Social Psychology

“Someone once said, ‘All the world’s a stage, and we all must play a part.’”

Elvis

What is Social Psychology?

• Social Psychology is the combination of the fields of psychology (study of behavior) and sociology (study of human society and social groups).

• In social psychology, research focuses on how people interact within groups, how groups influence individual behavior, and how individuals influence the group’s behavior.

Social Interaction

• Much of our interaction with other people involves reciprocal actions.

• Often something is being exchanged, formally or informally, when we interact with another.

• According to exchange theory (Homans, 1958), we continue in relationships based on what we get out of them.

Types of Exchange

1. Competition: The seeking of a goal only one can attain. Emphasis is on winning.

2. Conflict: Emphasis on destroying your opposition Examples: Lawsuits Custody battles Wars3. Cooperation: Two or more people working for the

achievement of a common goal4. Accommodation: Compromising

Groups within Society

• Group: has four components1. Two or more people 2. Interaction between people3. Shared expectations between the people 4. Common identity

Aggregate: two or more people together, that lacks the rest of the elements of a group

Types of Groups

• Primary Groups:- Small in size- Long-lasting- Highly personal in both the intensity and

amount of communication

Types of Groups

• Secondary Groups

- Shorter in time and intensity- Interest is in a small part of a person, not the

whole person- Person can be easily replaced

In-Groups and Out-Groups

• In-groups: the groups that you identify with

• Out-groups: the groups you do not identify with

People tend to believe that the groups that they belong to are in some way superior to those that they do not.

Formation of in-groups

• The Robber’s Cave Experiment (Sherif, 1954).• 22 12-year-old boys were split into two

separate groups (Rattlers/Eagles), and put through a three-step process:

1. Group identification/formation (within group)

2. Group competition (against other group)3. Group cooperation (with other group)

Conclusions

• Individuals develop strong bonds within their group, and can be highly antagonistic to outsiders.

• Competing groups can ally with one another in the face of a shared threat/enemy.

• Criticism: subjects thought they were at a summer camp, not an experiment. Also, narrow subject pool

Group functions

• The relationships that you have with the people that you know form your social network

• Leaders: those that influence other people’s opinions and attitudes

1. Instrumental leaders: those that focus on completing goals

2. Expressive leaders: Those that focus on the emotion and morale of the group

Group functions

• Groups are formed to set goals, accomplish the goals, assign tasks, and make decisions.

• Because groups are formed in pursuit of a common goal, the pressure to conform to the standards of the group can be strong.

• “The nail that sticks out, will be hammered down.” – Chinese proverb

• The willingness to remain in a group depends on a person’s investment in it.

Power of Conformity

• Solomon Asch (1951, 1954, 1956): studied the ability of an individual to maintain their belief in the face of majority opposition.

• In a series of studies, Asch consistently demonstrated that a significant number of subjects would capitulate to the majority even if the majority held an objectively incorrect position.

• Subjects were more likely to hold on to their position if they had a confederate as an ally.

Note: Stanley Milgram was a student of Asch’s

Group Dynamics

The Bystander Effect (Darley and Latane, 1968): People are less likely to provide needed help when they are in groups than when they are alone.

- Larger the group, the less likely help will be offered (diffusion of responsibility)

- Results have been replicated in lab situations, field settings (e.g. malls)

- People more likely to help when the bystanders are friends rather than strangers, and if the person is in clear distress.

• A similar study was done at Princeton Theological Seminary (Darley and Batson, 1973)

• Known as the Good Samaritan Study.• Seminarians were asked to a task, then sent over to another

building to do another task (some were to give a talk on the Good Samaritan parable). Some told they had time, others told they needed to hurry, or were running late.

• On the path to the next building, a person was slumped over for unknown reasons.

• Findings: The biggest factor in whether the subject would stop was how big of a hurry the subject was in.

• Less hurried = more likely to render aid

Groups at work

• The larger the group, the less the individual produces (Karau and Williams, 1993). The difference to what an individual by him/herself produces and what they accomplish in a group setting is known as social loafing (Latane, 1979).

• Another factor is lack of coordinated effort.• Social loafing can be countered by making

individuals accountable for certain project tasks, smaller/cohesive groups, and cultural expectations.

Group Decision Making

• Originally, studies by Stoner (1961) found that groups made riskier decisions than those made individually,

• Later research showed evidence of polarization rather than consistent shift to risk. Polarization helps builds consensus in groups towards the dominant viewpoint (Van Swol, 2009).

• Concern in decision process is groupthink, where an highly cohesive seeks conformity in thought without critical analysis (Janis, 1972).

Prejudice

• Based on attitudes toward a group. The attitudes can be positive/negative

• The attitudes can be based on stereotypes: beliefs about an entire group of people

• These attitudes can transform into racism: a belief that one group is superior to another

Discrimination

• Based on behaviors

• Discrimination can be legal (Jim Crow, Immigration laws, South African apartheid) or institutionalized (schools, redlining)

Attribution Theory

• Attribution is the method in which a person/group attempts to explain why something occurs/does not occur.

• Created by Fritz Heider, German Gestalt psychologist.

• Theory creates meaning to actions.

How Attribution Theory Works

• Internal v. External Factors: Is the reason for the event occurring/succeeding/failing due to factors that the person is in control of (Internal), or factors outside the individual’s control (external).

• Stable v. Unstable: Is success/failure because of consistent (stable) or variable (unstable) factors.

Attribution Bias Concerns

• Fundamental Attribution Error

• Actor-Observer

• Defensive Attribution

• Individualism v. Collectivism (Cultural Bias)

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

• Proposed by Leon Festinger

• Describes situation(s) where thoughts do not coincide with action.