Download - Social Thinking
Social Thinking
Social Psychology scientific study of how we think about,
influence, and relate to one anotherAttribution Theory
tendency to give a causal explanation for someone’s behavior using the situation or the person’s disposition
Social ThinkingSituationism
judging behavior overestimate environmental conditions and underestimate personal disposition
Fundamental Attribution Error judging behavior underestimate
environment and overestimate personal disposition
Attitude Predisposed feeling affecting response
Social Thinking Our behavior is affected by our inner attitudes as
well as by external social influences
Internalattitudes
Externalinfluences
Behavior
Social Thinking How we explain someone’s behavior affects how
we react to itSituational attribution“Maybe that driver is ill.”
Tolerant reaction(proceed cautiously, allowdriver a wide berth)
Negative behavior
Dispositional attribution“Crazy driver!”
Unfavorable reaction(Speed up and race past the other driver, craning to give them a dirty look)
Kelley’s Attribution Logic
(1) Does Susan regularly get angry in traffic jams?
YES(2) Do many other people get angry in traffic jams?
NO
NO
YES
(3) Does Susan get angry in many other situations?
No personality or situational attribution
Situational attribution: traffic jams make people mad
Personality attribution, general
Personality attribution, particular
YES NO
Two-stage Model of Attributions
What kind of person is Joe?
How funny is the TV comedy?
Person: Joe laughs easily
Situation: the TV show is funny
Observer’s goalAutomatic Attribution
Controlled Attribution
Revision: could be a funny show
Revision: maybe Joe laughs easily
Book example: Joe laughs hysterically while watching a TV comedy. What can we conclude?
Social ThinkingFoot-in-the-Door Phenomenon
Once you agree to a small request, more likely to complete a large request
Role Rules set that dictate situational or
personal behaviorNorms
Expectations of what is appropriate
Social Thinking
Cognitive Dissonance Theory we act to reduce the discomfort
(dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent
example- why smokers rationalize the habit; why after buying a Prius you listen to the Prius pros in commercials rather than the news of faulty manufacturing practices
Social InfluenceConformity
adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard
Group Influences for Conformity
Size of the majoritySize of the discrepancyPresence of a partner who dissented
More likely to Conform
Judgment task is difficult or ambiguousResponses are publicGroup members perceived as
competentWhen majority is unanimous
video: Asch ex, adolescent conform, psych experiment, today solomon
Social InfluenceInformational Social Influence
influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality
Normative Social Influence influence resulting from a person’s desire
to gain approval or avoid disapproval
Asch EffectA group majority influences individual
judgments
Comparison linesStandard lines1 2 3
Social Influence
Participants judged which person in Slide 2 was the same as the person in Slide 1
Percentage ofconformity
to confederates’wrong answers
50
40
30
20
10
0Low High
Importance
Slide 1 Slide 2
Difficult judgments
Easy judgments
Obedience to Authority Milgram’s experiment Getting Good people to do Bad things
XXX(435-450)
Percentageof subjects
who obeyedexperimenter
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0Slight(15-60)
Moderate(75-120)
Strong(135-180)
Verystrong
(195-240)
Intense(255-300)
Extremeintensity(315-360)
Dangersevere
(375-420)
Shock levels in volts
The majority ofsubjects continued to obey to the end
Social InfluenceTesting facilitated communication
Social InfluenceSocial Facilitation
improved performance when in small groups than alone
occurs with simple or well-learned tasksSocial Loafing
people in a group exert less effort than when individually accountable
Deindividuation Loss of sense of responsibility when in a
group
Social Facilitation
Home Advantage in Major Team Sports
Sport Games Home Team Studied Winning Percentage
Baseball 23,034 53.5%
Football 2,592 57.3
Ice hockey 4,322 61.1
Basketball 13,596 64.4
Soccer 37,202 69.0
Social Influence
Group Polarization Within a group not similar ideas get
more extreme and pronounced…politics
Social Reality Subjective reality determined by what
we find attractive, threatening, whom we seek/avoid
Social Influence
If a group is like-minded, discussion strengthens its prevailing opinions
High
Prejudice
Low
+4
+3
+2
+1
0
-1
-2
-3
-4Before discussion After discussion
Low-prejudicegroups
High-prejudicegroups
Social InfluenceCulture
behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group
Passed on by generationsPersonal Space
buffer zone we like to maintain around our bodies
Social Influence
Gender Role a set of
expected behaviors for males and for females
Percentage agreeing“The activities of married women
are best confined to home and family”Percentage 70
60
50
40
30
20
10
01967 ‘71 ‘75 ‘79 ‘83 ‘87 ‘91 ‘95
Year
Men
Women
Social RelationsPrejudice
an unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members
involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action
Stereotype a generalized (often overgeneralized)
belief about a group of people
Social RelationsAmericans today express much less
racial and gender prejudice
Percentageanswering yes
Would you vote fora woman president?
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Year
1936 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995
Do whites have a rightto keep minorities out of
their neighborhoods?
Social RelationsIn-group Bias
favor one’s own groupScapegoat Theory
outlet for anger by providing blaming someone else; often based on stereotype/prejudice
Just-World Phenomenon to believe the world is just You get what you deserve and deserve
what you get
Social RelationsAggression
any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy
Frustration-Aggression Principle principle that frustration – the
blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal – creates anger, which can generate aggression (Road Rage) attempt to get to somewhere
Social RelationsUncomfortably hot weather and aggression
Murdersand rapesper day in
Houston, Texas
8.0
7.5
7.0
6.5
6.0 40-68 69-78 79-85 86-91 92-99
Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit
Social RelationsMen who sexually coerce women
Sexualpromiscuity
Hostilemasculinity
Coercivenessagainstwomen
Social Relations
Conflict perceived incompatibility of actions,
goals, or ideasSocial Trap
a situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing their self-interest, become caught in mutually destructive behavior (Cold War, parent/child fight)
Social Relations
Social trap by pursuing
our self-interest and not trusting others, we can end up losers
Optimaloutcome
Probableoutcome
Person 1Choose A Choose B
Per
son
2C
ho
ose
B
Ch
oo
se A
Social Relations- AttractivenessProximity
mere exposure effect- repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them
Physical Attractiveness youthfulness may be associated with health
and fertility Similarity
friends share common attitudes, beliefs, interests
Attractiveness
Worldwide, men prefer youth and health, women prefer resources and social status
Social RelationsPassionate Love
an aroused state of intense positive absorption in another
usually present at the beginning of a love relationship
Companionate Love deep affectionate attachment we feel for
those with whom our lives are intertwined
Social RelationsEquity
a condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it
Self-disclosure revealing intimate aspects of oneself to
othersAltruism
unselfish regard for the welfare of others
Social RelationsThe decision-making process for
bystander intervention
Noticesincident?
Interpretsincident as
emergency?
Assumesresponsibility?
Attemptsto help
Nohelp
Nohelp
Nohelp
No No No
Yes Yes Yes
Social Relations
Bystander Effect tendency for any
given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present
Percentageattempting
to help
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Number of otherspresumed available to help
1 2 3 4
Social RelationsSocial Exchange Theory
social behavior is an exchange; maximize benefits and minimize costs
Superordinate Goal Goal that supercedes individual
goals causing cooperation
Social Relations
Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-reduction (GRIT) Psych. strategy to decrease international
disputesone group recognizes of mutual interests and
gives a conciliation opening door for other group to reciprocate