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Chapter 14: Social Psychology
Chapter Outline
1. Social cognition: Attitudes2. Social cognition: Attributions3. Social forces4. Social relations5. Social functioning: What happens in the
brain?6. Disorders of social functioning: When things
go wrong
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Social Psychology
Social psychology seeks to understand, explain, and predict how people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others “It is not so much the kind of person a man
is, as the kind of situation in which he finds himself that determines how he will act” (Milgram, 2004)
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Social Psychology
Following the Vancouver Canucks’ loss to the Boston Bruins on June 15, 2011, rioters moved through downtown Vancouver smashing windows and looting stores
Many Vancouverites went downtown the morning after the riot to help clean up.
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Social Cognition: Attitudes
Social cognition—how people perceive, interpret, and categorize their own and others’ social behaviour
Attitudes—relatively stable and enduring evaluations of things and people
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Attitudes
ABC model of attitudes The affective component—how we feel toward the object The behavioural component—how we behave toward the
object The cognitive component—what we believe about the
object
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Attitudes
Attitudes: How we develop Beliefs develop early through socialization
by parents, peers, media, and teachers
How do attitudes change? Attitudes can change to justify new
behaviours Example: You recycle, so you change your
attitude about global warming to justify why you recycle
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
How Do Attitudes Change?
Cognitive dissonance—emotional discomfort as a result of holding contradictory beliefs or holding a belief that contradicts behaviour We change our beliefs to justify (or match)
our actions
Self-perception theory—when uncertain, we infer what our attitudes are by observing our own behaviour
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Cognitive Dissonance
Subjects who were paid $1.00 for “talking up” the tasks reported the tasks to be more enjoyable than those who were paid $20.00. Why?
What happens when children are given explicit financial rewards for doing homework?
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Do Attitudes Influence Behaviour?
Can we predict a person’s behaviour if we know their attitudes? Attitudes people express
are not necessarily related to how they actually behave
Attitude specificity—the more specific an attitude, the more likely it is to predict behaviour
Attitude strength—stronger attitudes predict behaviour more accurately than weak or vague attitudes
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Are People Honest About Their Attitudes?
• Would you tell the truth if • your doctor asked you how much alcohol
you consume each month?• your mother asked you if you were
studying every day?• your significant other asked if you were
ever attracted to another person?• your professor asked you if you loved the
class?
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Implicit Attitude
Implicit attitude—an attitude of which the person is unaware To change explicit attitudes: guided
exposure to groups toward which prejudiced beliefs are held work best
To change implicit attitudes: fear reduction and emotion-focused interventions are best to reduce implicit prejudice
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Stereotypes and Prejudice
Stereotypes—generalized impressions based on social categories May be positive or negative Examples: age, race, beliefs
Prejudice—negative stereotypical attitudes toward all members of a group Examples: racism, sexism, homophobia,
ageism
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Prejudice in Canada
Overt racism and sexism has decreased in both Canada and the United States
These have always been and continue to be lower in Canada
Many Canadians have some implicit negative attitudes toward black individuals
There has been a long history in Canada of prejudice and negative attitudes toward the Aboriginal population This has a negative effect
on their overall health
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Contributors to Stereotypes and Prejudice
Categorize based on similarities Provides information about who we are (in-group) Provides information about who others are (out-group)
Evolutionary perspective—stereotypes and prejudice may have had some adaptive value Early humans needed to quickly identify other figures as
friends or foes Pre-wired to perceive different groups as inferior
Realistic conflict theory Amount of actual conflict between groups determines the
amount of prejudice between groups Social identity theory
Emphasizes social cognitive factors in the onset of prejudice Social categorization, social identity, social comparison
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Attitudes and the Power of Persuasion
• Central route to persuasion—focuses on content, factual information, and logic to change attitudes• Example: Factual
information
• Peripheral route—focuses on superficial information to change attitudes Example: Attractive
spokesperson, catchy jingle
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Persuasion Strategies
Source Is knowledgeable and likable Is similar to us Presents both sides of an issue
Foot-in-the-door—get them to agree to something small so they will agree to something larger later Someone asks if you will put a campaign sign on your lawn. A
week later, they ask if you would be willing to donate money to the campaign.
Door-in-the-face—ask for something very big knowing you will get turned down, but then ask for the smaller item you really wanted Example: “Dad, can I borrow $100? No? Well how about $10?”
Appeals to fear—ads make it seem like something bad will happen if you do not comply
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Social Cognition: Attributions
• Attributions—causal explanations of behaviour.
• Dispositional (internal) attribution—the behaviour was caused because of the person
Situational (external) attribution—the behaviour was caused by the situation We tend to rely on situational attributions
when explaining our own behaviour
Fundamental attribution error—the tendency to use dispositional attributions to explain the behaviour of other people
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Fundamental Attribution Error
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The Actor-Observer Effect
We tend to make situational attributions about our own behaviour and personal attributions about the behaviour of others.
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Exceptions to the Rule
When we don’t attribute others’ behaviour to their disposition: When most people would behave in the same way When we have details about situational factors
When we don’t attribute our behaviour to our situation: When our behaviour is positive
Example: I got an A because I studied and learned the material
Self-serving bias—tendency to attribute successes to dispositional causes and failures to situational causes
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Norms and Social Roles
Norms—social rules about how members of a society are expected to act Provide order and predictability
Example: How you ride in an elevatorSocial role—a set of norms ascribed to a
person’s social position Positive effect: Society functions smoothly Negative effect: People are often limited by
their prescribed social roles Example: In the family, at work, in the community
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Norms
Descriptive norms—agreed-on expectations about what members of a group do
Injunctive norms—agreed-on expectations about what members of a group ought to do
Norms can be explicit (openly stated) or implicit (not openly stated)
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
The Power of Roles
The Stanford Prison Experiment Male students were randomly assigned to play the
role of either prisoners or guards for a two-week experiment
Within hours the “guards” had begun humiliating their “prisoner” peers Physical punishments, denied bathroom privileges and food
Students assigned to the prisoner role typically became passive, depressed, and disorganized
Zimbardo shut down this experiment after six days There are many ethical concerns about this
experiment
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Roles, Gender, and Social Skills
Social roles and socialization are used to explain gender differences Females—read non-verbal social cues more accurately
than males, are more expressive with their faces and bodies, feel more empathy for the emotional experiences of others, and act friendlier in group discussions
Males tend to focus on the tasks in group activities, to emerge as leaders, to adopt more authoritarian and less participative styles
Gender differences in social skill, empathy, leadership have decreased
Group differences do not allow attributions about individuals in either group
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Conformity
Conformity—the tendency to yield to social pressure
The Asch studies Results show strong
effects of social pressure Key factor is group
unanimity Size of the group
affects its influence
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Group Size and Conformity
A key factor in conformity is group size.
Asch found that the conformity effect is not strong when the group’s size is less than four members.
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Milgram’s Obedience Study
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Factors that Reduce Obedience
Obedience—the act of following direct commands, usually given by an authority figure
Factors that reduce obedience Salience of a victim’s suffering—the
suffering is obvious Proximity or closeness to the victim Responsibility—placing the “learner’s” hand
on a shock plate to administer the shock Modelling a non-obedient person
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Social Relations
Group—an organized, stable collection of individuals in which the members are aware of and influence one another and share a common identity
Group dynamics—how membership or participation in a group influences our thoughts and behaviours Group productivity—optimal group size depends on task Social facilitation—improvement in performance
because others are present Recent research considers one’s interpretations of and
reactions to others’ presence Operates for both physical and mental tasks
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Social Relations
Group dynamics (continued) Social loafing—exert less effort in a group task
than one would in an individual task More so in large groups Less in highly cohesive groups People from Western cultures display more than
people from Eastern cultures and men more than women
Group polarization—initial attitudes become more intense with group interaction
Groupthink—faulty group decision making as a result of trying too hard to agree
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Social Facilitation
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Helping Behaviour
Why do we help? Altruism—self-sacrificing behaviour carried
out for the benefit of others Bystander effect (apathy)—the more people
present, the less likely any one person will attempt to help Diffusion of responsibility—we are less
likely to assist in a large group because responsibility to help is shared
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Bystander Intervention
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Aggression
Aggression—broad category of behaviours intended to harm others, including physical and verbal attacks Genetic component Associated with high levels of testosterone and low
levels of serotonin Gender differences in aggression
Women—relational aggression• Snubbing, gossiping, and exclusion from groups
Men—direct aggression• Verbal and physical abuse
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Aggression and Time of Year
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Interpersonal Attraction
Three levels of attraction: cognitive, affective, behavioural Five key factors linked to liking (fondness and affection
for another person) Similarity Proximity Self-disclosure Situational factors Physical attractiveness
Triangular theory of love—involves intimacy, passion, and commitment
Developed by Robert Sternberg Eight types of love
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love
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Stages of Relationships
Stages of a loving relationship Exploration stage—the partners try out the
possible rewards and costs of a relationship Bargaining stage—they implicitly negotiate
the terms of the relationship Institutionalization stage—shared
expectations emerge and the relationship is exclusive
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Types of Relationships
Types of lovers Secure attachment styles—are comfortable,
do not fear becoming too close or being abandoned; 53% of adults
Avoidant—uncomfortable, have difficulty trusting others; 26% of adults
Anxious-ambivalent—insecure and worry that their partners do not really love them and will leave; 20% of adults
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Social Functioning: What Happens in the Brain?
Brain regions key for social functioning:Orbitofrontal cortex—involved in social reasoning,
reward evaluation, reading other people, and eliciting emotional states
Ventromedial prefrontal cortex—key in processing of rewards and punishments, interpreting non-verbal social information (such as facial expressions), making social and moral assessments and decisions, and feeling empathy
Insula—plays a key role in empathy and in reading othersAmygdala—helps to identify emotional facial expressions
of other people and to pay attention to stimuli that may be unpredictable, potentially rewarding, or potentially punishing
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Size of Prefrontal Cortex and Social Behaviour
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Disorders of Social Functioning
Social anxiety disorder—extreme and persistent fear of social situations in which embarrassment may occur; fear social circumstances
Avoidant personality disorder—social withdrawal and hypersensitivity to rejection and criticism; feel inadequate; fear close social relationships
Dependent personality disorder—excessive need to be taken care of and a fear of separation; excessively obedient under all circumstances
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Autism-Spectrum Disorders
Autism—a severe disorder marked by extreme unresponsiveness, poor communication skills, and very repetitive and rigid behaviours Self-stimulatory behaviours Self- injurious behaviours Cause—fail to develop a theory of mind; genetic factors;
prenatal difficulties or birth complications; brain abnormalities
Treatments—behavioural therapy, communication training, parent training, psychotropic drugs
Asperger’s disorder—a disorder in which people have major social impairments yet maintain relatively normal intellectual, adaptive, and language skills
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Copyright
Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction or translation of this work beyond that permitted by Access Copyright (The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency) is unlawful. Requests for further information should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. The purchaser may make back-up copies for his or her own use only and not for distribution or resale. The author and the publisher assume no responsibility for errors, omissions, or damages caused by the use of these programs or from the use of the information contained herein.