Social Psychology
The scientific study of the ways in which the thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors of an individual are influenced by the real or imagined behavior of others. Topics Studied in Social Psychology
Attitudes and Persuasion Attribution Social Influences Group Processes Helping Behavior Interpersonal Attraction
Attitudes- a positive or negative belief held about
something. 3 components: 1. cognitive - beliefs about the attitude object
2. affective - emotions/feelings toward the
attitude object 3. behavioral - behavioral tendencies toward the attitude object
Examples
People do not always behave as they believe.
Especially true with negative attitudes
When measuring someone’s attitude, it becomes
important to measure their attitude-behavior consistency Nisbett & Wilson (1996)
Mere exposure effect- the more we are exposed to
something, the more we tend to like it. Zajonc study- had participants look over random high school yearbook pictures.
For some they showed only a couple of times. Others they showed 25 times. In general, participants tended to rate more favorably
the people in the pictures they had been exposed to. Key is familiarity: we like what we know
Learning Theories Pavlovian Conditioning: Simply pairing two objects
forms an association between them
i.e. Your attitude towards something depends on what
accompanies it Ex. Evaluative conditioning – pair a picture with shock Ex. Liking of names Ex. Advertising depends on this: McDonalds and toys
Operant Conditioning: We form attitudes based on
the consequences of our behavior.
Ex. We go to a restaurant and eat, we get good food, we
form a good attitude about that restaurant.
Observational learning: we form our attitudes by
seeing other people’s.
Especially friends, parents, etc.
Elaboration Likelihood Model
two primary routes to persuasion central and peripheral.
Central- Most obvious and familiar route.
motivated and attentive. Change attitude based on merits of argument Change is more stable and long-lasting.
Peripheral- persuaded by superficial
characteristics
Occurs in low motivation
power, attractiveness, and celebrities.
Intelligent people are more likely to use the central
route Important decisions are usually processed via the central route
Foot-in-the-door technique- make a modest
request at first and then follow it with a larger second request.
Maybe at first ask for $1. Later ask them for a big one. Drive safely experiment Introductory offers
Door-in-the-face technique- follow an outrageous
initial request with a much more reasonable second one.
If you reject the first one, maybe you’ll compromise and
agree to the second one. Example: people asking for money. Example of the anchoring heuristic.
Lowball technique- offer an extremely favorable deal
and then makes additional demands after the other person has committed to the deal
Used car dealer
That’s-not-all technique: makes an offer and then
improves the offer before anyone has a chance to reply.
Standard technique of infomercials
Reciprocity- giving a gift to you. People are more likely
to reciprocate.
We feel obligated to return favors. Ex. Address labels.
Factors that can prevent persuasion 1. strength of attitude 2. Reactance – development of a negative attitude
toward the person attempting to do the persuasion
Can in fact polarize our existing attitude
3. Forewarning – If we know in advance that
someone is going to try to persuade us, we are less likely to be persuaded. 4. Avoidance – prevent persuasion by avoiding the person trying to persuade.
Changing attitudes because of behavior Cognitive Dissonance Perceived inconsistency between two beliefs (or belief
and behavior) leads to psychological tension We really want to relieve the tension Can alleviate by:
1. Changing behavior to match attitude 2. Changing attitude to match behavior 3. Adopt new attitude to justify behavior
Festinger’s basic task Participants were either paid $1 or $20 After everything, participants were stopped and asked
how they enjoyed the experiment
Results:
Participants that were paid $20 said that it was boring,
they hated it, and wouldn’t do it again Participants that were paid $1 said that they enjoyed it and that they learned a lot
Why the different results? Festinger claimed that those paid $1 suffered cognitive
dissonance To relieve this, they changed their attitude
Traditional view of attitudes: Attitudes
Behavior Attitudes
Self-Perception theory says opposite
Behavior
Our attitudes are inferred from our behavior
i.e., attitudes are all about self-perception
Festinger’s interpretation
Further evidence for Self-perception theory
Arousing bridge study
People walked across a scary swaying bridge. Someone of the opposite sex went with them After it was over, they were asked if they were attracted
to the other person. Found that they were attracted, much more than controls
Reason: Bridge caused arousal, arousal was perceived
and attributed to attraction Pencil study Sleep study
Stereotypes – Cognitive component. beliefs about
a group of people
A type of schema
Prejudice – Affective component. Feelings toward a
group of people
Can be either conscious and unconscious Can be caused by both the presence of negative feelings
and the absence of positive feelings.
Discrimination – Behavioral component. Actually
treating someone differently because they belong in a certain group.
Problems with stereotypes:
They are caricatures Illustrate that humans are cognitive misers
Can be useful shortcuts, but problems arise if always
used (inaccurate). Use of a stereotype will further propel the stereotype Maintained by the confirmation bias
Stereotypes are resistant to change
1. Efficiency 2. To justify existing inequalities – Just World
Hypothesis 3. Can bolster individual’s self esteem In-group favoritism – Treat members of your group in a favorable manner Out-group homogeneity – tendency to view out-group members as being similar to each other.
Group categorization is a natural process of
cognition. People do this even if group assignment is arbitrary
Experiment: Placed people in 2 groups by odd or even
numbers.
Why does prejudice exist? Realistic conflict theory –
caused by competition for scarce resources Sherif’s Robber’s Cave study
Divided 11-year-old boys into two groups The two groups competed for prices Individuals began showing prejudice and discrimination
Attitudes and behavior stopped when competition
ended.
The ways people alter the attitudes or behaviors of
others, either directly or indirectly Two important aspects: Conformity and Obedience
Conformity – People’s tendency to change attitudes or
behaviors so that they are consistent with those of other people or with social norms Social Norms are the expectations about how people should act. Unwritten rules
“do not interrupt” “wait in line behind people who got there before you” “wear clothes”
We tend to conform to social norms. Depends on the
culture. Ex. Koversada
Conformity can be useful as information,
especially if the task is ambiguous. Driving directions Sherif: Autokinetic effect: If you sit in a darkened room and stare at one small, stationary point of light, the point will eventually seem to move.
Do we still conform if the task is not ambiguous? If we
know we are right? Yes. People will tend to agree with a group of people, even if they think it is wrong. Solomon Asch: Had groups of people make judgments and tested the influence of other people on an individual’s decision.
Groups of up to nine people would go around the room
giving their answer Only one of them was actually a participant, the rest were confederates Confederate – an researcher that plays a part in an experiment. Actor. The confederates would give answers that were obviously wrong Would the participant agree with them? Most would, but several factors affected this.
Group size: the more confederates, the more
prevelant was conformity, up to a point
Up to 5 people led to maximum conformity
Social support If even one of the confederates gave an opinion that
matched the participant, less likely to see conformity Other factors: Relative competence of the group- highly thought of group members will lead to more conformity Public nature of behavior – people don’t conform if their answers are private
Obedience – compliance with the orders of another
person or group of people Milgram’s obedience studies Men were put in the position of being the teacher to another person (the learner). The teacher's task was to get the other person to learn a series of word associations. For each incorrect response, the teacher was to administer a shock to the learner with the flip of a switch. The learner was actually a confederate of the experimenter
The shocks began at 15 volts (indicated as "slight
shock"), and got increasingly higher to an end of 450 volts (indicated as "XXX"). As the shock increased, the learner showed more signs of discomfort Teachers were told by the researcher: "the responsibility is mine, please continue."
People continued to give shock even when it
looked as though the person was dying. 66% of people went up to 450 volts Majority of people simply obeyed Similar phenomenon in Nazi Germany Factors that affected obedience: 1. The greater perceived authority of person giving the orders, the more likely to obey
When the study was done in a New Haven warehouse—
not Yale—obedience dropped by 17%
2. Proximity to the experimenter: subjects were
more likely to disobey when the experimenter was further away
Compliance dropped by 44%
3. Proximity of the learner: subjects were less
likely to use high levels of shock when the learner was in the same room 4. Buffers had a tremendous effect If a subject merely had to pull a switch that allowed someone else to deliver shock, 93% of the subjects went to 450 volts. Obedience increased when people felt less responsibility for the consequences of their actions. Authoritarian personalities more likely to obey Take home: even normal people can do horrible acts if they are told to
Who are we attracted to?
Magical notion of attraction and love. Love as a destiny. We tend to be attracted to: 1. proximity -
People tend to like people who are
closer to them
Proximity may be one reason why long-distance
relationships are difficult. Can sustain, difficult to create 2. physical attractiveness What do people find physically attractive. Cultural phenomenon. Depends on societal norms One aspect common in all cultures is symmetry. People who are symmetrical are perceived as being more attractive.
3. Similarity - People tend to like others who are
similar to themselves Men don’t want a woman like their mother, they want one that is like themselves 4. Confirmation of self-concept - we like people that identify our self concept.
We like people who agree with us. Not just liking of someone who makes us look good.
Agreement is key. This includes people with depression or with low selfesteem
Is there just one love? Is there many? We say we have many loves. Are they different? Romantic love – “any intense attraction involving
the idealization of the other. The idealization carries with it the desire for intimacy and the pleasurable expectation of enduring for some unknown time into the future.”
Love involving a combination of passion and intimacy Intimacy – emotional closeness; self-disclosure;
openness
What about friendship? Is this love? Is love a more intense form of emotion felt in friendship?
Rating friends vs. lovers Best friend vs. spouse / lover Spouses get slightly higher ratings of enjoyment of each other’s company. Spouses have higher ratings of exclusiveness, sexual desire Otherwise, very similar
We tend to look at the same qualities when trying
to find both a friend and a life-partner.
Sternberg’s theory of love Involves 3 components 1. Intimacy – emotional closeness 2. Passion – arousal 3. Commitment – Extent to which a relationship is
permanent and long-lasting
Nonlove - none of the components Casual relationships Liking - Only have intimacy Infatuation - Only have passion Empty Love - Only have commitment Stagnant long-term relationships Beginning of an arranged marriage Romantic love – intimacy and passion with no
commitment.
Most permanent relationships go through this “summer love”
Fatuous Love – Passion and commitment, but no
intimacy
Commitment usually ends once the passion fades
Companionate Love – intimacy and commitment,
but no passion
Characteristic of most good marriages
Consummate love – has all 3, intimacy, passion,
and commitment
Love that Lionel Ritchie sings about “love of a lifetime” “true love” The ideal, but not necessarily reached.
“Successful” marriages are either companionate or
consummate.
What makes a successful marriage? Predictors: Companionate or consummate love. The husband and wife have similar attitudes and
personalities Both find sexual satisfaction in the relationship
Successful marriages have more sex in general than
unsuccessful ones
The couple has a steady and adequate income The husband has a good enough job to maintain
self-respect. The couple’s parents also had successful marriages.