Social PsychologyChapters 20 & 21

Social CognitionHow we think and act in social situations

Attitudes

Our beliefs and feelings About objects, people, and events Shape our behavior in certain situations

Developing Attitudes

Conditioning: we’re trained (sharing toys with our friends is a good thing to do)

Observational Learning: through watching others (a good work ethic pays off)

Cognitive Evaluation: draw conclusions from our experiences and multiple sources (we decide buckling up is the best choice)

Cognitive Anchors: our conclusions are based on what we learned as children (homosexuality is wrong)

Persuasion

An attempt to change someone’s current attitudes Central Route: uses evidence and logic Peripheral Route: appeals to feelings

In sending your message, you have options: One-Sided Argument: shares your evidence or

emotional appeal Two-Sided Argument: explains your view, but also

explains why the opposition is wrong

Find an advertisement and identify the following: The Messenger: where is the argument coming from

and who is addressing it? The Situation: what setting has the advertisement

established? The Audience: who is the message for?

Do you think this ad is effective? Explain your view!

Prejudices: generalized attitude towards a specific group Stereotypes:

unchanging, oversimplified, and distorted beliefs

Discrimination: negative behaviors; unfair treatment of a person because he/she belongs to a certain group

Causes Exaggerating Differences: instead of

how alike people are to us Justifying Economic Status: when

they’re in a different class from us Social Learning: copy our parents

and role models Victimization: as a defense for

personal prejudices Scapegoating: someone has to be

blamed

Social InteractionHow we behave around other people

Conformity

Changing our attitudes and behaviorsto match someone else’s To fit in with a group To match society’s expectations (norms) Because that’s what our culture demands

Remember Solomon Asch’s conformity study? People picked the wrong line simply because everyone else did

Obedience

Following the directive of authority figures Stanley Milgram’s experiment shocked people

because it found most were willing to harm others because they were told to

Why do we blindly obey? To fit in Fight larger battles No strong personal beliefs If we aren’t aware of the negative consequences

Social Perception

We judge based on first impressions (primacy effect) and most recent interaction (recency effect)

We judge based on what we are like or what we would have done

We judge based on the current situation and what we can tell from our experience

We judge to make ourselves look better (self-serving bias), whether we deserve credit or should take the blame

Interpersonal Relationships: why do we like certain people? Physical Appearance: duh…we are drawn to “pretty”

people Similarity: if they’re like us in appearance, beliefs,

opinions, or attitudes Reciprocity: do they like us too?

Aggression: words or actions meant to hurt other people Where does aggression come from?

Instinct: we’re born with this defense mechanism Freud: it’s an unavoidable result of living (and when we

have this release of aggression, it’s called catharsis) Choice: we choose to respond to our thoughts and

feelings based on past experiences Learning: threating has been reinforced as the way to

go Cultural: some groups are more aggressive than others

Body Language

Why is this important?

Up to 93% of our communication is non-verbal (gestures, facial expressions, eye movement)

It’s often more honest—people are unaware of the cues they’re giving

It’s Our Universal Language

There are six universal facial expressions Happiness Sadness Fear Disgust Surprise Anger

The Eyes

Communicate more than anyother body part Winning staring contests shows dominance Long eye contact shows sincerity Too much blinking can mean deception

We look to the left when remembering (being honest) and to the right when creating (lying)

The Mouth

There are 50+ human smiles due tothe more than 80 facial muscles

To tell if a smile is true, look for a crinkle in the middle, outside corner of the eye

Lips tell a lot too Biting: anxiousness Pouty lower lip: sadness

Grinding teeth is a sign of hiding real feelings

Body Language Depends On…

Context: where are you?

Culture: where are you from?

Age: are you young or old?

Gender: male or female?