Social Psychology

The Lunch Date

Produced by Adam Davidson (1989)

(won the 1990 Oscar for best short film)

Social Thought

Social CognitionThe collection and assessment of information

about other people

SchemataPrimacy effect

Condition “Friendly” Ratings

One-paragraph, friendly 95%

One-paragraph, unfriendly 3%

Two-paragraph, friendly-unfriendly 78%

Two-paragraph, unfriendly-friendly 18%

Social Thought

SchemataPrimacy effectRecency effectStereotypes

A set of characteristics presumed to be shared by all members of a social category

Social Thought

Attributions Internal/DispositionalExternal/Situational

Kelley’s Covariation Model of Attribution

Consensus Consistency Distinctiveness

Attribution Errors Fundamental attribution error/Correspondence

error tendency to explain others’ behavior in terms of

dispositional (internal) rather than situational (external) causes

Self-serving bias tendency to take credit for positive behavior or outcomes

by attributing them to internal causes, but to blame negative ones on external causes, especially on factors beyond our control

Attribution Errors

Just World HypothesisPeople get what they deserve

Halo effectGood goes together…

Assumed similarity biasTendency to assume others are like self, even

when meeting for first time

Attitudes

A relatively stable organization of beliefs, feelings, and behavior tendencies toward something or someone

Can be positive or negative Affect behavior

Attitudes

Components of AttitudesBeliefsFeelingsBehavior tendencies

Actions can affect attitudes…

Foot-in-the-door effectDoor-in-the-face effectLowball procedureThat’s-not-all techniqueNot-so-free sample technique

Cognitive Dissonance

Discomfort experienced when there is an obvious gap between our attitudes and our actions or between two attitudes

Boring Task (turning pegs)

Explain to next subject that it

was interesting

Paid $1 Paid $20

“It was fun” = Attitude Change

“It was boring” = NO Attitude

Change

Persuasion

Any attempt to change an attitude, and ultimately, behavior

Source Message Medium Audience

When Attitudes Go Bad…

Prejudice

Discrimination

Belief negative stereotype Feelings strong, negative Behavioral Tendencies strong

Sources of Prejudice

Frustration-aggression theory Social conflict theory Social learning theory Information processing

Stereotypes

Social Influence

Attempts made by one or more people to change the attitudes or behavior of others

ObedienceA change of behavior in response to a

command from an authority figureStanley Milgram

Relieved of personal responsibility Signs of authority Commands were gradual

Conformity Voluntarily yielding to social norms, even

at the expense of one’s own preferencesAsch’s conformity studies

35% conformity rate Influential factors

Situational characteristics Group size, unanimity Nature of the task

Personal characteristics

Social Action

Bystander Effect Diffusion of Responsibility Mob behavior

Deindividuation The more anonymous people feel in a group, the

less responsible they feel as individuals