Module 34: Social Thinking and Social Influence

By Sara Sanchez

Social psychologyScientific study of how we think about influence, and relate to one another.

Attributing Behavior to Personal Disposition or the SituationWhen we meet people we have a tendency to

analyze and categorize them based on the behaviors we observe.

Attribution theory- we tend to explain the behavior of other as an

aspect of either an internal disposition (an inner trait) of the situation.

Fundamental attribution error- the tendency to attribute the behaviors of

others to inner dispositions rather than to situations.

… We make excuses or reasons for something

For example: when a classmate asks to borrow your notes…

Dispositional attribution if you think your neighbor is lazy and didn’t

listenSituational attribution

if you remember your classmate was absent the day before and did not even hear the lecture.

… What is typecast?

After playing a certain role for a long times an actor can no longer land other kinds of parts.

The problem? Directors know that viewers make attributions to actors that are hard to

overcome. For example:

Daniele Radcliffe, Dave Chappelle, Ellen DeGeneres, and Jack Black

Forming Impressions of Others5 key points

AppearanceVerbal Behavior ActionsNon-verbal messages

ex. body language, facial expressions, and gesturesSituations

What the media has to do with it?Media shapes the way a person thinks,

behaves, and acts Marketing on television along with favorite

celebrities, politicians and any media (social networking sites) influences the way people think and feel about themselves

To an extent will a person be easily influenced

Attitudes and Actions Attitude

a belief and feeling that predisposes you to respond in a particular way to people, events, and objects

The Effects of Attitudes on Actions 1. The outside influences on what we do are minimal

ex. Saying something you swore you would never do 2. We are keenly aware of our attitudes

ex. If you were aware of the consequences you wouldn’t have done it

3. The attitudes are relevant to the behavior ex. The type of attitude you have towards it

… The Effects of Actions on Attitudes

FOOT-IN-THE-DOOR PHENOMENON Tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to

comply later with a larger request ROLE-PLAYING

ex. Phillip Zimbardo assignged some students to act as guards and other as prisoners

GOGNITIVE DISSONANCE Theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent

What Social Networking sites can doConstantly checking News FeedSense of isolation When you see a persons status that

you admire, you feel like you need to be like them in order for people to like you

Conformity and ObedienceConformity

adjusting behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard

Solomon AschObedience

the tendency to comply with others, implied or real, from someone perceived as an authority

Stanley Milgram “shocked” every time he made a mistake

… Other studies show conformity increases in

situations: You feel incompetent or insecure. You are in a group of three or more. Groups

larger than three show no additional conformity.

The rest of the group is unanimous. You are impressed by the status of the group.

You have made no prior commitments to a response.

You are being observed by others in the group.

Your culture strongly encourages respect for social standards

Our Behavior in the Presence of Others Social Facilitation improved performance of

tasks in the presence of othersSocial Loafing tendency for people in a group

to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attainting a common goal that when individually accountable

Deindividuation loss of self-awareness and self-

restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity

Group Interaction EffectsGroup Polarization enhancement of a

group’s already-existing attitudes through discussion within the group

Groupthink mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of the alternatives.

Self- Fulfilling Prophecies Self-fulfilling prophecy when we believe something to be true about others (or ourselves) and we act in ways that cause this belief to come true.

Sources Psychology bookhttp://www.abac.edu/elee/PSYC2101/pdf6/Ch

apter6.pdfhttp://topics.wisegeek.com/topics/social-influ

ence.htm#http://networkconference.netstudies.org/

2011/04/social-networking-sites-more-harm-than-good/