Social Psychology

							Social Psychology
Which one of these guys
would you date and
why????????
This man posed as a
bus boy at one point
in his life to
demonstrate how
people make
judgments about
others based on their
appearance
Person Perception
    This   This
    man    man
    is     is
    6’4”   5’7”
The research demonstrates….
- New research seems to demonstrate that
the taller you are (men) the more money
you may make

- Each inch of height is apparently worth
$789 more in salary per year

- What was the research?
             Halo Effect


The ‘halo effect’ appears to be alive and
well. The ‘halo effect’ is the belief by
people that ‘what is beautiful is good’

This means that people ultimately seem to
judge others by their appearance on a
conscious and even unconscious level
People perceived as beautiful or
handsome generally make more money
and get more promotions

The study demonstrated that a person
who is 6 feet tall could earn about
$166,000 more over a 30-year career than
someone 5’5”
      Factors that add to person
              perception
Person perception, the process by which
we use our schema to form impressions of
others can be formulated by:

   A person’s physical appearance
   How you act towards each individual
   Effects of race

   These are physical traits
            Attributions
Attributions help us to better understand
our own and other’s behavior

For instance, you call up your best friend
on a Friday night and ask her to go out.
She tells you she already has plans to go
out with other people. What goes through
your mind?
Internal vs. external attributions
Internal attributions – when we tend to look at
the characteristics or the character of a person
to judge their behavior (ours or others)

External attributions – when we make
judgments about behaviors based on the
situation occurring
  If the other     A success       A failure
   person is
perceived to be:



    Like me         Internal       External
                   attribution    attributions


  Not like me       External        Internal
                   attributions   attributions
Fundamental attribution error – when we
look at another’s behavior, we tend to
focus on the person’s disposition or
personality traits and overlook the situation

Actor-observer bias – when we look at
other’s behavior, we tend to look at
internal attributions but when we look at
our own behavior, we tend to look at
external attributions
Self-serving bias – when we are
successful, we tend to look at internal
attributions. When we fail, we tend to look
at external attributions.

Defensive attributions – tendency to blame
the victim for the crime
Foot-in-the-door phenomenon
When someone asks
for a small favor first
then a larger favor
later

   Ask someone for 1
    hour of community
    service and they are
    likely to comply
   Go back later and ask
    for more time
Door-in-the-face phenomenon
When you ask
someone for a large
request, you then go
back that you know
they will refuse, then
go back and ask for a
smaller request
              Attitudes
Attitudes are beliefs of opinions about an
object, person or event that range from
negative to positive thinking.

Attitudes predispose us to behave in a
certain way and are often ingrained within
us and difficult to change.
Attitudes are often subject to cognitive
dissonance, in which we are in a state of
unpleasant psychological tension which
causes us to work to reduce that tension.
   We may:
     Change our attitudes
     Develop and add new attitudes
     Change our behavior
              Conformity
Solomon Asch study –
demonstrates
conformity in thinking
and behavior – when
people give in to group
pressure even though
pressure may not be a
direct request from
others
Asch
Study
       Asch study findings
Approximately 37% of the people in the
study were willing to agree with the group
After 7 people, it was insignificant how
many people were in the group, you really
did not see more than 37% conform
If there was one dissenting vote, people
were less likely to conform
 Compliance vs. Obedience
Compliance - Kind of conformity in which
we give in to actual social pressure in
which there may only be a social
consequence

Obedience – performing some behavior in
response to a request by an authority
figure
                                            Sim
             Milgram Study                  exp



Stanley Milgram
   Conducted in the early 1960s
   65% of the people were willing to deliver 450
    volt shocks
   Repeated in different countries with similar
    results
   People less likely to conform when not in the
    presence of authority – i.e., when instructions
    given in a different room/building
   Determined that people are likely to obey
    authority because they are used to doing so in
    their daily lives

   Although some question the ethical
    implications of Milgram’s study, there aim
    appeared to be no long-term psychological
    damage done to people
    Zimbardo Prison Study
  Demonstrates how the behavior of the
individual can be shaped by the demands
of the environment.

 It also demonstrates how the study of
psychology can shed light not only on
questions about individual behavior, but
also on questions of practical concern to
society.
             Zimbardo cont’d
One disturbing implication of the research looks at the
parallels between what occurred in the mock prison and
daily experiences in our own lives
It is felt that:
  “The physical institution of prison parallels the mind that
all of us daily create, populate and perpetuate. We speak
here of the prisons of racism, sexism, despair, shyness,
"neurotic hang-ups" and the like. The social convention
of marriage, as one example, becomes for many couples
a state of imprisonment in which one partner agrees to
be prisoner or guard, forcing or allowing the other to play
the reciprocal role - invariably without making the
contract explicit.”
                  Jim Jones
“Dissent was unthinkable…
Offenders sweltered in "The
Box," a 6-by-4-foot (1.8-by-1.2-
meter) underground enclosure.
Misbehaving children were
dangled head-first into the well
late at night. Loudspeakers
broadcast Jones' voice at all
hours.

Deborah Layton – escaped
from Jonestown
        Brainwashed????
Brainwashing is a forced attitude change
that requires a captive audience

POW’s often subjected to brainwashing
techniques

Patricia Hearst
Physical and psychological aspects of
brainwashing:
   Physical abuse
   Lack of sleep
   Humiliation
   Isolation
   Giving hope
   Fear
                  Cults
Cults often look for people who socially
isolate themselves from friends and family

They then work to further isolate them and
make them initially feel like the cult is their
family

Jim Jones used sedatives to calm people
and armed guards to keep people in line
People who join cults
often do so because
of the personality of
the leader, not
necessarily what they
believe in

Often see leader as
infallible
They often follow
leader without
question

Often used guilt,
manipulation,
deception, fear, and
high-pressure
indoctrination
           Group behavior
Group cohesion –
when groups bond
strongly together due
to common attitudes

Group norms –
unwritten rules that
may be spoken or
simply understood
about behavior of the
group
   How do we form groups?
Maslow cites the need for love and
belongingness

Schacter cites the need for affiliation

Festinger cites the social comparison theory –
which states that humans are compelled to
compare themselves to others in group to
determine correct behavior.
Mullen & Cooper cite the fact that people
like to join task-oriented groups – where
every member has specific tasks to
complete. Makes people feel needed
   People are more willing to work hard if there
    is a group cohesion


Others cite the fact that people join groups
that are socially oriented
How do crowds affect behavior?
 Crowds consist usually of a large group of
 people with most being people that we do
 not know

 Social facilitation – when we increase our
 performance in a group situation

 Social inhibition – when we decrease our
 performance in a group situation
                 Crowds
Deindividuation –
   When people act irrationally or perform
    behaviors they normally would not simply
    because they are in the presence of a group

   Takes away personal identity

   Sports events – why do crowds behave so
    badly sometimes?
            Bystander effect
States that people may feel inhibited to
help others when in a crowd
   May be due to two reasons:
       Informational influence theory – says that we use
      the reactions of others to judge the seriousness of
      the situation

      Diffusion of responsibility – in the presence of
      others, people feel less personal responsibility and
      are less likely to help when it is required
Are groups good for business?

Risky shift – when the group is able to
swing an individual’s judgment

Group polarization – after group
discussion the majority’s point of view
shifts to a more extreme position
Groupthink – when group decisions
abandon critical thinking when making a
judgment in favor of other factors


Social loafing – when in groups, some
people allow others to take charge and
they sit back and do nothing. You should
try to assign specific roles for people.
     Factors in Persuasion
Central Route – Adds in
facts, logic and strong
arguments
Peripheral Route –
Emphasizes emotional
appeal, focuses on
personal traits and
generates positive
feelings
Three components –
source, message and
audience
Source – We are more likely to believe sources
that appear honest, trustworthy, have expertise
and credibility and are attractive.

Message – messages using a central route are
convincing and understandable, however, the
peripheral route may appeal to people more.
Fear tends to be a good technique.

Audience – audiences who want the facts should
be given the central route, others the peripheral.
Know your audience and their attitudes
    Other ways in which we form
       impressions of others
Stereotyping

Prejudice-Remember
  these are only
  attitudes

Discrimination-These
  are behaviors that
  may affect others
Factors in interpersonal attraction
1. Physical
attractiveness –
matching hypothesis
2. Similarity
3. Reciprocity
4. Proximity
5. Romeo and Juliet
Effect