1. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Chapter 14
Social Psychology
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2. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Social Psychology
Social psychology – The branch of psychology that studies the effects of social variables and cognitions on individual behavior and social interactions
Social context – The combination of
People
The activities and interactions among people
The setting in which behavior occurs, and
The expectations and social norms governing behavior in that setting
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3. How Does the Social Situation Affect our Behavior?
We usually adapt our behavior to the demands of the social situation, and in ambiguous situations we take our cues from the behavior of others in that setting
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4. How Does the Social Situation Affect our Behavior?
Situationism – The view that environmental conditions influence people’s behavior as much or more than their personal dispositions do
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5. Social Standards of Behavior
Social role – One of several socially defined patterns of behavior that are expected of persons in a given setting or group
Script – Knowledge about the sequence of events and actions that is expected in a particular setting
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6. Social Standards of Behavior
Social norms – A group’s expectations regarding what is appropriate and acceptable for its members’ attitudes and behavior
Social norms influence students’ political views
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7. Conformity: The Asch studies
Which line matches the line on the left? A 1 2 3
Standard line
Comparison lines
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8. Conformity: The Asch studies
What would you say if you were in a room full of people who all picked line number three? A 1 2 3
Standard line
Comparison lines
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Conformity
No opposition (control)
Correct estimated (percent)
100 80 60 40 20
With partner
Alone against majority
Critical trials 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
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10. Group Characteristics That Produce Conformity
Asch identifies three factors that influence whether a person will yield to pressure:
The size of the majority
The presence of a partner who dissented from the majority
The size of the discrepancy between the correct answer and the majority position
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Groupthink
In “groupthink,” members of the group attempt to conform their opinions to what each believes to be the consensus of the group
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12. Conditions Likely to Promote Groupthink
Conditions likely to promote groupthink include:
Isolation of the group
High group cohesiveness
Directive leadership
Lack of norms requiring methodical procedures
Homogeneity of members’ social background and ideology
High stress from external threats with low hope of a better solution than that of the group leader
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13. Obedience to Authority
Imagine if an experimenter studying “the effects of punishment on memory” asked you to deliver painful electric shocks to a a middle-aged man who had been treated for a heart condition
Each time the man missed an answer, you would be instructed to deliver an increasingly powerful shock
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14. Milgram’s Shock Generator
Caution On
Amp Meter
Amps
Intensity
Resistance
Very
Strong
Shock
Slight
Shock
Moderate
Shock
Strong
Shock
Intense
Shock
Extreme
Shock
Danger
XXX
Would you deliver a “Moderate Shock?”
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15. Milgram’s Shock Generator
Caution On
Amp Meter
Amps
Intensity
Resistance
Very
Strong
Shock
Slight
Shock
Moderate
Shock
Strong
Shock
Intense
Shock
Extreme
Shock
Danger
XXX
Would you refuse the experimenter’s instruction to deliver an “Extreme Shock?”
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16. Milgram’s Shock Generator
Caution On
Amp Meter
Amps
Intensity
Resistance
Very
Strong
Shock
Slight
Shock
Moderate
Shock
Strong
Shock
Intense
Shock
Extreme
Shock
Danger
XXX
What if the victim was screaming in agony?
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17. Milgram’s Shock Generator
Caution On
Amp Meter
Amps
Intensity
Resistance
Very
Strong
Shock
Slight
Shock
Moderate
Shock
Strong
Shock
Intense
Shock
Extreme
Shock
Danger
XXX
Two thirds of participants delivered the maximum 450 volts to the learner
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18. Obedience to Authority
In Milgram’s experiment
The victim was an actor
The victim received no actual shocks
Nevertheless, this controversial experiment demonstrated how powerful effects of obedience to authority
Situational factors, and not personality variables, appeared to effect people’s levels of obedience
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19. Obedience in Milgram’s Experiments
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20. Ten Steps Toward Evil- Getting Good People to Harm Others
Provide people with an ideology to justify beliefs for actions
Make people take a small first step toward a harmful act with a minor, trivial action and then gradually increase those small actions
Make those in charge seem like a “just authority”
Slowly transform a once compassionate leader into a dictatorial figure
Provide people with vague and ever changing rules
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21. Ten Steps Toward Evil- Getting Good People to Harm Others
Relabel the situation’s actors and their actions to legitimize the ideology
Provide people with social models of compliance
Allow verbal dissent but only if people continue to comply behaviorally with orders
Encourage dehumanizing the victim
Make exiting the situation difficult
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The Bystander Problem
Diffusion of responsibility – Dilution or weakening of each group member’s obligation to act when responsibility is perceived to be shared with all group members
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The Bystander Problem
In one experiment, a student was led to believe that the he or she was taking part in an experiment with between one and five other students (over an intercom)
The student then heard what sounded like another student having a seizure and gasping for help
The researchers timed how long it would take the students to ask for help
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24. Bystander Intervention in an Emergency80 40 60
100 20
Percentage helping
2-person groups
3-person groups
6-person groups 20 80
120
160
200
240
280
Seconds from beginning of emergency
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25. Prosocial Behavior Kitty Genovese case in Kew Gardens NY.
Bystander Effect:
Conditions in which people are more or less likely to help one another. In general…the more people around…the less chance of help….because of…
Diffusion of Responsibility
Pluralistic Ignorance
People decide what to do by looking to others.

26. Constructing Social Reality: What Influences Our Judgments of Others?
The judgments we make about others depend not only on their behavior but also on our interpretation of their actions within a social context
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27. Constructing Social Reality: What Influences Our Judgments of Others?
Social reality – An individual’s subjective interpretation of other people and of relationships with them
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28. Interpersonal Attraction
Reward theory of attraction – A social learning view that says we like best those who give us maximum rewards at minimum cost
Proximity
Similarity
Self-Disclosure
Physical Attractiveness
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29. Expectations and the Influence of Self-Esteem
Matching hypothesis – Prediction that most people will find friends and mates that are about their same level of attractiveness
Expectancy-value theory – Theory that people decide whether or not to pursue a relationship by weighing the potential value of the relationship against their expectations of success in establishing the relationship
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30. Attraction and Self-Justification
Cognitive dissonance – A highly motivating state in which people have conflicting cognitions, especially when their voluntary actions conflict with their attitudes
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31. Making Cognitive Attributions
Fundamental attribution error – Tendency to emphasize internal causes and ignore external pressures
Self-serving bias – Attributional pattern in which one takes credit for success but denies responsibility for failure
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32. Prejudice and Discrimination
Prejudice – A negative attitude toward an individual based solely on his or her membership in a particular group
Discrimination – A negative action taken against an individual as a result of his or her group membership
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33. Prejudice and Discrimination
In-group – The group with which an individual identifies
Out-group – Those outside the group with which an individual identifies
Social distance – The perceived difference or similarity between oneself and another person
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34. Dissimilarity and Social Distance
Causes of Prejudice
Dissimilarity and Social Distance
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35. Dissimilarity and Social Distance
Causes of Prejudice
Dissimilarity and Social Distance
Economic Competition
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36. Dissimilarity and Social Distance
Causes of Prejudice
Dissimilarity and Social Distance
Economic Competition
Scapegoating
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37. Dissimilarity and Social Distance Conformity to Social Norms
Causes of Prejudice
Dissimilarity and Social Distance
Economic Competition
Scapegoating
Conformity to Social Norms
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38. Dissimilarity and Social Distance Conformity to Social Norms
Causes of Prejudice
Dissimilarity and Social Distance
Economic Competition
Scapegoating
Conformity to Social Norms
Media Stereotypes
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39. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Combating Prejudice
Research suggests that the possible tools for combating prejudice include:
New role models
Equal status contact
Legislation
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40. Other Topics in Social Psychology
Social facilitation – An increase in an individual’s performance because of being in a group
Social loafing – An decrease in performance because of being in a group
Social Facilitation- The idea that in group work, the lesser skilled members are able to achieve more than they could have achieved on their own.
Social Loafing- The idea that in group work, some members will do as little as possible since there are others to carry the load.
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41. Other Topics in Social Psychology
Deindividuation – Occurs when group members lose their sense of personal identity and responsibility and the group “assumes” responsibility for their behavior
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42. Zimbardo’s Prison Study
Showed how we deindividuate AND become the roles we are given.
Philip Zimbardo has students at Stanford U play the roles of prisoner and prison guards in the basement of psychology building.
They were given uniforms and numbers for each prisoner.
What do you think happened?

43. Other Topics in Social Psychology
Group polarization – When individuals in a group have similar, though not identical, views, their opinions become more extreme
Groupthink – An excessive tendency to seek recurrence among group members
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Loving Relationships
Romantic love – A temporary and highly emotional condition based on infatuation and sexual desire
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45. Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love
Passion
Intimacy
Commitment
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46. What Are the Roots of Violence and Terrorism?
The power of the situation can help us understand violence and terrorism, but the broader understanding requires multiple perspectives that go beyond the boundaries of traditional psychology
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47. The Robbers’ Cave: An Experiment in Conflict
In the Robber’s Cave experiment, conflict between groups arose from an intensely competitive situation
Cooperation, however, replaced conflict when the experimenters contrived situations that fostered mutual interdependence and common goals for the groups
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48. The Robbers’ Cave: An Experiment in Conflict
Violence and aggression – Terms that refer to behavior that is intended to cause harm
Cohesiveness – Solidarity, loyalty, and a sense of group membership
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49. The Robbers’ Cave: An Experiment in Conflict
Mutual interdependence – Shared sense that individuals or groups need each other in order to achieve common goals
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50. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Terrorism
Terrorism – The use of violent, unpredictable acts by a small group against a larger group for political, economic, or religious goals
Taking multiple perspectives can provide important insights on the problems of aggression, violence, and terrorism
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End of Chapter 14
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