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Social Psychology
• Examines the influence of social processes on the way people
– Think
– Feel
– Behave
Social Cognition
• Social cognition refers to the processes by which people make sense of
– Themselves
– Social interactions
– Relationships
Social Cognition
• Networks of association
– Suggests memories are stored in interconnected nodes. Activation of one node spreads activation to other nodes linked to it through experience
– Activate “Notre Dame” and immediately connect the term football
Social Cognition
• Schemas– Organized patterns of thought that direct
attention, memory and interpretation
– Activation of the schema “State Trooper” leads to immediately hitting the breaks on your car
– Schemas enable us to enter a new situation with some idea of how to behave
Social Cognition
• Concepts– Mental representations of categories (car)
– A novel stimuli involves comparing it to an abstract prototype
• Car
• Truck
• Is an SUV (novel stimuli) a car or a truck
First Impressions
• Our first impression of someone serves as a benchmark for all future evaluations of the person
• First impressions serve as a schema (how to respond)
• Halo effect– The tendency to assume that positive qualities cluster
together– The halo effect is also referred to as :what is beautiful
is good”
First Impressions
• Physically attractive people are assumed to be:– Warm
– Friendly
– Intelligent
• Those who perceive themselves as attractive tend to report being:– More extroverted
– Socially comfortable
– Mentally healthy
Stereotypes and Prejudice
• Stereotypes involve characteristics attributed to people based on their membership in specific groups
• Often precludes receptiveness to new information
• A rigid schema• Athletes= Not serious about academics
• Irish= Drink too much
Prejudice & Discrimination
• Prejudice– Involves judging people based on stereotypes– A way of thinking
• Discrimination– Behaviors that follow from prejudicial
evaluations or attitudes– Involves actually doing something
Prejudice & Discrimination
• We are all prejudice– We prefer those who are similar to ourselves
– We prefer the known to the unknown
• Our prejudices do not need to dictate our behavior
• The more we are aware of our prejudices the better able we are to control for discriminating behavior
Authoritarian Personality
• Characterized by a tendency to hate people who are different or downtrodden
• Those with an authoritarian personality tend to have a dominant, stern and sometimes sadistic father and a submissive mother
• Authoritarian individuals tend to displace or project their rage towards their father onto vulnerable groups
Subtle Racism
• Overt racism is often met with public disapproval
• Subtle racism involves desire by racist to express their hatreds in socially acceptable ways– Low expectations of performance – Express more subtle stereotypes
Explicit and Implicit Racism
• As explicit racism becomes more and more social unacceptable implicit racism becomes more evident
• Unconscious slips of the tongue
• Harsher criminal sentences for blacks than whites
• Whites less helpful to blacks than to whites
Prejudice & Social Conditions
• Prejudice is more a social condition than a personality dynamic
• Prejudice is transmitted from one generation to another within social groups
• Prejudicial social attitudes serve to preserve the benefits for the dominant classes– Haves and have-nots tend to differ in color, religion or
ethnicity
Ingroups & Outgroups
• Ingroup– Those who are members of a reference group
– Fraternity
• Outgroup– Those who are not member of a reference group
• Members of an ingroup tend to perceive those who are not as very homogenous
Social Identity Theory
• Social identity theory suggests we derive part of our identity from the groups to which we belong
• Suggests that we will strive to maintain positive feelings about the ingroup and negative feelings for the outgroup
• Hatred towards the outgroup can become an important part of our identity– I exist to hate them
Attributions
• Attribution– The process of inferring the causes of one’s
own and others’ mental states and behaviors
– Why did I do that
– Why did s/he say that
– We constantly think about the “whys” of our social interactions
External v. Internal Attributions
• External attributions– The situation caused (is responsible for) the behavior
• Internal attributions– The person is responsible for the behavior
• Attributional style– Habitual ways of making attributions
– Either external or internal
Attributions• Consensus
– The way most people respond– External attribution
• Consistency– Refers to the way a given individual responds in the same way the
same stimulus – Internal attribution– Consistency across time
• Distinctiveness– Refers to an individual’s likelihood to respond a given way to
many different stimuli – Consistency across situations
Attributions
• Discounting– Occurs when we discount one variable
(internal) because we know that others may be contribution to the behavior in question
– Discount partner’s rude behavior due to some circumstance at work
• Augmentation– Increase (augment) an internal attribution for
behavior despite powerful situational factors
Intuitive Science
• People base their attributions by observing the co-variation of situations, behaviors and specific people
• To what extent does the presence of one variable predict the presence of another variable
• Intuitive scientists– Our tendency to rely on intuitive theories, frame
hypotheses, collect data about ourselves and others, and draw conclusion as best we can
Correspondence Bias
• Tendency to assume other people’s behavior corresponds to their internal states rather than external situations
– Assume internal attributions rather than possible external causes
• Also known as the fundamental attribution error
Self-Serving Bias
• Our tendency to see ourselves in a more positive light than others see us
• Our need for self-enhancement tends to blur our objectivity
• More prevalent in Western individualist focused societies
Faulty Cognitions
• Cognitive Bias– Stereotyping– Similar to the availability heuristic
• Motivational Bias– We base our attributions to meet our needs, wishes and
goals
• Confirmation bias– Our tendency to seek out information that confirms
one’s hypotheses
Attitudes
• Attitude– An association between an act or object and an
evaluation of the act or object
• Attitude strength– Durability & impact of an attitude on behavior
• Attitude importance– Degree of importance of the act or object
• Attitude accessibility– The ease with which an attitude comes to mind
Attitudes
• Explicit attitudes– We are consciously aware of our attitude
• Implicit attitudes– Regulate thought and behavior at an
unconscious level. We respond automatically
Attitudes
• Attitude ambivalence– Degree to which an object generates conflicting
attitudes
• Attitude coherence– Degree to which an attitude is internally
consistent
Attitudes and Behavior
• Attitudes do not accurately predict behavior– A positive attitude towards exercise doesn’t
necessarily translate into one actually exercising
• Specific attitudes predict behavior much better than generalized attitudes– Brand specificity
Attitudes and Behavior
• Attitudes are only one factor among many that influence behavior– I have a favorable attitude towards mushrooms but
would never eat them around my friends
• Attitudes will better predict behavior if members of one’s reference group share the attitudes
• Implicit attitudes impact behavior in ways a person is unaware of
Attitudes and Behavior
• Strongly held attitudes predict behavior better than attitudes that generate less passion
• Attitudes acquired through personal experience are more likely to influence behavior than attitudes acquired on more abstract levels
Persuasion
• Persuasion – Involves a deliberate efforts to change an
attitude
• Components of persuasion– Credible source (expert knowledge)– Message
• Receptiveness of receiver to the message
• Fear appeals
Attitudes and Behavior
• Components of persuasion– Channel
• Words/images• Medium
– Context• Background setting for delivering message• Politicians use of the national flag at events
– Receiver• Strength of attitude by the receiver• Need for cognition
Elaboration Model
• The Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion suggests that knowing how to appeal to people requires figuring out the likelihood that they will think about (evaluate) the arguments presented
• Central Route– Appeals to those who think carefully about the message
• Volvo adds that focus on safety
• Peripheral Route– Appeals to those less likely to think carefully about the
message• Ford Mustang adds that focus on sex appeal
Cognitive Dissonance
• Cognitive dissonance refers to a perceived difference between– An attitude and a behavior– An attitude and a new piece of information
• When cognitive dissonance occurs something has to give– Change attitude– Change behavior
Cognitive Dissonance
• Dissonance reduction– Involves our efforts to reduce cognitive
dissonance
• Self-perception theory– Suggests that individuals infer their attitudes,
emotions, and other internal states by observing their own behavior
Cognitive Dissonance
• Self-presentation theory– Suggests that what appear to be changes in
attitudes are really only changes in reported attitudes
• I’m saying what you want to hear
• Dissonance and culture– May be a distinctively Western culture way of
thinking
The Self & Self-Concept
• Self– The person including mental processes, body
and personality characteristics
• Self-concept– A person’s concept of herself, a schema that
guides the way we think about and remember information relevant to ourselves
Self-Esteem
• Self-esteem– A person’s evaluation of himself, how much he likes
and respects the self• General
• Specific
• Self-handicapping– The process by which we set ourselves up to fail when
success is uncertain
– A means to preserve our self-esteem
– Success would mean one is worthy, thus impacting one’s low self-esteem
Self-Consistency
• Refers to consistency of feedback of either a positive or negative nature
• Those with low self-esteem tend to avoid those who speak positive of them
• Positive remarks creates cognitive dissonance with their low self-esteem
Self-Presentation(Impression Management)
• Refers to how we present ourselves to others
• Involves dress, language, and other behaviors
• Self-presentation predicaments– Situations that threaten the image we would like to
project• Changing presentation for a job interview
Self-monitoring
• Refers to the individual differences in how well we manage our self-presentations
• High self-monitors– Carefully read and respond to social settings
• Low self-monitors– Do not read social settings very well