chapter 18 social behavior. ps120: psychology for the medical professional unit 4: social psychology...
Post on 19-Jan-2016
223 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter 18
Social Behavior
PS120: Psychology for the Medical Professional
Unit 4: SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGYMaritza Leon-Veiguela, M.S.
What is Social Psychology? Some Definitions
Social Psychology: Scientific study of how individuals behave, think, and feel in social situations; how people act in the presence (actual or implied) of others
Culture: Ongoing pattern of life that is passed from one generation to another
Social Roles
Social Role: Patterns of behavior expected of people in various social positions (e.g. daughter, mother, teacher, President (!)) Ascribed Role: Assigned to a person or not under
personal control Achieved Role: Attained voluntarily or by special
effort: teacher, mayor, President
Role Conflict: When two or more roles make conflicting demands on behavior
GroupsGroup Structure: Network of roles, communication, pathways, and power in a group
Group Cohesiveness: Degree of attraction among group members or their commitment to remaining in the group Cohesive groups work better together What kind of groups did you see on “Survivor,” “Big Brother,”
“Road Rules,” and “Real World”?
Status: Level of social power and importance
Norm: Accepted, but usually unspoken, standard of appropriate behavior
Fig. 18.1 Results of an experiment on norms concerning littering. The prior existence of litter in a public setting implies that littering is acceptable. This encourages others to “trash” the area. (From Cialdini, Reno, & Kallgren, 1990.)
Personal Space
Area surrounding the body that is defined as private and is subject to personal control
Spatial NormsProxemics: Systematic study of human use of personal space, especially in social settings Intimate Distance: Most private space immediately
surrounding the body; 18 inches from the skin. Reserved for special people or special circumstances
Personal Distance: Maintained in interactions with friends. 18 inches to 4 feet from body; arm’s length
Social Distance: Impersonal interaction takes place; 4 to 12 feet
Public Distance: Formal interactions take place (like giving a speech); 12 feet or more
Social Perception
Attribution Theory: Making inferences about the causes of one’s own behavior and others’ behaviorConsistency: Person’s behavior changes
very little in many different circumstancesDistinctiveness: Noticing that a behavior
only occurs under certain circumstances
Social Perception (cont.)
Actor: Person whose behavior is being interpreted
Object: Aim, motive, or target of an actionSetting: Social and/or physical environment
in which action occurs
Situational Demands: Pressures to behave in certain ways in particular settings and social situations
Other Attribution Concepts
Discounting: Downgrading internal explanations of behavior when a person’s actions seem to have strong external causesConsensus: Degree to which people respond alike. In attribution, implies that responses are externally causedSelf-Handicapping: Arranging to perform under conditions that impair performance, so as to have an excuse for a poor performance Lisa said, “I took 3 classes while my foot hurt all
semester; that’s why I got a 0.5 average!”
More Attribution Concepts
Fundamental Attribution Error: Tendency to attribute behavior of others to internal causes (personality, likes, and so on). We believe this even if they really have external causes!
Actor-Observer Bias: Tendency to attribute behavior of others to internal causes, while attributing the behavior of ourselves to external causes (situations and circumstances)
AffiliationNeed to Affiliate: Desire to associate with other people; appears to be a basic human traitSocial Comparison: Making judgments about ourselves by comparing ourselves to others. E.g. comparing our feelings and abilities to those of other peopleDownward Comparison: Comparing yourself with someone who ranks lower than you on some area (e.g. money, attractiveness)Upward Comparison: Comparing ourselves to someone who ranks higher than we do on some area; may be used for self-improvement (something we strive for)
Interpersonal Attraction
Social attraction to another personPhysical Proximity: Physical nearness to another person in terms of housing, school, work, and so onPhysical Attractiveness: Person’s degree of physical beauty as defined by his or her cultureHalo Effect: Tendency to generalize a favorable impression to unrelated personal characteristics
Interpersonal Attraction (cont.)
Similarity: Extent to which two people are alike in terms of age, education, attitudes, and so onSimilar people are attracted to each other
Homogamy: Tendency to marry someone who is like us in almost every way
Self-Disclosure
Process of revealing private thoughts, attitudes, feelings and one’s history to others Should be used cautiously and sparingly when you
are the therapist performing therapy May lead to countertransference in therapy
Reciprocity: Return in kind; reciprocal exchangeOverdisclosure: Self-disclosure that exceeds what is appropriate for a relationship or social situation
Social Exchange Theory
Social Exchange Theory: Rewards must exceed costs for relationships to endure; we unconsciously weigh social rewards and costs
Comparison Level: Personal standard used to evaluate social rewards and costs in a social exchange
Relationship needs to be profitable enough to maintain it
Love and Attachment
Romantic Love: Marked by high levels of interpersonal attraction, sexual desire, and heightened arousal
Liking: Relationship based on intimacy but lacking passion and commitment
Mutual Absorption: When two lovers almost always attend only to each other
Avoidant Attachment: Fear of intimacy and a tendency to resist commitment to others
Ambivalent Attachment: Mixed emotions about relationships; conflicting feelings of affection, anger and emotional turmoil
Social Influence
Changes in a person’s behavior induced by the actions of another person Someone else influences your decision:
husband, wife, mother, peer, etc.Peer pressure: Rudy is swayed by Fanny
to go see “The Matrix Reloaded” when he really wanted to see “Terminator 3”
ConformityBringing one’s behavior into agreement with norms or the behavior of othersSolomon Asch’s Experiment: You must select (from a group of three) the line that most closely matches the standard line. All lines are shown to a group of six people (including you) Other five were accomplices and at times all would
select the wrong line In 33% of the trials, the real subject conformed to
group pressure even when the group’s answers were obviously incorrect!
Group Factors in Conformity
Groupthink: Compulsion by decision makers to maintain each other’s approval, even at the cost of critical thinkingGroup Sanctions: Rewards and punishments administered by groups to enforce conformityUnanimity: Unanimous agreement
Power
Social Power: Capacity to control, alter or influence the behavior of another person
Reward Power: Rewarding a person for complying with desired behavior
Coercive Power: Based on ability to punish a person for failure to comply
More Power Concepts
Legitimate Power: Accepting a person as an agent of an established social order
Referent Power: Respect for, or identification with, a person or a group
Expert Power: Based on possession of knowledge or expertise
Obedience (Milgram)
Conformity to the demands of an authority
Would you shock a man with a known heart condition who is screaming and asking to be released?
Milgram studied this; the man with a heart condition was an accomplice and the “teacher” was a real volunteer. The goal was to teach the learner word pairs.
Fig. 18.6 Scenes from Stanley Milgram’s study of obedience: the “shock generator,” strapping a “learner” into his chair, and a “teacher” being told to administer a severe shock to the learner.
© Stanley Milgram, The Pennsylvania State University
Milgram’s Results
65% obeyed by going all the way to 450 volts on the “shock machine” even though the learner eventually could not answer any more questionsThe learner screamed and provided no
further answers once 300 volts (“Severe Shock”) was reached
Group support can reduce destructive obedience
Fig. 18.7 Results of Milgram’s obedience experiment. Only a minority of subjects refused to provide shocks, even at the most extreme intensities. The first substantial drop in obedience occurred at the 300-volt level (Milgram, 1963).
Fig. 18.8 Physical distance from the “learner” had a significant effect on the percentage of subjects obeying orders.
Compliance
Bending to the requests of one person who has little or no authority or social powerFoot-in-the-Door Effect: A person who has agreed to a small request is more likely later to agree to a larger demand. Once you get a foot in the door, then a sale is almost a sure
thing
Door-in-the-Face Technique: A person who has refused a major request will be more likely later on to comply with a smaller request After the door has been slammed in your face (major request
refused), person may be more likely to agree to a smaller request
Compliance (cont.)
Low-Ball Technique: Commitment is gained first to reasonable or desirable terms, which are then made less reasonable or desirable Henry accepts the price he states for a new car.
Then, later, Tillie the saleswoman tells Henry “The business would lose too much money on that price; can’t you take a bit less and add all these options?”
Passive Compliance: Passively bending to unreasonable demands or circumstances
Assertiveness Training
Instruction in how to be self-assertiveSelf-Assertion: Standing up for your rights by speaking out on your own behalf; direct, honest expression of feelings and desiresAggression: Hurting another person or achieving one’s goals at the expense of another person Attempt to get one’s way no matter what No regard for other people's feelings
Broken Record: Self-assertion technique that involves repeating a request until it is acknowledged Good way to be assertive without being aggressive
Fig. 18.9 In an experiment done at an airport, a smoker intentionally sat or stood near non-smokers. Only 9 percent of the non-smokers asked the smoker to stop smoking, even when no-smoking signs were clearly visible nearby (Gibson & Werner, 1994).
©Michael Newman/PhotoEdit
Social Traps
Any social situation that rewards individual actions that will have undesired effects in the long run Anya buys things on credit for immediate satisfaction and
then gets a HUGE bill later, which she cannot afford
Tragedy of the Commons: Type of social trap where individuals share a scarce resource. Each person acts in his or her self-interest, which causes the resource to be used up, so eventually everyone suffers No efforts made, for example, to conserve water, gasoline,
electricity, or food
Some social behaviors produce immediate rewards but have significant consequences in the long run
top related