chapter 16[1][1]

“Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Social Psychology:Meeting of the Minds


Social Cognition

How we perceive our social worlds and how we attend to, store, remember, and use information about other people and the social world


Impressions

• How long does it take you to “size someone up” (i.e., decide if you like him or her, etc.)?

• What do you look for? What influences your impression? Are there “things” in particular that catch your attention?

• Does the information that you notice or receive first have a disproportionate influence on your impression? Why or why not?


Making an Impression

• Impression formation• Impression management• Social judgments in seconds!• Halo effect• Primacy effect


Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

• Expectations can create outcomes

• Rosenthal & Jacobson– “Test” predicted student academics– Students performed as “predicted”


Attitudes and Behavior

• Attitudes– An overall evaluation about some aspect of

the world

• Attitudes and behavior do not always go hand in hand (e.g., cognitive dissonance).


Cognitive Dissonance

Boring task

“Did you enjoy the task?”

$1

$20 “No”

“Yes”

Receive


Cognitive Dissonance• Dissonance theory

– Reducing mismatch between behaviors and feelings


StereotypesWhat are stereotypes?

A belief or set of beliefs about people in a particular social category


Look quickly at each “person” below. What is the first stereotype that comes to mind?

• Men• Women• Blondes• Redheads• Lawyers• Scientists• Professors• Grade school teacher• Physician


Stereotypes

Stereotype consistent information• Prefer it• Process it faster• Attend to it more• Recall it faster


Prejudice

Social Categorization (dividing the world into us and them)

• Ingroup• Outgroup• Illusory correlation• Illusion of outgroup

homogeneity– Ingroup differentiation

• Discrimination


Understanding Prejudice

• Social Categorization Theory• Realistic conflict theory

– Competition for scarce resources

• Self-fulfilling prophecy• Social learning theory


Yielding to Others

What is conformity?• A change in beliefs or behavior because of

pressure from others.– Informational social influence– Normative social influence


Conformity: Asch’s Studies

1 2 3Find the matching line


ComplianceWhat is compliance?• Change in behavior brought on by a direct

requestSix principles

– Friendship/liking– Commitment/consistency– Scarcity– Reciprocity– Social validation– Authority


Compliance

• Foot-in-the-door technique• Lowball technique• Door-in-the-face technique


The Milgram Studies

Teacher and Learner

Obedience

What is obedience?•Compliance with an order from an authority figure


The Milgram Studies

Increasing Shocks for Errors


The Milgram Studies

• 15 volts to 450 volts (“XXX”)• At 120 volts learner shouts in pain• At 150 volts learner asks to stop• At 300 volts learner pounds on wall• At 330 volts learner stops responding• Question: how far will teachers go?


The Milgram Studies

• Psychiatrists predicted 2% would go to maximum level

• Actual results: 65% of teachers went to the maximum level

• Other factors• Ethical issues• What does this tell us about human

nature?


Attribution

An explanation for the cause of an event or behavior

Humans seek to know the cause of actions! • What caused that behavior?

– Internal attributions• Dispositional attributions

– External attributions• Situational attributions


Attributional Biases

• Fundamental attribution error• Self-serving bias• Belief in a just world

– Blaming the victim


Helping Others

• Altruism• Prosocial behavior• Catherine Genovese murder• Bystander effect

– Evaluation apprehension– Diffusion of responsibility


Relationships: Liking

• Repeated contact• Similarity• Physical attraction


Relationships: LovingIs there a soul mate for you? What does falling in love

feel like? Does that feeling last?

• Passionate love• Companionate love• Sternberg’s triangular model

of love– Passion– Intimacy– Commitment


Social OrganizationsWhat are some common elements of group?• Interaction among members• Emotional connection• Common frame of reference• Interdependence• Norms• Roles• Status hierarchy• Sometimes deindividuation


Decision Making in Groups

• Group polarization• Groupthink• Heterogeneous vs. homogeneous groups


Performance in Groups

• Social loafing• Social compensation• Social facilitation


The Stanford Prison Experiment

How powerful is a role?

How does this study relate to the Abu Ghraib prison incident?

chapter 16[1][1]

Education

social psychology

social organizations

social cognition

social worlds

particular social category

volts learner shouts

volts learner pounds

behavior humans