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