AP Psychology - Social Psychology (Chapter 16)

Out Group

"Them" - those we think of as different (not in our "in group")

In Group

"Us" - people with whom one shares a common identity

How Factors Influence Aggression

- *Genes* (twin studies) - *Hormones* (males with higher testosterone levels correlate with delinquency, hard drug use, and aggressive-bullying responses to frustration) - *Alcohol* (agression-prone people are more likely to drink and to become violent when intoxicated) No one spot in the brain controls aggression because it is a complex behavior; however, amygdala and frontal lobe are associated with aggression.

Importance of the Fundamental Attribution Error

- Our attributions should be made and considered more carefully. Attributing behavior to individual disposition or their environment. - They have real consequences. - Hopefully you should have a better understanding of person perception and appreciate the relevance of this in the process of your own social interactions.

Informational Social Influece

One's willingness to accept others' opinions about reality. If we are unsure of what is right, and/or if being right matters, we are receptive to others' opinions.

Attitudes Affect Actions

1. Central route to persuasion 2. Peripheral route to persuasion

The Social Thinking

1. How do we explain people's behavior? 2. How do we form our beliefs and attitudes? 3. How does what we think affect what we do?

Social Influence

1. How do we influence each other? 2. How are we affected by pressures to conform and obey, and by group interaction?

Reasons for Conforming

1. Normative social influence 2. Informational social influence

What Can We Do? Aggressive Behavior Patterns are Difficult to Change

1. We need to model and reward sensitivity and cooperation from an early age (maybe train parents to discipline without modeling violence) 2. Parent training programs advise a positive approach. They encourage parents to reinforce desirable behaviors and to frame statements positively ("When you are finished with your homework, you can go play," instead of "If you don't finish your homework, you will not be allowed to go out and play.")

Social Relations

1. What causes us to harm or help or to fall in love? 2. How can we transform aggression into compassion?

Stereotypes

A generalized BELIEF about a group of people (may be somewhat accurate, but overgeneralized); a mental picture about a group

Normative Social Influence

A person's desire to gain approval OR to avoid disapproval We are sensitive to social norms because of the price we may pay for being different (wearing a tie to a wedding when you don't like wearing ties).

Example of Cognitive Dissonance Theory

A professor writes a very positive letter of recommendation for a student despite having doubts about her competence. Now he begins to develop more favorable attitudes about the student's ability. *His behavior shaped his attitude*

What biological factors make us more prone to hurt one another?

Aggression is a complex behavior that results from an interaction between biology and experience. For example, genes influence our temperament, making us more or less likely to respond aggressively when frustrated in specific situations. Experiments simulating portions of the brain (such as amygdala and frontal lobes) have revealed neural systems in the brain that facilitate or inhibit aggression. Biochemical influences, such as testosterone and other hormones; alcohol (which disinhibits); and other substances also contribute to aggression

Americans and Beauty

Americans spend more on beauty supplies than on education and social services combined, and we are still UNHAPPY about our appearance! 12 Million cosmetic procedures per year -Plastic surgery -Botox skin smoothing -Laser hair removal

What do experiments on conformity and compliance reveal about the power of social influence?

Asch's conformity studies demonstrated that under certain conditions people will conform to a group's judgement even when it is clearly incorrect. We may conform either to gain social approval (normative social influence) or because we welcome the information that others provide (informational social influence). In Milgram's famous experiments, people torn between obeying an experimenter and responding to another's pleas to stop the apparent shocks usually chose to obey orders. Most people obeyed when the person giving orders was nearby and was perceived a legitimate authority figure; when the person giving orders was supported b a prestigious institution; when the victim was depersonalized or at a distance; and when no other person modeled defiance by obeying.

Does what we think affect what we do, or does what we do affect what we think?

Attitudes influence behavior when other influences are minimal, and when the attitude is stable, specific to the behavior, and easily recalled. Studies of the foot-in-the-door phenomenon and of role-playing reveal that our actions (especially those we feel responsible for) can modify our attitudes. Cognitive dissonance theory proposes that behavior shapes attitudes because we feel discomfort when our actions and attitudes differ. We reduce the discomfort by bringing our attitudes more into line with what we've done.

Conformity and Obedience

Behavior is contagious (yawning, laughing). We are natural mimics (the chameleon effect). We unconsciously mimic others' expressions. This helps to explain why we feel happier around happy people than around depressed ones.

Solomon Asch's Study

Concludes that conformity increases when: 1. One is made to feel incompetent or insecure 2. The group has at least 3 people 3. The group is unanimous 4. One admires the group's status 5. Others in the group observe one's behavior We may tend to select a choice that majority of the people have selected, even though we know our answer choice is correct.

Conclusion of Milgram and Asch's Experiments

Demonstrates that strong social influences can make people conform to falsehoods and even act in a cruel way. Evil does not require monstrous characters - all it might take is ordinary people corrupted by an evil situation (soldiers who follow orders to shoot, students who follow orders to haze new pledges in their fraternity, etc.) Sometimes students draw the WRONG conclusions from the Milgram results. They assume that human nature is evil and that people will be cruel if given the opportunity. THIS MSSIES THE POINT. The participants were sheep not wolves. Milgram's study demonstrates that people OBEY, not that they are evil or that they enjoy seeing innocent people suffer.

Aggression can also be linked to social and cultural influence

Different cultures model, reinforce, and evoke different tendencies toward violence. Children whose aggression successfully intimidates other children may become more aggressive. Cultures and families that experience minimal father care have high violence rates. *American male youths from father-absent homes have double their peers' incarceration rate*

Prejudice in the Public and Private Settings

Ex 1: In some US States, African-American motorists are a minority of the drivers and speeders on highways. They have been the majority of those stopped and searched by the state police. Ex 2: Worldwide 2/3 of the children without basic schooling are girls Ex3: In Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed to drive

What psychological and social-cultural factors influence aggression?

Frustration an other aversive events (such as heat, crowding, and provocation) can evoke hostility, especially in those rewarded for aggression, those who have learned aggression from role models, and those who have been influenced by media violence. Enacting violence in video games or viewing it in the media can desensitize people to cruelty and prime them to behave aggressively when provoked, or to view sexual aggression as more acceptable.

Frustration-aggression principle

Frustration creates anger, which can lead to aggression

Social Facilitation

Improved performance of tasks in the presence of others (if it's something you know who to do well) What you dow well, you are likely to do even better in front of an audience What you normally find difficult will probably be even more difficult when you are being watched. Many athletes perform better in front of a crowd.

Stanley Milgram's Obedience Experiment

In 1963, experimenter ordered subjects (teachers) to deliver shocks to a learner for wrong answers. Torn between obeying the experimenter and responding to the learner's pleas, subjects usually chose to obey orders, even though it supposedly meant harming the learner.

What are the cognitive roots of prejudice?

In processing information, we tend to overestimate similarities when we categorize people, and to notice and remember vivid cases. Both trends help create stereotypes. Favored social groups often rationalize their higher status with the just-world phenomenon.

Mere Exposure Effect

In some cases familiarity breeds fondness. Repeated exposure to stimuli increases the chance of liking it. Examples: 1. Mysterious Oregon State student had been sitting in the back of the class in a big, black bag. Only his bare feet was shown. The professor knows the identity, but the students don't. The students' attitudes changed from hostility to curiosity and finally to friendship. 2. We see ourselves in the mirror differently than how our friends may see us. Our face is not perfectly symmetrical. Most of us prefer the familiar mirror image, while our friends like the reverse.

Phillip Zimbardo's Prison Experiment (Stanford Prison Experiment)

In the 1970's, College Students volunteered to spend time in a simulated prison. Randomly assigned to role of prisoner or guard. At first, they were just role-playing. Powerful social situations; it demonstrates the evil that good people can be readily induced into doing to other people within the context of socially approved roles and instiutional support.

Deinidividuation

Loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations. It occurs when group participation makes people feel aroused and anonymous (ex: riots/cafeteria food fights/mob) People don't feel personally accountable, and results in more violent actions than usual.

Why do we conform?

Many times, it is to avoid rejection or to gain social approval (social norm).

Obedience

Milgram discovered that obedience was highest when: 1. The person giving the orders was close at hand and was perceived to be a legitimate authority figure. 2. The authority figure was supported by a prestigious insitution 3. The victim was depersonalized or at a distance, even in another room. 4. There were no role models for defiance (no other subjects were seen disobeying the experimenter)

Vice Versa Effect

Our attitudes will affect our behaviors, same as our behaviors will affect our attitudes.

How does romantic love typically change as time passes?

Passionate love is an aroused state that we cognitively label as love. the strong affection of companionate love, which often emerges as passionate love subsides, is enhanced by an equitable relationship and by intimate self-disclosure

Some Aspects of Attractiveness do Cross Place and Time

People everywhere seem to prefer physical features - noses, legs, physiques - that are neither unusually large or small. An average faec is attractive - they are symmetrical

Just-World Phenmenon

People may justify their prejudices by blaming its victims. This is the tendency of people to believe the world is just and that people get what they deserve, is a common idea that good is rewarded and evil is punished ("They deserve it!" ... rape, AIDS, etc.) Ex: Opposition to Affirmative Action Programs are thus sometimes the product of perceiving Affirmative Actions as violating norms of justice an fairness.

Effect of Fundamental Attribution Error

People often attribute other people's behavior to their disposition while giving situational (environmental) reasons for their own behavior.

Categorize

Prejudice can also arise from the way we cognitively simplify of the world. We view ourselves as individuals, but we overestimate the similarities of people within groups other than our own ("THEY" are all alike).

Similarity

Reality: Birds of a feather flock together Friends and couples are much more likely to share common attitudes, beliefs, and interests. Opposites do NOT usually attract.

Attitudes

Relative stable beliefs, feelings, and behaviors tendencies directed toward something or someone. Our behavior is affected by our inner attitudes as well as by external social influences (the situation/environment). Our attitudes often predict our behavior. Ex: If you don't think a classmate is nice, you may act unfriendly to him or her. *Don't judge a book by its cover*

What are the social and emotional roots of Prejudice?

Social and economic inequalities may trigger prejudice as people in power attempt to justify the status quo or develop an in group bias. Fear and anger feed prejudice, and, when frustrated, we may focus our anger on a scapegoat.

How is our behavior affected by the presence of others or by being part of a group?

Social facilitation experiments reveals that the presence of either observers or co-actors can arouse individuals, boosting their performances on easy tasks but hindering it on difficult ones. When people pool their efforts toward a group goal, social loafing may occur as individuals free-ride on others' efforts. Deindividuation - becoming less self-aware and self-restrained - may happen when people are both aroused and made to feel anonymous.

Example of Social Loafing

Team tug-of-war Do you think someone would exert more or less effort if they were pulling alone or with a group? Blind-folded students who were told there were 3 others pulling behind them only exerted 82% as much effort as when they knew they were pulling alone.

Fundamental Attribution Error

Tendency for observers, when analyzing another's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition. Ex: Someone on welfare may be considered lazy (personal disposition), when actually it could be the situation of a poor job market.

Foot-in-the-door Phenomenon

Tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request - start small and build. How a villain is created is by slowly drawing in and creating incentives that will motivate them to complete specific, small tasks. Eventually, they will become more compliant and agree to larger actions.

Social Loafing

Tendency of people to exert less effort on a task when working in a group than when working individually. But why? 1. People in a group feel less accountable. 2. They might not think their contribution is important.

In Group Bias

Tendency to favor one's own group The urge to distinguish enemies from friends and to have one's group be dominate can cause us to be prejudice against strangers.

Group Polarization

The enhancement of a group's prevailing attitudes through discussion within the group (discussing attitudes that most of them already agree upon). - Support groups (positive) - Extremist groups become more extreme as members interact (negative) - Highly prejudice groups discussing racial issues becomes more prejudiced

Reciprocity Norm

The expectation that we should return help to those who have helped us

Proximity

The most powerful predictor of friendship is proximity (geographic nearness) People are most likely to like and even marry those who live/work by them

How much power do we have as individuals?

The power of the group is great, but even a small minority may sway group opinion, especially when the minority expresses its views consistently.

Bystander Effect

The tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present

Group Think

Thinking that occurs when the desire for the decision-making group to get along overrides a realistic look at all possible alternatives. It can be prevented by: - a leader welcomes various opinions, invites critiques of developing plans, allows open debate - the group calls in outside experts to challenge the group's view - a group member is assigned to play devil's advocate

Why do we befriend or fall in love with some people but not others?

Three factors are known to affect our liking for one another: Proximity, Physical attractiveness, and Similarities. Terms are defined next

Differentiating Between the Two - Stereotypes and Prejudice

To believe (stereotype) that obese people are gluttonous, to feel (emotion) dislike for an obese person, and to be hesitant to hire or date (discrimination) an obese person is to be prejudiced. Our preconceived ideas about people bias our impressions of their behavior.

Prejudice

Unjustifiable ATTITUDE towards a group and its members (generally negative; means "prejudgement") Prejudice is a mixture of beliefs (in this case called stereotypes) emotions (hostility, envy, or fear), and predispositions to action (to discriminate)

Cognitive Dissonance Theory (Leon Festinger)

Unpleasant internal state - we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent. When our awareness of our attitudes and of our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes.

Conformity

Voluntarily following social norms, even at the expense of one's own preferences. Norm - an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior. Norms prescribe "proper" behavior.

How do we tend to explain others' behavior and our own?

We generally explain people's behavior by attributing it to internal dispositions (qualities) and/or to external situations. In committing the fundamental attribution error, we underestimate the influence of the situation on others' actions. When explaining our own behavior, we more often point to the situation. Our attributes influence our personal, legal, political, and workplace judgements.

Social-Responsibility Norm

We should help those who need our help

Attribution Theory

We tend to give a causal (general) explanation for someone's behavior, often by crediting either the situation (environment) OR the person's character/personality/disposition Ex: If a hockey player violently bumps into an opponent. Why did he bump his opponent? (During the game, it is part of the rule...After the whistle blows, it is not part of the rule and reveals bad disposition)

Workplace Example of Fundamental Attribution Error

When evaluating employees, managers are likely to attribute poor performance to personal factors, such as low ability or lack of motivation. On the flip side, the worker doing the poor job might see the situational influences, such as inadequate supplies, poor working conditions, difficult workers, pay, etc.

Social Roots of Prejudice

When things go wrong, finding someone to blame can provide a target, a SCAPEGOAT, for one's anger

Effects of role-playing on our attitudes

When you adopt a new role (soon - college student, then a new job, then marriage), you try to follow the social prescriptions. At first, it might feel phony, because you are acting the role. Soon, though, your behavior no longer feels forced. Behavior affects attitudes, therefore, what we do, we gradually become.

Equity

a condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it Giving and getting emotional support

GRIT - Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-Reduction

a strategy designed to decrease international tensions (through giving small concession back and forth)

Passionate Love

an aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a love relationship.

Conflict

an incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas

Aggression

any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destory

Central route to persuasion

occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts. More thoughtful approach; more durable and more likely to influence behavior usually occurs when people are naturally analytical or involved in the issue.

Peripheral route to persuasion

occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker's attractiveness. More superficial approach; when issues don't engage systematic thinking; people respond to incidental cues like endorsements by respected people and make snap judgements.

Scapegoat Theory

prejudice provides an outlet for anger by blaming someone else Ex: After 9/11, some people lashed out at innocent Arab-Americans

Self-Disclosure

revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others

Superordinate Goals

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation (working together to fix something or win a game)

Social Traps

situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing their self-interest, become caught in mutually destructive behavior

Companionate Love

the deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined

Minority Influence

the power of one or two individuals to sway majorities European social psychologists found that minorities that unswervingly holds to its position is far more successful than in swaying the majority than is a minority that waffles Ex: Gandhi

Personal Control

the power of the individual

Social Control

the power of the situation

Social Psychology

the study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

Social Exchange Theory

the theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs. *Blood Donation Example* Costs - time and discomfort Benefits - good feelings, social approval The benefits ultimately exceed costs, so we think the rewards will come. WE HELP!

Altruism (Kitty Genovese)

unselfish regard for the welfare of others

When feeling pressured..

we may react by doing the opposite of what is expected, therefore reasserting our sense of freedom

Negatives Can Evoke Hostility

- Physical Pain - Personal Insults - Hot temperature Violent Crimes and spousal abuse rates are higher during hotter years, seasons, months, and days When people feel overheated, they feel and act more aggressively

The Psychology of Attraction

- Proximity - Physical attractiveness - Similarities

Our Standards for Beauty Reflect Our Time and Palce

- Some pierce their noses - Lengthen their necks - Bound their feet - Dye their skin and hair - Eat to achieve a full figure - Have liposuction to achieve a slim figure - Apply chemicals to get ride of hair - Apply chemicals to try to regrow hair

What is group polarization and groupthink?

Answered below...

Physical Attractiveness

Once proximity affords you contact, appearance usually affects your first impression of someone.