Social Social PsychologPsychologyy

Social ThinkingSocial Thinking Attribution TheoryAttribution Theory

– tendency to give a causal tendency to give a causal explanation for someone’s explanation for someone’s behavior, often by crediting behavior, often by crediting eithereither

the situationthe situation or… or…

the person’s dispositionthe person’s disposition

Social ThinkingSocial Thinking Fundamental Attribution ErrorFundamental Attribution Error

–when explaining another’s when explaining another’s behavior, we tend to behavior, we tend to underestimateunderestimate the impact of the impact of the the situationsituation and to and to overestimateoverestimate the impact of the impact of personal personal dispositiondisposition

Social ThinkingSocial Thinking How we explain someone’s behavior How we explain someone’s behavior

affects how we react to itaffects 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)

AttributionAttribution

Interestingly, people do Interestingly, people do more the opposite when more the opposite when attributing successes or attributing successes or failures to failures to themselves themselves ((we blame the situation we blame the situation more than ourselves).more than ourselves).

Social InfluenceSocial Influence

Normative Social InfluenceNormative Social Influence– influence resulting from a influence resulting from a

person’s desire to gain approval person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapprovalor avoid disapproval

Leads to……Leads to……ConformityConformity– adjusting one’s behavior or adjusting one’s behavior or

thinking to coincide with a thinking to coincide with a group standardgroup standard

Social Influence - Social Influence - conceptsconcepts

Informational Social InfluenceInformational Social Influence– influence resulting from one’s influence resulting from one’s

willingness to accept others’ opinions willingness to accept others’ opinions about realityabout reality

……Leads To Leads To NormsNorms– an understood rule for accepted and an understood rule for accepted and

expected behaviorexpected behavior– prescribes “proper” behaviorprescribes “proper” behavior

Social Influence

Comparison linesStandard lines1 2 3

Asch Conformity Experimentclick above for a clip!

Social InfluenceSocial Influence

Participants Participants judged which judged which person in person in Slide 2 was Slide 2 was the same as the same as the person in the person in Slide 1Slide 1

Percentage ofconformity

to confederates’wrong answers

50

40

30

20

10

0

Low HighImportance

Slide 1 Slide 2

Difficult judgments

Easy judgments

ObedienceObedience

Stanley Milgram: Stanley Milgram: People conform, but People conform, but will they simply obey will they simply obey others?others?

65% of Milgram’s “teachers” did!

A “Shocking A “Shocking Experiment”Experiment”

Over 400 volts!!Over 400 volts!!

Social InfluenceSocial Influence Milgram’s experimentMilgram’s experiment

XXX(435-450)

Percentageof subjects

who obeyedexperimenter

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Slight(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

That’s Almost 70%!

Obedience is higher Obedience is higher when…when…

Person giving the orders is Person giving the orders is perceived as a legit Authority perceived as a legit Authority figure. figure. (prof., cop, etc)(prof., cop, etc)

““orderer” supported by a orderer” supported by a prestigious institute prestigious institute (Yale, (Yale, Government, etc)Government, etc)

Victim is “depersonalized” or Victim is “depersonalized” or distant distant (no name, in another room, etc)(no name, in another room, etc)

No role models for defiance No role models for defiance

Stanford Prison Stanford Prison ExperimentExperiment

Philip Zimbardo – Will students Philip Zimbardo – Will students take on the role of prison guard take on the role of prison guard and prisoner?and prisoner?

Guards began Guards began abusing the abusing the prisonersprisoners

Experiment Experiment was ended was ended after only after only 66 days! days!

Social Influence:Social Influence:somebody’s somebody’s watching watching

me…me…

Social FacilitationSocial Facilitation– People tend to People tend to

perform perform simple/well-simple/well-learned tasks learned tasks BETTERBETTER in the in the presence of presence of othersothers

– Social Social ImpairmentImpairment

– People tend People tend to perform to perform WORSEWORSE on on difficult or difficult or new tasks in new tasks in the presence the presence of othersof others

Social Social Influence:Influence:somebody’s somebody’s

helping me…helping me… Social LoafingSocial Loafing

– People in groups exert less effort People in groups exert less effort when working toward a common when working toward a common goal than when working goal than when working individuallyindividually

DeindividuationDeindividuation– The loss of The loss of

self self awareness awareness and self and self restrain restrain

– Occurring Occurring in group in group situationssituations

Social RelationsSocial Relations Bystander Bystander

EffectEffect– tendency for tendency for

any given any given bystander to be bystander to be less likely to less likely to give aid if other give aid if other bystanders are bystanders are presentpresent

Percentageattempting

to help

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Number of otherspresumed available to help

1 2 3 4

Kitty Genovese CaseKitty Genovese Case Repeatedly stabbed while Repeatedly stabbed while

3838 people watched from people watched from their apartments and did their apartments and did nothing!nothing!

Social Relations – why Social Relations – why prejudice & social bias?prejudice & social bias? In-group BiasIn-group Bias

– tendency to favor one’s own group tendency to favor one’s own group and dislike or blame things on and dislike or blame things on another another “out-group”“out-group”

Scapegoat TheoryScapegoat Theory– Taking responsibility often causes Taking responsibility often causes

people too much “dissonance”people too much “dissonance”

– Better to blame others Better to blame others (maybe (maybe even an “out-group”)even an “out-group”)

– prejudice prejudice provides an provides an outlet for anger outlet for anger by providing by providing someone to someone to blameblame

Just-World PhenomenonJust-World Phenomenon

– tendency of people to believe the world is tendency of people to believe the world is “just”“just”

– people get what they deserve and people get what they deserve and deserve what they getdeserve what they get

Social Relations- What Social Relations- What attractsattracts us to others? us to others?

ProximityProximity– mere exposure effect-mere exposure effect- repeated exposure to repeated exposure to

novel stimuli increases liking of themnovel stimuli increases liking of them Physical AttractivenessPhysical Attractiveness

– youthfulness may be associated with health and youthfulness may be associated with health and fertilityfertility

SimilaritySimilarity– friends share common attitudes, beliefs, friends share common attitudes, beliefs,

interestsinterests

AttractivenessAttractiveness

Worldwide, men prefer Worldwide, men prefer youth and health, youth and health,

women prefer resources women prefer resources and social statusand social status

Social RelationsSocial Relations Passionate LovePassionate Love

– an aroused state of intense positive an aroused state of intense positive absorption in anotherabsorption in another

– usually present at the beginning of a love usually present at the beginning of a love relationshiprelationship

Companionate LoveCompanionate Love– deep affectionate attachment we feel for deep affectionate attachment we feel for

those with whom our lives are those with whom our lives are intertwinedintertwined

The key to lasting The key to lasting and satisfying and satisfying relationshipsrelationships

EquityEquity– a condition in which people receive from a a condition in which people receive from a

relationship in proportion to what they give relationship in proportion to what they give to itto it

Self-disclosureSelf-disclosure– revealing intimate aspects of oneself to revealing intimate aspects of oneself to

othersothers AltruismAltruism

– unselfish regard for the welfare of othersunselfish regard for the welfare of others