Social Psychology

How does society influence your behavior?

How does society affect our thinking and actions?

How do people explain behavior?

Fundamental attribution error– Overestimating the influence of personality– Underestimating the influence of situation

How do our actions affect our attitudes? The “foot-in-the-door” phenomenon

– People who agree to a small action, will comply with a larger one later.

How does the role we play affect our attitudes and actions?

Philip Zimbardo’s prison study– Students randomly assigned to be guards or

prisoners– Guards acted like guards– Prisoners acted like prisoners– Study called off after only six days because

participants were endangered by their role playing.– Result: Since the roles we play affect our attitudes

and behavior; if we play that role long enough we may become that type of person.

How do our actions affect our attitudes? Cognitive dissonance theory

– Leon Festenger– Cognitive = thinking– Dissonance = Unresolved differences– When we act differently than we believe, we

experience cognitive dissonance.

Cognitive dissonance (cont.)

To reduce dissonance, we will change our attitudes (or behavior) to produce agreement.

We change our attitudes to justify past behavior.

I know smoking can kill me, but I still smoke.

Change behaviorQuit smoking

Change attitudesSmoking is not that bad

Cognitive dissonance (cont.)

Do you remember?

What mistake do people often make when explaining a person’s behavior?

If you want someone to do a large favor for you, what strategy could you use?

What did the Zimbardo prison study tell us? To change someone’s behavior using the

cognitive dissonance theory, what strategy would you use?

How do we influence each other?

Will you conform to group pressure?

Which line is longer?

What is the Solomon Asch conformity study?

Comparing lengths of lines People rejected what they could see, to

conform with the group even when it was clearly incorrect.

Obedience - Will you do what you are told even if it would hurt someone?

Stanley Milgram’s shock experiments Teachers - gave shock (15 - 450 volts) Learners - received shock Results: The majority of “teachers” ordered

to shock the “learners” complied fully, and gave the highest level of shock.

Stanley Milgram’s shock experiments (Cont.)

What causes prejudice?

Scapegoat Theory– Frustration & feeling disadvantaged

creates prejudice– “They caused my problems.”

The Cultural Theory of prejudice– Emery Borgardus– People well adjusted to a “culture of

prejudice” become prejudiced.

What causes aggression?

Frustration - aggression hypothesis– Frustration - anger –

aggression

E.g. Hurting someone that frustrated you (not always physical)

Do you remember?

What did the Solomon Asch study tell us? What did Milgram’s shock experiments tell us? What idea may explain why people growing with

the KKK are prejudiced? What idea may explain why the poor may be

prejudiced? What example do you have in your life of the

frustration-aggression hypothesis?

Have you ever been “In love”?

Sternberg’s theory of love– Intimacy– Passion– Commitment

Have you ever been “In love”?

Passionate love– Fully absorbed with the other– “Walking on clouds”

Companionate love– A deep affectionate attachment to the other– Based on equity and self disclosure

Will someone help you in an emergency? The bystander effect

– Kitty Genovese

– Before helping, people must: Notice the situation Interpret it as an emergency Assume responsibility

Bystander effect (cont.)

The more people are available to help, the less chance any one person will help.

“Diffusion of responsibility”

Why do we help?

Self interest The “Social Exchange” theory

– Cost - benefit analysis– Will the cost (money, time, discomfort) be less than the

benefit (reduced guilt, social approval, good feelings).

Reciprocity norm– I give you something, I expect something back– Name stamps in contribution envelopes

Do you remember?

What love keeps an older couple together when they are no longer young and beautiful?

Why will a fireman point to one bystander and ask them to do something rather that asking anyone on the crowd?

What is idea most apt to explain why people give money to people on the street?