explaining
others
Ex. I am smiling because I’ve had
a great day; She is smiling because
she is a happy person.
Self-Serving Bias
Tendency to claim success is due to
our efforts, while failure is due to
circumstances beyond our control
Ex. I got an A on the test because I
am smart and work hard or I got a
D on the test because of a biased
test
Social Psychology
Why do we choose the friends we have?
What attracted us to our friends in the first
place?
Why do you (or do you) need friends?
Have your reasons for needing friends
changed throughout the years?
On the Agenda for Today….
Interpersonal Attraction!
Why we need friends
How we choose the friends we have
WHY WE NEED FRIENDS
Our psychological health depends
on healthy friendships … why??
» Anxiety Relief
» Companionship
» Compare Experiences
» Reduce Uncertainty
How do we acquire the friends we
have?
# 1) Proximity
Easy, and SAFE
#2) Reward Values
*Stimulation Value = the ability of a person to
interest you or to expose you to new ideas and
experiences
*Utility Value = the ability of a person to help another
achieve his or her goals
*Ego- Support Value = the ability of a person to
provide another person with sympathy, encouragement,
and approval
#3) Physical Appearance
*MANY studies in this area
*More attractive people are consistently perceived to
possess more positive attributes
*Moderate to below average attractive =
better developed and finely honed skills in other areas /
professional
*See figure 18.5 on page 525 of text
Many references to beauty/looks in our language
* “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”
* “Looks aren’t everything”
* “Beauty is skin deep”
Other factors…
#4) Approval – We feel better about ourselves
when people support us and agree with us
#5) Similarity
Why might this be?
#6) Complimentary = The attraction that often
develops between opposite types of people
because of the ability of one to supply what
the other lacks
Six Factors involved in choosing friends
Proximity
Approval
Complimentary
Physical
Appearance
Reward Values…
Similarity
*Stimulation value
*Utility Value
*Ego-Support Value
Misery loves company
Psychologist Stanley Schachter tested this
theory….
10
As it turns out, Misery loves company…As Long As…
THE COMPANY IS ALSO MISERABLE!!!