Social
Psychology
• The scientific study of how we think about, influence,
and relate to one another
Social Psychology
• Attribution Theorywe tend to give a
causal explanation for
someone’s behavioroften by crediting
either the situation or
the person’s
disposition
Attribution
• For us?
-situation
• For others?
-disposition
Known as the
Fundamental
Attribution Error
ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR
• Attitude- a belief and
feeling that
predisposes one in a
particular way to
objects, people, and
events
• Example- I don’t like
cats. If I see a cat, I
will shoo him away.
Attitudes and Behavior
• The tendency for
people who have first
agreed to a small
request to comply
later with a larger
request
Foot-in-the-door
Phenomenon
• Examples?
Roles
• Role- a set of
expectations about a
social position,
defining how a person
should act
• Philip Zimbardo paid people to participate in a mock
prison.
• Some acted as guards, others as prisoners.
• Guards began to disparage and degrade prisoners
• Prisoners broke down, rebelled, or became passively
resigned
• The two-week experiment was called off after 6 days
because people took their roles very seriously.
Zimbardo Prison
Experiment
• If our attitudes and actions don’t agree, we have mental
discomfort
• To reduce the discomfort, our attitudes start to align with
our actions or stated beliefs.
Cognitive Dissonance
Theory
SOCIAL INFLUENCE
Conformity, Obedience, Group Influence
• Asch Experiment
Conformity
• Adjusting one’s
behavior or thinking
to coincide with a
group standard
Could be good or bad
•
•
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one feels incompetent or insecure
the group has at least three people
the group is unanimous
one admires the group’s status and attractiveness
one has made no prior commitment to any response
others in the group observe one’s behavior
one’s culture strongly encourages respect for social
standards
Influences on conformity
• normative-results from a person’s desire to gain approval
or avoid disapproval
• informational- results from one’s willingness to accept
others’ opinions about reality
Types of social influence
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W147ybOdgpE (start
at 1:30)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6GxIuljT3w (modern
replication)
Milgram experiment
• Social facilitation- improved performance on tasks in the
presence of others (if the task is easy)
• Social loafing- tendency for people in a group to exert
less effort that they would individually
• Deindividuation- the loss of self-awareness and selfrestraint in a group
• Group polarization- the tendency for attitudes to become
more polarized when with a group that agrees with that
attitude
Group Influence
PREJUDICE
Prejudice
Discrimination
• A belief or feeling
• An action
Superiority of a group
• Ingroup Bias
• Social Inequalities
• Scapegoating
• Jane Elliot
• Iowa class
Social Roots of prejudice
• Categorization
• Vivid Cases
• Just-world
phenomenon- people
think the world is just,
so people get what
they deserve
Cognitive roots of
prejudice
What about individuals?
AGGRESSION
Biology
Psychology
• Genetics
• Brain (frontal lobe or
amygdala)
• Hormones
• Alcohol
• Frustration-aggression
principle
• Hot temperatures
• Learning
• Media violence
Aggression- any physical or verbal
behavior intended to hurt or destroy
• Watching violent media  thinking
aggression is acceptable
• What can we do?
Media
GAME THEORY
• The idea that we act based on how we think others will
act
• Examples?
-deciding which way to go around someone
-economics
Game Theory
• Situations in which mutually destructive behavior is the
result of people pursuing self-interest
• Examples:
• Dollar bidding game
• Nuts game
• Mutually Assured Destruction
• Prisoner’s Dilemma
Social Traps
Another Example
ATTRACTION
• Proximity (mere exposure effect)
• Physical Attractiveness
• Similarity
What influences attraction?
Passionate
Companionate
• Aroused state of intense
positive absorption in
another
• Usually at the beginning
of a relationship
• Deep affectionate
attachment we feel for
those with whom our
lives are intertwined
Types of love
• Equity- getting as
much as you give or
vice versa
• Self-disclosurerevealing intimate
details about
ourselves
Strong Relationships Need:
Altruism
• Repeatedly raped and stabbed while
calling for help
• Why did no one come to her aid?
Kitty Genovese
• People are less likely to help
when others are present
Bystander Effect
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seeing someone else being helpful
not in a hurry
victim needs and deserves help
victim is similar to us
we are in a small or rural area
we feel guilty
we are focused on others and not preoccupied
we are in a good mood
Things that increase altruism
• The idea that our social behavior is an exchange process,
the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize
costs
• What do you think?
Social Exchange Theory
• Superordinate goals- shared goals that override
differences
• Communication
• Graduated and reciprocated initiatives to reduce conflict
-Ex. SALT talks
Cooperation