This will be your third Essay Assignment, Chapter 13, Social Psychology

In this assignment, there will be various aspects to study.  In the first one, I want you to research deindividuation and group performance, which special attention with social loafing.  Then I want you to explain an instance where you have seen or participated in one of these things in person.

In the second part, I want you to understand the concepts of group think and ethnocentrism.  Then I want you to explain an instance where you have seen or participated in one of these things in person.

This assignment will be three pages long, not including the title or reference pages, will have at least 3 sources (one of which may come from the book) and should be in APA format.

Chapter 13

Social Psychology

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Chapter Preview
Social Cognition
Social Behavior
Social Influence
Intergroup Relations
Close Relationships
Health and Wellness

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Social Psychology
The study of how people think about, influence, and relate to other people.
social cognitions
social influences
social relations

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Example of Social-Psychological Research
The Bystander Effect
Darley and Latané (1968)
individuals are less likely to help in an emergency when others are present
diffusion of responsibility

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Social Cognition (1 of 6)
How do people select, interpret, remember, and use social information?
Person Perception
physical attractiveness
“beautiful is good” stereotype
self-fulfilling prophecy
composite faces, symmetry,
and youthfulness
attention paid
first impressions
Strong Handshakes

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Social Cognition (2 of 6)
Attributions
explanations for why people behave the way they do
Attribution Theory
attempt to discover underlying causes of behavior
internal/external causes
stable/unstable causes (permanent or temporary)
controllable/uncontrollable causes (have some power over causes but not entirely)

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Suggestion: Pose a scenario to students where someone (say, yourself) engages in some modestly negative behavior, such as tripping or responding to a student grumpily. Then have students suggest possible explanations for why the behavior occurred. Then compare their attributions to the types discussed on this slide. Given the fundamental attribution error which you are about to discuss on the next slide, students will tend to offer internal, stable causes. If so, prompt them to come up with external or unstable causes.
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Social Cognition (3 of 6)
Attribution Errors
fundamental attribution error
overestimate the importance of internal traits
underestimate the importance of external causes
observers often explain actors’ behaviors incorrectly
actors often explain own behavior in terms of external causes

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Suggestion: If you conducted the discussion suggested for the previous slide, follow up with a discussion about the extent to which the fundamental attribution error played a role in the student responses proffered.
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Social Cognition (4 of 6)
Heuristics: cognitive shortcuts that speed decision making
Stereotypes
Representative Heuristic
Tendency to make judgements about group membership based on physical appearance or the match between a person and one’s stereotype of a group rather than available base rate information.
false consensus effect
overestimating the degree to which everyone else thinks or acts the way we do
use our outlook to predict that of others

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Social Cognition (5 of 6)
Stereotype Threat
a self-fulfilling fear about being judged on the basis of a negative stereotype about our group
Social Comparison
process by which we evaluate our thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and abilities in relation to other people
social comparison theory

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Note: Social Comparison could be viewed as analogous to norm-referenced test scores (in contrast to criterion-referenced scores)
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Social Cognition (6 of 6)

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Suggestion: If you conducted the discussion suggested for the previous slide, follow up with a discussion about the extent to which the fundamental attribution error played a role in the student responses proffered.
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The Self as a Social Object
Self-Esteem
positive illusions – views of ourselves that are not necessarily rooted in reality
self-serving bias – tendency to take credit for success and deny responsibility for failure
self-objectification – tendency to see oneself primarily as an object in the eyes of others

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Attitudes
beliefs about people, places, and ideas.
Can attitudes predict behavior?
when attitudes are strong
when attitudes are rehearsed
when person has vested interest
Can behavior predict attitudes?
cognitive dissonance and self perception

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Note: Watch out for the difference between prediction and causation
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Cognitive Dissonance Theory
Discomfort Caused by Two Dissonant Thoughts
thoughts of one’s attitude versus one’s behavior
Dissonance Reduced By
changing behaviors to match attitude
changing attitudes to match behavior

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Self-Perception Theory (1 of 2)
Individuals make inferences about their own attitudes by perceiving their own behavior, especially if their attitudes are unclear.
Both cognitive dissonance and self-perception theory explain the connection between attitudes and behavior.
Cognitive Dissonance
Strive for consistency
I hate my job.
But I work hard at it.
I need to fix my attitude.

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Self-Perception Theory (2 of 2)
Self Perception
Infer our attitude
I spend all my time thinking how bad my job is.
I must really hate it.

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Persuasion (1 of 2)
The Communicator (credibility)
trustworthiness, expertise, attractiveness, likeability, similarity
Medium (television versus print)
The Target (age, attitude, strength)
Message (rational versus emotional
strategy)
elaboration likelihood model
central route (sound, logical)
peripheral route (attractiveness, emotional power)

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Suggestion: Ask students to name a celebrity or otherwise famous person whose opinion they trust. Then explore with them the reasons they trust this person, tying it in to the credibility factors on this slide.
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Persuasion (2 of 2)
Successful Persuasion
foot-in-the-door technique (small request at 1st)
door-in-the-face technique (biggest pitch 1st)
Resisting Persuasion
inoculation

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Social Behavior
We behave in social ways toward the people around us.
Two extremes of human social activity:
altruism
aggression

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Prosocial Behavior (1 of 2)
Altruism
an unselfish interest in helping someone else
Egoism
helping others for personal enhancement (e.g., to ensure reciprocity)

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Prosocial Behavior (2 of 2)
Explanations of Altruism
evolutionary
psychological factors
mood
empathy
sociocultural factors
market economies (rich people less likely to help others than middle or lower class people)
investment in established
religion
gender
media influence

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Aggression (1 of 3)
Biological Influences
evolutionary views
genetic basis
neurobiological factors
limbic system and frontal lobes of brain
low levels of serotonin
testosterone

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Aggression (2 of 3)
Psychological Influences
aversive circumstances
frustration
weather, physical pain, crowding
cognitive determinants
priming
perception of unfairness
observational learning

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Suggestion: Ask students for examples of aggression in which they believe these factors have contributed.
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Aggression (3 of 3)
Sociocultural Influences
cultural variations
culture of honor
media violence
television
violent pornography
violent video games

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Social Influence: Conformity
Asch’s Experiment (1951) (participants conformed to lines on a card that were incorrect because other people said so)
Factors that Contribute to Conformity
psychological
informational social influence
normative social influence
biological
Brain equates non-conformity with making an error.
Oxytocin promotes conformity.
cultural
Collectivism promotes conformity.

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Social Influence: Obedience (1 of 3)
Milgram’s Experiments (1965,1974) (Nazi war criminal simulation, electric shocks)
Factors that Contribute to Disobedience
disobedient models
authority figure not legitimate or not close by
victim made to seem more human
Ethical Concerns Regarding Milgram – Deception

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Social Influence: Obedience (2 of 3)
Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment
2-week Simulation: Guards vs. Prisoners
Manifested Extreme Aggression & Abuse
Participants did not quit.
Simulation was aborted after 6 days.
Biased Sample

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Social Influence: Obedience (3 of 3)

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Group Influence
Deindividuation
erosion of personal identity and responsibility
anonymity
Social Contagion
spread of behavior,
emotions, and ideas
Group Performance
social facilitation: arousal with well-learned tasks
social loafing: reduced
accountability

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Group Decision Making (1 of 2)
Group Risky Shift
Group decisions are riskier than average individual decisions. (ex. An indidivual may caustion someone’s changes at going into a writing career. A group may be more open to take the risk
Polarization
Discussion strengthens the individual’s position.

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Group Decision Making (2 of 2)
Groupthink
group harmony
impaired decision making and avoidance of realistic appraisal
symptoms of groupthink
avoiding groupthink
Majority-Minority Influence
majority: normative and informational pressure
minority: informational pressure

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Intergroup Relations
Group Identity
“us” versus “them”
Social Identity
define ourselves in terms
of group membership
Social Identity Theory
in-groups versus out-groups
Ethnocentrism
favoring one’s own group
over other groups

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Social Identity

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Prejudice
An unjustified negative attitude toward a group and its members
Explicit Versus Implicit Racism
Explanations for Prejudice
competition between groups
cultural learning
motivation to enhance
self-esteem
limitations in cognitive
processes

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Suggestion: Instructor might ask students to share experiences where they felt someone was prejudiced against them. With this sensitive topic be careful that students do not start giving examples of people in the class, or that this becomes a gossip session about mutual acquaintances, or a time to complain about their other instructors.
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Stereotyping and Prejudice (1 of 2)
Stereotype
a generalization about a group
Discrimination
an unjustified negative or harmful action
How can relationships between ethnic groups be improved?

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Stereotyping and Prejudice (2 of 2)
Improving Interethnic Relations
Contact alone is not effective. Works best if groups:
think they are of equal status
feel an authority figure
approves positive relations
anticipate emergent friendship
engage in cooperative tasks
Aronson’s jigsaw classroom

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Sherif’s Robbers Cave Study

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Close Relationships
Attraction
proximity
mere exposure effect
promise of acquaintanceship
we like those who like us
similarity
consensual validation

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Close Relationships: Love (1 of 2)
Romantic Love
passionate love
sexuality and infatuation
Affectionate Love
companionate love
deep caring affection
Spiritual Love
Love or respect for religious being and figures
Unquestioned loyalty

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Close Relationships: Love (2 of 2)
Social Exchange Theory
fair exchange of “goods”
minimize costs, maximize benefits (fades over time during relationship)
Investment Model
factors in stability of
relationship
commitment to partner
investment in relationship
lack of attractive alternatives

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Health and Wellness
Social Ties and Health
isolation and mortality
social support and coping
Fighting Loneliness
join activities with others
act pleasant
get help

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Chapter Review
Investigate the features of social psychology.
Describe how people think about the social world.
Describe social behavior, particularly altruism and aggression.
Identify how people are influenced in social settings.
Discuss intergroup relations.
Explain the nature of close relationships.
Describe social processes affecting health and wellness.

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