social psychology
the branch of psychology that studies how people think, feel, and behave in social situations
social cognition
the mental processes that people use to make sense out of their social environment
-person perception
-social catergorization
-cause of someone's behaviors (attribution)
-attitudes
-stereotypes
person perception
-your reactions to others are determined by your perceptions of them
-your goals determine the amount and kind of information you collect
-you evaluate people partly in terms of how you expect them to behave (social norms)
-your self perception influences
physical attractiveness
-implicit cultural message is that "beautiful is good"
-attractive people are more percieved as more intelligent, happier and better adjusted
---really no difference between attractive and less attractive people on these characteristics
attractiveness
-people tend to hang out with people at the same level of ______ as themselves
--the matching hypothesis
prejudice
a negative attitude toward people who belong to a specific social
---but groups r more similiar than they are different
stereotype
-a cluster of characteristics associated with all members of a specific group of people
-a belief held by members of one group about members of another group
in group, ethnocentrism
______-the social group to which we belong
---in group bias--tendency to make favorable attributions to members of our in-group (were tactful...their sneaky)
---______ is one type of in-group bias
out-group, homogeneity
______- the social group to which you do not belong
----out-group _____ effect-- tendency to see members of the out-group as more similiar to one another
social identity theory
-states that when your assigned to a group, you automatically think of that group as an in-group for you
social identity and cooperation
-sheriffs Robbers cave study
-11 to 12 year old boys at camp
-boys were divided into two groups and separated from one another
-each group took on characteristics on distinct social group with leaders, rules, norms of behavior, and names
robbers cave (sheriff)
leaders proposed series of competitive interactions which led to three changes between groups and within groups
-within groups solidarity
-negative stereotyping of other group
-hostile between-group interactions
robbers cave
overcoming the strong we/they effect
-establishment of superordinate goals
--eg. breakdown in camp water supply and a broken down food truck
-overcoming intergroup strife
--just being around the other group is not enough
--stereotypes are diluted when peo
the jigsaw classroom
Aronson (1992) brought together students in small, ethnically diverse groups to work on a mutual project
--each student had a unique contribution to make toward the success of the group; interdependence and cooperation replaced competition
results: childr
diffusion of responsibility
why don't people always help others in need?
___________:
-presence of others leads to decreased help response
-we all think someone will help so we dont have to help
latane studies
Why dont people always help others in need?
________:
-several scenarios design to measure the help response
---found that if you think your the only one that can hear or help, you are more likely to do so
---if there are others around you, you will diffu
increasing bystander helping
-"feel good, do good effect"
-feeling guilty
-seeing others who are willing to help
-percieving the other person as deserving help
-knowing how to help
-a personal relationship
conformity
adopting attitudes or behaviors of others because of pressure to do so; the pressure can be real or imagined
---two general reasons for ____------
-information social influence + normative social influence
information social influence
other people can provide useful and crucial information
normative social influence
desire to be accepted as part of a group leads to that group having an influence
asch's experiments on conformity
-asked to rate which line matched a standard line
-research assistants were instructed to pick the wrong line 12/18 times
(Asch's) effects of nonconformity
-if everyone agrees, you are less likely to disagree
-BUT, if one person disagrees, even if they give the wrong answer, you are more likely to express your nonconforming view
-asch tested this hypothesis
--when one group member gave a different answer fro
75%, perceptual abilities
asch's experiments on conformity
-results
--asch found that ___ participants conformed to at least one wrong choice
-why did they conform to clearly wrong choices?
---subjects reported having doubted their own _________, which led to their conformance
compliance, order
obediance
-______ is due to percieved authority of requester
-request is percieved as an _____--milgram was interested in unquestioning obediance to orders
stanley milgram's studies
basic study procedure:
-teacher and learner (learners always working with the research team)
-watch learner being strapped into chair
-learner expresses concern over his "heart condition
15 to 450 volts
stanley milgram's studies:
-teacher goes into another room with experimenter
-shock generator panel- ______, labeled "slight shock" to "XXX"
-asked to give higher shocks for every mistake learner makes
obedience
stanley milgram's studies:
-learner protests more and more as shock increases
-experimenter continues to request ____ even if teacher balks
obediance
-how many people would go to the highest shock level?
-65% of the subjects went to the end, even those who protested
subjects, sadistic
explanations for milgrams results
-abnormal group of _____?
---numerous replications with variety of groups shows no support
-people in general are _____?
---videotapes of Milgram's subjects show extreme distress
explanations for Milgram's results
-authority of Yale and value of science
-experimenter self-assurance and acceptance of responsibility
-proximity of learner and experimenter
-new situation and no model of how to behave
critiques of milgram
although 84% later said they were glad to have participated and fewer than 2% said they were sorry, there are still ethical issues
-do these experiments really help us understand real-world atrocities (e.g abuse at abu ghraib)?
social influence
the effects of situational factors and other people on an individuals behavior
-y we conform?
-wat compels us to obey authority?
-wat circumstances will ppl help other ppl?
2 basic areas of social psychology
social cognition and social influence
person perception
the mental process we use to form judgements and draw conclusions about the characteristics and motives of other people
person perception
always occurs in some interpersonal context (jones)
--3 components
----the characteristics of the individual you are attempting to size up
----your own characteristics as the perciever
----the specific information in which the process occurs
social norms
the "rules" or expectations, for appropriate behavior in a particular situation
social catergorization
the mental process of catergorizing people into groups (or social catergories) on the basis of their shared characteristics
-- occurs automatic nd spontaneous (conscience awareness)
implicit personality theory
a network of assumptions or beliefs about the relationships among various types of people, traits, and behaviors
---forming schemeas (mental frameworks ) about the traits and behaviors associated with different "types" of people
------assuming somebody to
attribution
the mental process of inferring the causes of people's behavior, including one's own. Also refers to the explanation made for a particular behavior
fundamental attribution error
the tendency to attribute the behavior of others to internal, personal characteristics, while ignoring or underestimating the effects of external, situational factors; an attributional bias that is common in individualistic cultures
blaming the victim
the tendency to blame an innocent victim of misfortune for having somehow caused the problem or for not having taken steps to avoid or prevent it
just world hypothesis
the assumption that the world is fair and that therefore people get what they deserve and deserve wat they get
actor-observer discrepancy
the tendency to attribute one's own behaviors to external , situational causes, while attributing the behavior of others to internal, personal causes; especially likely to occur with regard to behaviors that lead to negative outcomes
self-serving bias
the tendency to attribute successful outcomes of one's behavior to internal causes and unsuccessful outcomes to external, situational causes
attitude
a learned tendency to evaluate some object, person, or issue in a particular way; such evaluations may be positive, negative or ambivalent (mixed feelings)
-cognitive component, affective opponent , behavioral component
cognitive component
your thoughts and conclusions about a given topic or object
affective component
emotional component
behavioral component
in which attitudes are relected in action
cognitive dissonance: dissonance + cognitive
an unpleasant state of psychological tension or arousal (____) that occurs when two thoughts or perceptions (_____) are inconsistent; typically results from the awareness that attitudes and behavior are in conflict
--saying grasshoppers r gross but still
ethnocentrism
the belief that one's own culture or ethnic group is superior to all others and the related tendency to use one's own culture as a standard by which to judge other cultures
stanley Milgram
was one of the most creative and influential researchers that social psychology has known.
altruism
helping another person with no expectation of personal reward or benefit
prosocial behavior
any behavior that helps another, whether the underlying motive is self-serving or selfless
bystander effect
a phenomenon in which the greater the number number of people present, the less likely each individual is to help someone in distress
diffusion of responsibility
a phenonmenon in which the presence of other people makes it less likely that any individual will help someone in distress because the obligation to intervene is shared among all the onlookers
social loafing
the tendency to expend less effort on a task when it is a group effort
social facilitation
the tendency for the presence of other people to enhance individual performance
deindividuation
the reduction of self-awareness and inhibitions that can occur when a person is a part of a group whose members feel anonymous
persuasion
the deliberate attempt to influence the attitudes or behaviors of another person in a situation in which that person has some freedom of choice